Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch
Pennsylvania German
Indo-European (Germanic, West, German)
Pennsylvania German (Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch) descends from Palatine German dialects brought to colonial Pennsylvania in the 18th century, now sustained by Amish and Old Order Mennonite communities. Vibrant L1 transmission within these communities means the language is *growing*, not declining; intensive English contact has introduced loanwords but the High-German-dialect grammatical core is intact.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Pennsylvania German
Water
Wasser
/vasər/
Fire
Feier
/faɪər/
Sun
Sunn
/sʊn/
Moon
Mund
/mʊnt/
Mother
Mudder
/mʊdər/
Father
Daadi
/daːdi/
Eat
esse
/ɛsə/
Drink
drinke
/dɾɪŋkə/
Love
liewe
/liːvə/
Heart
Hatz
/hats/
Tree
Baam
/baːm/
House
Haus
/haʊs/
Dog
Hund
/hʊnt/
Cat
Katz
/kats/
Hand
Hand
/hant/
Eye
Aag
/aːk/
Hello
Hallo
/haloː/
Thank you
Denki
/dɛŋki/
One
eens
/eːns/
Good
gut
/ɡuːt/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, West, German) languages
| Meaning | Pennsylvania German | East Franconian | German (Austrian) | German | Early New High German (Luther-era) | Plautdietsch | Yiddish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Wasser /vasər/ | Wasser /vasːə/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /vasɐ/ | Wasser /ˈvasːər/ | Wota /vɔta/ | וואַסער /vasər/ |
| Fire | Feier /faɪər/ | Feier /faɪɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪɐ/ | Feuer /fɔɪ̯ɐ/ | Fewr /foɪ̯r/ | Fia /fia/ | פֿײַער /fajər/ |
| Sun | Sunn /sʊn/ | Sunn /sʊn/ | Sonne /sɔnə/ | Sonne /zɔnə/ | Sonne /ˈzɔnə/ | Sonn /zɔn/ | זון /zun/ |
| Moon | Mund /mʊnt/ | Maa /maː/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /moːnt/ | Mond /mɔnt/ | לבֿנה /ləvɔnə/ |
| Mother | Mudder /mʊdər/ | Mudder /mʊdɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /mʊtɐ/ | Mutter /ˈmʊtər/ | Mama /mama/ | מאַמע /mamə/ |
| Father | Daadi /daːdi/ | Vadder /fadɐ/ | Vater /fɑːtɐ/ | Vater /faːtɐ/ | Vater /ˈfaːtər/ | Papa /papa/ | טאַטע /tatə/ |
| Eat | esse /ɛsə/ | esse /ɛsə/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ɛsn̩/ | essen /ˈɛsːən/ | äten /ɛːtən/ | עסן /ɛsn/ |
| Drink | drinke /dɾɪŋkə/ | trinke /trɪŋkə/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkŋ/ | trinken /tʁɪŋkn̩/ | trincken /ˈtrɪŋkən/ | drinken /dɾɪŋkən/ | טרינקען /trɪŋkən/ |
| Love | liewe /liːvə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /liːbə/ | Liebe /ˈliːbə/ | leewen /leːvən/ | ליבע /libə/ |
| Heart | Hatz /hats/ | Herz /hɛrts/ | Herz /hɛɐt͡s/ | Herz /hɛʁt͡s/ | Hertz /hɛrt͡s/ | Hoat /hoat/ | האַרץ /harts/ |
| Tree | Baam /baːm/ | Bauma /baʊmaː/ | Baum /baːm/ | Baum /baʊ̯m/ | Bawm /baʊm/ | Boom /boːm/ | בוים /bɔɪm/ |
| House | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊs/ | Haus /haʊ̯s/ | Hauß /haʊs/ | Hus /huːs/ | הויז /hɔɪz/ |
| Dog | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | Hund /hʊnt/ | הונט /hunt/ |
| Cat | Katz /kats/ | Katz /kats/ | Katze /kɑt͡sə/ | Katze /kat͡sə/ | Katze /ˈkat͡sə/ | Kaut /kaʊt/ | קאַץ /kats/ |
| Hand | Hand /hant/ | Hand /hand/ | Hand /hɑnt/ | Hand /hant/ | Handt /hant/ | Haunt /haʊnt/ | האַנט /hant/ |
| Eye | Aag /aːk/ | Aach /aːx/ | Auge /aːɡə/ | Auge /aʊ̯ɡə/ | Aug /aʊk/ | Uag /uak/ | אויג /ɔɪɡ/ |
| Hello | Hallo /haloː/ | Grüß Gott /ɡrʏs ɡɔt/ | Servus /zɛɐvʊs/ | Hallo /haloː/ | Gott zum Gruß /ɡɔt t͡sʊm ɡruːs/ | Goondach /ɡoːndax/ | שלום־עליכם /ʃoləm aleɪxəm/ |
| Thank you | Denki /dɛŋki/ | Vergelt's Gott /fɛɐɡɛlts ɡɔt/ | Danke /daŋkə/ | Danke /daŋkə/ | Danck /daŋk/ | Donk /dɔŋk/ | אַ דאַנק /a daŋk/ |
| One | eens /eːns/ | ans /ans/ | oans /ɑːns/ | eins /aɪ̯ns/ | eyn /aɪ̯n/ | eent /eːnt/ | איינס /eɪns/ |
| Good | gut /ɡuːt/ | guad /ɡuə̯d/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | gut /ɡuːt/ | goot /ɡoːt/ | גוט /ɡut/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.