Description
Book SynopsisDrawing on scholarly literature, three decades of fieldwork, and ample historical documents-most of which have never before been made accessible to English-speaking readers-this is the first book to offer a comprehensive look at this unlikely linguistic success story.
Trade Review[ Pennsylvania Dutch] is written in a very accessible style and provides good information about the Pennsylvania Dutch language. Canadian Mennonite Louden captures the spirit of the folk-cultural narrative and remains engaging, accessible and entertaining to a wide range of audiences. Pennsylvania Heritage Mark Louden, author of Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language, surely has written the definitive guide to the subject. Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society Indeed, this is a one-of-a-kind, exceptionally valuable book... So, scrape your pennies together, and go buy this book-before it's sold out! Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage Louden's interdisciplinary work, sweeping as it does through centuries of history and across a vast continent, draws on three decades of study into the language's evolution and social history. Mennonite World Review Louden successfully weaves a complex tapestry that provides an exhaustive historical account of this language and its speakers and is easily accessible to multiple audiences. Upon finishing this work the scholar is left curious as to what the future holds for Pennsylvania Dutch and its legacy. H-Net Reviews This book is the first attempt at researching and synthesizing the historical, cultural, and linguistic development of Pennsylvania Dutch across all the communities that speak it. It is a bold and broad goal. I'm happy to say that Louden has set the highest standard for any subsequent attempts... It is wonderful story to follow from 1683 to the present. Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story o f an American Language is a splendid addition to the discipline of linguistics and, more specifically, to the field of Pennsylvania Dutch language and culture. A language this remarkable-thanks to its Old Order speakers, it is one of only a few heritage languages in America that is not endangered-deserves a firstrate book, and this is it. It will likely be unsurpassed for years to come. Communal Societies...
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
1. What Is Pennsylvania Dutch?
2. Early History of Pennsylvania Dutch
3. Pennsylvania Dutch, 1800–1860
4. Profiles in Pennsylvania Dutch Literature
5. Pennsylvania Dutch in the Public Eye
6. Pennsylvania Dutch and the Amish and Mennonites
7. An American Story
Notes
Bibliography
Index
