How to speak the Amish language

September 30, 2009 | Category: Amish, Amish language, Travel | Posted by: Sarah

Since I started working at the Visitors Bureau, many people have asked me how to speak the Amish language. I’ve recently picked up 2 books called “How to speak Dutchified English” by Gary Gates & “Quaint Idioms & Expressions of the PA Germans” by A. Monroe Aurand, Jr. I’d like to start sharing some of the word pronounciation & expressions that are in this book with you. These are great nuggets of the Amish culture for your enjoyment!

DAIRSENT: Not allowed to. “I DAIRSENT smoke in school.”

MEPPY: Perhaps. “MEPPY I will, and MEPPY I won’t.”

Tags: Amish, Amish language, Lancaster County, PA Dutch, PA Dutch Country

26 Comments

CHARLES JACQUOT
on October 8th, 2009
1
IS THERE A ARMISH NEWS PAPER AND IF THERE IS HOW DO WHERE DO I SEND TO GET ONE I THINK THE AMISH ARE GRATE THANKS FOR ANY INFO i CAN RECIVE
John Schucker
on November 7th, 2009
2
A couple of things. There’s a Pennsylfanisch Dietsch newspaper, check Wikipedia under “pennsylvania German”, it’s in the external links. I’m pretty sure the name is “Hiwwe Wie Driwwe”.

I grew up in Schuylkill County, well, technically Dauphin and Schuylkill since I lived in Williamstown and Tower City. The book “how to Speak Dutchified English” has nothing to do with the Amish whatsoever. Actually the Amish, and other Mennonite groups, were a small subset of the population that spoke Dietsch. Both of my grandparents on my dad’s side spoke it, but mostly when they didn’t want us kids to know what they were talking about. Apparently anti-German sentiment from world war II is the generally accepted reason for parents to have quit teaching their children Dietsch.

Anyway, Dutchified English is just that, English that has some Dietsch borrowings and word order. I used to say “outten the light” all the time, until I got to college and everybody else wondered what in the world I was talking about. Laundry was a rare word, it was always “wash’ as in “I’m doing the wash, you got any?” Similarly, my mom never told me to vacuum. She told me to sweep or run the sweeper. My grandfather, not Amish at all, used to regularly switch his v’s and w’s, the radio had a wolume, my grandparents owned an Electrolux wacuum, etc. Our absolute favorite though was, without question, Walley Wiew, A.K.A. Valley View, a nearby town, (Wally Woo).

I think the only Dietsch I ever managed to learn was “guck mal!”, “look wunst!” Well, other than the one about catching the black fly when it sits still, but I won’t even atempt to write that out. However, my grandmother regularly told me my hair was strublie, from some Dietsch word but I forget what it is, and she cracked me and my sister up when she told us “you’re like a couple of bopagoys!” She never did tell us what it meant but later I found out it means parrot. Her other expression for somebody talking too much was “my God, you were vaccinated with a victrola needle!”
Margit Walter
on December 8th, 2009
3
Hello John, I’m writing from Germany so sorry for my English, maybe the word strublie comes from the German word strubbelig or strubblig and means you have uncombed hair.

Season’s Greetings from Germany to Lancaster County – I’ve met three times and happily will come back soon.
Sue c
on March 1st, 2010
4
After tracing my ancestry, I found my family origionated from Vipperow,Mecklen Schwerin, Germany and moved to York County Pa.,then to Bedford County Pa, then to W. Va.Many of the sayings and superstitions, are similar to Amish but they were Luthern and Methodist.We read up,wash, sweep, and don’t lick (beat) an animal.You never work on Sunday,ever and you read the bible. I respect the Amish for retaining their culture with all the modern temptations and handing down the language to their children. Wouldn’t it be a better world if we all helped our neighbors and family like they do?
Heidi Fetterolf Hunchberger
on October 29th, 2010
5
Response to John Schucker: I am originally from Walley Woo…..and schrublie means your hair was all messed up… – we got called a Schruble Cupt (I have no idea how to spell these words) but my mom would say this on a Saturday night when she made us sit and get rollers put in our hair so we wouldn’t be “Schruble Cupts” to go to church on Sunday morning….My parents – may they rest in peace -Jack and Marian Fetterolf (Fetterolfs Meat Market) spoke PA Dutch at home when they didn’t want us to know what they were saying, too…. which made us listen more attentively and this is the only way we picked up the little bits of the language we did! The Citizen Standard weekly newspaper has a PA Dutch column in it.
Renee Verbanec
on July 14th, 2011
6
Where can you find books for pa dutch books for kids.
Billie Youngman
on March 16th, 2012
7
John – i love you’re Grandma’s saying about the victrola needle – that’s awesome and to completely funny
Gregory VanDaley
on March 25th, 2012
8
I’m from Pottsville and I think the Amish and the Mennonites slang words are awesome every day I hear someone speaking about doing wash or over the moutain through the walley It’s great I’m actually Dutch and German so it’s awesome to see what ur ancestors started years ago!!!!!!!
tiffany porter
on April 26th, 2012
9
what does girl and boy mean in amish?
charles francis
on August 4th, 2012
10
I speak Nederlands and Afrikaans that I learnt when working in South Africa. When ever I hear recording of spoken pa dutch I can understand about 50% of what is being said, but at times the dialect is confusing.
mckinzie
on September 27th, 2012
11
where can you find pa dutch books for kids
verena
on November 23rd, 2012
12
Hello, i am from South Germany so sorry for my bad english..

@mckinzie, i don’t think that there are books in “pa dutch” because it is german just with a strong dialect and english influence…and everybody writes the dialect words drifferent…by the way this german is like 300 years ago and even some germans do not understand the amish german because now a days some words the amish still use, died in the geman language from today…

well, for the others.. i picked now some of the “deitsch/deutsch/german” words i could find here and translate them into german and english..

Newspaper “Hiwwe wie Driwwe” is south-german dialect and means in normal german “hier sowie dort”/ english “here and there”..you pronounce it in english like “he ve, ve, dre ve” (i=e)

Strublie/Schruble Cupts is in normal german “Strubbelig”/”Strubbel Kopf” (google: “Struwwelpeter”) english: “disheveled”/”shock-headed” (kopf means head)

bopagoys = german: Papageien english: Parrot as you correctly said

well,..i hope i could help a bit
destiny
on December 7th, 2012
13
yes the newspaper is the budget i want to become Amish in either Ohio or Pennsylvania an old order or subgroup swartzentruber
Jeffrey Dove
on December 21st, 2012
14
My grandmother spoke PA dutch very well and always would say “Paper is content. You can write anything on it.” I would love to get the PA Dutch translation because I can only remember half. “Papier ist gadoolich”. I wish I cpould remember the second sentence. Sadly she is no longer around to ask.
Birgit
on December 22nd, 2012
15
Hello Jeffrey,
I am born in north Germany and live now in NC. I found it fascinating that the Amish have their roots in Germany.
Paper ist geduldig is translated Paper is patient
With the creation of the school system the german children have to learn the book or als called high German “die Amts Sprache” government language. Germany has many variatiion or dialects the old german is called Platt Deutsch -> flat German
My grandmother spoke it and in the north of Germany it is a mix between German Dansk and English.
In the south it is hard to understand for some one from the north.
Heather Hensley
on January 2nd, 2013
16
My question is this… Has anyone ever heard of an English being baptised into an Amish Order? Old Order or New Order? Or into a Mennonite church/community?
kda720
on January 3rd, 2013
17
My fathers parents came to the us and settled in landcaster P.A. my dad was born there. I have a brother and my sisters children who she lived and raised in P.A wilkberry are sill there my sister married and devorce a lutherin man. My brother is divorced and has three children still there with him ass well. I lived in both wilkberry shortly with my sister. But mainly with my brother in scranton. I worked in dupont dinner. If amish come for one year to see if they want to return or stay with other than amish life. Can we have a year to see if someone like myself go to the amish living and see if we would rather live and become part of there community.?
kda720
on January 3rd, 2013
18
My fathers parents came to the us and settled in landcaster P.A. my dad was born there. I have a brother and my sisters children who she lived and raised in P.A wilkberry are sill there my sister married and devorce a lutherin man. My brother is divorced and has three children still there with him ass well. I lived in both wilkberry shortly with my sister. But mainly with my brother in scranton. I worked in dupont dinner. If amish come for one year to see if they want to return or stay with other than amish life. Can we have a year to see if someone like myself go to the amish living and see if we would rather live and become part of there community.?
Amy
on January 16th, 2013
19
Goot Morgan. PA Dutch for good morning. For you German speakers Guten Morgen.
I grew up in Hershey Pa about 30 minutes from Lancaster PA. I learned Dutch from my Mom.
There is no formal writing or spelling standard.

@ Heather I have never heard of an English man or woman being baptized in to the Amish. You can be baptized Mennonite.

The newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe is online
Http://hiwwewiedriwwe.wordpress.com

Enjoya
Bretz Kauffman
on January 21st, 2013
20
My family arrived in Lancaster, PA in 1710 from Thun, Switzerland via Amsterdam. Most of my cousins still live there. My granparents spoke Deitsch around the house. My parents didn’t want me or my siblings ostracized by the kids in the public school we attended, so they never spoke Deitsch around us. I enlisted in the Army during Rumspringa thirty years ago and haven’t been back since. I met others in the service who had been raised Amish. While stationed in Germany I could understand much of the local dialect but they always gave me a funny look when I tried to have a conversation. I would like to pass on some of this heritage to my kids and grandchildren.
Diane Kimmel
on February 4th, 2013
21
Dear Brett,
I am one of those children that have been listening to Deitsch also and would like to teach my grandchildren also but am having a hard time finding litature for our language. We live just north of you in Sch. Co. Would you be able to direct me to a site or store that would carry this material. I’m driving my mom nuts because she only can speak some but understands what is being said from listening to my grandparents talk when they didn’t want her or us “youngens” to know either? I do know some of the language but keep getting mixed up with high German words, thats what my mom says to me anyway. Can you or anyone in this help?
Diane Kimmel
on February 4th, 2013
22
I’m sorry, typo. I meant for that to go to Bretz Kauffman.
Mike
on March 1st, 2013
23
Both beginning and intermediate introduction to Pennsylvania German dialect classes are offered the the LMHS- Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, located just east of Lancaster Penna, along route 30. It’s a 10 week long class and it is taught by an excellent teacher. I am currently in the beginner class, but I’m having a great time of it. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants a comprehensive experience. You can find further information on their website.

Cheers, mike
Shan
on May 1st, 2013
24
@ heather. Yes there are some baptized into the community. At least I know for sure the mennonite community. My in laws are mennonite and some of the local churches have had people baptized into the faith.
thnkglobalfuture
on May 6th, 2013
25
I am bothered by the new tv programs on the Duetch. In 1979 I was 19 (putting self through college)and lost my home to a fire – no living family. I ended up working for a PD family for nearly a year. 12 boys, no girls. Momma dressed me duetch and I got along very well. I have PD great grand parents on both sides and had never thought of myself as Englisher all. Regret leaving – I didn’t think I would have been a good wife for the people but was asked. I think if I had waited another year, I would have been more grown in my heart – basically needed my own Rumspringa. Four years ago I now have my own farm and happiness. There are many different sects of The People. Some are very strict and would not have allowed me to join. Some have “shunning” (excommunication) so strong it is not just you cannot go to meeting (church) but family treats you as dead. I do not think most sects act so.
Jesse
on May 12th, 2013
26
Raised Amish, or plain, I am now more of the mennonite faith. Penn Dutch is more of a spoken language and not so much written, well in a formal context that is. In the community we spoke penn ductch when conversing with family or other plain folk. Our church services were held in high german normally..

If someone is interested in becoming plain or amish you will have to prove that you are sincerely interested and dedicated to the community and faith before they will allow you to take membership bow. Usually it is required that you live in the community as the amish do, learn their language and then if the bishop and deacons agree you are then allowed to take membership…

Going from the english world to the plain world is NOT easy.. Neither is the opposite.. Joining a mennonite church may be what you are looking for and then if you still desire a more plain life style you can join up with the amish then.. Pray and see where God would want you to be..
Blessings..