Website design By BotEap.comEnglish as a world language

Website design By BotEap.comEnglish, with its increasing number of varieties, pidgins, and inflections, is now firmly established as a world language. It is currently spoken as a second or foreign language by more speakers than those who call it their first language. There are now more than three non-native speakers of English for every native speaker, and the number of non-native speakers of English continues to grow daily. “Never before has there been a language that has been spoken by more people as second than first,” said David Crystal, author of the book “English as a Global Language.” In the area where I grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, there is an interesting variety of the English language spoken by the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”

Website design By BotEap.comA difficult aspect of English speaking in Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties in south central Pennsylvania, where a large concentration of Amish, Mennonites, and other “Pennsylvania Dutch” sects live, is the manipulation of the grammatical elements of English. Here are some examples of the ways in which grammar and word order are handled in everyday speech in Pennsylvania Dutch. For “outsiders” – anyone other than Pennsylvania Dutch – these expressions of everyday speech can range from funny to surprising. Here are some of the many aspects of this variety of English.

Website design By BotEap.comIntricate grammatical forms

Website design By BotEap.com“He throws dad down the stairs with his hat.”

Explanation: Throw Daddy’s hat down the stairs. (I don’t care how old he is, don’t you dare touch the old Pope!)

Website design By BotEap.com“Go out and tie the dog and don’t forget to turn off the light.”

Website design By BotEap.comThis expression uses complicated grammar in addition to “Germanic” verbalizations. Here the verb “outen” means “to go out”. The adjective and noun are used in reverse order to other forms of Standard English.

Website design By BotEap.com“The owner says he will pay me ten dollars a day if I eat myself, but only five dollars if he eats me.”

Website design By BotEap.comExplanation: No, there is no cannibalism here! The worker will receive $ 10 a day for providing his own meals, but $ 5 a day if the owner has to provide the worker’s meal. (Wow! I’m glad we cleared that up!)

Website design By BotEap.com“He’s a pretty good man still, isn’t he?”

Explanation: He’s a good man (provider), right? (a label question form)

Website design By BotEap.comUse of specialized vocabulary

Website design By BotEap.comThe addition of specialized but “local” vocabulary is also done quite frequently, as demonstrated in these examples.

Website design By BotEap.com“Should I put the candy in a bite?” (A “toot” is a paper bag).

Website design By BotEap.comWhen talking about the fact that his father or grandfather is sick, a child might say:

“Dad is not that good; his food is gone and it doesn’t look that good on his face either.”

Website design By BotEap.comSpeaking of his son’s difficulties in school, a parent could be heard expressing the following feelings: “My son is not stupid. It’s not that he can’t learn, it’s just that after he learns it, he forgets it.”

Website design By BotEap.comIf you don’t speak “Pennsylvania Dutch” in one of its many forms, you may be told, “You don’t behave that well. You speak so gracefully as if a body can’t understand you.”

Website design By BotEap.comWhen talking about someone who does not read aloud well, in a meeting or at school, for example, people might say something like, “When you get up to read, you get confused.”

Website design By BotEap.comOr how about this fun little observation of someone else’s speech: “Don’t talk too fast, it runs too much when I think.”

Website design By BotEap.comPennsylvania Dutch Proverbs

Website design By BotEap.comSome interesting Pennsylvania Dutch proverbs include these offerings:

Website design By BotEap.com“Kissing wears out, cooking doesn’t”

Website design By BotEap.com“No woman can be happy with less than seven to cook”

Website design By BotEap.com“A plump wife and a big barn never hurt a man”

Website design By BotEap.com“He who has a secret does not dare to tell his wife”

Website design By BotEap.com“We get too old and too late, idiots”

Website design By BotEap.comThe state of the cornerstone

Website design By BotEap.comIn this region of the “Keystone state,” as Pennsylvania is called, this variety is often called “English ferhoodled” by the Pennsylvania Dutch themselves and by local “outsiders.” Famous for their frugal lifestyle and delicious fresh, natural cuisine, the Amish and other sects contribute to the state’s tourism. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to taste the crafts, food and “peculiar” language of this austere town. It is just another one of the many varieties of English that is continually developing as a global language.

Website design By BotEap.com“When you come, get out” When you are in the area, stop by. See, hear and experience Pennsylvania Dutch food and Dutch for yourself.

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