All, I grew up in the Philadelphia area, so often saw/heard Pennsylvania Dutch folks who had come to Philly for different reasons. It always struck me that Penn Deitsch had many similarities to Schwowisch. I thought that I had read somewhere that the PD immigrated to America about the same time our DS ancestors traveled south to colonize the frontier. Anyone else ever hear that? I found this interesting link to the PD newspaper, which is still operational today. Its name "HIEWWE WIE DRIWWE" means "over here as over there." Those who can read Schwowisch might find this interesting, too. While I'm sure the PD language developed on its own once it was transported to USA, one can definitely see some similarities to Schwowisch. Whatya think? You won't hurt my feelings if you think I'm off my rocker! Enjoy! Lotte http://hiwwewiedriwwe.wordpress.com/