The term "Pennsylvania Dutch" is a colloquialism that refers to a specific group German people who live in a specific area of Pennsylvania. It separates them from the people who came from Holland and were called the Dutch. Dutch, pronounced with a long U is a phonetic spelling for the german "Deutsch". In the 17 and 1800's all spelling was phonetic. People wrote the letters for the sounds they heard. The "e" and the "S" were silent so people didn't spell the word with them. It is common, even today, for people who spell phonetically to write a long vowel using a single letter instead of a double letter combination. For instance, the word "rain" can be spelled "ran" phonetically. When reading phonetic spelling, being aware of the context is important, if you want what you are reading to make sense. As more and more people learned to read and write, people not familiar with the German word read "Dutch" with a short U, they way we say it today. The way we say the word today shows the evolution of our spoken language to conform with our written language through the use of our present day rules of pronunciation and spelling. How we say the word does not change the history of the people, either the Dutch or the PA Dutch. If anything, it helps us not to confuse the two groups, and neither group has become lost in the annals of American History. If you want to know my authority for making such a statement, I spent many years teaching phonics to children, and just as many years reading their phonetic spelling. I encouraged the children to phonetically spell words they couldn't be expected to know how to spell. Marilyn CT REDSKI9136@aol.com wrote: > > In a message dated 5/25/00 6:39:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, > o2bab@bedford.net writes: > > << Yes Ma'am. The Pennsylvania Dutch who are proud to be so in PA even today > - > and many still speak our form of German ARE NOT DUTCH FROM NETHERLANDS. >> > > Hi, I think you need to research your source material as well. And there is > no reason to shout at me. That is uncalled for. As far as being proud, I come > from 12 generations of PA, farmers in Chester Co. and I am very proud. And > yes the Dutch are from the Netherlands. I have also been PA-DUTCH, all my > life. And speaking a form of German, does not make it German. The true > Pa-Dutch are the Amish. And we all know they don't tell stories. And you must > not be Amish or you would not be speaking at all. So yes Ma'am, I think you > need to do some more research, before > deciding that you are the final say, in the matter. > > Thank You, > Mary Jane > > ============================== > Personalized Mailing Lists: never miss a connection again. > http://pml.rootsweb.com/ > Brought to you by RootsWeb.com.