Mark L. Louden
Photo by Kent A. Sweitzer https://www.kentsweitzerphotography.com/.
Alfred L. Shoemaker, J. William Frey, and Don Yoder Professor of Germanic Linguistics
Griebsch Bascom Professor of German
General Information
Education
Employment
Translation/Interpretation/Cultural Mediation
Public Outreach Presentations
Awards and Grants
Editorial and Other Professional Activity
Publications
Presentations
Courses Taught
Graduate Students
Languages and Professional Memberships
For information on the B&W/burdock therapy for burns and severe wounds, click here.
Media
“Amish Community Coming Together after Deadly Crash in Clark County,” by Kaylee Staral, WTMJ 4, Milwaukee
“Happy Grundsaudaag! The Ancient Germanic History of Groundhog Day,” by Sophie Hardach, BBC, February 2, 2024
“Pennsylvania Courts Adds Its First Group of Pennsylvania Dutch Speakers to Its Interpreter Roster,” Gabriela Martínez, WITF/Harrisburg, January 5, 2024
“Serving Amish and Mennonite Communities in Rural Wisconsin: Getting to Know Diverse Bank Customers,” Cassandra Krause, Wisconsin Banker, September/October 2023, pp. 20–21, 23.
“‘Schwetzfescht’ – A Festival of Talking,” Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette, October 19, 2023, p. 14
“No, Amish Kids Aren’t Immune to Cancer, Diabetes and Autism – and They Aren’t Vaccine-Free Either,” AP News, Philip Marcelo, July 14, 2023
“Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” PA Ancestors, hosted by Denys Allen, April 12, 2023
“Switzerland and Midwest Connections: Shwitzer, the Swiss German of the Midwest,” Switzerland in the USA, February 22, 2023
“Where Does the ‘Dutch’ in ‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ REALLY Come From?”, Amish America, January 24, 2023
“Reconstructing Linguistic History: What Did Ontario’s Earliest Amish Speak?”, 2022–23 Bechtel Lecture, Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, ON, October 21, 2022
“Serving the Amish Training,” Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault, May 27, 2022
“How Do You Spell Fasnacht/Fastnacht? We Asked an Expert,” ABC27 WHTM, Harrisburg, PA, February 28, 2022.
“COVID in Context: Health Culture Among Yiddish and Pennsylvania Dutch Speakers,” panel discussion with Zackary Sholem Berger, Heather Munro, Mark Louden, and Cara Rock-Singer, sponsored by the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture and the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, January 27, 2022
“The Amish in Wisconsin,” Route 51, Wisconsin Public Radio, October 22, 2021
“10 Pennsylvania Dutch Words You Didn’t Know Were Unique to Lancaster County,” Noel Elvin, LNP/Lancaster Online, August 24, 2021
“Why Low Vaccination Rates Don’t Stop Tourism in Holmes County,” News 5 Cleveland, May 18, 2021
“German Heritage in Wisconsin,” interview with Ken Wang, Badger Herald Podcasts, March 2021
“JPAC: Mark Louden on Language & Plain Health Care,” Amish America, October 2, 2020
“A Historical Look at the Amish,” Allen Public Library, Allen, TX, September 14, 2020
“The Amish in Wisconsin,” Badger Talks LIVE, UW–Madison, September 2, 2o20
“Health and Well-Being Among the Amish,” Scientific Seminar, Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, August 26, 2020
“The Spotlight is on Lancaster’s Amish Community Again after Linda Stoltzfoos’ Disappearance; Experts Explain Just How Rare Events Like This Are,” Hannah Pollock, PennLive, July 17, 2020
“Caring for the Plain Community – Focus on COVID-19,” presentation with Katie Williams, MD, PhD; Project ECHO by UW Health and UW Department of Surgery, May 21, 2020
“Renowned Linguist Visits Southeast,” The Carillon, Steinbach, Manitoba, October 31, 2019
“Deal Ends Amish Woman’s Stand Against Immigration Photo,” Emma Cueto, Law360, June 2, 2019
“Hömma! Haste von Regiolekt gehört?”, Oberhessische Presse, September 17, 2018
“Mark Louden on Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language,” Amish America, March 14, 2018
“Horse-Buggy Rules Would Drive Amish Out of Wisconsin, Expert Says,” Karen Madden, The (Wisconsin Rapids) Daily Tribune, December 16, 2017
“Pennsylvania Dutch: The Fastest-Growing US Minority Language,” Dylan Lyons, Babbel Magazine, November 13, 2017
“I recognise every word, but I have no idea what you’re saying,” Celia Luterbacher, swissinfo.ch, November 1, 2017
“Promoting a Better Understanding of Amish Faith and Life,” Mark L. Louden, Wisconsin State Journal, May 6, 2017
“‘Pennsylvania Dutch’ Is Thriving in America,” Jack Brubaker, LNP/lancasteronline.com, August 23, 2016
Interview with me about my book originally recorded for the program PA Books (PCN/Pennsylvania Cable Network) that aired on May 15, 2016.
“Who Are the Amish and the Mennonites?” University of the Air, Wisconsin Public Radio, June 21, 2015
“UW Professor Straddles English, Amish, Mennonite Worlds,” Karen Herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 10, 2015
“German, Yiddish, and Pa. Dutch,” Jack Brubaker, Lancaster New Era/lancasteronline.com, August 2, 2013
General Information
Title: Alfred L. Shoemaker, J. William Frey, and Don Yoder Professor of Germanic Linguistics
Mailing Address: Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic, 818 Van Hise Hall, 1220 Linden Drive, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI 53706; email: mllouden@wisc.edu
Since I divide my time on campus between the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic and the Max Kade Institute for German American Studies, email is the best way to contact me. The office for the MKI-sponsored Pennsylvania Dutch Documentation Project, which I oversee, is 413 University Club.
Education
1988 Ph.D. in Germanic Linguistics, Cornell University. Dissertation Title: Bilingualism and Syntactic Change in Pennsylvania German (Committee Chair: Herbert L. Kufner)
1987 M.A. in Germanic Linguistics, Cornell University
1984 A.B. (Distinction in All Subjects) in German Area Studies, Cornell University (including study at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, 1982–1983)
Academic Employment
2023–present Griebsch Bascom Professor of German
2018–present Alfred L. Shoemaker, J. William Frey, and Don Yoder Professor of Germanic Linguistics
2016–present Director (Co-director, 2012–2016), Max Kade Institute for German American Studies, UW–Madison
2003–present Professor, Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic, UW–Madison; Affiliate Faculty Member, Religious Studies Program (since 2015); Member, Executive Committees for the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies (since 2000), the Max Kade Institute for German American Studies (since 2000), and the Language Sciences Program (former Department of Linguistics; since 2016)
2009–2017 Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of German, UW–Madison
2012–2013 Chair, Steering Committee for the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture
2007–2008 Resident Director, Academic Year in Freiburg Program
2002–2006 Director, Max Kade Institute for German American Studies, UW–Madison
2000–2003 Associate Professor with tenure, Department of German, UW–Madison
1994–2000 Associate Professor with tenure, Department of Germanic Studies, UT–Austin
1988–1994 Assistant Professor, Department of Germanic Studies, UT–Austin
1985–1988 Teaching Assistant, Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics, Cornell University
Visiting/Exchange Teaching Experience
June 2017 Visiting Scholar, Forschungsstelle Deutscher Sprachatlas, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Summer 2016 DAAD Guest Professor, Deutsches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Summer 2014 DAAD Guest Professor, Deutsches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Summer 2012 DAAD Guest Professor, Deutsches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Summer 2004 DAAD Guest Professor, Institut für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Summer 2002 Exchange Professor, Institut für Anglistik, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Translation/Interpretation/Cultural Mediation
2011–present Pennsylvania Dutch–English/English–Pennsylvania Dutch translation, court interpretation, and cultural mediation assisting professionals in child protective and social services (including in forensic interviews), health care, speech-language pathology, agricultural extension, the legal system (civil and criminal cases), and law enforcement in Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin
2020–present Board member, Care 4 U Clinic, Dalton, WI
2018–present Consultant to Amish committee charged with mediating between health care providers and Plain communities in Wisconsin, with a special focus on the B&W/burdock method of care for burns and severe wounds
2018–present Collaborator on grant project, Integrated Metabolomics, Microbial Genomics, and Immune Profiling in Early Infancy to Identify Biomarkers for Allergic Disease Prevention, PI Dr. Christine Seroogy, Collaborative Health Sciences Program, Wisconsin Partnership Program, UW School of Medicine and Public Health; duties include consulting on the creation of questionnaires to be administered to Amish participants in a study investigating how farm-related microbial exposures in infancy are related to protection from allergic diseases later in life; assisting with interviews; helping to disseminate information on the findings of the study
2015–present Translation and proofreading of German-language materials for use in Old Colony Mennonite schools in Mexico in conjunction with the Old Colony Mennonite Support Project
2014–present Collaborator and cultural advisor, Improving Newborn Screening in Wisconsin Amish and Mennonite Communities project, UW School of Medicine and Public Health
Public Outreach Presentations
Each year, as part of my work on behalf of the Max Kade Institute, I deliver between twenty and twenty-five public outreach presentations to community groups, mainly in Wisconsin. Many of these are sponsored by Badger Talks. Here is a list of the topics on which I have presented since 2015.
“African Americans and the German Language in America”
“Amish Burn and Wound Care”
“The Amish and Health Care”
“Amish Health and Well-Being”
“The Amish and Their Languages”
“The Amish in Wisconsin”
“The Anabaptist Legacy”
“Communication Between Plain People and Health Care Providers”
“COVID-19 and the Amish”
“Cultural Considerations When Caring for the Amish”
“Genetic and Metabolic Disorders in Plain Communities”
“The German Language in Wisconsin”
“The German Presence in Wisconsin”
“German American Dialect Humor”
“Germanic Dialect Humor”
“Germanic Influences in Milwaukee and Wisconsin”
“Germans and Native Americans in Wisconsin”
“Health and Well-Being Among the Amish”
“Health Care Advocacy for Plain People”
“A Historical Look at the Amish”
“Honesty and Plain Culture”
“Improving the Delivery of Health Care to Wisconsin Plain Communities”
“Languages of the Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites”
“The Legacy of the Radical Reformation in the United States”
“The Luxembourg Presence in Wisconsin”
“MKI and Swiss American Research”
“Neighbors Past and Present: The Wisconsin German Experience”
“Pages from the Past: Stories from the Watertown Weltbürger”
“The Pennsylvania Dutch Language”
“The Place of Faith in Wisconsin German Communities”
“Plain Health Culture”
“Reading the Old German Script” (all-day workshop)
“Serving Amish and Mennonite Communities”
“The Structure of Pennsylvania Dutch”
“Was ist Pennsylvaniadeutsch?”
“What Did the Founding Families Speak? Tracing the Roots of Tavistock Deitsch”
“What Is Pennsylvania Dutch?”
“What Is Yiddish?”
“Who Are the Amish?”
“Wisconsin’s German Americans”
“Yiddish in Wisconsin: A View From the English-language Press”
Awards and Grants
2023–2028 Griebsch Bascom Professorship, UW–Madison
2019–2020 Project Director for “Neighbors Past and Present: The Wisconsin German Experience,” a traveling exhibit featuring fourteen informational poster-banners combined with local programming, prepared with Max Kade Institute Associate Director Antje Petty and Librarian/Archivist Kevin Kurdylo, Wisconsin Humanities Council Major Grant ($10,000)
2019 Annual Award of Merit, Goschenhoppen Historians
2019 Outstanding Achievement Award, Society for German-American Studies
2019 Dale W. Brown Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist Studies (2017) for Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
2018 Award for Outstanding Pennsylvania German Activities, German-Pennsylvanian Association/Deutsch-Pennsylvanischer Arbeitskreis
2018 College of Letters & Science Faculty Advising Award, UW–Madison
2018 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) Named Professorship, provided by the University of Wisconsin–Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
2016 Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Acceptance speech: “Was is deitsch? Was ist deutsch?”; laudation by Prof. Dr. Peter Auer; [English-language press release accessible here; English translation of acceptance speech accessible here]
2014 Statewide Outreach Incentive Grant, UW–Madison, to present “The Amish of Wisconsin: A New Wave of Immigrants to the Badger State,” Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire (February 15, 2014); UW–Oshkosh (March 4, 2014)
2011 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, UW–Madison
Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011 Honored Instructor Award, University Housing, UW–Madison
2006–2008 Vilas Associate research award for book project Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language, UW–Madison
2003–2007 Principal Investigator, Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant for American Languages project ($234,000); final report in .pdf format available on request
2003 Course development grant for Yiddish Language and Culture, Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies
2002–present Fellow, UW–Madison Teaching Academy
1995–1996 President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award, UT–Austin
1992 Summer Research Award, Dean’s Office, College of Liberal Arts, UT–Austin.
1989 University Research Institute Summer Research Award, UT–Austin, Project title: Bilingualism and Syntactic Change in the Pennsylvania German of Old Order Amish Communities in Texas
1987–1988 Olin Mathieson Charitable Trust Fellowship, Cornell University
1986 Clark Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University
Editorial and Other Professional Activity
2019–present Co-editor, Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik
2019–present Co-editor, Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities
2021–2023 President, Society for German American Studies
2019–2021 Vice President, Society for German American Studies
2014–present Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Cambridge University Press
2013–2019 Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies
2011–2022 Member, Editorial Board, Jahrbuch für Internationale Germanistik
2006–present Member, Advisory Board, Sprachwissenschaft
2005–present Member, Editorial Board, Yearbook of German American Studies
2003–present Member, Editorial Board, Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik
2001–present Member, Editorial Board, Monatshefte
2005–2016 Member, International Advisory Board for the Institut für Deutsche Sprache, Mannheim
2004–2014 Consulting Editor, Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Cambridge University Press
2002–2006 Series Editor, Studies of the Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison
2000–2004 Chair of Editorial Board, Journal of Germanic Linguistics, Cambridge University Press
1999–2005 Member, Advisory Board, General Linguistics
Book
2016. Pennsylvania Dutch: The Story of an American Language. Johns Hopkins University Press. Pp. xxii, 473. Paperback edition published in 2019. Reviews: Canadian Mennonite, Vol. 20, Issue 12; Pennsylvania Heritage, Summer 2016, p. 42; Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage, July 2016, vol. 39, no. 3, p. 125; LancasterOnline, August 26, 2016; Mennonite World Review, October 10, 2016; H-TGS, H-Net Reviews, November 2016; Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 4 (2) (Autumn 2016): 222–227; Communal Societies 36 (2): 182–187; Journal of Germanic Linguistics 29 (2): 195–204; Mennonite Quarterly Review 91 (2): 267–269; Journal of American History 104 (1): 171–172; Journal of Mennonite Studies 35: 422–424; Zeitschrift für Rezensionen zur germanistischen Sprachwissenschaft (published online 2018-04-09); Rural Sociology 83 (2): 470–477; Yearbook of German-American Studies 52: 314-317; Anabaptist Forum 5 (6): 25; Amerikastudien / American Studies 63.2; Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies 88.4: 607–609
Edited Book
2001 A Word Atlas of Pennsylvania German, by Lester W. J. Seifert†, ed. by Mark L. Louden, Howard Martin, and Joseph C. Salmons. Max Kade Institute.
Translated Books
2018 Die erschte dausend Wadde in Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch, translation into Pennsylvania Dutch of First Thousand Words by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright, with Walter Sauer and Michael Werner. Edition Tintenfass.
2006 Der Glee Prins, translation into Pennsylvania Dutch of Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Edition Tintenfass.
Compact Disc and Companion Booklet
2007 German Words – American Voices / Deutsche Wörter – Amerikanische Stimmen, Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison. This is a collection of twelve sound clips of German-American dialects translated into English and German, with commentaries and an introductory essay.
Articles
forthcoming “Vowel Lowering, Consonant Cluster Simplification, and Koineization in the History of Pennsylvania Dutch,” to appear in Investigating West Germanic Languages: Studies in Honor of Robert B. Howell, ed. by Jennifer Hendriks and B. Richard Page, John Benjamins.
2022 “Shoemaker, Frey, and Yoder and the Pennsylvania Dutch Idea,” Culture Work: Folklore for the Public Good, ed. by Tim Frandy and B. Marcus Cederström, University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 267–275.
2020 “Plain Talk about Health: Linguistic Aspects of Mediation between Amish and Mennonites and Health Care Professionals,” Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities 1:1:1–12. [PDF]
2020 “Uniquely Other and Uniquely American: Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Identity,” The Polymath Intellectual: A Festschrift in Honor of Professor Robert D. King, ed. by Patricia Casey Sutcliffe, pp. 41–55, Agarita Press.
2020 “Minority Germanic Languages,” The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics, ed. by Michael T. Putnam and B. Richard Page, pp. 807–832, Cambridge University Press. [PDF]
2019 “The English ‘Infusion’ in Pennsylvania German,” English in the German-Speaking World, ed. by Raymond Hickey, pp. 384–407, Cambridge University Press. [PDF]
2019 “Deutsch als Minderheitensprache in Nordamerika,” Sprache und Raum – Ein Internationales Handbuch der Sprachvariation, Bd. 4, Deutsch, ed. by Joachim Herrgen and Jürgen Erich Schmidt, pp. 1135–1153, De Gruyter. [PDF]
2017 “The Pennsylvania German Language,” Pennsylvania Germans: An Interpretive Encyclopedia, ed. by Simon J. Bronner and Joshua R. Brown, pp. 79–107, Johns Hopkins University Press. [PDF]
2012 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch in Geschichte und Gegenwart,” Pfälzisch in aller Welt, ed. by Jörg Meier and Albrecht Greule, pp. 59–76, Weidler Verlag.
2011 (with Cora Lee Kluge) “German-American Studies: An Expansive—and Expanding—Field,” Paths Crossing: Essays in German-American Studies, ed. by Cora Lee Kluge, pp. 1–12. Peter Lang.
2011 “Amerikanisches Missingsch: Syntaktische Folgen des Kontakts zwischen Niederdeutsch und Hochdeutsch in Wisconsin,” Dynamik des Dialekts – Akten des 3. Kongresses der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des Deutschen (IGDD), ed. by Elvira Glaser, Jürgen Erich Schmidt, and Natascha Frey, pp. 207–220, Franz Steiner. [PDF]
2011 “Synchrony and Diachrony of Verb Clusters in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Studies on German-Language Islands, ed. by Michael T. Putnam, pp. 165–185, John Benjamins. [PDF]
2011 (with lead author Jürg Fleischer) “Das Amish Swiss German im nordöstlichen Indiana: eine alemannisch-pfälzische Mischmundart?” Alemannische Dialektologie – Wege in die Zukunft, ed. by H. Christen, S. Germann, W. Haas, N. Montefiori, and H. Ruef, pp. 231–244, Franz Steiner.
2009 “Das Wisconsin-Pommersche im Spiegel deutsch-amerikanischer Sprachvarietäten,” Niederdeutsches Jahrbuch 132: 165–176.
2008 “Die Alde un Neie Zeide: Old and New Times for the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Der Reggeboge: Journal of the Pennsylvania German Society 42.2.3–18.
2008 “Synthesis in Pennsylvania German Language and Culture,” Die deutsche Präsenz in den USA / The German Presence in the U.S.A., ed. by Josef Raab and Jan Wirrer, pp. 671–699, Lit Verlag.
2006 “Pennsylvania German in the Twenty-first Century,” Sprachinselwelten – The World of Language Islands, ed. by Nina Berend and Elisabeth Knipf-Komlósi, pp. 89–107, Peter Lang.
2006 “Patterns of Language Maintenance in German-American Speech Islands,” Studies on Contact Linguistics: Essays in Honor of Glenn G. Gilbert, ed. by Janet Fuller and Linda Thornburg, pp. 127–145, Peter Lang.
2006 “Edward H. Rauch’s Pennsylvania Dutch Hand-Book,” Preserving Heritage: A Festschrift for C. Richard Beam, ed. by Joshua R. Brown and Leroy T. Hopkins, Jr. Yearbook of German-American Studies, Supplemental Issue, Vol. 2, pp. 111–122.
2005 “The Logic of Nonstandard Syntax” (Discussion Article), Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik 72: 167–182. [PDF]
2005 “Grundzüge der pennsylvaniadeutschen Satzstruktur,” Moderne Dialekte, neue Dialektologie. Akten des 1. Kongresses der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des Deutschen 2003 (ZDL Beiheft 130), ed. by E. Eggers, J. E. Schmidt, and D. Stellmacher, pp. 253–265, Franz Steiner Verlag.
2005 (with coauthor B. Richard Page) “Stable Bilingualism and Phonological (Non)Convergence in Pennsylvania German,” ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, ed. by J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad, and J. MacSwan, pp. 1384–1392, Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
2003 “Edward H. Rauch,” Pennsylvania German Review, Fall 2003, 27–40.
2003 “An Eighteenth-century View of Pennsylvania German and Its Speakers,” German Language Varieties Worldwide: Internal and External Perspectives, ed. by William D. Keel and Klaus J. Mattheier, pp. 69–85, Peter Lang.
2003 “Minority-Language ‘Maintenance by Inertia’: Pennsylvania German among Nonsectarian Speakers,” “Standardfragen”: Festschrift für Klaus J. Mattheier zum 60. Geburtstag, ed. by Jannis Androutsopoulos and Evelyn Ziegler, pp. 121–137, Peter Lang.
2001 “Sociolinguistic Views of I. B. Singer,” The Hidden Isaac Bashevis Singer, ed. by Seth L. Wolitz, pp. 62–75, University of Texas Press.
2001 “The Development of Pennsylvania German Linguistics within the Context of General Dialectology and Linguistic Theory,” A Word Atlas of Pennsylvania German, by Lester W. J. Seifert†, pp. 7–52, Max Kade Institute.
2000 “African-Americans and Minority Language Maintenance in the United States,” Journal of Negro History 85: 223–240. [PDF]
2000 “Umlaut, Ablaut, and Phonetic Symbolism in German,” General Linguistics 37: 1–22.
2000 “Contact-Induced Phonological Change in Yiddish: Another Look at Weinreich’s Riddles,” Diachronica 17: 85–110. [PDF]
1999 “Incomplete L1-Acquisition: The Morphosyntax of Kaspar Hauser,” Proceedings of the Boston University Conference on Language Development 23, pp. 419–430, Cascadilla Press.
1997 “Linguistic Structure and Sociolinguistic Identity in Pennsylvania German Society,” Languages and Lives: Essays in Honor of Werner Enninger, ed. by James R. Dow and Michèle Wolff, pp. 79–91, Peter Lang.
1994 “Patterns of Sociolinguistic Variation in Pennsylvania German,” The German Language in America, 1683-1991, ed. by Joseph C. Salmons, pp. 284–306, Max Kade Institute
1994 “Syntactic Change in Multilingual Speech Islands,” Sprachinselforschung: Eine Gedenkschrift für Hugo Jedig, ed. by Nina Berend and Klaus J. Mattheier, pp. 73–91, Peter Lang.
1993 “Variation in Pennsylvania German Syntax: A Diachronic Perspective,” Proceedings of the International Congress of Dialectologists 1990, Bamberg, FRG-Volume II, Historical Dialectology and Linguistic Change, ed. by Wolfgang Viereck, pp. 169–179, Franz Steiner Verlag.
1992 “German as an Object-Verb Language: A Unification of Typological and Generative Approaches,” On Germanic Linguistics: Issues and Methods, ed. by I. Rauch, G. F. Carr, and R. L. Kyes, pp. 217–231, Mouton de Gruyter.
1992 “Old Order Amish Verbal Behavior as a Reflection of Cultural Convergence,” Diachronic Studies on the Languages of the Anabaptists, ed. by K. Burridge and W. Enninger, pp. 264–278, Universitätsverlag Dr. N. Brockmeyer.
1992 “Language Contact and the Relationship of Form and Meaning in German,” Recent Developments in Germanic Linguistics, ed. by Rosina Lippi-Green, pp. 115–125, John Benjamins.
1991 “The Image of the Old Order Amish: General and Sociolinguistic Stereotypes,” National Journal of Sociology 5: 111–142.
1990 “Verb Raising and the Position of the Finite Verb in Pennsylvania German,” Linguistic Inquiry 21: 470–477.
1989 “Syntactic Variation and Change in Pennsylvania German,” Studies on the Languages and Verbal Behavior of the Pennsylvania Germans, Volume 2 (ZDL Beiheft 64), ed. by W. Enninger, J. Raith, and K.-H. Wandt, pp. 29–40, Franz Steiner Verlag.
1987 “Bilingualism and Diglossia: The Case of Pennsylvania German,” Leuvense Bijdragen 76: 17–36.
Review Articles
2016 “A Quiet Diversity in the Land: Mennonites in Ontario,” Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 4(1): 106–111.
2003 “Child Language Acquisition and Language Change,” Diachronica 20: 167–183.
Book Reviews and Notices
2023 Review of Yiddish and the Field of Translation: Agents, Strategies, Concepts and Discourses Across Time and Space, ed. by Olaf Terpitz, in cooperation with Marianne Windsperger, Monatshefte 115: 667–670.
2022 Review of Living in the World: How Conservative Mennonites Preserved the Anabaptism of the Sixteenth Century by Ronald C. Jantz, Journal of Mennonite Studies 40 (2), pp. 211–212.
2021 Review of Translingual Inheritance: Languge Diversity in Early National Philadelphia by Elizabeth Kimball, Pennsylvania Heritage 48 (2) (Spring 2022), pp. 40–41.
2021 Review of Painter of the Stars: The Life and Work of Milton J. Hill (1887–1972) by Lee S. Heffner and Patrick J. Donmoyer, Pennsylvania Heritage 47 (3) (Summer 2021), pp. 40–41.
2020 Review of Babel in the Atlantic, ed. by Bethany Wiggin, Journal of British Studies 59: 683–685.
2019 Review of German Language: Cradle of Our Heritage, by Amos B. Hoover, Mennonite Quarterly Review 93: 424–426.
2017 Review of Martyrs Mirror: A Social History, by David L. Weaver-Zercher, Yearbook of German-American Studies 52: 282–285.
2017 Review of Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt, by Ulrich Ammon, Monatshefte 109: 673–675.
2017 Review of Phraseme im bilingualen Diskurs. “All of a sudden geht mir ein Licht auf”, by Mareike Keller, Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik 83: 228–229.
2016 Review of Luther und die deutsche Sprache: 500 Jahre deutsche Sprachgeschichte im Lichte der neueren Forschung, by Werner Besch, Monatshefte 108: 635–637.
2016 Review of A Harmony of the Spirits: Translation and the Language of Community in Early Pennsylvania, by Patrick M. Erben, Yearbook of German-American Studies 50 (2015): 223–226.
2015 Review of Why Cows Need Names and Other Secrets of Amish Farms, by Randy James, Oral History Review 42: 394–396.
2015 Review of Citizens in a Strange Land: German-American Broadsides in North America, 1730–1830, by Hermann Wellenreuther, MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2014–15.
2014 Review of Two Troubled Souls: An Eighteenth-Century Couple’s Spiritual Journey in the Atlantic World, by Aaron Spencer Fogleman, Yearbook of German-American Studies 49 (2014): 258–260.
2014 Review of Deutsch-amerikanische Kalender des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts: Bibliographie und Kommentar / German-American Almanacs of the 18th and 19th Centuries: Bibliography and Commentary, ed. by York-Gothart Mix, MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2014.
2013 Review of The Catholic Bohemian German of Ellis County, Kansas: A Unique Bavarian Dialect, by Gabriele Lunte, Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik 80: 103–105.
2012 Review of The Chosen Folks: Jews on the Frontier of Texas, by Bryan Edward Stone, Yearbook of German-American Studies 47: 132–135.
2009 Review of Jewish and Non-Jewish Creators of “Jewish” Languages, with Special Attention to Judaized Arabic, Chinese, German, Greek, Persian, Portuguese, Slavic (Modern Hebrew/Yiddish), Spanish, and Karaite, and Semitic Hebrew/Ladino, by Paul Wexler, Zeitschrift für Dialektologie und Linguistik 76: 258–260.
2004 Review of Crossing the Divide: Language Transition among Canadian Mennonite Brethren, 1940–1970, by Gerald C. Ediger; Language and Language Use of the Amish and of Mennonite Groups of Swiss-German Origin, ed. by Werner Enninger et al., Mennonite Quarterly Review 78: 317.
2002 Notice for A Short History of Structural Linguistics, by Peter Matthews, Diachronica 19: 214.
2002 Notice for Step by Step: Essays in Honor of Howard Lasnik, ed. by Roger Martin et al., Diachronica 19: 213–214.
2002 Notice for Angemessene Strukturen: Systemorganisation in Phonologie, Morphologie und Syntax, ed. by Andreas Bittner et al., Diachronica 19: 208.
2002 Review of Images of Language: German Attitudes to European Languages from 1500 to 1800, by William Jervis Jones, Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences 38: 200–201.
2000 Notice for Morphology-Driven Syntax: A Theory of V to I Raising and pro-Drop, by Bernhard Wolfgang Rohrbacher, Diachronica 17: 479.
2000 Review of Deutsch kontrastiv: typologisch-vergleichende Untersuchungen zur deutschen Grammatik, ed. by Heide Wegener, Studies in Language 24: 723–729.
2000 Notice for Der monolinguale und bilinguale Erwerb von Infinitivkonstruktionen: Ein Vergleich von Deutsch und Englisch, by Ira Gawlitzek-Maiwald, Language 76: 726.
2000 Notice for Syntax des Bairischen: Studien zur Grammatik einer natürlichen Sprache, by Helmut Weiß, Language 76: 724–725.
2000 Notice for Lexikalische Kategorien und Merkmale, ed. by Elisabeth Löbel and Gisela Rauh, Language 76: 725–726.
2000 Review of Sprachwandel und Sprachmischung im Jiddischen, by Eckhard Eggers, Diachronica 16: 363–368.
2000 Notice for The Syntax of Subordination, by Dagmar Haumann, Language 76: 218–219.
2000 Notice for Deiktikon, Artikel, Nominalphrase: Zur Emergenz syntaktischer Struktur, by Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, Language 76: 217–218.
2000 Notice for The Acquisition of Dutch, ed. by Annick De Houwer and Steven Gillis, Language 76: 217.
1999 Review of Einführung in die Dialektologie des Deutschen, by Hermann Niebaum and Jürgen Macha, Michigan Germanic Studies 25: 83–87.
1996 Review of Language Change and Language Structure: Older Germanic Languages in a Comparative Perspective, ed. by T. Swan, E. Mørck, and O. J. Westvik, American Journal of Germanic Linguistics and Literatures 8: 317–322
1995 Review of Dialektsyntax, ed. by W. Abraham and J. Bayer, Studies in Language 19: 264–273.
Other Publications and Blog Posts
2023 “Cultural Competence and Humility in Healthcare: Lessons from Burns and Wounds,” The Anabaptist Health Journal, October/November 2023, pp. 18–22.
2022 “The Luxembourg Presence in Wisconsin,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Spring 2022
2021 “German Immigration to South America,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2021
2021 “African Americans and the German Language in America,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Summer 2021
2021 “Yiddish and Pennsylvania Dutch Among the Hasidim and Amish,” Anabaptist Historians blog, June 17, 2021
2021 “Jan Wirrer und American Low German,” Korrespondenzblatt des Vereins für niederdeutsche Sprachforschung, Heft 128, pp. 133–135.
2021 “Humility and the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Anabaptist Historians blog, January 22, 2021
2020 “The German-American Press and Women’s Voting Rights,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2020
2020 “Introducing the Wirrer Collection of American Low German,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2020
2020 “A Pennsylvania Dutch Voice during the 1918–19 Flu Pandemic,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Summer 2020
2020 “Standard German among Traditional Anabaptists,” Anabaptist Historians blog, August 6, 2020
2020 “A Visit to a Mennonite Community in Germany, 1881,” Anabaptist Historians blog, March 6, 2020
2020 “Serving Plain Communities in Wisconsin,” with Amos J. Herschberger, EMS Professionals, January-February 2020, pp. 38–41. [PDF]
2019 “Language Shift among Weaverland Conference Mennonites,” Anabaptist Historians blog, September 3, 2019
2019 “Anabaptists and Minority Languages,” Anabaptist Historians blog, May 16, 2019
2019 “Reading the Signs of Nature in Traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Culture,” Anabaptist Historians blog, February 7, 2019
2018 Short essays on German and German-American linguistics topics accessible at language.mki.wisc.edu/essays: European Roots of German-American Dialects; German as the Official Language of the US; German Dialects in Wisconsin; German in Contact with English; German Language in Print, Church, and Schools; German Print and Handwriting; High and Low German; Ich bin ein Berliner; Lëtzebuergesch and Swiss German in Wisconsin; Pennsylvania Dutch; Sauerkraut By Any Other Name; Texas German; World War I and the German Language in America
2018 “The Language Nonproblem of the Old Orders,” Anabaptist Historians blog, October 25, 2018
2018 “I’m likin’ Pennsylvania Dutch,” Anabaptist Historians blog, July 12, 2018
2018 “Sauerkraut By Any Other Name,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Spring 2018.
2018 “Pennsylvania Dutch and the Horning Mennonites,” Anabaptist Historians blog, April 17, 2018
2018 “Samuel Ernst and the German Language,” Anabaptist Historians blog, January 4, 2018
2017 (with Gretchen Spicer and Jane Crawford Peterson) “Plain Talk About Providing Health Care to Plain Communities,” Genetics in Wisconsin, March 2017
2017 “Mennonites, Amish, and the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Anabaptist Historians blog, October 6, 2017
2016 “A Trip to the Haslibacher Farm,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2016–2017
2015 “A Poetic Pennsylvania Dutch Voice During World War I,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2015
2010 “Germanistik in den USA,” written with Thomas Lovik, Germanistik und Deutschunterricht in 9 Ländern, a biannual review of German studies worldwide published by the Institut für Deutsche Sprache–Mannheim, pp. 61–65.
2009 “Research Notes: Dialect Shift in Freistadt, Wisconsin,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2009
2008 “They Thought He Was a ‘Kraut’,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2008
2008 “Germanistik in den USA,” written with Thomas Lovik. Germanistik und Deutschunterricht in 11 Ländern, a biannual review of German studies worldwide published by the Institut für Deutsche Sprache–Mannheim, pp. 75–80.
2008 Obituary article for William G. Moulton, Language 84.1.161–169.
2007 “Eine nordamerikanische ‘Heemet’,”Alemannisch dunkt üs guet, Heft 3/4, 2007, pp. 19–21.
2007 “Amish and Mennonite Communities and Villages” (Encyclopedia Entry), The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia ed. by Richard Sisson, Christian Zacher, and Andrew Cayton, p. 632. Indiana University Press.
2006 “A Spiritual Journey” (Introductory Essay), Mennonites in Texas: The Quiet in the Land, by Laura L. Camden and Susan Gaetz Duarte, pp. 13–23. Texas A&M University Press.
2005 How German Is American? educational poster and companion booklet, coauthored with Cora Lee Kluge, Kevin Kurdylo, and Antje Petty. Max Kade Institute
2004 “Elias Molee and the Dream of an International Language,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2004
2004 “Yiddish in Milwaukee,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2004
2003 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch,” Der Sprachdienst 6/03
2003 “Teaching German in Early America,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Winter 2003
2003 “Howling with the Wolves in Wisconsin,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Fall 2003
2003 “Two German-American Urban Legends,” MKI Friends Newsletter, Spring 2003
2000 Memorial essay for Edgar C. Polomé, coauthored with Carol F. Justus and Robert D. King, American Journal of Germanic Linguistics and Literatures 12:181–186.
1990 Translation of Die Litanei by Ludwig Soumagne into Pennsylvania Dutch, Verlag van Acken, pp. 76–77.
Presentations (since 2000)
2023–2024
4/24 “Quantifying the Semantic Influence of English on Pennsylvania Dutch,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference 28, Indiana University Bloomington
4/24 “Elias H. Good and the Pennsylvania Dutch Language in Ontario,” 48th Annual Symposium of the Society for German American Studies, University of Texas at Austin
3/24 “The German Language in America: Bilingualism and Language Contact,” workshop, Ph.D. programme in Linguistics, Università di Verona, Italy
3/24 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century,” Furman University
2/24 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century,” University of Arkansas
2022–2023
6/23 “Sprache und Identität in der pennsylvaniadeutschen Gesellschaft,” Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg
5/23 “Treating Burns in Members of the Plain Community,” American Burn Association Annual Meeting, Dallas, co-presented with Lee D. Faucher, MD
4/23 “Ernest G. Gehman and the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Society for German-American Studies 47th Annual Symposium, Alexandria, VA
4/23 “Koineization in Early Pennsylvania Dutch: Evidence From Ontario,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–29, Banff
11/22 “Pennsylvania Dutch: A North American Language with Palatine German Migration Background,” University of Bamberg
10/22 “Reconstructing Linguistic History: What Did Ontario’s Earliest Amish Speak?”, 2022-23 Bechtel Lecture in Anabaptist-Mennonite Studies, Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo
10/22 “Communication Between Plain People and Health Care Providers,” Virtual Translational Medicine Conference, Plain Community Health Consortium
2021–2022
7/22 “‘Fer Deitsch schwetze musschte englisch denke’ – Semantisches Lehngut im Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” 7. Kongress der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des Deutschen (IGDD), Universität Salzburg
6/22 “The B&W Movement and Plain Anabaptist Culture,” The Amish and Their Neighbors: A Multidisciplinary Conference, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
6/22 “Neighboring Languages: Pennsylvania Dutch–English Bilingualism in Plain Society,” The Amish and Their Neighbors: A Multidisciplinary Conference, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
4/22 “‘And the cow jumped over the … fence?’ The Origins of a German-American Linguistic Meme and Denglish in America,” Society for German-American Studies 46th Annual Symposium, University of Iowa
4/22 “Language Maintenance Among Mennonites in South and North America,” Nineteenth-Century Echoes: German Explorers and Settlers in South America Symposium, Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison
10/21 “The B&W/Burdock Leaf Therapy for the Treatment of Burns and Severe Wounds,” 2021 Virtual Translational Medicine Conference, Plain Community Health Consortium
10/21 “Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Identity at the Turn of the 20th Century,” Rootedness and Acculturation: Experiences from German Immigrant Communities in the USA (1883–1918), Université Bordeaux Montaigne
7/21 “Entwicklungstendenzen im heutigen Pennsylvaniadeutsch,” XIV. Kongress der Internationalen Vereinigung für Germanistik, Palermo
6/21, 8/21 “The Health Culture of Plain Anabaptist Groups: Focus on Burn and Wound Care,” UW School of Medicine and Public Health, Depts. of Surgery and Pediatrics Grand Rounds, copresented with Lee D. Faucher, MD
2020–2021
4/21 “Linguistic Aspects of the Writings of Albert F. W. Grimm,” Society for German-American Studies 45th Annual Symposium, UW–Madison
10/20 “Serving the Amish,” National Association of Social Workers–Wisconsin Chapter, Annual Conference, Social Workers Celebrating Courage, Hope, & Leadership
9/20 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch,” University of Bern
2019–2020
5/20 “Das Pennsylvaniadeutsche im Spiegel deutsch-amerikanischer Sprachvarietäten,” University of Zurich
11/19 “Plain Talk about Health Care and the Amish: Focus on Cancer,” University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Fall Cancer Conference – Rural Cancer Patients, Real Cancer Issues
10/19 “The Meaning of the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Mennonite Studies Program, University of Winnipeg
9/19 “A Sturdy Linguistic Hybrid: Pennsylvania Dutch, Past and Present,” Genealogy and Culture Conference 2019, Palatines to America Pennsylvania Chapter and Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, Kutztown University
9/19 “The Meaning of the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Brown Book Award Lecture, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
2018–2019
6/19 “Plain Talk About Health: Linguistic Aspects of Mediation between Amish and Mennonites and Health Care Professionals,” Health and Well-Being in Amish Society: A Multi-Disciplinary Conference, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
6/19 “Negotiating with Modern Medicine: Insights from Amish Burn and Wound Care,” Health and Well-Being in Amish Society: A Multi-Disciplinary Conference, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College
5/19 “Tracing the Roots of Midwestern Pennsylvania Dutch: Data from Somerset County, PA,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–25, University of Iowa
4/19 “Dialogues in Early German-American Newspapers,” Society for German-American Studies Annual Symposium, Madison, WI
4/19 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century,” Small Languages, Big Ideas conference, University of Zurich
10/18 “Pennsylvania Dutch, 1968–2018,” The German Language in (North) America Revisited symposium, University of Texas at Austin.
10/18 “Germanic Dialect Humor in American Popular Culture,” Migration in Comics and Graphic Narratives conference, University of Minnesota
9/18 “From Fakelore to Folklore to Folklife: Shoemaker, Frey, and Yoder and the Pennsylvania Dutch Idea,” Folklore and the Wisconsin Idea symposium, UW–Madison
9/18 “Pennsylvaniahochdeutsch: landschaftliches Hochdeutsch in Amerika,” 6. Kongress der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des Deutschen (IGDD), Philipps-Universität Marburg
2017–2018
5/18 “A German-English Mishmash? Quantifying Lexical Borrowing in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–24, Penn State University
3/18 “The Pennsylvania Dutch Language in the 21st Century,” German Department, University of Iowa
10/17 “How Gemixt Are the Pickles? Germanic Dialect Humor in America,” Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, UW–Madison
9/17 “Interkulturalität in der Sprache: Kontakt zwischen Deutsch und Englisch in den USA,” Beijing Humboldt Forum, China. [My last name in Chinese: 劳 ‘láo’ 盾 ‘dùn’.]
2016–2017
7/17 “The Story of the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, Lancaster, PA
6/17 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch im 21. Jahrhundert,” Universität Erfurt
4/17 “Lutherans and Reformed and the Maintenance of Pennsylvania Dutch,” Annual Symposium, Society for German-American Studies, Philadelphia
4/17 “Mudderschprooch und Mameloshn: Pennsylvaniadeutsch und Jiddisch an der Schnittstelle zwischen Germanistik und Judaistik,” Germanistische Begegnungstagung Kanada USA, DAAD, Toronto
4/17 “This World Is Not My Home: Heritage Language Maintenance in Christian and Jewish Faith Communities,” People of Faith, Voices of Tradition: Germanic Heritage Languages among Christians and Jews, Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison
3/17 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century,” Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures, Penn State University
11/16 “The Pennsylvania Dutch and German America,” Germany Meets the US – Campus Days, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
11/16 “Yiddish in Wisconsin: A View from the English-Language Press,” Viskonsin! Tales of Yiddish Wisconsin, Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture, UW–Madison
11/16 “Apparent-Time Syntactic Change in Pennsylvania Dutch,” German Abroad 2, University of Texas at Austin
10/16 “Faith and Tradition: The Pennsylvania Dutch Language, Past and Present,” Amish and Mennonite Heritage Center, Berlin, OH
10/16 “Heimat, Heemet, Home: Where Are the Pennsylvania Dutch?”, Keynote Address, Heimat: Living, Loving, and Leaving Home, German and Dutch Graduate Student Association Conference, UW–Madison
9/16 “Was is deitsch? Was ist deutsch?”, Acceptance Speech, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Bayreuth, Germany
2015–2016
7/16 “Infinitivkonstruktionen im Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Linguistisches Colloquium, Philipps-Universität Marburg.
6/16 “Continuity and Change in Pennsylvania Dutch, 1963–2013,” Plenary Address, Continuity and Change: 50 Years of Amish Society, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College.
5/16 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch – Geschichte und Gegenwart einer nordamerikanischen Sprache,” Deutsches Seminar, Universität Zürich.
4/16 “Faith and Language: Pennsylvania Dutch, Past and Present,” Annual Fundraising Dinner, Mennonite Heritage Center, Harleysville, PA.
4/16 “Dutchmen and Deitschlenner: The Pennsylvania Dutch Language and German America,” German Society of Pennsylvania.
4/16 “The Pennsylvania Dutch Recordings of J. William Frey,” Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture, UW–Madison.
10/15 “Pennsylvaniadeutschtum: Pennsylvania Dutch Identity during the World War I Era,” Outside the Kaiserreich: The German Diaspora in the World War I Era, Max Kade Institute/Department of German, UW–Madison.
2014–2015
7/15 “The Language of Pennsylvania German Folk Art,” Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library, Winterthur, DE.
7/15 “Das Pennsylvaniadeutsche als (auslands)pfälzische Sprache,” Linguistisches Colloquium, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
6/15 “Infinitive Constructions in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Workshop on the Syntax of Language Islands, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.
5/15 “Wisconsin’s German Heritage,” Max Kade Institute Annual Meeting and Banquet, UW–Madison.
4/15 “Das Pennsylvaniadeutsche im 21. Jahrhundert,” Mundarttage Bockenheim 2015 / 10. Deutsch-Pennsylvanischer Tag, Bockenheim an der Weinstraße, Germany. Click here for a newspaper article on this event.
3/15 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century,” 2015 Carolyn Engel Luebeck Lecture, Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Ohio State University.
3/15 “Busch un Schteddel: Pennsylvania Dutch Views of Rural and Urban Life in Nineteenth-Century Pennsylvania,” Fraktur and the Everyday Lives of Germans in Pennsylvania and the Atlantic World, 1683–1850, The McNeil Center for Early American Studies, Philadelphia, PA.
1/15 “Pennsylvania Dutch in the Public Eye,” UW–Madison Language Institute.
12/14 “Synchrony and Diachrony of Infinitival Constructions in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Dialect Syntax – The State of the Art, Syntax Hessischer Dialekte (SyHD) Workshop, University of Frankfurt.
2013–2014
7/14 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch im Spiegel deutsch-amerikanischer Sprachvarietäten,” German abroad – Perspektiven der Variationslinguistik, Sprachkontakt- und Mehrsprachigkeitsforschung, University of Vienna.
6/14 “Deitsch, Deutsch und Verdeitschtes Deutsch: zur frühen Dokumentation des Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Linguistisches Colloquium, Philipps-Universität Marburg.
4/14 “The Linguists’ Friend: Der Bauern Freund of Sumneytown, PA,” Society for German-American Studies Annual Symposium, Milwaukee.
3/14 “From the Pages of the Milvoker Vokhenblat,” Viskonsin! Tales from Yiddish Wisconsin, Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture, UW–Madison.
1/14 “Wir wollen frey und independent seyn! Documenting Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Culture in Early German-American Newspapers,” Newspapers and Transculturality: New Approaches to Working with Historical Newspapers, University of Heidelberg.
11/13 “Documenting the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Thomas R. Brendle Symposium, Schwenkfelder Library and Heritage Center, Pennsburg, PA.
9/13 “The Economy of Lexical Borrowing: The English ‘Infusion’ in Pennsylvania Dutch, 4th Annual Workshop on Immigrant Languages in the Americas, University of Iceland.
2012–2013
6/13 “Mir schwetze noch Deitsch: The Amish and the Pennsylvania Dutch Language in the 21st Century,” Amish America: Plain Technology in a Cyber World, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College.
3/13 “Introducing the Pennsylvania Dutch Documentation Project,” Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison.
9/12 “Heritage Language Maintenance and Conservative Religious Communities in North America,” Third Workshop on Immigrant Languages in America, Penn State University.
2011–2012
7/12 “Pragmatics in German-English Contact in America,” Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg.
6/12 “Syntaktische Bidialektalität im Pennsylvania(hoch)deutschen,” Philipps-Universität Marburg.
4/12 “Documenting Early Sectarian Pennsylvania Dutch Syntax,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–18, Indiana University.
3/12 “En verhuddeldi Schprooch? Pennsylvania Dutch Past and Present,” Distinguished Visitors Program, Haverford College.
9/11 “Extraclausal Structures in Amish Varieties of Pennsylvania Dutch,” Second Workshop on Immigrant Languages in America, sponsored by the University of Oslo and held at the Fefor Høifjellshotell, Vinstra, Norway.
9/11 “Documentation of Wisconsin Platt Dialects in the Max Kade Institute Sound Archive,” 16th Annual International Plattdüütsch Konferenz, Wausau, Wisconsin.
2010–2011
8/11 “Aspect in the Verbal System of Pennsylvania Dutch and European German Dialects,” Methods in Dialectology 14, “Dialect and Regiolect Syntax,” University of Western Ontario.
7/11 “Yiddish and Language Maintenance in the United States,” Greenfield Summer Institute/Mosse Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, UW–Madison.
2/11 “Music of the Old Order Amish,” Max Kade Institute, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
9/10 “Two Dialects, One Syntax: Wisconsin High German as Relexified Pomeranian,” Investigating Immigrant Languages in America, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, UW–Madison.
2009–2010
3/10 “Language and Spiritual Heritage: Maintenance of German and Yiddish in Conservative Religious Communities,” Representing and Experiencing Transnationalism: Germanic Languages and Cultures in Global Perspective, Worldwide Universities Network/Max Kade Institute, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
2/10 “Language, Homeland, and Spiritual Heritage: Maintenance of German and Yiddish Varieties among Conservative Religious Groups in the United States,” Language as Homeland Symposium, University of Wisconsin–Madison.
11/09 “Pennsylvania Dutch and Language Contact in the United States,” Marquette University Linguistics Club.
11/09 “Introducing Students to German Linguistics,” Wisconsin Association of Foreign Language Teachers Annual Conference, Appleton, WI.
9/09 “Pomeranian Immigrants and Dialect Shift in Wisconsin,” Language and Immigration Workshop, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, UW–Madison.
9/09 “Amerikanisches Missingsch: Morphosyntaktische Folgen des Kontakts zwischen Niederdeutsch und Hochdeutsch in Wisconsin,” 3. Kongress der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des Deutschen, Universität Zürich.
2008–2009
5/09 “Wisconsin Pomeranian Morphosyntax,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–15, Banff.
5/09 “The Commodification of Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Ethnicity,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–15, Banff.
3/09 “Dialect Shift in Wisconsin German,” Germanic Linguistics Colloquium, UW–Madison.
10/08 “Die Alde un Neie Zeide: Old and New Times for the Pennsylvania Dutch Language,” Professor J. William Frey Memorial Pennsylvania German Lecture, Franklin and Marshall College.
9/08 “Das Amish Swiss German von Berne, Indiana: eine alemannisch-pfälzische Mischmundart?” 16. Arbeitstagung zur alemannischen Dialektologie, Universität Freiburg/Schweiz, coauthored with and presented by Jürg Fleischer (Philipps-Universität Marburg).
2007–2008
7/08 “Zur Typologie der pennsylvaniadeutschen Syntax,” Freie Universität Berlin.
7/08 “The Influence of German on American English,” Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg.
6/08 “Deutsch und Deutschsprecher in Wisconsin,” Madison-Freiburg Sister City Celebration, Freiburger Rathaus.
6/08 “Kontaktphänomene in deutsch-amerikanischen Sprachvarietäten,” Universität Heidelberg.
5/08 “Das Wisconsin-Pommersche im Spiegel deutsch-amerikanischer Sprachvarietäten,” 121. Jahresversammlung des Vereins für Niederdeutsche Sprachforschung, Lemgo (Nordrhein-Westfalen).
3/08 “Pennsylvania Dutch: A North American Language ‘mit Migrationshintergrund’,” Workshop on Language, Migration, and Identity in the United States, University of Luxembourg.
3/08 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch in Geschichte und Gegenwart,” 3. Deidesheimer Gespräche zur Sprach- und Kulturgeschichte, Deidesheim (Pfalz).
2/08 “Structural Convergence in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachwissenschaft, Bamberg.
1/08 “American Structuralism: Leonard Bloomfield and His Impact on American Linguistics,” Hermann-Paul-Centrum für Linguistik, Universität Freiburg.
1/08 “Verbcluster im Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Linguistisches Kolloquium, Philipps-Universität Marburg.
12/07 “Deutsch-englischer Sprachkontakt am Beispiel des Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Universität Bielefeld, Universität Freiburg.
9/07 “Was ist Pennsylvaniadeutsch?” Deutsch-Pennsylvanischer Tag 2007, Domherrenhof, Essenheim.
2006–2007
6/07 “Milwaukee’s German and Jewish Heritage,” Here at Home Cultural Tour, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, UW–Madison.
6/07 “Amish Linguistics: An Overview,” The Amish in America: New Identities and Diversities, Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, Elizabethtown College.
4/07 “Synchronic and Diachronic Aspects of Verb Clusters in Pennsylvania Dutch,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference–13, Penn State University.
4/07 Workshop on Pennsylvania German, jointly presented with Joshua Brown and B. Richard Page, GLAC–13, Penn State University.
3/07 “American Languages: Documenting Cultural Heritage through Language Preservation,” WebWise 2007: Stewardship in the Digital Age, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Washington, D.C.
12/06 “Amish in North America,” In Search of a New World: Mennonites and Amish in the Americas (lecture series), Max Kade Institute, UW–Madison.
9/06 “In Their Own Words: Migration and Identity in Interviews with German (Dialect) Speakers,” co-presented with Dr. Peter Wagener (IDS–Mannheim) at The German Language and Migration in International Perspective (conference), Max Kade Institute/Center for German and European Studies, UW–Madison.
9/06 “Erhalt und Wandel in der pennsylvaniadeutschen Syntax: Infinitivkonstruktionen,” 2. Internationaler Kongress für Dialektologie des Deutschen, Vienna.
2005–2006
6/06 “Milwaukee’s German and Jewish Heritage,” Here at Home Cultural Tour, Center for the Study of Upper Midwestern Cultures, UW–Madison.
5/06 “Telling Stories, Teaching Content,” Keynote Address, 2006 Teaching and Learning Symposium, UW–Madison.
5/06 “German-American Sound Recordings from the American Languages Project,” Joint Annual Meeting of the Pennsylvania German Society and the Society for German-American Studies, Lancaster, PA.
3/06 “Pennsylvaniadeutsch: Geschichte, Gegenwart und Zukunft einer nordamerikanischen Sprache,” Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, Berlin.
3/06 “Konvergenz und Divergenz in der pennsylvaniadeutschen Syntax,” Zentrum für Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
2004–2005
7/05 “Yiddish in America,” “Yiddish in Milwaukee: The Milvoker Vokhenblat,” presented at the Greenfield Summer Institute/Mosse Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies, UW–Madison.
10/04 “Synthesis in Pennsylvania German Culture and Language,” presented at the symposium The German Presence in the United States, University of Bielefeld, Germany.
9/04 “The Limits of Contact-Induced Change in Pennsylvania German,” Linguistics Colloquium, Penn State University.
2003–2004
7/04 “Syntaxwandel im Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken.
7/04 “Deutsch in den USA,” Philipps-Universität Marburg.
6/04 “Spracherhalt und Sprachverlust in der pennsylvaniadeutschen Gesellschaft,” Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz.
11/03 “Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Culture Past and Present,” American Association of Teachers of German Annual Meeting, Philadelphia (presented in a special session I organized titled Teaching Pennsylvania Dutch Language and Culture).
2002–2003
7/03 “How Yiddish Came to Be” and “Yiddish in America,” Mosse-Weinstein Center for Jewish Studies Greenfield Summer Institute, UW–Madison.
3/03 “Grundzüge der pennsylvaniadeutschen Satzstruktur,” 1. Internationaler Dialektologenkongress, Internationale Gesellschaft für die Dialektologie des Deutschen, Marburg.
1/03 “Subordinate Clause Structure in Pennsylvania German,” Forum for Germanic Language Studies/Society for Germanic Linguistics Joint Meeting, London.
2001–2002
6/02 “Deitsch statt deutsch: Geschichte und Zukunft des Pennsylvaniadeutschen,” Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache, Heidelberg; also presented in Wiesbaden.
6/02 “The Morphosyntax of Kaspar Hauser,” Dept. of Linguistics, Free University Amsterdam; also presented at the University of Marburg and the University of Tübingen.
5/02 “The Language of Kaspar Hauser,” Dept. of Language and Linguistics, University of Essex, UK.
4/02 “Earlier Pennsylvania German Clausal Structure,” Germanic Linguistics Annual Conference-8, Indiana University.
11/01 “The Language of Kaspar Hauser,” University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
10/01 “Pennsylvania German during the Past Hundred Years: History and Outlook,” The Pennsylvania State University. (Also presented German version, “Die Pennsylvaniendeutschen und ihre Sprache.”)
2000–2001
7/01 Workshop on language change and language contact (in conjunction with Prof. Joe Salmons, UW–Madison), University of Heidelberg, Germany. Presentations: “Spracherwerb und Sprachwandel”; “Sprachkontaktdynamik: Konvergenz und Divergenz im Pennsylvaniadeutschen” (latter talk also given at University of Marburg).
3/01 “The Limits of Contact-Induced Convergence: Patterns of Preservation and Change in Pennsylvania German,” University of Kansas.
11/00 “Kaspar Hauser and the Language of ‘Wild Children’,” invited presentation, Dept. of Foreign Languages, University of North Texas.
10/00 “Invoking Contact-Induced Change with Caution: Evidence from Pennsylvania German,” Workshop on Comparative Linguistics, Purdue University.
10/00 “Colloquial and Nonstandard Speech and the Syntax-Semantics Interface,” UW Dept. of Linguistics Colloquium.
Courses Taught
University of Wisconsin–Madison
GraduateComparative Germanic SyntaxGerman Dialect SyntaxGerman DialectologyGerman for Reading Knowledge IIThe German Language and Immigration in International Perspective (collaborative seminar taught with Rob Howell and Joe Salmons [UW–Madison]; Paul Roberge [UNC–Chapel Hill]; Carol W. Pfaff [FU–Berlin]; Harald Weydt and Peter Rosenberg [Europa Universität Viadrina/Frankfurt an der Oder])German SociolinguisticsGerman SyntaxHistorical German SyntaxSpoken GermanStructure of GermanSyntactic Development and Syntactic Change
Undergraduate/GraduateAcquisition of GermanGerman and English in ContactGerman as a Global LanguageThe German Language in AmericaPennsylvania German Language and CultureYiddish Language and Culture (crosslisted with Jewish Studies)
UndergraduateThe Amish (Religious Studies)The German Presence in WisconsinIntermediate German: Speaking and Listening (designed, supervised, and taught)Introduction to German LinguisticsVariation im gesprochenen Deutsch (Academic Year in Freiburg course)
Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
VorlesungenDeutsch und seine internationale StellungDie deutsche Sprache in AmerikaSprachkontakt Deutsch-Englisch
ProseminarePennsylvaniadeutsche Sprache und KulturSprache und Kultur der Amish People: Erhalt, Variation und WandelVariation und Wandel im Pennsylvaniadeutschen
HauptseminareMorphologie und Syntax von Sprachinseldialekten (with Prof. Dr. Guido Seiler)Semantik, Pragmatik und Syntax des PennsylvaniadeutschenSyntax deutsch-amerikanischer Sprachvarietäten
Philipps-Universität Marburg
Syntaxwandel: Deutsch/Englisch kontrastiv (Vorlesung)Deutsch in den USA (Proseminar)Syntax der deutschen Dialekte in Europa und Übersee (Hauptseminar)
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen
Major Works of Linguistic TheoryEnglish-German Contrastive Syntax
KlezKamp Madison 2011
Beginning YiddishYiddish in the Midwest
University of Texas at Austin
Graduate (all crosslisted with Linguistics)Major Works of Twentieth-Century Linguistic Theory (also crosslisted with Anthropology, French and Italian)German SyntaxGerman Phonetics and PhonologyAcquisition of GermanDiachronic Germanic LinguisticsProblems of Language Contact in Germanic Languages
Organized graduate conference coursesTopics in German GB SyntaxAdvanced Topics in German Sociolinguistics
Upper-Division (3rd/4th-year) Undergraduate (all crosslisted with Linguistics)Structure of GermanSociolinguistics of German-Speaking SocietyGerman DialectologySociolinguistics of Dutch and Frisian
otherAdvanced German GrammarThe Amish in America (crosslisted with Sociology and American Studies)Historical Backgrounds of German CivilizationJ. S. Bach and His Work (crosslisted with Music)
Lower-Division (1st/2nd-year) UndergraduateAccelerated First-Year GermanSecond-Year German ISecond-Year German II
Cornell University
Continuing German (Teaching Assistant, 1986–1987; Course Head/Instructor, summer 1987)Beginning German (Teaching Assistant, 1985–1986; summer 1986; fall 1987; Visiting Lecturer, summer 1988)
Completed Reports, Theses, and Dissertations (Co-)Directed
2023 Evans, Christine M. (Ph.D.) Variation, Change, and the Left Periphery: Dislocation Phenomena in Contemporary Northern German Varieties
2020 Anderlé de Sylor, Julia (Ph.D.) The Heimatklänge and the Danube Swabians in Milwaukee: A Model of Holistic Integration for a Displaced German Community
2020 Stohs, Christopher G. (Ph.D.) Claiming Germanness in America: The Reception of the Bennett Law in Wisconsin’s German-Language Press
2017 Stark, Joel R. (Ph.D.) Sociolinguistic and Structural Aspects of Pennsylvania Dutch in the Nineteenth Century: An Analysis of the Reading Adler and the Dialect Letters of Dr. Frank R. Brunner
2016 Otte-Ford, T. Clinton. (Ph.D.) The Context of Discontinuity: Syntactic and Information Structural Aspects of Discontinuous Structures in Immediate Language Discourse in German
2012 Gougeon, Elliott E. (Ph.D.) Determiner Syntax in Middle Low German: Evidence from the Lübecker Ratsurteile
2011 Ruf, Helena T. (Ph.D.) An Investigation of Syntactic Priming among German Speakers at Varying Proficiency Levels
2008 Dubenion-Smith, Shannon A. (Ph.D.) Verbal Complex Phenomena in the West Central German Dialects
2007 Martinson, Kirk R. (Ph.D.) Emerging Syntax in Early Second Language Learners: Cross-Linguistic Influence in Early German Immersion Students
2005 Jackson, Carrie N. (Ph.D.) The Sentence-Level Processing of Case Markings and Word Order by Native and Non-Native Speakers of German
2004 Miller, Kimberly A. (Ph.D.) The Syntax of R-Pronouns in German and Dutch: Synchrony and Diachrony
2003 O’Brien, Mary Grantham. (Ph.D.) Longitudinal Development of L2 German Vowels
2000 Hoskins, Sara E. (M.A.) The First Grammatical Treatise and American Structuralism
2000 Adamson, Brent M. (Ph.D.) Naturalistic versus Formal Foreign Language Learning: An Analysis of Upper-Division German Students’ Oral Proficiency in Nominal Inflection and Word Order
1999 Somerholter, Kerstin E. (Ph.D.) Language Contact and Shift in the Soviet German Speech Community
1999 Taleghani-Nikazm, Carmen M. (Ph.D.) Politeness in Native-Nonnative Speakers’ Interaction: Some Manifestations of Persian Taarof in the Interaction among Iranian Speakers of German with German Native Speakers
1999 Altanero de la Santísima Metáfora, Timothy (Ph.D.) Power Indexation in Language Choice in a South African Indian Community
1999 Ferguson, Angela D. (M.A.) Language and Music in the Works of Martin Luther
1999 Grantham, Mary C. (M.A.) The Acquisition of German Phonology by Children
1999 Volk, Kevin M. (M.A.) Understanding Language Change: Phonetics, Phonology, and Child Language Acquisition
1998 Stewart, John M. (M.A.) A Contrastive Typological Analysis of English, German, and Swedish
1997 Kaufmann, Göz. (Second Reader for Ph.D., University of Heidelberg; Prof. Klaus J. Mattheier, Chair) Varietätendynamik in Sprachkontaktsituationen (published with Peter Lang/Europäischer Verlag der Wissenschaften, 1997)
1996 Bigsby, Laura K. (M.A. report, 1 of 2) An Overview of the Use of the Bavarian Dialect in Various Social Situations
1995 Adamson, Brent M. (M.A. report, 1 of 2) William Dwight Whitney: The Proto-Modern Linguist
1993 Balkum, Lori A. H. B. (M.A.) A Discussion of Current Second Language Acquisition Theory and its Subsequent Implications for Classroom Instruction
1993 Reinke, Cindy Lue. (M.A. report, 1 of 2) Mentalist versus Mechanist Approaches to First Language Acquisition
1992 Cline-Bailey, Jerry. (Ph.D.) Creole-Source Language Linguistic Relatedness: Implications for Krio and English
1992 Chavez, Monika M. Th. (Ph.D.) Cognitive Constraints on Accuracy in Verbal Inflection and Word Order in German as a Foreign Language
1991 Stephani, Michael (M.A.) Applied Linguistics: Aspects and Relevance of SOV in German
Modern Languages
near-native: Pennsylvania Dutch, Germanfluent: French, Dutchvery good: Yiddishbasic: Russian, ASLreading: Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Afrikaans, Frisian, Spanish, Tagalog
Germanic Dialects
Gothic, (Runic), Old Norse, Old and Middle English, Old Saxon, Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, Old and Middle High German
Professional Memberships
American Association of Teachers of GermanAmerican Dialect SocietyDeutsch-Pennsylvanischer ArbeitskreisDeutsche Gesellschaft für SprachwissenschaftGesellschaft für deutsche SpracheInternationale Gesellschaft für Dialektologie des DeutschenLinguistic Society of AmericaPennsylvania German SocietySociety for Germanic Linguistics