Pennsylvania Dutch and Yiddish

Pennsylvania Dutch and Yiddish are Germanic languages that share much in common structurally and sociolinguistically. In terms of their sound systems, grammars, and vocabularies, both resemble linguistic varieties that belong to the High German dialect group, which is divided into two major subgroups, Central (Mitteldeutsch) and Upper (Oberdeutsch) German. Pennsylvania Dutch is most closely related to Palatine German (Pfälzisch), which is part of the West Central German (Westmitteldeutsch) dialect area. There is considerable variation across dialects within Yiddish, however its core structures and vocabulary bear a number of resemblances to West Central and Upper German dialects.

Prior to the Shoah, Yiddish was widely spoken across Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and other regions around the world to which Ashkenazic Jews migrated, including North America. In the United States and Canada, where Pennsylvania Dutch is exclusively spoken today, the majority of active speakers of Yiddish are members of Hasidic communities. Among more secular Ashkenazic Jews, Yiddish is often described as a “post-vernacular” language. It is taught, studied, and promoted by community and academic institutions, however few non-Hasidic families use it as a primary, everyday language. Pennsylvania Dutch finds itself in a similar sociolinguistic situation. Among the so-called “Fancy Dutch” (Church People, nonsectarians), the language has not been acquired by large numbers of children for at least two generations. Among most Amish and Old Order Mennonites (Plain People, sectarians), however, Pennsylvania Dutch continues to thrive as a vernacular mother tongue.

On November 14-15, 2025, the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University sponsored Pennsylvania German Futures, “an interdisciplinary conference exploring the futures of Pennsylvania German folklife, ethnic identity, and language.” The participants discussed how to promote Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st century and I suggested that a consideration of the various ways that knowledge of Yiddish language and culture is documented and advanced among researchers and the general public might be helpful. Here is a sample of Yiddish-themed online resources that may serve as a model for what could be done for Pennsylvania Dutch.

 

The Archives of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories (AHEYM): Hosted by Indiana University Bloomington, the AHEYM digital archive contains video interviews made with native speakers of Yiddish from Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia, most of whom were born between the 1900s and 1930s.

Corpus of Spoken Yiddish in Europe: The Corpus of Spoken Yiddish in Europe is a digital archive featuring video testimonies of Yiddish-speaking Holocaust survivors.

Forward YouTube channel: In 1897, the Yiddish-language daily newspaper Forverts (Forward) began publication in New York City. Today, the Forward YouTube channel features a number of videos on Yiddish language and culture.

The Grosbard Project: The Grosbard Project offers access to recordings of ten public performances of Yiddish literary works (“word concerts”) by Hertz Grosbard (1892–1994), described on the site as the “Master or Maestro of the Jewish Word” and “Ambassador of Yiddish Literature.”

In geveb: In geveb is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal devoted to Yiddish studies whose website features diverse resources related to the study and teaching of Yiddish.

Mapping Yiddish New York: Hosted by Columbia University, Mapping Yiddish New York is “an online archive seeking to document all aspects of Yiddish culture in New York: from theater, film, literature and press, through music, record labels, humor, and restaurants to organizations and institutions.”

Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture: The Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture, part of the Mosse/Weinstein Center for Jewish Studes at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, sponsors programming related to Yiddish and is home to an extensive collection of historical recordings of Yiddish theater and music.

The Workers Circle: The Workers Circle is “a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism” whose website offers several Yiddish-related resources, including online language classes and a musical archive.

Yiddish Book Center: The Yiddish Book Center, founded in 1980, offers a wealth of Yiddish-language resources, including more than 12,000 digitized books and audiobooks.

YiddishPOP: YiddishPOP offers free Yiddish-language lessons in an animated format.

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research: The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research describes itself as “the ‘world headquarters’ of the Yiddish language” and features links to several virtual and in-person resources related to Yiddish.