Pronunciation
Vowels
Here are the vowels of Pennsylvania Dutch along with their etymological equivalents in standard German. The glosses in single quotes give the English translations for the Pennsylvania Dutch words, which in most—but not all—cases will be the same for the cognate German words. For clarification purposes I have indicated the Middle High German (MHG) sources for some vowels.
| PA Dutch | German | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| i: | i: y: ʏ | ziege [tsi:ə] (ziehen, 'to pull'), schiesse (schiessen, 'to shoot') Hiet (Hüte, 'hats'), mied (müde, 'tired') fiedre (füttern, 'to feed') Audio Player |
| ɪ | ɪ i: ʏ | bin (bin, '[I] am'), dick (dick, 'thick, fat') siwwe (sieben, 'seven'), widder (wieder, 'again') dinn (dünn, 'thin'), Brick (Brücke, 'bridge') Audio Player |
| e: | e: aɪ (< MHG ei) ø: ɔɪ (< MHG öu) | meh (mehr, 'more'), hewe (heben, 'to lift') Deel (Teil, 'part'), breet (breit, 'broad') bees (böse, 'angry'), heeher (höher, 'higher') Freed (Freude, 'joy') Audio Player |
| ɛ | ɛ e: œ ø: | esse (essen, 'to eat'), Schtedt (Städte, 'cities') gewwe (geben, 'to give'), Glesser (Gläser, 'glasses') Leffel (Löffel, 'spoon') schenner (schöner, 'nicer, prettier')Audio Player |
| æ: | e: /_r | wer [wæ:ɐ] (wer, 'who'), haer [hæ:ɐ] (her, 'from [directional particle]') Audio Player |
| a: | aʊ (< MHG u:) | Haus [ha:s] (Haus, 'house'), laut [la:t] (laut, 'loud')Audio Player |
| a | a a: ɪ,ʏ,ɛ,œ,ɔ,ʊ /_r | Nacht (Nacht, 'night'), Stadt (Stadt, 'town, city') Gawwel (Gabel, 'fork'), Vadder (Vater, 'father') Hasch (Hirsch, 'deer'), Bascht (Bürste, 'brush'), lanne (lernen, 'to learn'), kannich (körnig, 'grainy'), Watt (Wort, 'word'), darrich (durch, 'through')Audio Player |
| ɔ: | a: aʊ (< MHG ou) | baade (baden, 'to wade'), Daag (Tag, 'day') Aag (Auge, 'eye'), Fraa (Frau, 'wife')Audio Player |
| ɔ | ɔ a o: | Kopp (Kopf, 'head'), Loch (Loch, 'hole') hot (hat, '[s/he] has'), Mann [mɔn] (Mann, 'husband') Bodde (Boden, 'floor, ground'), Offe (Ofen, 'oven')Audio Player |
| o: | o: a: (< MHG a:) aʊ (< MHG ou) | rot (rot, 'red'), Hof (Hof, 'yard') schloofe (schlafen, 'to sleep'), do (da, 'here') bloo (blau, 'blue'), groo (grau, 'gray')Audio Player |
| u: | u: o: aʊ (< MHG u:) | gut (gut, 'good'), Bu (Bube, 'boy, son') wu (wo, 'where'), wuhne (wohnen, 'to reside') uf (auf, 'on [top of]')Audio Player |
| ʊ | ʊ ɔ o: | dumm (dumm, 'dumb'), Budder (Butter, 'butter') kumme (kommen, 'to come'), drucke (trocken, 'dry') Hunnich (Honig, 'honey')Audio Player |
| aɪ | aɪ (< MHG i:) ɔɪ (< MHG iu) | drei (drei, 'three'), Zeit (Zeit, 'time') hait (heute, 'today'), Feier (Feuer, 'fire')Audio Player Note: Midwestern Amish pronounce this vowel as [ɛ:] except before the unstressed vowel [ɐ].Audio Player |
| ɔɪ | aɪ (< MHG ei) | Moi (Mai, 'May')Audio Player |
| ə, ɐ | ə, ɐ | schwaetze (schwätzen, 'to talk'), Schwaetzer (Schwätzer, 'talker') These vowels, called schwa and dark schwa, occur in unstressed final position within a word or syllable.Audio Player |