Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community

Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Downing, Lara
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University / OhioLINK 2015
Subjects:
Linguistics
Dutchified English
Mennonites
Beachy Amish-Mennonites
low back merger
Amish English
Mennonite English
Pennsylvania Dutch
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429880485
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-osu14298804852021-08-03T06:30:45Z Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community Downing, Lara Linguistics Dutchified English Mennonites Beachy Amish-Mennonites low back merger Amish English Mennonite English Pennsylvania Dutch This thesis compares the English spoken by a Beachy Amish-Mennonite church in Coshocton County Ohio with the English of Non-Mennonites in the same region. Although there is no previous research on this or any nearby Mennonite communities, previous research on the dialects of English spoken by Amish communities in the US suggests that differences from the regional standard are influenced by deliberate border maintenance, primacy of language in expressing ethnic identity, and interference from Pennsylvania German, known to speakers as “Dutchified English”. However, the wealth of diversity in related ethnic minority groups has not been tapped, and very little research has examined the English of Mennonites who generally choose a less conservative, and consequently more complex, balance between separation from and engagement with the outside world. The variables I focus on are initial th-stopping, final obstruent devoicing, and the low back vowel merger. The first two variables are documented for Amish English and various German bilingual communities. Th-stopping is also socially salient, and is associated with the more religiously orthodox groups in Holmes County, from which the Coshocton community distinguishes itself. I collected production and perception data from ten speakers in the Mennonite Church community and five non-Mennonite speakers from the same region, and I present here my findings of the use of th-stopping and final consonant devoicing, both of which are attested although neither are used categorically, and the low back merger, which is attested categorically in all Non-Mennonites, but in only one Mennonite speaker. This research is the first step in the description of Mennonite English in Ohio, and opens several avenues for further comparison. The perceptual data also has theoretical implications for the role of community identity and border maintenance in the way these Mennonites position themselves between their non-plain neighbors and the more religiously and culturally conservative Holmes county communities. 2015-08-31 English text The Ohio State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429880485 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429880485 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Linguistics
Dutchified English
Mennonites
Beachy Amish-Mennonites
low back merger
Amish English
Mennonite English
Pennsylvania Dutch
spellingShingle Linguistics
Dutchified English
Mennonites
Beachy Amish-Mennonites
low back merger
Amish English
Mennonite English
Pennsylvania Dutch
Downing, Lara
Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
author Downing, Lara
author_facet Downing, Lara
author_sort Downing, Lara
title Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
title_short Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
title_full Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
title_fullStr Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
title_full_unstemmed Dutchified English in an Ohio Mennonite Community
title_sort dutchified english in an ohio mennonite community
publisher The Ohio State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2015
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1429880485
work_keys_str_mv AT downinglara dutchifiedenglishinanohiomennonitecommunity
_version_ 1719438185609560064

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