Pennsylvania German in the American Midwest (Publication of the American Dialect Society: Supplement to American Speech 86)

In Pennsylvania German in the American Midwest, Steven Hartman Keiser studies the divisions separating the Midwesternand the Pennsylvaniavarieties of Pennsylvania German, demonstrating that these dialects are divided by boundaries similar to those that distinguish dialects of English in the same geographic regions. Keiser provides empirical detail on the distribution of key linguistic variants in several Pennsylvania German–speaking communities in the Midwest and explores the internal changes, patterns of migration, and language contact that have led to the current geographic and social distribution of these features. In addition, he considers the potential for future dialect divergence or convergence as he describes the links between these language varieties and the notions of regional identity in the attitudes of Pennsylvania German speakers in the Midwest and those in Pennsylvania toward each other.

Steven Hartman Keiser is Associate Professor of English at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.