Palatinate German
Encyclopedia
Palatine German is a West Franconian dialect of German
which is spoken in the Rhine Valley
roughly in an area between the cities of Zweibrücken
, Kaiserslautern
, Alzey
, Worms
, Ludwigshafen am Rhein
, Mannheim
, Heidelberg
, Speyer
, Landau
, Wörth am Rhein
and the border to the Alsace
region in France
but also beyond. Pennsylvania German
, or Pennsylvania Dutch is descended primarily from the Palatine German dialects spoken by Germans who immigrated to North America from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries and who chose to maintain their native language. Danube Swabians
in Croatia
and Serbia
also use many elements of it. Normally, one distinguishes the Pfälzisch spoken in the western part of the Palatinate (Westpfälzisch) and the Pfälzisch spoken in the eastern part of the Palatinate (Vorderpfälzisch). Some examples of the differences between High German and Pfaelzisch are:
A few examples of sentence pronunciation in Vorderpfälzisch would be:
In Westpfälzisch:
Ich häbb's'm schunn verzehlt, awwer er hat mer's net geglaabt.
In standard German, the sentence would read as such:
Ich hab's ihm schon erzählt, aber er hat's mir nicht geglaubt.
The English translation would be,
I have already told [it] him, but he didn't believe me.
Hasch a(ch) Hunger? (Westpfälzisch)
Hoschd aa Hunger? (Vorderpfälzisch)
In standard German, the sentence would read as such:
Hast du auch Hunger?
The English translation would be,
Are you hungry, too?
Palatine speakers tend to swallow some of the other letters that standard German speakers enunciate. It's important to point out that pronunciation and grammar vary from region to region (even from town to town). Palatine Germans often can tell the part of Palatinate or even the village where other speakers are from. Something all Palatine dialects have in common is that the genitive isn't used, same as the German imperfect except for words such as soi (to be) and wolle (to want).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
which is spoken in the Rhine Valley
Rhine Valley
The Rhine Valley is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine , i.e. the section of the Rhine River between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and its mouth at Lake Constance....
roughly in an area between the cities of Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken
Zweibrücken is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river.- Name :Zweibrücken appears in Latin texts as Geminus Pons and Bipontum, in French texts as Deux-Ponts. The name derives from Middle High German Zweinbrücken...
, Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...
, Alzey
Alzey
Alzey is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fourth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, and Bingen....
, Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
, Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Ludwigshafen am Rhein is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Ludwigshafen is located on the Rhine opposite Mannheim. Together with Mannheim, Heidelberg and the surrounding region, it forms the Rhine Neckar Area....
, Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
, Wörth am Rhein
Wörth am Rhein
Wörth am Rhein is a municipality in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. 10 km west of the city center of Karlsruhe and just north of the German-French border....
and the border to the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
region in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but also beyond. Pennsylvania German
Pennsylvania German language
The Pennsylvania German language is a variety of West Central German possibly spoken by more than 250,000 people in North America...
, or Pennsylvania Dutch is descended primarily from the Palatine German dialects spoken by Germans who immigrated to North America from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries and who chose to maintain their native language. Danube Swabians
Danube Swabians
The Danube Swabians is a collective term for the German-speaking population who lived in the former Kingdom of Hungary, especially alongside the Danube River valley. Because of different developments within the territory settled, the Danube Swabians cannot be seen as a unified people...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
also use many elements of it. Normally, one distinguishes the Pfälzisch spoken in the western part of the Palatinate (Westpfälzisch) and the Pfälzisch spoken in the eastern part of the Palatinate (Vorderpfälzisch). Some examples of the differences between High German and Pfaelzisch are:
| Vorderpfälzisch | Westpfälzisch | High German | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mais | Mais | Mäuse | mice |
| Lais | Lais | Läuse | lice |
| Grumbeer | Grumbeer | Kartoffel | potato |
| Schnoog(e) | Stechmigg | Mücke | mosquito |
| Bääm | Bääm | Bäume | trees |
| Schdää | Schdää | Stein | stone |
| soi | sei | sein | his (possessive) |
| unser | unser | unsere | ours |
| net/nit | net | nicht | not |
| dowedder | degeche | dagegen | against |
| Fusch | Fisch | Fisch | fish |
| ebbes | ebbes | etwas | something |
| Ärwett | Arwett | Arbeit | work |
| Dor | Dor | Tor | gate |
| Abbel | Abbel | Apfel | apple |
| hawwe | hänn | haben | have |
A few examples of sentence pronunciation in Vorderpfälzisch would be:
In Westpfälzisch:
Ich häbb's'm schunn verzehlt, awwer er hat mer's net geglaabt.
In standard German, the sentence would read as such:
Ich hab's ihm schon erzählt, aber er hat's mir nicht geglaubt.
The English translation would be,
I have already told [it] him, but he didn't believe me.
Hasch a(ch) Hunger? (Westpfälzisch)
Hoschd aa Hunger? (Vorderpfälzisch)
In standard German, the sentence would read as such:
Hast du auch Hunger?
The English translation would be,
Are you hungry, too?
Palatine speakers tend to swallow some of the other letters that standard German speakers enunciate. It's important to point out that pronunciation and grammar vary from region to region (even from town to town). Palatine Germans often can tell the part of Palatinate or even the village where other speakers are from. Something all Palatine dialects have in common is that the genitive isn't used, same as the German imperfect except for words such as soi (to be) and wolle (to want).