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  • From: sjc <indexer AT fairpoint.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] It's almost over
  • Date: Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:52:25 -0500

bob ford wrote:
....* Note, I'm not as educated on the history of the Amish as you, I thought they
considered themselves "German". German history is filled with great
warriors. I don't know much about the Swiss ? They ski, and make cheese and watches
and chocalate; and guard the Pope, I don't really know if they have ever been dominant

And indeed they do often refer to themselves as "Gutch", from the German (Deutsch) language, and by extension, the Pennsylvania Dutch, which includes, actually many groups, some of them Anabaptist, but not all.
Early Swiss formers, contemporaries of Luther in the north, involved in what became the Anabaptist groups were German-speaking Swiss in nationality and residence. Some of the early groups went to the Alsatian areas, where one presumes French might have been at least the local language, however, I've never heard an Amishman refer to himself as a 'frenchman' which even sounds funny. I'm not aware that they generally have, over the years, spoken any language other than German other than picking up languages where they've moved (English in this country, Portugese and Spanish is South and Central America, for example) and most Old Order Churches, plus many Beachy and other 'less strict" groups hold services in German, speak at home in German, and use German bibles. There is considerable attempt to maintain German as their first language, some who leave still feel strongly enough about it that they teach their own kids 'the old way'; my kids in fact are trilingual, via this route. But their peoples of origin were Swiss initially.
I've never gone along, but a lot of folks I know have been on a "Berne-to-Bern" tour, from Berne, IN, to Bern, Switzerland, and they report that except for words added since (probably not many astronauts in 1600, I guess), they can speak without misunderstanding/s to German-speaking residents in that region, a fact in which they seem to delight, since that group in IN came pretty directly from the region of Bern and many can cite fairly close relatives still there.

SJ




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