Amana German

Last updated
Amana German
Native to United States
Region Amana Colonies in Iowa
Language codes
ISO 639-3

Amana German (German : Amana-Deutsch or Kolonie-Deutsch, lit. Colony German) is a regiolect[ citation needed ] based on West Central German that is still spoken by several hundred people in the Amana Colonies in Iowa.

Contents

The Amana Colonies were founded in 1856 by Inspirationalists of German origin who came from West Seneca near Buffalo in New York. Amana is derived from the Hessian dialect, which is a West Central German dialect. There are seven villages in Amana with slightly different dialect features.

Even though the use of the language is in decline, it is far from being moribund. There are several major studies about the language of Amana. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German language</span> West Germanic language

German is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the most spoken native language within the European Union. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian autonomous province of South Tyrol. It is also an official language of Luxembourg, Belgium and the Italian autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as a recognized national language in Namibia. There are also notable German-speaking communities in France (Alsace), the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Denmark, Romania and Hungary (Sopron).

Amana may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iowa County, Iowa</span> County in Iowa, United States

Iowa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,662. The county seat is Marengo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German language in the United States</span>

Over 50 million Americans claim German ancestry, which makes them the largest single claimed ancestry group in the United States. Around 1.06 million people in the United States speak the German language at home. It is the second most spoken language in North Dakota and is the third most spoken language in 16 other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Central German</span> Variety of Central German

West Central German belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. It includes the following sub-families:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 151</span> Highway in Iowa and Wisconsin

U.S. Highway 151 (US 151) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The southern terminus for US 151 is at a junction with Interstate 80 (I-80) in Iowa County, Iowa, and its northern terminus is at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The route, from south to north follows a northeasterly path through the two states.

This article details the geographical distribution of speakers of the German language, regardless of the legislative status within the countries where it is spoken. In addition to the Germanosphere in Europe, German-speaking minorities are present in many other countries and on all six inhabited continents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amana Colonies</span> United States historic place

The Amana Colonies are seven villages on 26,000 acres (110 km2) located in Iowa County in east-central Iowa, United States: Amana, East Amana, High Amana, Middle Amana, South Amana, West Amana, and Homestead. The villages were built and settled by German Radical Pietists, who were persecuted in their homeland by the German state government and the Lutheran Church. Calling themselves the True Inspiration Congregations, they first settled in New York near Buffalo in what is now the town of West Seneca. However, seeking more isolated surroundings, they moved to Iowa in 1856. They lived a communal life until 1932.

Barbara Heinemann Landmann was a spiritual leader with the Community of True Inspiration, for which she served as Werkzeug, or Instrument, in both Europe and the United States. Her sermons and writings are still used during the Community's religious services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community of True Inspiration</span> Religious movement

The Community of True Inspiration, also known as the True Inspiration Congregations, Inspirationalists, and the Amana Church Society) is a Radical Pietist group of Christians descending from settlers of German, Swiss, and Austrian descent who settled in West Seneca, New York, after purchasing land from the Seneca peoples' Buffalo Creek Reservation. They were from a number of backgrounds and socioeconomic areas and later moved to Amana, Iowa when they became dissatisfied with the congestion of Erie County and the growth of Buffalo, New York. Christian worship in the Community of True Inspiration continues, largely unchanged from its inception.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German dialects</span> Dialects of German language

German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the dialect continuum that connects German to the neighboring varieties of Low Franconian (Dutch) and Frisian.

James R. Dow is a Professor Emeritus of German at Iowa State University with research interests in German Volkskunde (folklore), Old Order Amish of Kalona and Amana Colonists of Amana. He took his doctorate from the University of Iowa in German literature in 1966. He taught at University of Wyoming before taking his permanent post at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. Dow served for ten years as the editor of the Internationale Volkskundliche Bibliographie. He was also guest professor at the University of Bremen in Germany. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2005 for the study and grammar of the Cimbrian language, resulting in a highly regarded book Dow edited by the late Bruno Schweizer. James Dow has 8 grandchildren Alysabeth, Byron, Christian, Daniel Buck, and Jakob Dow, and Breslin, Brenden, Braylin Crose. He is married to Susan D. Dow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Estonia</span>

The official language of Estonia is Estonian, a Uralic language of the Finnic branch, which is related to Finnish. It is unrelated to the bordering Russian and Latvian languages, both of which are Indo-European.

Middle Amana is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. It is the largest of the seven villages of the Amana Colonies, all designated as a National Historic Landmark. As of the 2010 Census, the population of Middle Amana was 581.

The Ebenezer Colonies was a settlement founded by the Community of True Inspiration in what is now the town of West Seneca, New York. A congregation of Inspirationists emigrated to the site from Germany in 1843. The congregation began to relocate to Iowa in 1855 and the settlement's land was eventually abandoned and sold.

High Amana is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iowa County, Iowa, United States, and is part of the "seven villages" of the Amana Colonies. As of the 2010 Census, the population of High Amana was 115.

West Amana is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Iowa County, Iowa, United States, and is part of the "seven villages" of the Amana Colonies. As of the 2010 census, the population of West Amana was 135.

East Amana is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iowa County, Iowa, United States, and is part of the "seven villages" of the Amana Colonies. As of the 2010 Census, the population of East Amana was 56.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amana (CDP), Iowa</span> Census-designated place in Iowa, United States

Amana is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iowa County, Iowa, United States. It is one of the Amana Colonies, seven villages built by German Pietists in the 19th century. As of the 2020 census, Amana had a population of 388, down from 442 in the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bertha Maude Horack Shambaugh</span> American photographer and writer

Bertha Maude Horack Shambaugh was an American photographer and writer.

References

  1. Philip E. Webber: Kolonie-Deutsch: Life and Language in Amana, Ames, 2006, page 14.

Literature

See also