My paternal grandmother said "Dunnerwedder" often. When I asked my mom what it meant, she told me it meant "thunderstorm", and told me it was a bad word, so don't repeat it. Imagine my my confusion as a kid when the weather changed and the rain came...
Its mindblowing for me as german speaking Person. Eieiei.. Dunnerwedder nochemol 😂 im from Baden-Württemberg. I lived most time of my life nearby Karlsruhe and i can understand 90% of what i saw in your Videos until now. Its funny and interesting for me because i never heard about Pennsylvania dutch before. But now i know wich Region i should visit if i ever travel to america so my bad english doesnt have that big influence 😂 i follow this channel now 😁
My PA Dutch aunt had a German pen pal from the 1930's to the 1970s; they could make themselves understood. They wrote til WW2 began; he had to serve in the German army and was POW in a Soviet prison camp (how did he ever survive?) but afterward picked up writing again, and visited one another in the US and in Germany a few times. Both long dead now, but it was interesting how they could communicate.
I used to hear (spelled phonetically since I never saw them written down) "sheiss mol" and "schloch dich". I figured out the first one on my own but had to ask about the second, which I was told was, "I'm going to slam you!"
Aaaah, nothing quite like naughty words to cleanse your affective filters and learn more PA Dutch! I work as a Cultural Resource Manager for a firm that offers business solutions for Amish shed builders and I am going to use every one of these with the CEO to see if he has remembered any of these as a kid and half expect him to ask me to wash my mouth out with soap. I cuss like a sailor in English and a few other languages, so PA Dutch will be a lovely addition. Keep up the great work!
I am a native German speaker. I have family who originates from Bohemia region, nowadays Czech Republic, speaking German with their own very special dialect. It was passed on to children within the families, even when German was banned as a language in schools and in public. For me, who married into this bohemian family - and to be honest who really had difficulties understanding them at first when I first met them 30 years ago - PA-dutch is really easy to understand. For me, the way you pronounce your words is a lot like the bohemian dialect, lots of unusual words are the same. I knew immediately what "harriyesses" means 😅 Very interesting resemblance! Thanks Douglas for keeping the spirit of PA dutch alive. I will keep an eye on your videos
Watching this again reminds me of something I read years ago, by some linguist, comparing English and German profanities as an expression of the two cultures. His point was that much of German profanity has a scatological sense, whereas in English, the strongest and probably most common profanity is sexual and has the literal meaning of "I mount you." He compared that to the image of chimps who use that sexual gesture to show rank in a troop.
One of my nephews explained to my sister (his mother) that the reason grandma's pie was better than hers was because Nana swore more when rolling out the crust. Needless to say, Dutch on all sides of the family.
You know this is so unbelievable to me! I understand a lot of what you said because I can speak Alsatian, a dialect that is spoken in Alsace (a French region which was annexed many times by Germany) So Alsatian is close to German, and now Pennsylvania Dutch! Dunnerwedder... my grandma always uses this word!!! It is mind blowing!
There were many Alsatians that immigrated to Pennsylvania along with the Pfälzer. I have some Alsatian forefathers in my family tree! The dialects are similar.
HEIMATLAND! Gottverdeckel! ...would be two common swearwords I use. LOVED the phrase "sell iss really eppes" (the word "really" thrown in there makes it rather cute) ...there's a lot of alemannic German (as spoken in my native area of the southern black forest as well as in parts of Switzerland and Alsace!) stuck in that sentence. Only that if we'd say it, it would be something along the lines of "Sell isch emol öbbis"
When I first moved to Bavaria, I was floored by the colourful curse phrases coming from Catholic tradition. The first one I remember hearing was "Kruzifixhallelujah!", which needs no translation. If just want to mutter something under your breath, you can shorten it to "Zifix!" (It rhymes with Asterix and Obelix" 😉) "Donnerwetter" is still around, but heard less often nowadays. There are others that I won't elaborate on, but suffice it to say that the Bavarians can be quite creative in that regard, too! 😉🤣
Douglas, may I ask what the name of your ancestors was before they emigrated? Dunnerwedder (and slight variations) is quite common vernacular in (Southern) Germany.
It's funny to see how in the younger generations it went more to english but still is the same phrase. My parents always said "Don't talk so gott dam dumm" Also "Was ist letz" we always said "Was ist los" here
"Donnerwetter" is better translated idiomatically than literally. It's better translated as our obsolete English interjection, "Thunderation!" It's more or less dead in English, but you can still here a German say, "Donnerwetter!" A mild oath.
You forgot (maybe on purpose) the holiest of holies - hiwwe hawwa Probably the most beautifully sublime curse of any language, because even if you know the words, if you don't know the context it makes no sense. I had a dear friend who has passed on who used to say (curse) the following often when he did something wrong, but I don't think I'm remembering all the dutch words quite right - Ich hawwa zweemol abschnitte, es iss nach zu katz! OR "I cut it twice and it's still too short!" I'd appreciate if you could correct it if need be, and thanks for the work you do.
Actually, there have been studies proving that cursing, or even saying certain words that are similar such as Chuck or duck or fit, if you don't want to say the actual words, actually can improve your mood and lessen pain. Which, anyone who's ever stub their toe on their bed can attest to, does work. Now go wash your mouth out with soap!
My granddad used some of those phrases. Eieiei....Donnerwedder nochemol, even Jesses- Maria, which of course as a kid I did not relate to the Lord and mother Mary.
Growing up PA Dutch, we used the word ferhoodled to mean confused or mixed up. Say, you get the date or time of a party wrong and you say, "Oh, I am so ferhoodled."
Great vid as always but you forgot unfastendich. My guess is that it means incomprehensible or unfathomable but it is said with such irritation at times that I thought it was on par with a swear word when I was a child. My exposure to the language was first from Amish and old order Mennonites and late in my teens and twenties from secular people more from your neck of the woods.
As a child that grew up visiting my grandparents and uncle in hegins PA i definitely heard alot of this. But i dont know what verflamte means lol please help
My most used would be good morning or afternoon how are you today and thank you very much have a good day. Little words would be yes it is very humid very warm or a bit chilly today. Wish I would’ve listen to my mom and dad when I was younger, Learning this would be a lot easier. I do notice that the words come a little bit easier. I wish I had some thing that I could put on tape that would just be repetition, they say if you listen to words and sentences over and over while you sleep that it comes much easier. Thank you
@@Elephunky215I've seen them before. Never got close enough to one to look through it though. Not exactly something you just take off a elderly dutchies shelf to page through.
Thanks for the explanation for "Haariyesses"! I kept thinking at fist? Huh??? like "Haar"? But I think this dialect pronounced "Herr" like "Haar" probably to make it sound slightly less offensive on propose, because "Herr" is "Lord", and then u said "yessess" was Jesus. I actually went to a Martin Luthar Assembly/church in Germany in 1998, so I understand the context, because standard German pronounced the name "Jesus" like "yay-zooss". That's kind of funny to shout "Hairy Jesus!" but I'm guessing it was done this way on purpose, like saying "heck" instead of "Hell", or "Shoot" instead of you know what. ;P My grandfather never said stuff like that, that I can recall, but he said stuff like "Swcheinhund!" which means "pig dog" but is very very offensive, or "Dummkopf" meaning "stupid head" or "idiot". My grandfather, and his sister (my grand aunt) told me stories about growing up and being forbidden from Speaking Pennsylvania Dutch at the School House (which is like a little building where kids went to get educated) or even outside the building on the property, or even within ear-shot. So, these bullies would pick my grandfather's little brother, Stanley, intentionally to make him angry, which caused him to instantly react in Pennsylvania Dutch. The penalty for speaking non-English words was a form of child abuse torture known as corporal punishment as everyone watched, which often involved the teacher assaulting & battering the child with an object repurposed as a weapon, like a ruler, yard stick, or even physical slapping of the child with the hands. They also used other forms of psychological torture & shaming or shunning. Since my grandfather's father was half Mescalero Apache, Grandmother was an Apache Princess from New Mexico, and their mother was Epileptic which the Pennsylvania Dutch misunderstood her seizures to be "witchcraft" and accused her of being a witch, then took her children away, and locked her up forcing the children to live in a neighbor's barn as they grew up, that must've been pretty tense times! They told me all sorts of sordid stories. So, I imagine they probably mouthed off with the same words as these as well as you mentioned!
My grandfather had similar one-room school house stories. And in PA Dutch Herr is pronounced like Haar. That is how the dialect works just like ER is pronounced like AR. So we are still saying Herr Yesus, it just comes out sounding like in the video! Where was your family from? My family were all settled in Berks County, PA.
@@PADutch101 I've loved watching your videos for a number of years now, and I watch them both in English & German. I'm not exactly sure of the specific spot my grandfather was from. He was technically born on a house boat on the Delaware River, and his parents weren't sure if they wanted to go to NJ or PA, but My Grandfather's family on both sides grew up in the Pennsylvania area including the Poconos & the Catskills. My grandfather's grandfather was descended by some very rich folks folks under the surname of "Deyoe" which doesn't seem Dutch at all. But, he (my grandfather's Grandfather) wanted to be more MANLY & Rugged, so he went off during the Gold Rush, (The 49ers) but their family was all from generations in the PA area. I think my grandfather's mother was also PA Dutch. Anyways, somehow (and there are differing stories) he brought home an Apache bride on the way home from gold mining, which he got annoyed with mining gold and gave up. He was also a Pioneer type too. Her (his bride) name was Princess Lone Star. Kind of scandalous stuff, right? So, my grandfather's father, was half Apache, they got away with this in plain sight, because the Deyoes were all very wealthy, and had mansions. There used to be photos of my garndfather's Grandmother dressed all in the plain PA Dutch typical fashion/clothing but STILL wearing all of her many many jewelry adornments, and also she worked VERY HARD every day, and carried water up the hills in buckets from the well. You CAN'T tell a Princess she can't wear her jewels. HARD work was viewed as a virtuous behavior back then. Anyway, my grandfather's grandfather actually loved his wife VERY MUCH, and DEFIED all the conventions, and found a way to LEGALLY MARRY HER. he felt it was unGodly and disrespectful to treat her like a slave just because she wasn't white. VERY SHOCKING SCANDAL back then. I think also there were stigmas back then about being wealthy, which might've been why his ancestor ran off to be a pioneer and a Gold Rush 49er. My grandfather told me all these funny stories about his grandfather, and his family. He said he didn't want to be a pretty, dolled-up gentleman type. He wanted to be a rugged manly man. And, there might've been some religious motives also. But, eventually my grandfather's parents just on a whim chose to go back to PA instead of NJ. If I remember correctly, DE might've actually originally been a part of PA and split off into its own nation state or something like that, and some kind of Indian village Massacre in the process.... so, not blaming them for NOT wanted to live in DE. So, most of my grandfather's upbringing as a child was all pre Great Depression before it happened, or post WWI. My grandfather LOVED the farmlands, so when I was little he lived in Lancaster PA, and all the neighbors were Amish. My grandfather is an interesting character because he was illegally in both the Army and then the Navy. He was shot in the head by a Nazi after a famous paratrooper event, and got stuck in a tree. So a when he got shot in the head, he forgot who he was for a few years, and lived the rest of his life with a metal plate in his head. He illegally joined the Army and lied about his age, so when he was discharged from the hospital, and then the army, he walked down the street and enrolled in the Navy, and became a FROG MAN (those were BEFORE they were NAVY SEALS) He also rescued my Grandmother in Manchester England during a Nazi Air Raid. That's another story. You might be able to find records of my Grandfather, he was a Top Cop in the Philadelphia Rizzo Era. Most people knew him a "Johnny Deyoe". Its funny because old people in Philly seem to recognize the name. He was also an Extra in the 1985 film "Witness" with Harrison Ford. The barn scene, and some party scenes. Anyways, I grew up knowing my grandfather as the old guy who liked farms and tinkering, but he did all sort of things like piloting, cab driver, roller derby champion, race car driver, police officer, and he also had a career as a Country singer. That's a long story too. Yeah, he was all over the place. When I was little, we were always among the Amish. They mostly spoke English to me, but he spoke all of it. Every time I go back to PA I buy the foods & drinks there like Take-A-Boost, Tastey Cakes, Birch Beer, Philly Pretzels, and other stuff. I honestly wish I lived in PA instead of Boston. *********
I remember a nursery rhyme my grandfather taught me. He wrote it down the way HE SPOKE & PRONOUNCED PA Dutch, so it sounds funny to me from the Hoch Deutsch perspective. I can actually STILL recite it EXACTLY the way my grandfather taught it to me: So, they pronounced letters from the alphabet similar to Hoch Deutsch: A B C the way he grew up pronouncing it sounded like: Ah, Bait, Say So it went something like this: A, B, C (Ah, Bait, Say) Der katz in der schnee (shnay) Wenz er komt der rauss, Er Hutta Weisse Hussa Au. I don;t know why he translated "er" to mean "they" because in Hoch Deutsch "er" means "he" but "sie" can mean both "they" and "she" (or also "You" the polite way) in standard Hoch Deutsch. So, he wrote this down for me when I was maybe in 3rd grade. He said it means: A, B, C The Cats in the snow, When They Go outside, They have white pants on. Perhaps that's some kind of funny meaning about cats getting snow stuck to their butt in a blizzard. I think it might be fragmented tho. Like maybe there was more to it, but that was the only thing my grandfather could remember. BUT, i remember it EXACTLY the way he taught me, and often practiced this. It looks like "Hutta" and "Hussa" might have some kind of word play somewhere in there, that might've been lost to time. After WWI, everyone was afraid to admit they were German because of the "Bayonets with Babies" campaigns which made everyone think Germanic people were brutal savages, so most people quit speaking the language, or changed the spelling of their names. (My father is a different kind of German, not PA Dutch, and his family has similar experiences of "Americanizing" their German names due to WWI) I'm not exactly sure where the surname "Deyoe" came from. I found some surnames of this in France, England, and maybe Spain. If its Spain, that might explain the wealthy ancestors, whom were catholic and had a monopoly on Gold and shipping industry, which also might explain the reason why my grandfather's "half breed" father was a Boat Captain at a time when everyone was very racist. Or, perhaps its connected to The Moores whom had a large population in the Colonial days. That's a big wormhole to look up, because they often omit this from history classes. Morocco was THE 1st Nation to recognize the USA as a Nation when it was formed in Philly. Sometimes you can still find old statues of Moores in the area, if you know how they dressed back then, and they are often mislabeled. Moores also highly influenced the Cherokee Nation and their Fashion & culture. The Carolinas were originally going to become their own State, and were on track to do so, but a Cherokee organized State; and so they had many powerful bankers as well. That's why they were sent packing on The Trail of Tears. There are still many places called things like "Moorsetown" and similar names, even in NJ. Some of Benjamin Franklin's writings mention a lot of this stuff. And, the Philadelphia Art Museum is built on a massive Indian Burial Mound made by an ancient extinct tribe. That place always felt sacred to me.
@@PADutch101 Anyways, thank you SO MUCH for your videos! I used to be afraid all of this cultural stuff would be lost, or die off. But, ever since I started sharing your videos over the past few years, its starting to seem like more & more people have gained an interest in this history & cultural heritage. I kind of wish I had the option to learn these sorts of things when I was growing up in public school, and back then many of the people who grew up bilingual were still alive back then. I find that today, I usually only find PA Dutch who just speak English, but in my travels on the Greyhound Bus, I often came across people, like Mennonites & Amish from Ohio and I could understand them in great big chunks. They pronounced words like my grandfather did. They would say things like "Du bish...." (You are...) or "Glauben Ish...." (I believe....). That's EXACTLY how my grandfather pronounced the words, accent and everything!
@@PADutch101 Ha! That's awesome! I love that! My grandpop whos been gone many years, was a favorite phrase of his. He had the "Professor Schnitzel" sense of humor, for sure.
@@PADutch101 For years I always wondered what my family said when they used to scold children. I could never figure out if it was "Gott verdammt sei" or "Good for dumm sei" (it sounded like good for dumm sei when they said it). Now after seeing you saying "verdammt sei" can have Gott in front of it, I think I found my answer. And now I also know what the last part of the phrase was! Ach deleeva. Because of my german background I always thought it was Ach du Liebe(r). "Gott verdammt sei Junge ach deleeva!" Heard that a lot growing up 😂 thanks.
Here at the Hunsrück, Idar-Oberstein we say schafft for work. Its my work... is mei Schaff... He won't work anything... Der will nix schaffe.... That (a thing) won't work... Dat schafft net. sell sahn mir net - mir sahn Dat
Doug, would you be able to say "Harriyesses" when actually speaking out to the Lord, or Jesus, as I would in English, and it not be meant as taking His name in vain?
I have only ever heard it used when frustrated. If I am praying or talking with God personally, then I slow it down and say all three words separately: Harr Yesus.
So confusing if you know standard german. Haar means Herr? So how do you say hair! Even tho my parents generation didnt speak much german, theyd say the same things dutch phrases in english.
Just to let you know not all Amish use this language I never heard my grandparents or parents use these bad words I come from horse and buggy Amish I was taught to not use God's name in vain .
My paternal grandmother said "Dunnerwedder" often. When I asked my mom what it meant, she told me it meant "thunderstorm", and told me it was a bad word, so don't repeat it. Imagine my my confusion as a kid when the weather changed and the rain came...
"Donnerwetter" is literally a thunderstorm, but as an interjection is better translated with our obsolete, "thunderation!"
This reminds my of my vacation in Slovenia thirty years ago when I have heard the phrase "Jessufmariaenjoseph"
"Jessesmariaunjosef" is common in southern Germany, too. Also "Sakra" or "Sakradie".
Heard most of these phrases growing up with grandparents from Shoey and Hamburg. It wasn’t until I moved to NY that I realized I spoke differently !😂
Its mindblowing for me as german speaking Person. Eieiei.. Dunnerwedder nochemol 😂 im from Baden-Württemberg. I lived most time of my life nearby Karlsruhe and i can understand 90% of what i saw in your Videos until now. Its funny and interesting for me because i never heard about Pennsylvania dutch before. But now i know wich Region i should visit if i ever travel to america so my bad english doesnt have that big influence 😂 i follow this channel now 😁
My PA Dutch aunt had a German pen pal from the 1930's to the 1970s; they could make themselves understood. They wrote til WW2 began; he had to serve in the German army and was POW in a Soviet prison camp (how did he ever survive?) but afterward picked up writing again, and visited one another in the US and in Germany a few times. Both long dead now, but it was interesting how they could communicate.
I had no idea Ei Ei Ei was PA Dutch until this video. I thought it was something everyone said.
Growing up PA German, we also said Oi, yoi, yoi. I guess that means the same thing.
My granddad says that! Lol
I used to hear (spelled phonetically since I never saw them written down) "sheiss mol" and "schloch dich". I figured out the first one on my own but had to ask about the second, which I was told was, "I'm going to slam you!"
Aaaah, nothing quite like naughty words to cleanse your affective filters and learn more PA Dutch! I work as a Cultural Resource Manager for a firm that offers business solutions for Amish shed builders and I am going to use every one of these with the CEO to see if he has remembered any of these as a kid and half expect him to ask me to wash my mouth out with soap. I cuss like a sailor in English and a few other languages, so PA Dutch will be a lovely addition. Keep up the great work!
I am a native German speaker. I have family who originates from Bohemia region, nowadays Czech Republic, speaking German with their own very special dialect. It was passed on to children within the families, even when German was banned as a language in schools and in public. For me, who married into this bohemian family - and to be honest who really had difficulties understanding them at first when I first met them 30 years ago - PA-dutch is really easy to understand. For me, the way you pronounce your words is a lot like the bohemian dialect, lots of unusual words are the same. I knew immediately what "harriyesses" means 😅 Very interesting resemblance! Thanks Douglas for keeping the spirit of PA dutch alive. I will keep an eye on your videos
The Amish here in Ohio say Dummer Scheiss. Not a nice thing to call somebody lol
This got a guffaw out of me, a 71 year old PA Dutch woman. Du dummer scheiss. Yep, that's a great one.
Watching this again reminds me of something I read years ago, by some linguist, comparing English and German profanities as an expression of the two cultures. His point was that much of German profanity has a scatological sense, whereas in English, the strongest and probably most common profanity is sexual and has the literal meaning of "I mount you." He compared that to the image of chimps who use that sexual gesture to show rank in a troop.
One of my nephews explained to my sister (his mother) that the reason grandma's pie was better than hers was because Nana swore more when rolling out the crust. Needless to say, Dutch on all sides of the family.
You know this is so unbelievable to me! I understand a lot of what you said because I can speak Alsatian, a dialect that is spoken in Alsace (a French region which was annexed many times by Germany) So Alsatian is close to German, and now Pennsylvania Dutch! Dunnerwedder... my grandma always uses this word!!! It is mind blowing!
There were many Alsatians that immigrated to Pennsylvania along with the Pfälzer. I have some Alsatian forefathers in my family tree! The dialects are similar.
@@PADutch101 So interesting! I should look up my family tree to see if some left France to go to the US!
HEIMATLAND!
Gottverdeckel! ...would be two common swearwords I use.
LOVED the phrase "sell iss really eppes" (the word "really" thrown in there makes it rather cute) ...there's a lot of alemannic German (as spoken in my native area of the southern black forest as well as in parts of Switzerland and Alsace!) stuck in that sentence. Only that if we'd say it, it would be something along the lines of "Sell isch emol öbbis"
Henkeldreck (Chicken Dirt)
My parents always said yummer nochemol!!
"Sell iss really eppes", In my dialect I would say "Dees is echt eppas"
When I first moved to Bavaria, I was floored by the colourful curse phrases coming from Catholic tradition. The first one I remember hearing was "Kruzifixhallelujah!", which needs no translation. If just want to mutter something under your breath, you can shorten it to "Zifix!" (It rhymes with Asterix and Obelix" 😉) "Donnerwetter" is still around, but heard less often nowadays. There are others that I won't elaborate on, but suffice it to say that the Bavarians can be quite creative in that regard, too! 😉🤣
When we're done we'll clean up = "Hamas dan, rama dan zom
I’m PA Dutch and I say ei ei ei all the time and it seems so normal to me but people look at me weird . I thought it was just normal lol
I remember "Selladiwu ...", which means "Jene, welche ...", "Those, who ...". Frankonian vernacular.
Wow, the memories! Maybe I'll use some of these instead of the f-bomb to voice my frustration with NJ traffic.
Love your content!
My mother used to say that her father could say a sentence a mile long when he was irritated and not have a single cuss word in there
In Germany it would be "Frei ab 6 Jahren". Definitely not PG 13. Remember you heard it from your grandparents...🤔
Douglas, may I ask what the name of your ancestors was before they emigrated?
Dunnerwedder (and slight variations) is quite common vernacular in (Southern) Germany.
I remember hearing hocka dunnerwedder
Thank you and God bless you machs got
Great episode! Very funny! ;D "Sell" means "Selbiger" I guess.
"Sell" means "Das"
@@Marc-ox6rz quatsch
You are right, Tom Mot. My grandmother often said "Seller" when she was talking about a certain person and did not want to mention the name.
@@tommot7755 Ist kein Quatsch! Kommt aus dem Alemannischen.
@@kinmeru "Seller" or "Desell" pertains to "dieser" or "der da". But an allone standing "sell" is merely "das", nothing but.
In Baselland hei mir au chlini Bärgä.
Hinkeldreck, aa!
Hah! These are great! Thanks
It's funny to see how in the younger generations it went more to english but still is the same phrase. My parents always said "Don't talk so gott dam dumm"
Also "Was ist letz" we always said "Was ist los" here
I remember saying jesses'nee......very similar. Great video!
"Donnerwetter" is better translated idiomatically than literally. It's better translated as our obsolete English interjection, "Thunderation!" It's more or less dead in English, but you can still here a German say, "Donnerwetter!" A mild oath.
Another phrase used when frustrated which wasn't and is not proper, often said "Gott in Himmel"
You forgot (maybe on purpose) the holiest of holies - hiwwe hawwa Probably the most beautifully sublime curse of any language, because even if you know the words, if you don't know the context it makes no sense.
I had a dear friend who has passed on who used to say (curse) the following often when he did something wrong, but I don't think I'm remembering all the dutch words quite right -
Ich hawwa zweemol abschnitte, es iss nach zu katz! OR "I cut it twice and it's still too short!" I'd appreciate if you could correct it if need be, and thanks for the work you do.
Actually, there have been studies proving that cursing, or even saying certain words that are similar such as Chuck or duck or fit, if you don't want to say the actual words, actually can improve your mood and lessen pain. Which, anyone who's ever stub their toe on their bed can attest to, does work.
Now go wash your mouth out with soap!
Both my parent would say "ei, ei, ei". but, as a child to 50's TV, I thought they got it from Ricky Ricardo! Is there a literal translations?
ei ei ei can't be translated directly, but would be something along the lines of "ob boy" (in a negative sense)
@@tobiasmagnus6835 I know eieiei also in a positive sense, for example when you speak to a toddler or baby.
My granddad used some of those phrases. Eieiei....Donnerwedder nochemol, even Jesses- Maria, which of course as a kid I did not relate to the Lord and mother Mary.
Do you going to a Elwetritsche hunt in PA too? Like we in the Pfalz? :-)
Ya, nadierlich!
. Pochen, gropser and furknickle are 3 words my grandma Fecke used about cats. Do you recognize?
And then the lovely Mrs. Madenford takes the bad Mr. Madenford by the ear and introduces his mouth to a bar of soap 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have not heard forhoodled or forhunced in a while
This funny. Here in my hometown - I am German from Idar-Oberstein, Hunsrück, we say fahuddelt and fahunst
Growing up PA Dutch, we used the word ferhoodled to mean confused or mixed up. Say, you get the date or time of a party wrong and you say, "Oh, I am so ferhoodled."
@@virginiasoskin9082 ja, ich vershteh gut
"Vadammt no' moi!"
"Zafix!"
"Grattler!"
"Jessasmarandjosef!"
Great vid as always but you forgot unfastendich. My guess is that it means incomprehensible or unfathomable but it is said with such irritation at times that I thought it was on par with a swear word when I was a child. My exposure to the language was first from Amish and old order Mennonites and late in my teens and twenties from secular people more from your neck of the woods.
Douglas, you started sweating a little lol
As a child that grew up visiting my grandparents and uncle in hegins PA i definitely heard alot of this. But i dont know what verflamte means lol please help
Verflammte means on fire/in flames. Can be used as a swear word similar to damn!
My most used would be good morning or afternoon how are you today and thank you very much have a good day. Little words would be yes it is very humid very warm or a bit chilly today. Wish I would’ve listen to my mom and dad when I was younger, Learning this would be a lot easier. I do notice that the words come a little bit easier. I wish I had some thing that I could put on tape that would just be repetition, they say if you listen to words and sentences over and over while you sleep that it comes much easier. Thank you
Has anyone heard of someone scolding a children by saying "Meint/Meind"? Like "no, stop doing that"? I can't find it in the pa deitsch dictionary
yes, from the verb meinde!
"jessasmarundjosef!""
"Vadammt no'moi!"
"Des iss ein Anschiss, ein richtiger Anschiss!"
What are the regions that say deifel vs. deiwel ?
In an old PD bible I have the word for devil, is Dyefil. interesting you brought that up
High German Would be "Teufel" which has about the same sound, just with the harder pronunciation of the letter T.
@@tobiasmagnus6835 "Pfui Deifi (noamo)!", Ugh, yuck!, is also quite common in Southern Germany.
Where did this old PD Bible come from out of curiosity?
@@Elephunky215I've seen them before. Never got close enough to one to look through it though. Not exactly something you just take off a elderly dutchies shelf to page through.
Thanks for the explanation for "Haariyesses"!
I kept thinking at fist? Huh??? like "Haar"?
But I think this dialect pronounced "Herr" like "Haar" probably to make it sound slightly less offensive on propose, because "Herr" is "Lord", and then u said "yessess" was Jesus. I actually went to a Martin Luthar Assembly/church in Germany in 1998, so I understand the context, because standard German pronounced the name "Jesus" like "yay-zooss".
That's kind of funny to shout "Hairy Jesus!" but I'm guessing it was done this way on purpose, like saying "heck" instead of "Hell", or "Shoot" instead of you know what. ;P
My grandfather never said stuff like that, that I can recall, but he said stuff like "Swcheinhund!" which means "pig dog" but is very very offensive, or "Dummkopf" meaning "stupid head" or "idiot".
My grandfather, and his sister (my grand aunt) told me stories about growing up and being forbidden from Speaking Pennsylvania Dutch at the School House (which is like a little building where kids went to get educated) or even outside the building on the property, or even within ear-shot. So, these bullies would pick my grandfather's little brother, Stanley, intentionally to make him angry, which caused him to instantly react in Pennsylvania Dutch.
The penalty for speaking non-English words was a form of child abuse torture known as corporal punishment as everyone watched, which often involved the teacher assaulting & battering the child with an object repurposed as a weapon, like a ruler, yard stick, or even physical slapping of the child with the hands. They also used other forms of psychological torture & shaming or shunning. Since my grandfather's father was half Mescalero Apache, Grandmother was an Apache Princess from New Mexico, and their mother was Epileptic which the Pennsylvania Dutch misunderstood her seizures to be "witchcraft" and accused her of being a witch, then took her children away, and locked her up forcing the children to live in a neighbor's barn as they grew up, that must've been pretty tense times!
They told me all sorts of sordid stories. So, I imagine they probably mouthed off with the same words as these as well as you mentioned!
My grandfather had similar one-room school house stories. And in PA Dutch Herr is pronounced like Haar. That is how the dialect works just like ER is pronounced like AR. So we are still saying Herr Yesus, it just comes out sounding like in the video! Where was your family from? My family were all settled in Berks County, PA.
@@PADutch101 I've loved watching your videos for a number of years now, and I watch them both in English & German.
I'm not exactly sure of the specific spot my grandfather was from. He was technically born on a house boat on the Delaware River, and his parents weren't sure if they wanted to go to NJ or PA, but My Grandfather's family on both sides grew up in the Pennsylvania area including the Poconos & the Catskills. My grandfather's grandfather was descended by some very rich folks folks under the surname of "Deyoe" which doesn't seem Dutch at all.
But, he (my grandfather's Grandfather) wanted to be more MANLY & Rugged, so he went off during the Gold Rush, (The 49ers) but their family was all from generations in the PA area. I think my grandfather's mother was also PA Dutch.
Anyways, somehow (and there are differing stories) he brought home an Apache bride on the way home from gold mining, which he got annoyed with mining gold and gave up. He was also a Pioneer type too. Her (his bride) name was Princess Lone Star.
Kind of scandalous stuff, right?
So, my grandfather's father, was half Apache, they got away with this in plain sight, because the Deyoes were all very wealthy, and had mansions. There used to be photos of my garndfather's Grandmother dressed all in the plain PA Dutch typical fashion/clothing but STILL wearing all of her many many jewelry adornments, and also she worked VERY HARD every day, and carried water up the hills in buckets from the well. You CAN'T tell a Princess she can't wear her jewels. HARD work was viewed as a virtuous behavior back then.
Anyway, my grandfather's grandfather actually loved his wife VERY MUCH, and DEFIED all the conventions, and found a way to LEGALLY MARRY HER. he felt it was unGodly and disrespectful to treat her like a slave just because she wasn't white. VERY SHOCKING SCANDAL back then.
I think also there were stigmas back then about being wealthy, which might've been why his ancestor ran off to be a pioneer and a Gold Rush 49er. My grandfather told me all these funny stories about his grandfather, and his family. He said he didn't want to be a pretty, dolled-up gentleman type. He wanted to be a rugged manly man. And, there might've been some religious motives also.
But, eventually my grandfather's parents just on a whim chose to go back to PA instead of NJ. If I remember correctly, DE might've actually originally been a part of PA and split off into its own nation state or something like that, and some kind of Indian village Massacre in the process.... so, not blaming them for NOT wanted to live in DE.
So, most of my grandfather's upbringing as a child was all pre Great Depression before it happened, or post WWI.
My grandfather LOVED the farmlands, so when I was little he lived in Lancaster PA, and all the neighbors were Amish. My grandfather is an interesting character because he was illegally in both the Army and then the Navy. He was shot in the head by a Nazi after a famous paratrooper event, and got stuck in a tree.
So a when he got shot in the head, he forgot who he was for a few years, and lived the rest of his life with a metal plate in his head. He illegally joined the Army and lied about his age, so when he was discharged from the hospital, and then the army, he walked down the street and enrolled in the Navy, and became a FROG MAN (those were BEFORE they were NAVY SEALS)
He also rescued my Grandmother in Manchester England during a Nazi Air Raid. That's another story.
You might be able to find records of my Grandfather, he was a Top Cop in the Philadelphia Rizzo Era. Most people knew him a "Johnny Deyoe". Its funny because old people in Philly seem to recognize the name.
He was also an Extra in the 1985 film "Witness" with Harrison Ford. The barn scene, and some party scenes.
Anyways, I grew up knowing my grandfather as the old guy who liked farms and tinkering, but he did all sort of things like piloting, cab driver, roller derby champion, race car driver, police officer, and he also had a career as a Country singer. That's a long story too. Yeah, he was all over the place.
When I was little, we were always among the Amish. They mostly spoke English to me, but he spoke all of it.
Every time I go back to PA I buy the foods & drinks there like Take-A-Boost, Tastey Cakes, Birch Beer, Philly Pretzels, and other stuff. I honestly wish I lived in PA instead of Boston.
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I remember a nursery rhyme my grandfather taught me. He wrote it down the way HE SPOKE & PRONOUNCED PA Dutch, so it sounds funny to me from the Hoch Deutsch perspective.
I can actually STILL recite it EXACTLY the way my grandfather taught it to me:
So, they pronounced letters from the alphabet similar to Hoch Deutsch:
A B C the way he grew up pronouncing it sounded like:
Ah, Bait, Say
So it went something like this:
A, B, C (Ah, Bait, Say)
Der katz in der schnee (shnay)
Wenz er komt der rauss,
Er Hutta Weisse Hussa Au.
I don;t know why he translated "er" to mean "they" because in Hoch Deutsch "er" means "he" but "sie" can mean both "they" and "she" (or also "You" the polite way) in standard Hoch Deutsch.
So, he wrote this down for me when I was maybe in 3rd grade.
He said it means:
A, B, C
The Cats in the snow,
When They Go outside,
They have white pants on.
Perhaps that's some kind of funny meaning about cats getting snow stuck to their butt in a blizzard.
I think it might be fragmented tho. Like maybe there was more to it, but that was the only thing my grandfather could remember. BUT, i remember it EXACTLY the way he taught me, and often practiced this.
It looks like "Hutta" and "Hussa" might have some kind of word play somewhere in there, that might've been lost to time.
After WWI, everyone was afraid to admit they were German because of the "Bayonets with Babies" campaigns which made everyone think Germanic people were brutal savages, so most people quit speaking the language, or changed the spelling of their names.
(My father is a different kind of German, not PA Dutch, and his family has similar experiences of "Americanizing" their German names due to WWI)
I'm not exactly sure where the surname "Deyoe" came from. I found some surnames of this in France, England, and maybe Spain. If its Spain, that might explain the wealthy ancestors, whom were catholic and had a monopoly on Gold and shipping industry, which also might explain the reason why my grandfather's "half breed" father was a Boat Captain at a time when everyone was very racist.
Or, perhaps its connected to The Moores whom had a large population in the Colonial days. That's a big wormhole to look up, because they often omit this from history classes. Morocco was THE 1st Nation to recognize the USA as a Nation when it was formed in Philly.
Sometimes you can still find old statues of Moores in the area, if you know how they dressed back then, and they are often mislabeled. Moores also highly influenced the Cherokee Nation and their Fashion & culture. The Carolinas were originally going to become their own State, and were on track to do so, but a Cherokee organized State; and so they had many powerful bankers as well. That's why they were sent packing on The Trail of Tears.
There are still many places called things like "Moorsetown" and similar names, even in NJ. Some of Benjamin Franklin's writings mention a lot of this stuff. And, the Philadelphia Art Museum is built on a massive Indian Burial Mound made by an ancient extinct tribe. That place always felt sacred to me.
@@PADutch101 Anyways, thank you SO MUCH for your videos! I used to be afraid all of this cultural stuff would be lost, or die off.
But, ever since I started sharing your videos over the past few years, its starting to seem like more & more people have gained an interest in this history & cultural heritage.
I kind of wish I had the option to learn these sorts of things when I was growing up in public school, and back then many of the people who grew up bilingual were still alive back then. I find that today, I usually only find PA Dutch who just speak English, but in my travels on the Greyhound Bus, I often came across people, like Mennonites & Amish from Ohio and I could understand them in great big chunks. They pronounced words like my grandfather did.
They would say things like "Du bish...." (You are...) or "Glauben Ish...." (I believe....).
That's EXACTLY how my grandfather pronounced the words, accent and everything!
@@BlackUniGryphon My goodness, what an amazing story! You need to write a book about it!
And I heard gott verdammt sei also gott fi dumm.
How do u say your my best friend and I luv u!
Du bischt mei beschde Freind! - Ich lieb dich!
What is eiyammere
The equivalent of "Oh my goodness". Ei - Oh, Yammer/yammere = to complain/lament
Were you Amish or Mennonite?
Nope! Born and raised in Berks County, PA, in a PA Dutch Lutheran home. 12th generation here in Pennsylvania.
How bout...ei deleeva! nochemol!
(Not sure of the spelling) heard it many times though😂😂
That's a good one!
@@PADutch101 Always wondered what the translation was for that one.. Really enjoying all of your content btw.👍
@@jrees1082 Oh my life, once again!
@@PADutch101 Ha! That's awesome! I love that! My grandpop whos been gone many years, was a favorite phrase of his. He had the "Professor Schnitzel" sense of humor, for sure.
@@PADutch101 For years I always wondered what my family said when they used to scold children. I could never figure out if it was "Gott verdammt sei" or "Good for dumm sei" (it sounded like good for dumm sei when they said it). Now after seeing you saying "verdammt sei" can have Gott in front of it, I think I found my answer. And now I also know what the last part of the phrase was! Ach deleeva. Because of my german background I always thought it was Ach du Liebe(r).
"Gott verdammt sei Junge ach deleeva!" Heard that a lot growing up 😂 thanks.
Sell schafft nett sounds kind of like translated backwards from english to german. Never heard that in a german dialect.
Try the Black Forest. It’s similar form: das wirkt nicht.
@@Ian-dn6ld In the Black Forrest we'd say "sell goht it" or near Freiburg the phrase would be "sell/des goht net"
Tobias Magnus des geht,goht,geit, ned,nit,it und da sind auch noch welche andere formen was nemme verwendet werden
Here at the Hunsrück, Idar-Oberstein we say schafft for work. Its my work... is mei Schaff... He won't work anything... Der will nix schaffe.... That (a thing) won't work... Dat schafft net. sell sahn mir net - mir sahn Dat
@@sabrinahoffmann6022 Wieder was gelernt. Vielen Dank
Trying to remember a term. you dropped my salad. I can't remember it all .It ended in illbeshit!
I don't I'm familiar with that phrase. You dropped my salad literally would be: Du hoscht mei Salat falle gelosse.
@@PADutch101 thank you .
Doug, would you be able to say "Harriyesses" when actually speaking out to the Lord, or Jesus, as I would in English, and it not be meant as taking His name in vain?
I have only ever heard it used when frustrated. If I am praying or talking with God personally, then I slow it down and say all three words separately: Harr Yesus.
So confusing if you know standard german. Haar means Herr? So how do you say hair! Even tho my parents generation didnt speak much german, theyd say the same things dutch phrases in english.
It's all in the pronunciation. hair = Haar (hore), Mr. or Lord = Herr (harr)
@@PADutch101 We sai to Mr. Härr und to Hair Hoar (with a long o)
😂😊😋
I drive Amish wtf does demaya mean
de Maryie is this morning, or in the morning.
I have a Comment
Just to let you know not all Amish use this language I never heard my grandparents or parents use these bad words I come from horse and buggy Amish I was taught to not use God's name in vain .