Pennsylvania Dutch Words, Phrases

I grew up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, which is sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch country. There are large communities of Amish and Mennonites, and many of us are descended from these Germanic peoples, who settled here in the late 1600s. "Dutch" is a misnomer, as the Anabaptist sects came primarily from Germany and the German-speaking areas of Switzerland. (The word may come form the word Deutsch, which is German for German!) The dialect spoken is a German dialect; many of the words and phrases would be recognizable to tourists from Germany. Some people also make the mistake of using the terms Amish and Pennsylvania Dutch (German) interchangeably. The terms Amish and Mennonite refer exclusively to particular religious beliefs and practices included in the general category of Anabaptists; the latter refers to lineage and origins.

Although my family is several generations removed from practicing Anabaptists (my maternal great grandparents were Mennonite, but most of us have since embraced Lutheranism. or have no religious affiliation), several Pennsylvania Dutch words and phrases have remained in our vocabulary. Growing up, it was simply the way people spoke, and I had no idea that there was anything strange or different about it until I went to college. I soon became a curiosity; my roommate would trot me out for her family and friends for a bit of comic relief.

Some of the words are easily recognizable as having German roots; some of the odd sentence structures also go back to the German; and some words, I have absolutely no clue as to their origin. Many of the "English" (the Pennsylvania Dutch term for people outside the Anabaptist community) words are pronounced differently as well; you'll hear G and J pronounced as "ch" ("You can buy it at the Cheneral Store," or "Chust a minute, now") and W as V ("Ya, and it's fine veather ve're having, ain't?").

Here are some of the other words and phrases that peppered my speech until recently.

Rootsh (or ruch). Not being able to sit still. "Stop ruching around, Levi."

Kutz (pronounced as cuts). To vomit. This one sent my college friends into helpless fits.

Doplich (or dobbich). Clumsy. "You're always falling over things; you're so doplich."

Rift. To belch. No idea where this came from.

Schecklich. Scary

Rett (or redd). To clean up or put away. "Get all those toys rett away." "I need to rett up first, then we can go."

Piffle or piddle. To kill time, usually by doing small tasks. "I'm just piffling around till lunch."

Put it by. Lay it down. Not to be confused with;

Put up. To preserve produce. Also referred to as canning, although the product goes in jars. Go figure.

Schmecks. Tastes good, although it can refer to a kiss.

Do you mind... do you remember. "Do you mind the time Jakey fell in the crick (creek)?

It wonders me... I wonder.

It's all. There is no more available.

More back. There is some more available.

Onest. I'm not sure about the purpose of this little add-on. "See here now, onest" would be the opening line of some basic instructions, like the proper method of throwing the horse over the fence some hay.

Then there are the culinary surprises. Pity my poor husband, who moved to the Washington, D.C., area from England many years ago. After struggling with the differing concepts of biscuits, cookies, muffins, custards and puddings, he finally felt as though he had it all straight. Then he married me and moved to Lancaster County.

On our third date, we ate in a local restaurant. "What's Dutch Goose?" he asked quizzically. I sighed. "It's pig stomach," I replied. "They take a pig's stomach, stuff it with a mixture of sausage and potatoes and bread and seasoning, and bake it. It's pretty good." He thought he'd order something more familiar. Like a hamburger. Entrees came with two vegetables; after perusing the list of pickled beets, chow chow and various other Pennsylvania Dutch specialties, he chose corn. No doubt he thought it was a safe choice.

Unfortunately, the menu didn't mention it was another local favorite; "Cope's corn." John Cope's corn is a dried corn, prepared either with milk and sugar, or in a sort of baked casserole. It also has a brownish cast to it. Brian was horrified when it was served.

"Look at this! It's bloody well burned! What kind of idiot cook manages to burn corn? I'm sending it back."

I gently explained to him that, well, it was supposed to look that.

"I suppose I'll be eating a lot of salad from now on," he said sadly.

Another local dish that confuses people is potpie. (Yes, it is spelled as either one word or two.) If you order pot pie, you generally expect a pie with meat and gravy and vegetables in it. In Lancaster County, you'll be served a dish made up of flat, doughy, square noodles with chicken and gravy, with either potatoes or vegetables thrown in. Sort of like chicken and dumplings. I was always told that the name confusion originated from the Pennsylvania Dutch name for the square noodles, which is "bot boi" and sounds a lot like the English "pot pie". I can remember my grandmother rolling out the dough and hanging it in strips on the backs of the wooden kitchen chairs to dry before cutting.

Travel anywhere in the area and you'll run across many other specialties including souse (also referred to as head cheese because it's made with meat from the head, ears, and sometimes feet of pigs), chow chow (a vegetable relish), scrapple ( a mixture of meat and cornmeal, served as a breakfast meat), puddin's (which are actually another meaty sort of thing), schnitz und knepp (dried apples and dumplings, sometimes with a bit of pork), and the popular shoo fly pie. Shoo fly pie is a concoction of molasses and brown sugar with a layer of crumb on top, similar to coffee cake toppings. It can be either wet bottom or dry bottom, depending on whether the bottom crust is barely there or substantial.

That's just an overview of the more common Pennsylvania Dutch words and phrases. One more thing I'd like to add; if you do come to Lancaster, and don't want to stand out as a tourist, here's a word to the wise. Lancaster is pronounced "LANK is ter," emphasis on the first syllable. Viel gluck!