[Physicist]

Plattdeutsch?

Stiefeltanz?

Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch.

[Rudder]

I'm not related to Pa. Dutch, but closely associated with them both by lineage and by geographical proximity. My parents could speak this dialect and also Hochdeutsch and Suddeutsch. Of these dialects, I can read and speak only Hochdeutsch because my parents focused upon assimilating into the USA and, therefore allowed only the english language to be spoken.

Nevertheless, when my father was talking privately with me he would tell me Hochdeutsch jokes: eg., Was ist los?---Was ist nicht verbunden is los."---funny stuff, huh?

[AnAmericanMother]

Verstehe!

I can sort of understand Pennsylvania Deutsch -- but believe it or not it's easier for me to understand Yiddish!

I learned German from an Austrian, so I'm about as far from the Plattdeutsch/Low German dialects as anybody can be on the language map. She tried to teach us a little Plattdeutsch, and I've read some of it in Grimm's Tales, but it just doesn't compute for me.