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| Plautdietsch | |
|---|---|
| Plautdiitsch; Mennonite Low German | |
| Plautdietsch | |
| Native to | Vistula delta region,Poland |
| Region | Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, United States, Uruguay |
Native speakers | 450,000 (2007)[1] |
Early forms | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | Mexico (100,000+)[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pdt |
| Glottolog | plau1238 |
 Plautdietsch is classified as Definitely Endangered by theUNESCOAtlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010) | |
| This article containsIPA phonetic symbols. Without properrendering support, you may seequestion marks, boxes, or other symbols instead ofUnicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. | |
Plautdietsch (pronounced[ˈplaʊt.ditʃ]) orMennonite Low German is aLow Prussian dialect ofEast Low German withDutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in theVistula delta area ofRoyal Prussia.[3][4] The wordPlautdietsch translates to "flat (or low) German" (referring to the plains of northern Germany or the simplicity of the language).[5] In otherLow German dialects, the word for Low German is usually realised asPlattdütsch/Plattdüütsch[ˈplatdyːtʃ] orPlattdüütsk[ˈplatdyːtsk], – very often also asPlattdeutsch – but the spellingPlautdietsch is used to refer specifically to the Vistula variant of the language.
Plautdietsch was a Low German dialect like others until it was taken byMennonite settlers to the southwest of theRussian Empire starting in 1789.[4] From there it evolved and subsequent waves of migration brought it to North America, starting in 1873.
Plautdietsch is spoken by about 400,000Russian Mennonites, most notably in the Latin American countries of Mexico,Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Belize, Brazil,[6] Argentina, andUruguay, along with the United States (notablyKansas,Oklahoma, andTexas) and Canada (notablyManitoba,Saskatchewan, andOntario).
Today, Plautdietsch is spoken in two major dialects that trace their division to what is now Ukraine. These two dialects are split betweenChortitza Colony andMolotschna. Today, many younger Russian Mennonites in Canada and the United States speak only English.
In 2007, Mexican filmmakerCarlos Reygadas directed the filmStellet Licht (Silent Light), set in a Mennonite community inChihuahua, Mexico. Most of the film's dialogue is in Plautdietsch, which some of the actors had to learn phonetically. Other parts were played by people of the local community.
Plautdietsch speakers today are mostly the descendants ofMennonites who fled in the 16th century to escape persecution andresettled in the Vistula delta. These refugees were Frisians and Saxons from East Frisia, people from Flanders (now part of Belgium) and central Europeans.[7] They settled in West Prussia mostly in the three local areas ofNehrung (on the Baltic Sea),Werder (islands in the Vistula delta) andNiederung (south of the Werder), where they adopted the respective local Low German dialect as their everyday language.[7]As Mennonites they kept their own (primarily Dutch and Low German) identity, usingStandard Dutch as the language of the church well into the 18th century. As a written language, they took up High German.At the time of their migration to the Russian Empire, their spoken language resembled the dialects of the region with only some few Dutch elements.[8]Their East Low German dialect is still classified as Low Prussian.[citation needed]Russian Mennonites trace their genealogical roots mostly to theLow Countries.Beginning in the late 18th century, the expandingRussian Empire invited Germans and many from theKingdom of Prussia, including many Mennonites, to create new colonies north of theBlack Sea in an area that Russia had recently acquired in one of theRusso-Turkish Wars. This is now part of Ukraine as well as other countries. Beginning in 1873, many Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites migrated from the Russian Empire to the United States and Canada.
In 1922, Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from Canada started to settle in Mexico, and in 1927 in Paraguay. In the 1930s, Mennonites emigrated mainly from Soviet Ukraine directly to Brazil. The first Mennonite settlement in Bolivia was founded in 1957 by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from Paraguay. Soon, conservative Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from Canada, Mexico, and Belize also relocated to Bolivia, settling together. In 1986/7, a settlement was founded in Argentina by Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from other Latin American countries. Plautdietsch-speakingMennonites have also recently begun colonies in the jungle ofPeru.
| Standard German | Hunsrik/Hunsrückisch | Low German & Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania Dutch | Hutterite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 400,000 | — | 4,000 | — | — |
| Australia | 79,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Belize | — | — | 9,360 | — | — |
| Bolivia | 160,000 | — | 60,000 | — | — |
| Brazil | 1,500,000 | 3,000,000 | 8,000 | — | — |
| Canada | 430,000 | — | 80,000 | 15,000 | 23,200 |
| Chile | 35,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Costa Rica | — | — | 2,000 | — | — |
| Israel | 200,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Kazakhstan | 30,400 | — | 100,000 | — | — |
| Mexico | — | — | 40,000 | — | — |
| Namibia | 22,500 | — | — | — | — |
| New Zealand | 36,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Paraguay | 166,000 | — | 40,000 | — | — |
| Peru | 2,000 | — | 5,000 | — | — |
| Russia | — | — | — | — | — |
| South Africa | 12,000 | — | — | — | — |
| Uruguay | 28,000 | — | 2,000 | — | — |
| United States | 1,104,354[9] | — | 12,000 | 118,000 | 10,800 |
| Sum | 4,599,392 | 3,000,000 | 362,360 | 133,000 | 34,000 |
Plautdietsch-speaking communities in Latin America have mostly maintained their language, while also learning Standard German and local languages. In North America, many Mennonites have adopted English as their common language. In Germany, many Mennonites have shifted to Standard German, with only the most conservative fraction maintaining use of the Plautdietsch dialect.
Plautdietsch is primarily a spoken language, and does not have an official orthography. However, there have been attempts to create a written form of the language. One of the main issues facing the development of an official orthography is the variation in pronunciation among various speech communities. Another hindrance to the unification of the language is the fact that most Plautdietsch speaking people are not found in one geographical region, being spread across North America (Canada, the United States, Mexico), Central America and South America. Noteworthy attempts at an orthography include those done by Fast (1982), Reimer (1982), Reimer et al. (1983), Epp (1996), Loewen (1996, 1998), and Heinrichs et al. (2001).[10] Despite the absence of an official orthography, there are quite a few written texts in the Plautdietsch language.[11][page needed][10] A significant example is the Bible, whose New Testament was published in 1987 and the complete version subsequently published in 2005. It shares grammatical and lexical similarities with other varieties of Low German, and in general it is intelligible to other Low German speakers after some acquaintance. On the other hand, it has several developments and sound shifts not found in any other Low German dialect.
Regional differences of the language have developed. This is common in spoken languages that have historically lacked a consistent writing system, and have been carried to territories where other languages prevail. Major differences seem to have originated in the beginning of the 19th century in the two major Mennonite settlements in Ekaterinoslav, also known asNovorossiya, or New Russia, which lies in modern-day Ukraine. The colonies were Chortitza (Old Colony) and Molotschna (New Colony),[12][11][page needed] as noted above.
There was a third variety[citation needed] spoken byGroningen Old Flemish Mennonites in Waldheim,Gnadenfeld [uk], and Alexanderwohl, which traced its origin fromPrzechovka.[13] From Przechovka some moved toBrenkenhoffswalde andFranztal, in what is today Poland, where they used to live until 1945.[14]Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church is a Low German Mennonite Church, inGoessel, Kansas, US.
Some of the major differences between the two (major) varieties are:[citation needed]
| Old or Chortitza Colony dialect | New or Molotschna Colony dialect | Contemporary other Northern Low German | Standard High German | Meaning of word | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| verbs and other -en endings | räden | räde | reden | reden | to speak, to talk |
| oa diphthong | Froag[freaɣ] | Froag[froaɣ] | Fraag | Frage | question |
| u/y sound | Hus/Hüs[hys] | Hus[hus] | Huus | Haus | house |
| s/ts sound | Zol (Ssol)[sol] | Zol (Tsol)[tsol] | Tahl/Tall | Zahl | number (compare "tale") |
A few other differences sometimes related to this issue are the exact pronunciation of the IPA c sound and words as jenau/jeneiw. According to some studies, those might be due to the level of education of the speaker, as well as the influence of Russian and standard German.
The distinctive features of Chortitza-Plautdietsch as opposed to Molotschna-Plautdietsch include:[15]
| Feature | Chortitza-Plautdietsch | Molotschna-Plautdietsch |
|---|---|---|
| high rounded vowel - long /u/ realised as | <ü> [y] | <u> [ʉ] |
| lexical allophones | <eiw> [ɛɪv] | <au> [au] |
| low opening diphthong - <oa> diphthong | [ɛɐ] | [ɔɐ] |
| palatal plosives | <kj>/<gj> | <tj>/<dj> |
| syllabic nasal - verbal infinitives and plural suffixes ending in | <–en> [n̩] | <–e> [ə] |
Some Plautdietsch speakers might speak a mixture of both dialects. For instance, those who trace their origin to theBergthal Colony in New Russia—a daughter colony of the Old Colony—show all the phonetic distinction of the Old Colony version, but drop the final -n as the Molotschna speakers do.
Plautdietsch has a Low German base, and as such, it does not show the effects of theHigh German consonant shift. This distinguished the High German dialects from the Low German dialects and all other Germanic languages.[16] The basic distinctions between High German and Low German are:
| Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Germanpf, f = Low Germanp | Pfeife | Piep | Piep | Peif | פֿערדferd,רערrer,ליולקעlyulke | pijp | pipe |
| Apfel | Appel | Aupel | Appel | עפּלepl | appel | apple | |
| High Germanz, s, ss, ß = Low Germant | Zunge | Tung | Tung | Zung | צונגtsung | tong | tongue |
| was | wat | waut | was | וואָסvos | wat | what | |
| essen | eten | äte(n) | esse | עסןesn | eten | to eat | |
| Fuß | Foot | Foot | Fuus | פֿוסfus | voet | foot | |
| High Germanch = Low Germank | machen | maken | moake(n) | mache | מאַכןmakhn | maken | to make |
| High Germant = Low Germand | tun | doon | doone(n) | duh | טוןtun | doen | to do |
| Teil | Deel | Deel | Deel | טײלteyl | deel | part (compare "dole", "deal") | |
| High Germanb = Low Germanw, v, f | Leben | Leven | Läwe(n) | Leewe | לעבןlebn,חייםkhaym | leven | life |
| Korb | Korf | Korf | Karb | קאָרבkorb,קוישkoysh | korf | basket | |
| English⟨th⟩ = other Germanic languagesd | danken | danken | danke(n) | danke | דאַנקעןdanken | danken | to thank |
LikeDutch,Frisian and Low German, Plautdietsch only shows the mutation of⟨th⟩ into⟨d⟩.
| Original vowel sound | Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iː | Wein[vaɪn] | Wien[viːn] | Wien[viːn] | Wei[vaɪ] | װײַןvayn[vaɪn] | wijn[ʋɛin] | wine[waɪn] |
| yː | Feuer[fɔʏɐ] | Füür[fyːɐ] | Fia[fiːɐ] | Feier[faɪɐ] | פֿײַערfayer[fajɜr] | vuur[vyːr] | fire[faɪɚ] |
| uː | Haus[haʊ̯s] | Huus[huːs] | Hus[huːs] (Mol),[hyːs] (OCol) | Haus[haʊs] | הויזhoyz/hauz[hɔɪz]/[haʊz] | huis[ɦœʏ̯s] | house[haʊs] |
As shown, while Dutch, English and German have experienced similar vowel shifts, Plautdietsch has only merged the old Germanic/yː/ sound with/iː/, while long/uː/ is retained in the Molotschna dialect. The Old Colony variety has fronted it to the now vacant/yː/.
Not only has Plautdietsch undergone vowel shift, various dialects of Plautdietsch have also had their own shifts.[17]
| Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /ɪ/ to/ɛ/ | Fisch, dünn | Fisch, dünn | Fesch, denn | Fisch, dinn | פֿיש, דין fish, din | vis, dun | fish, thin |
| /ɛ/ to/a/ | helfen, rennen | hölpen, rennen | halpe(n), rane(n) | helfe, schpringe (fromspringen) | העלפֿן, לױפֿן helfn, loyfn (fromlaufen) | helpen, rennen | to help, to run |
| /ʊ/ to/ɔ/1 | Luft, Brust | Luft, Borst | Loft, Brost | Luft, Bruscht | לופֿט, ברוסט luft, brust | lucht, borst | air (Latinate root)/archaic loft, breast |
| /aː/ to/au/ | Mann, Hand | Mann, Hand | Maun, Haunt | Mann, Hand | מאַן, האַנט man, hant | man, hand | man, hand |
| Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grün, schön | gröön, schöön | jreen, scheen | grie, schee | גרין, שײן grin, sheyn | groen, mooi/schoon | green, beautiful {compare archaic sheen} | |
| to ei[ɛ] | Heu, rein | Hau, rein | Hei, rein | Hoi, rei | הײ, רײן hey, reyn | hooi, schoon/rein | hay, clean |
| /œ/ to e, a | Götter | Gödder | Jetta | Gedder | געטער geter | goden | gods |
| Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herz | Hart | Hoat | Hatz | האַרץ harts | hart | heart |
| machen | maken | moake(n) | mache | מאַכן makhn | maken | make |
| fragen | fragen | froage(n) | frooge | פֿרעגן fregn | vragen | ask (compare Old English frægn) |
| hoch | hooch | huach | hoch | הױך hoykh | hoog | high |
| Horn, Hörner | Hoorn, Höörn | Huarn, Hieena | Hann, Hanner | האָרן, הערנער horn, herner | hoorn, hoorns | horn, horns |
The deletion of r has been completed in most final positions, after front vowels and before alveolar consonants, but is still retained in the infinitive of verbs, after short vowels, and sometimes after back vowels as seen in the example Huarn, Hieena.
| Proto-Germanic | Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| /a/ =/o/ | *watraz, *fadar, *namōn | Wasser, Vater, Name | Water, Vader, Naam | Wota, Voda, Nomen | Wasser, Vadder, Naame | װאַסער, פֿאָטער, נאָמען vaser, foter, nomen | water, vader, naam | water, father, name |
| /ai/ = ee[ɔɪ] | *saiwalō, *ainaz, *twai | Seele, eins, zwei | Seel, een, twee | Seel, eent, twee | Seel, eens, zwee | נשמה (זײל), אײן, צװײ neshome (possibly zeyl), eyn, tsvey | ziel, één, twee | soul, one, two |
| /æ/,/ō/ = oo[ɔʊ]1 | *raudas, *hōdaz | rot, Hut | root, Hoot | root, Hoot | rot, Hut | רױט, הוט royt, hut | rood, hoed | red, hood |
All words with a/ɡ/ or/k/ preceding or following a front vowel (/e/ or/i/, not countingschwa) have been shifted to/j/ and/c/ (the latter has been written as kj or tj), even if there is another consonant between the vowel and the consonant. An intervocalic/ɡ/ is palatalized as thevoiced palatal stop/ɟ/, written gj or dj. (A similar event occurred with English, but not as generalized). Where an/e/ or/i/ has been sunken to/a/, the palatalized sound is retained. Also where German has a palatalization (of theshifted/ç/ consonant), Plautdietsch retains the palatalization (of/k/) even after lowering a front vowel.
| Standard High German | Northern Low German | Plautdietsch | Pennsylvania German | Yiddish | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gestern | gistern/güstern | jistren | geschder | נעכטן nekhtn | gisteren | yesterday |
| geben | gäven/geven | jäwen | gewwe | געבן gebn | geven | give |
| Kirche | Kark | Kjoakj | Kaerrich | קירך kirkh | kerk | church |
| Brücke | Brügg, Brügge | Brigj | Brick | בריק brik | brug | bridge |
| Milch | Melk | Malkj | Millich | מילך milkh | melk | milk |
| recht | recht | rajcht | recht | רעכט rekht | recht | right |
MostAnabaptists that settled in the Vistula Delta were of Dutch or northern German origins, and were joined by refugees from different parts of Germany and Switzerland, who influenced their developing language. After almost two centuries in West Prussia, German replaced Dutch as church, school and written language and has become a source from where words are borrowed extensively, especially for religious terms. Many of these words show the effects of the High German consonant shift, even though they are otherwise adapted into Plautdietsch phonetics. Compare:
| Plautdietsch | Standard High German | Low German | Pennsylvania German | Dutch | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zol | Zahl | Tahl/Tall | Zaahl | tal | number (compare "(to) tally") |
| jreessen | grüßen | gröten (but Westphalian: gruißen) | griesse | groeten | greet |
| kjamfen | kämpfen | fechten; kempen | fechde | vechten | fight |
This is the case particularly on nouns made out of verbs. The verb normally shows the unshifted consonant, whereas the noun has a shifted Germanized consonant: schluten, Schluss; bräakjen, Bruch (to close, closure; to break, a break)
The first half of the 16th century was the onset of the rule of terror by theDuke of Alba in the SpanishLow Countries during theDutch Revolt (a.k.a.Eighty Years' War), that was centered on religious freedom for theProtestants. As a result, many Mennonites andReformed left the country. This continued in the 17th century, when theDutch Reformed Church became the official religion, being less than indulgent to other types of Protestantism, let alone the types perceived as radical (non-violent, no bearing of arms, no recognition of worldly authorities). InLow German area, they left their language traces in particular at the lowerVistula, aroundDanzig andElbing, and up the river towardsToruń.
| Plautdietsch | Origin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Mejal | Margell | girl |
| Kujel | Kuigel | male pig |
Wherever Mennonites settled, they found new foods and other items with which they were not familiar with. When that happened, they took the name that local people used for those items. The following words are of Russian or Ukrainian origin:
| Plautdietsch | Standard High German | English | Russian | Ukrainian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bockelzhonn | Aubergine | aubergine | баклажан (baklazhan, "eggplant") | баклажан (baklazhan, "eggplant") |
| Arbus/Erbus/Rebus | Wassermelone | watermelon | арбуз (arbuz) | кавун (kavun, "squash, melon") |
| Schisnikj | Knoblauch | garlic | чеснок (chesnok) | часник (chasnyk) |
As Mennonites came into contact with new technology, they often adopted and adapted the names for those technologies. For Mennonites who had settled in North America in the 1870s, all new words were borrowed from English. Even though many of those settlers left for South America only 50 years after their arrival, they kept and sometimes adapted these words into the Mennonite Low German Phonetics:
| English word | Adapted PD word | IPA | alternate word |
|---|---|---|---|
| bicycle | Beissikjel | bɛsɪcl | Foaraut |
| highway | Heiwä | hɛve | Huachwajch |
| truck | Trock | trɔk | - |
In particular, words for auto parts are taken from English:hood,fender,brakes (along with the more Low German formBrams), spark plugs (pluralizedPloggen), but also words likepeanuts,belt,tax.
Plautdietsch speakers living in Spanish-speaking countries use many Spanish words in daily speech, especially in business and communication (telephone, for instance) vocabulary. Two examples of words that are completely adapted into Mennonite Low German areBurra (Spanishburro, donkey) andWratsch (Mexican Spanishhuarache, sandal). Both have a Low German plural:Burrasch,Wratschen. The pure Low German wordsÄsel andSchlorr are seldom used in Mexico.[18]
The spelling of Plautdietsch has also been controversial. The main criteria for spelling systems have been:
One problem has been what letters to use for sounds that do not exist in German, such as the palatal/c/ and/ʝ/ sounds, which are both pronounced and spelled differently in various dialects of Plautdietsch. Old Colony speakers pronounce these sounds by striking the middle of the tongue against the palate. Others, especially speakers of the Molotschna dialect, instead strike the tongue against thealveolar ridge and spell them⟨tj⟩ and⟨dj⟩. Most Plautdietsch speakers' ears are not accustomed to realize these subtle, if not trivial, differences, and will often confuse one with the other.[citation needed]
Other problematic areas: use or non-use of⟨v⟩ for some words with/f/ sound, use or non-use ofDehnungs-h, when to double consonants and when not to.
When comparing different writers, one must take into account the dialect of that writer. The most famous Plautdietsch writer,Arnold Dyck, wrote in the Molotschna dialect, though his origins were from the Old Colony. During his life, he made many changes in his spelling system. His developments are a basis for the various spellings used today. In the following table, only his final system is taken into account, as used in his famous Koop enn Bua series, along with Herman Rempel (Kjenn Jie noch Plautdietsch?),Reuben Epp (Plautdietsche Schreftsteckja),Jack Thiessen (Mennonite Low German Dictionary), J. J. Neufeld (Daut niehe Tastament) and Ed Zacharias (De Bibel). The latter two claim to write in the Old Colony dialect, as seen in their verb endings, while the other three use the Plautdietsch as spoken by the descendants of the Bergthal Colony, i. e. the Old Colony dialect with a loss of -n endings.
| A. Dyck | H. Rempel | R. Epp | J. Thiessen | J. J. Neufeld | Ed Zacharias | word meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Molotschna | Bergthal | Old Colony | |||||
| verb endings | saje | saje | saje | saje | sajen | sajen | say |
| c sound | Tjoatj | Kjoakj | Kjoakj | Tjoatj | Kjoakj | Kjoakj | church |
| Dehnungs-h | ahm | am | ahm | ahm | am | am | him |
| oa diphthong | Froag | Froag | Froag | Froag | Fruog | Froag | question |
| ia/iə diphthong | Lea, learen, jeleat | Lea, learen, jeleat | Lea, learen, jeleat | Lea, learen, jeleat | Lea, learen, jeleat | Lia, lieren, jelieet | teaching, learn, learned |
| u/ü | du | dü | du | du | du | du | you |
| consonant doubling | rollen, jerollt, Golt | rollen, jerollt, Golt | rollen, jerollt, Golt | rollen, jerollt, Golt | rollen, jerollt, Gollt | rollen, jerolt, Golt | roll, rolled, gold |
| ua/ya diphthong | Wuat, Buak | Wuat, Büak | Wuat, Büak | Wuat, Büak | Wuut, Buuk | Wuat, Buak | word, book |
| [s/ts] sound | Zocka | Ssocka | Zocka | Zocka | Tsocka | Zocka | sugar |
| [f] sound | von | fonn | von | von | fonn | von | from |
Mennonite Low German has many sounds, including a few not found in other varieties of Low German.
| Bilabial | Labiodental | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ 1 | ŋ 2 | |||
| Stop | pb | td | cɟ3 | kɡ | ʔ 4 | ||
| Fricative | fv 5 | sz 6 | ʃʒ 7 | çj 8 | x (ɣ) 9 | h | |
| Flap | ɾ 10 | ||||||
| Approximant | ɹ 10 | ||||||
| Lateral | l (ɫ) 11 |
Where symbols for consonants occur in pairs, the left represents thevoiceless consonant and the right represents thevoiced consonant. Observations: According to the spelling system of De Bibel these sounds are spelled as follows:
.svg)
Thevowel inventory of Plautdietsch is large, with 13 simple vowels, 10 diphthongs and one triphthong.
| Class | Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iy | u | |
| Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | |
| Close-mid | e | ə | o |
| Open-mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a | ɑ |
| Symbol | Example | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPA | orthography | IPA | orthography | English translation |
| ɪ | i | bɪt | bitt | "(he) bites" |
| i | ie | bit | Biet | "piece" |
| ʉ | u | bʉt | but | "(he) builds" |
| ɛ | e | ʃɛp | Schepp | "ship" |
| e̝ | ä | be̝t | bät | "bit" |
| e | ei | lev | Leiw | "lion" |
| ə | e | də | de | "the" |
| ɔ | au | bɔl | Baul | "ball" |
| a | a | bad | Bad | "bed" |
| ɑ~ʌ | o | bʌl | Boll | "bull" |
| oː | o | rot | Rot | "advice" |
| u | u | rua | Rua | "tube, pipe" |
| ʊ | u | bʊk | Buck | "stomach" |
| ɔɪ | ee | bɔɪt | Beet | "beet" |
| ʌɪ | ee | ʌɪnt | Eent | "one" |
| œ~ø | oo | bøt | Boot | "boat" |
| ia | ia | via | wia | "(he) was" |
| iə | iee | viət | wieet | "worth" |
| ea | äa | vea | wäa | "who" |
| oa | oa | boa | Boa | "drill" |
| ua | ua | vua | wua | "where" |
| uə | ua | vuət | Wuat | "word" |
| ʉa | ua | bʉa | Bua | "farmer" |
| ɪu | ua | bɪuk | Buak | "book" |
| ɔɪa | ea | bɔɪa | Bea | "beer" |
The/u/ sound has been shifted to/y/ in the Old Colony dialect, leaving the sound only as part of theua diphthong. However, in certain areas and age groups, there is a heavy tendency to shift/o/ sound up to[u].
Pronunciation of certain vowels and diphthongs varies from some speakers to others; the diphthong represented byee for instances is pronounced[oi] or even[ei] by some. Likewise the long vowels represented byau andei might have a diphthong glide into[ʊ] and[ɪ], respectively.
Low German grammar resembles High German, as the syntax and morphology is nearly the same as High German's. Over the years, Plautdietsch has lost some inflection. It is, however, still moderately inflectional, having two numbers, three genders, two cases, two tenses, three persons, two moods, two voices, and two degrees of comparison.
Even though Plautdietsch has three genders, in thenominative case it has only twodefinite articles (like Dutch and Low German);masculine and feminine articles are homophonous. However, masculine and feminine indefinite articles are still different (like German) and thus, the three genders can still be perfectly established. In theoblique case, the masculine has a special definite article, making it once more different from the feminine, which, like the neuter, does not change. In the plural number, all gender identification is lost (as in German, Dutch and Low German); all plural determiners and adjective endings are homophonous with the feminine singular.
| Article class | Definite | Indefinite | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Singular | Plural | Singular | ||||
| Gender | masc. | fem. | neuter | all | masc. | fem. | neuter |
| Nominative | de | de | daut | de | een | eene | een |
| Oblique | dän | eenen* | |||||
Some Plautdietsch writers try to use a three case system with the definite articles, without much consistency. The system looks somewhat like this, some might use the dative neuter articles, others might not:
| Number | Singular | Plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | masc. | fem. | neut. | all |
| Nominative | de | de | daut | de |
| Accusative | dän | |||
| Dative | däm | däm | ||
| Masc. Nom. | Masc. Obj. | Feminine | Neuter | Plural all | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| this | dis | disen | dise | dit | dise |
| that, proximal | dee | dän | dee | daut | dee |
| that, distal | jan | janen | jane | jan | jane |
| which | woon | woonen | woone | woon | woone |
| such a | soon | soonen | soone | soon | soone |
| my | mien | mienen | miene | mien | miene |
All possessives (see under pronouns) are declined like in this way. With the formäa (her/their) an r has to be reinserted before adding endings (äaren, äare).
Mennonite Low German nouns inflect into two numbers:singular andplural, three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter, but only two cases,nominative andoblique. The historicaldative andaccusative have merged, even though some writers try to maintain a three cases distinction, which has been lost for most speakers, perhaps centuries ago. The oblique case is distinct from the nominative only in 1) personal pronouns:ekj froagam,hee auntwuatmie (I ask him, he answers me) 2) articles and demonstrative and possessive adjectives in the singular masculine gender:de Voda halptdän Sän (the father helps the son) (observe: nouns are not inflected themselves) and 3) proper names, i. e. traditional Mennonite names: Peeta frajcht Marie-en, Marie auntwuat Peetren (Peter asks Mary, Mary answers Peter)
| Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | de Mensch | de Sonn | daut Hüs | de Menschen | de Sonnen | de Hiesa |
| Oblique | dän Mensch | de Sonn | daut Hüs | de Menschen | de Sonnen | de Hiesa |
Plural formation is comparatively complex. Three major procedures can be established: 1) through an ending, -a, -en, -s, -sch or none at all; 2) voicing the final devoiced consonant and 3) fronting (and maybe lowering) a back vowel, which might require palatalization of a velar consonant. A given word could have one or two, all or none of these characteristics.
No ending, no voicing, no vowel fronting: de Fesch de Fesch, daut Schop, de Schop, daut Been, de Been (fish, fishes; sheep, sheep; leg, legs)
Voicing, no ending, no vowel fronting: Frint, Friend; Boajch, Boaj (friend/s, mountain/s)
No ending, no voicing, vowel fronting: Foot, Feet (foot, feet)
Voicing and vowel fronting, no ending: Hoot, Heed (hat/s)
-a ending:
only: Licht, Lichta (light/s)
with voicing:Bilt, Bilda (picture/s)
with vowel fronting: Maun, Mana (man, men)
with voicing, vowel fronting and palatalization: Kaulf, Kjalwa (calf, calves)
-en ending (the -en, -s and -sch endings have no vowel fronting)
only: Näs Näsen, (nose/s)
with voicing: de Tiet, de Tieden, de Erfoarunk, de Erfoarungen (time/s, experience/s)
Words where a historical r is dropped require it to be reinserted: Däa, Däaren (door/s)Polysyllabic words with a vocalized r drop the final a: Sesta, Sestren (sister/s)
An unstressedschwa also is dropped: Gaufel, Gauflen (fork/s)
-s ending
This class consists mainly of 1) short masculine and neuter nouns: Baul -s, Oarm -s (ball/s, arm/s)
2) words related with family members: Sän -s, Fru -es, (son/s, woman, women)
and 3) masculine and neuter nouns ending in -el and -en (the latter may drop the n): Läpel, Läpels; Goaden, Goades (spoon/s; garden/s)
-sch ending
This class consists of masculine and neuter polysyllabic nouns ending with -a: de Voda, de Vodasch; daut Massa, de Massasch (father/s, knife, knives)
For someone knowing (High) German, pluralizing is a fairly predictable process, with some exceptions: the-en ending covers pretty much the same words in both languages; the-a ending is the equivalent for the German-er plural, where German hasUmlaut, Plautdietsch will have vowel fronting in most cases. The-s and-sch groups are made almost entirely of polysyllabic nouns which in German have no plural ending.
The most problematic words are those with an-e plural ending in German. Although the entire class with no ending is made out of them, many other words are treated differently. For example, the plurals forStool andStock (chair and stick) areSteela andStakja (compare German Stuhl, Stühle; Stock, Stöcke). Since they have their vowels fronted there seems to be no reason for the-a ending. Many others have been moved into the-en class:Jeboot, Jebooten (commandment/s, German: Gebot, Gebote). With some not so common words, there is no certainty about the correct plural, different speakers create them in different ways: the plural ofJesaz (law) could beJesaza orJesazen (German: Gesetz, Gesetze).
The classicalgenitive is no longer used except in a few relic expressions.[citation needed] Instead, possession is expressed as in many German dialects with thehis genitive, i.e. naming the possessor in theoblique case with the possessive adjective and the possessed object: Dän Maun sien Hus (the man's house). With proper nouns, and when the possessor is determined by a possessive adjective, the possessor is in thenominative case instead: Peeta sien Hus (Peter's house); mien Voda sien Hus (my father's house). Very long possessive clauses can be created: Mien Voda seine Mutta äare Mutta es miene Uagrootmutta (my father's mother's mother is my great grandmother).
For inanimate or generalized constructions, the prepositionvon or a composition are used instead: De Lichta von de Staut/ de Stautslichta (the lights of the city).
The diminutive is formed adding by-kje to the noun: de Jung, daut Jungkje; de Mejal, daut Mejalkje (the boy, the little boy; the girl, the little girl). All diminutive nouns take the neuter gender, with two exceptions: de Oomkje, de Mumkje, two forms used very commonly for mister/man/husband and mistress/woman/wife. These seem to have been created originally as diminutive forms of, respectively, Oom and Mumm (uncle and aunt; cf. German: Oheim/Ohm, Öhmchen/Öhmlein and Muhme, Mühmchen/Mühmlein). Today, they are no longer seen as diminutives and therefore retain their respective masculine and feminine genders.
With nouns ending int ork, only-je is added; a few nouns ending inkj, an additionals is inserted: de Staut, daut Stautje, daut Buak, daut Buakje; daut Stekj, daut Stekjsje (the (little) city, the (little) book, the (little) piece).
Plural diminished nouns take -s ending: Jungkjes, Mejalkjes; however, if the original plural requires fronting of a back vowel or has an-a ending, these features are retained before adding the diminutive suffix: de Stool, de Steela → daut Stoolkje, de Steelakjes (chair/s, little chair/s)
MennoniteLow German also shows a rich inflectional system in its adjectives. Although once even richer, simplification has done its work here too, leaving MennoniteLow German with threegenders: feminine, masculine and neuter, and two comparison degrees:Comparative andSuperlative.
| Predicate | Masculine | Fem/Pl/Weak Neuter | Strong Neuter** | Oblique*** | |
| Positive | woam | woama | woame | woamet | woamen |
| Comparative | woama | woamra | woamre | woamret | woamren |
| Superlative | woamst- | woamsta | woamste | woamstet | woamsten |
The plural of all genders is identical to the feminine singular.
Strong and weak neuterdeclension: after the definite articledaut or the demonstrativesdaut anddit (neuter form of that, this) thet is dropped and a form identical to the feminine and plural is used. In other situations, as with indefinite articles, possessive adjectives or without article, the strong form is used.
The oblique is used only in the masculine singular. However, if a preposition-article compound is used with a neuter noun, then the oblique would be used. Example:em grooten Hus,but: en daut groote Hus, en een grootet Hus.
There is no predicate form for the superlative, a preposition-article compound with the oblique or weak neuter is used:aum woamsten, or:oppet woamste, or newly just the neuter form without preposition:daut woamste:Zemorjes es et woam, opp Meddach woat et woama, no Meddach es et aum woamsten/ oppet woamste/ daut woamste (in the morning it is warm, at noon it is getting warmer, after noon it is the warmest).
The predicate form is used in predicate sentences for all genders:De Maun es oolt, de Fru es oolt, daut Hus es oolt (the man is old, the woman is old, the house is old).
| 0-9 | 0 null | 1 eent | 2 twee | 3 dree | 4 vea | 5 fief/fiew | 6 sas | 7 säwen | 8 acht | 9 näajen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10-19 | 10 tieen | 11 alf/alw | 12 twalf/twalw | 13 drettieen | 14 vieetieen | 15 feftieen | 16 sastieen | 17 säwentieen | 18 achttieen | 19 näajentieen |
| 20-1000 | 20 twintich | 30 dartich | 40 vieetich | 50 feftich | 60 zastich | 70 zäwentich | 80 tachentich | 90 näajentich | 100 hundat | 1000 dusend |
| 0-99 | 22 twee un twintich | 33 dree un dartich | 44 vea un vieetich | 55 fiew un feftich | 66 sas un zastich | 77 säwen un zäwentich | 88 acht un tachentich | 99 näajen un näajentich | ||
| ordinal | 1st ieeschta | 2d tweeda | 3d dredda | 4th vieeda | 5th fefta | 6th sasta | 7th säwenda | 8th achta | 9th näajenda | |
| partitive | 1/2 haulf, de Halft | 1/3 een Dreddel | 1/4 een Vieedel | 1/5 een Feftel | 1/6 een Sastel | 1/7 een Säwendel | 1/8 een Achtel | 1/9 een Näajendel |
Observation: the numeral eent (one) is declined like the indefinite article (masculineeen [obliqueeenen], feminineeene, neutereen) or a demonstrative or possessive pronoun (eena [obliqueeenen],eene,eent for the respective genders); when counting, the neuter formeent is used.
The ordinal for 11th and 12th are:alfta, twalfta; from 13 to 19 use the ordinal + da:drettieenda (13th) ; from 20 to 99 use the ordinal +sta:fiew un twintichsta (25th). All ordinal numbers are declined like an adjective, the forms given here are masculine nominative.
The partitive numbers for 1/10, 1/11, 1/12 areeen Tieedel, een Alftel, een Twalftel, for 13–19 add-del to the ordinal number, for 20–99 add-stel.
| Singular | Plural | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Person | 1st | 2d | 3d masc | 3d fem | 3d nt | 1st | 2d | 3d |
| Nominative | ekj | du | hee | see | daut (et) | wie | jie | dee, see |
| Oblique | mie | die | am | ar (äa) | ons | junt (ju) | an (äant) | |
| Reflexive | sikj | sikj | ||||||
| Possessive Adjectives | mien | dien | sien | äa | sien | ons | jun | äa |
Some pronouns have two forms, different persons may use one or other form, or even alternate between them.Daut is used at the beginning of a sentence, but may be replaced byet in other positions.
Possessive adjectives are of the masculine (nominative case) or neuter gender. Otherwise, they are declined like the indefinite article and determiners (see under article section).
| masc | fem | nt | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | dee | dee | daut | dee |
| Oblique | dän | dee/däa | daut | dee/dän |
Demonstrative pronouns are frequently used instead of the personal pronouns. When used so, some people use special oblique forms for feminine and plural. When used strictly demonstrative, only the singular masculine has a special oblique form.
Mennonite Low German verbs have six tenses. The present and first past tenses are inflected, while the second and third past and both future tenses are different words marked by auxiliary verbs. Verbs can have two moods: Declarative and Imperative, two voices: active and passive, and three persons:1st pers. sing., 2nd pers. sing., 3rd pers. sing., and plural.
The basic conjugation pattern is as follows:
| - | 1st sing | 2nd sing | 3rd sing | plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| present | stem | stem + st | stem + t | infinitive* |
| past | stem + d | stem + sd | stem + d | stem + den |
| imperative | - | stem | - | stem + t |
To determine the stem, take the infinitive and drop the -en ending. There are a few modifications to this basic pattern: 1) If the stem ends with aplosive orfricativevoiced consonant (d, g, j, soft s, w, zh), that consonant isdevoiced in the 2nd and 3d persons of the present, since voiceless t and st automatically force the preceding consonant (compare the sound of the letter d in English lived and liked). 2) If the stem ends with avoiceless consonant (ch, f, jch, k, kj, p, hard s, sch, t) that consonant devoices the d, sd, d, den endings of the past tense (into t, st, t, ten) for the same reason. 3) If the stem ends with two consonants, the second one being anasal orlateral, aschwa e is inserted to ease pronunciation. 4) Verbs with adiphthong and r have a special treatment; the r is dropped before endings are attached, and the st/sd of the second person is replaced by scht/zhd.
Examples of a regular verbs:spälen (to play),lachen (to laugh),läwen (to live),odmen (to breathe) androaren (to cry). The first one follows strictly the basic pattern, the others show the various adjustments needed as described above.
If the inverted word order is used, the-en ending of the pluralwie,jie (but notsee) form is dropped, and a root-only form, identical to the 1st person singular, is used.
| ekj | du | hee, see, daut | wie, jie, see | ____ wie, jie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spälen, to play | |||||
| present | späl | spälst | spält | spälen | späl |
| past | späld | spälsd | späld | spälden | späld |
| imperative | - | späl (du) | - | spält (jie) | |
| lachen, to laugh | |||||
| present | lach | lachst | lacht | lachen | lach |
| past | lacht | lachst | lacht | lachten | lacht |
| imperative | - | lach (du) | - | lacht (jie) | |
| läwen, to live | |||||
| present | läw | läfst | läft | läwen | läw |
| past | läwd | läwsd | läwd | läwden | läwd |
| imperative | - | läw (du) | - | läft (jie) | |
| odmen, to breathe | |||||
| present | odem | odemst | odemt | odmen | odem |
| past | odemd | odemsd | odemd | odemden | odemd |
| imperative | - | odem (du) | - | odemt (jie) | |
| roaren, to cry | |||||
| present | roa | roascht | roat | roaren | roa |
| past | road | roazhd | road | roaden | road |
| imperative | - | roa (du) | - | roat (jie) | |
As in English and Dutch, some verbs have a vowel change in past tense and past participle. As in German, some verbs might have a vowel change in second and third person of the singular in present tense as well. A few verbs that are strong in German are weak in Plautdietsch, but many German weak verbs are strong in Plautdietsch. However, when compared with Dutch and English, those are strong, too.
| ekj | du | hee, see, daut | wie, jie, see | ____ wie, jie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| finjen, to find | |||||
| present | finj | finjst | finjt | finjen | finj |
| past | funk | fungst | funk | fungen | fung |
| Imperative | finj (du) | finjt (jie) | |||
| sieekjen, to seek | |||||
| present | sieekj | sieekjst | sieekjt | sieekjen | sieekj |
| past | socht | sochst | socht | sochten | socht |
| Imperative | sieekj (du) | sieekjt (jie) | |||
| sajen, to say | |||||
| present | saj | sajchst | sajcht | sajen | saj |
| past | säd | sätst | säd | säden | säd |
| Imperative | saj (du) | sajcht (jie) | |||
| jäwen, to give | |||||
| present | jäw | jefst | jeft | jäwen | jäw |
| past | jeef | jeefst | jeef | jeewen | jeew |
| Imperative | jeff (du) | jäft (jie) | |||
| schriewen, to write | |||||
| present | schriew | schrifst | schrift | schriewen | schriew |
| past | schreef | schreefst | schreef | schreewen | schreew |
| Imperative | schriew (du) | schrieft (jie) | |||
| moaken, to make | |||||
| present | moak | moakst | moakt | moaken | |
| past | müak | müakst | müak | müaken | |
| Imperative | moak{dü} | moakt{jie} | |||
GENERALITIES: Vowel changes in present tense are somewhat predictable: longie andu change into shorti; longä/o change intoe ora; diphthongsäa andoa are simplified toa.
The first and third person of the past tense are identical (as in weak verbs).
With only a few exceptions (like the verb sajen), all voiced consonants are devoiced in the three persons of the singular past, the nasalng andnj are retained in second person, but devoiced in first and third person.
The past tense has the same vowel through all persons.
If there is a vowel change fromä toe ora in the present tense, that feature is retained in the singular imperative.
The plural form for wie/jie in the inverted word order keep the final consonant voiced.
A small groups of verbs are more irregular: the auxiliariessennen andhaben, the modal verbs, and a few verbs that originally were monosyllabic and with time have evolved a-nen ending:
| ekj | du | hee, see, daut | wie, jie, see | ____ wie, jie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sennen, to be | |||||
| present | sie (senn) | best | es | sent | sent |
| past | wia | wieescht | wia | wieren | wia |
| Imperative | sie (du) | siet (jie) | |||
| haben, to have | |||||
| present | hab | hast | haft | haben | hab |
| past | haud | hautst | haud | hauden | haud |
| Imperative | hab (du) | habt (jie) | |||
| kjennen, can, to be able | |||||
| present | kaun | kau(n)st | kaun | kjennen | kjenn |
| past | kunn | ku(n)st | kunn | kunnen | kunn |
| Imperative | - | - | |||
| stonen, to stand | |||||
| present | sto | steist | steit | stonen | sto |
| past | stunt | stuntst | stunt | stunden | stund |
| Imperative | sto (du) | stot (jie) | |||
The present participle, formed of the infinitive plus a-t ending, is not often used. It appears in idiomatic expressions likeaunhoolent bliewen (to persist), and in a few adjective forms, which have to be inflected for number, gender and case, the -t is voiced into -d: koaken, koakendet Wota (to boil, boiling water).
The past participle of weak verbs is formed withje- plus the stem of the verb plus-t. A voiced consonant is devoiced to go along witht, the insertede between double consonant is retained, ther after a long vowel is dropped. For the weak verbs given above the past participles are:jespält, jelacht, jejäft, jeodemt, jeroat.
The past participle for strong and anomalous verbs is hard to predict, they could be formed in five or six different ways:
Adjectives are frequently made from the past participle by attaching an adjective inflection ending and voicing the finalt; if the preceding consonant is voiced, with-en participles thee is dropped:
molen, jemolt, een jemoldet Bilt (to draw, drawn, a drawn picture)
koaken, jekoakt, eene jekoakte Ieedschock (to boil, boiled, a boiled potato)
stälen, jestolen, een jestolna Hunt (to steal, stolen, a stolen dog)
Except for the present and simple past, all other tenses are constructed with the aid of the auxiliary verbs sennen, haben, woaren:
| ekj | du | hee, see, daut | wie, jie, see | ____ wie, jie | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfect | hab jespält | hast jespält | haft jespält | haben jespält | habwie jespält |
| Plusquamperfect | haud jespält | haudst jespält | haud jespält | hauden jespält | haudwie jespält |
| Future | woa spälen | woascht spälen | woat spälen | woaren spälen | woawie spälen |
| Conditional | wudd spälen | wurscht spälen | wudd spälen | wudden spälen | wuddwie spälen |
| Future II | woa jespält haben | woascht jespält haben | woat jespält haben | woaren jespält haben | woawie jespält haben |
Some intransitive verbs takesennen instead ofhaben as auxiliary verbs if they: 1) indicate a motion from one place to another, or 2) indicate a change of condition, or 3) the verbssennen (to be) andbliewen (to keep being, to remain). Example:ekj sie jekomen, ekj sie oolt jeworden, ekj sie jewast (I have come, I have become old, I was).
In some communities of Plautdietsch speakers, the religious prohibition of James 4:13-14[20] is interpreted to proscribe the simple use of the first person in talking about future plans or efforts. In such communities it is considered proper to use a softening introductory phrase such as "Ekj proove," (I try, or will try, or alternately I will want to) to avoid giving offense.
Plautdietsch preposition inventory is rich. Some of the most common:
Mennonite Low German shows similarity with High German in the word order. The basic word order issubject–verb–object as in English. Indirect objects precede direct objects as in EnglishJohn gives Mary a present, but that is where similarities end. A dependent verb,i.e. an infinitive or past participle, comes at the end of the sentence where in English it would be placed immediately after the main verb, as shown in the following examples:
Mennonite Low German word order: Jehaun haft dän Desch jemoakt (John has the table made).English word order: John has made the table.
Mennonite Low German, like High German, has been referred to asverb-second (V2) word order. In embedded clauses, words relating to time or space can be placed at the beginning of the sentence, but then the subject has to move after the main verb to keep that verb in second position. This pattern is demonstrated here:
Mennonite Low German word order:Nu sie ekj schaftich.More Examples:Dan jeef de Kjennich seine Deena eenen Befäl. (Then the king gave his servants an order)
Also, effects tend to be placed last in the sentence.Example: En daut Kuffel wia soo väl Wota, daut et äwarand (In the cup, there was so much water,that itoverflowed).
Mennonite Low German has syntactic patterns not found in High German, or at least not as often, such as the repetition of a subject, by a pronoun.Example: Mien Hoot dee haft dree Akjen.My hat it has three corners.
Questions, orders and exclamations have a verb first word order: Hast du daut oole Hus aun de fefte Gauss jeseenen? (Have you seen the old house on fifth street?). All questions are arranged like this. There is no auxiliary verb to form questions. If there is a question word, that word precedes the verb: Wua es dien Voda jebuaren (Where is your father born?). As in English, when using verbs in the imperative mood, it is not necessary to specify the person addressed, but it can be added for emphasis: Brinj (du) mie emol dän Homa (Please, (you,) bring the hammer to me). The word emol is frequently asked to soften the order as a word forplease. Example of an exclamation: Es daut vondoag oba kolt! (Is it cold today!).
As in High German, in dependent clauses, the verb goes at the end:
Ekj well morjen miene Mutta besieekjen, wan ekj Tiet hab. (I want to visit my mother tomorrow if I have time). Observe the construction of: if I have time.
However, when a dependent clause has an infinitive or past participle, this rule is no longer strictly applied; there is a strong tendency to move the finite (main) verb before the infinitive or participle, the direct object (or even a long circumstantial complement):
Example: German word order requires a sentence structure like: Hee fruach mie, auf ekj miene Mutta jistren daut Jelt jejäfthaud. (Translation: He asked me if I had given the money yesterday to my mother.) Even though this sounds right and perfectly understandable, most speakers would rearrange these same words as follows: Hee fruach mie, auf ekj miene Mutta jistrenhaud daut Jelt jejäft. Another example: Hee sajcht, daut sien Brooda jrod no de Staut jefoarenes/ Hee sajcht, daut sien Brooda jrodes no de Staut jefoaren (He says that his brother has just gone to the city). Observe: the verb precedes a prepositional phrase, but an adverb is still placed before it.
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TheLord's Prayer in Plautdietsch, another form of Low German and Dutch.
| Plautdietsch | Low German | Dutch |
|---|---|---|
| Ons Voda em Himmel, | Uns Vadder in'n Heven, | Onze Vader, die in de hemel zijt, |
| lot dien Nome jeheilicht woare; | laat hilligt warrn dien Naam. | Uw naam worde geheiligd. |
| lot dien Rikjdom kome; | Laat kamen dien Riek, | Uw (konink)rijk kome. |
| lot dien Welle jedone woare, | laat warrn dien Will, | Uw wil geschiede, |
| uck hia oppe Ead, soo aus em Himmel; | so as in'n Heven, so ok op de Eer. | op aarde zoals in de hemel. |
| jeff ons Dach fe Dach daut Broot, daut ons fehlt; | Uns dääglich Brood giff uns vundaag | Geef ons heden ons dagelijks brood, |
| en vejeff ons onse Schult, | un vergiff uns unse Schuld, | en vergeef ons onze schuld, |
| soo aus wie den vejewe, dee sich jeajen ons veschuldicht ha; | as wi de vergeven hebbt, de an uns schüllig worrn sünd. | zoals ook wij vergeven onze schuldenaars / zoals ook wij aan anderen hun schuld vergeven; |
| en brinj ons nich en Vesekjunk nenn, | Un laat uns nich versöcht warrn, | En leid ons niet in verzoeking / in bekoring, |
| oba rad ons von Beeset. | man maak uns frie vun dat Böös. | maar verlos ons van de boze / het kwade. |
| wiels die jehet daut Rikj, | Denn dien is dat Riek | Want van U is het koninkrijk, |
| en dee Krauft en dee Harlichtjeit en Eewichtjeit. | un de Kraft un de Herrlichkeid in Ewigkeid. | en de kracht en de heerlijkheid in eeuwigheid. |
Los cien mil miembros de esta comunidad anabaptista, establecida en Chihuahua desde 1922, se plantean emigrar a la república rusa de Tartaristán, que se ofrece a acogerlos
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