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Texas German language
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Texas German language
Texas German (German: Texasdeutsch, pronounced [ˈtɛksasˌdɔʏtʃ]) is a group of German language dialects spoken by descendants of mid-19th century German settlers, Texas Germans. They settled the Texas German Country, running from Houston to the Hills Region, and founded the towns of Bulverde, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Pflugerville, Walburg and Comfort in the Texas Hill Country; Muenster in North Texas; and Schulenburg, Brenham, Industry, New Ulm and Weimar in East Texas.
While most heritage languages in the United States die out by the third generation, Texas German is unusual in that most German Texans continued to speak German in their homes and communities for several generations after settling in the state. The State of Texas recognized German as having equal status to Spanish from 1846 up until World War I.
In 1907, there were approximately 90,000 (2.57% of the state's population) Texas German speakers in Texas, and by 1940, it increased to about 160,000 (2.49%). By the 1960s, only about 70,000 (0.73%) speakers remained. Today, there are estimated to be only about 5,000 (0.017%) speakers left, the vast majority of whom are in their 70s or older. Texas German is expected to die out by 2035.
Starting in 1893, Texas schools mandated English-only instruction, and required children to learn English in school regardless of what language they spoke at home. Due to the assimilation of these communities and strong anti-German sentiment during both World War I and World War II, Texas German speakers decided to stop transmitting the language to their children, and shifted towards speaking only English.
Currently, Hans Boas at the University of Texas is recording and studying the dialect, building on research originally performed by Glenn Gilbert of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the 1960s.
It's an odd mixture of English and 19th-century German," says Boas ... "Hardly any of the Texas Germans speak alike. There's a lot of variation in the dialect. Texas German borrows about 5 to 6 percent of its vocabulary from English.'
Boas' book on the language, The Life and Death of Texas German, describes the German dialects which may have been the source of the language spoken in Texas.
A short documentary project named "All Güt Things" was produced about Texas German in 2016.
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Texas German language AI simulator
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Texas German language
Texas German (German: Texasdeutsch, pronounced [ˈtɛksasˌdɔʏtʃ]) is a group of German language dialects spoken by descendants of mid-19th century German settlers, Texas Germans. They settled the Texas German Country, running from Houston to the Hills Region, and founded the towns of Bulverde, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Boerne, Pflugerville, Walburg and Comfort in the Texas Hill Country; Muenster in North Texas; and Schulenburg, Brenham, Industry, New Ulm and Weimar in East Texas.
While most heritage languages in the United States die out by the third generation, Texas German is unusual in that most German Texans continued to speak German in their homes and communities for several generations after settling in the state. The State of Texas recognized German as having equal status to Spanish from 1846 up until World War I.
In 1907, there were approximately 90,000 (2.57% of the state's population) Texas German speakers in Texas, and by 1940, it increased to about 160,000 (2.49%). By the 1960s, only about 70,000 (0.73%) speakers remained. Today, there are estimated to be only about 5,000 (0.017%) speakers left, the vast majority of whom are in their 70s or older. Texas German is expected to die out by 2035.
Starting in 1893, Texas schools mandated English-only instruction, and required children to learn English in school regardless of what language they spoke at home. Due to the assimilation of these communities and strong anti-German sentiment during both World War I and World War II, Texas German speakers decided to stop transmitting the language to their children, and shifted towards speaking only English.
Currently, Hans Boas at the University of Texas is recording and studying the dialect, building on research originally performed by Glenn Gilbert of Southern Illinois University Carbondale in the 1960s.
It's an odd mixture of English and 19th-century German," says Boas ... "Hardly any of the Texas Germans speak alike. There's a lot of variation in the dialect. Texas German borrows about 5 to 6 percent of its vocabulary from English.'
Boas' book on the language, The Life and Death of Texas German, describes the German dialects which may have been the source of the language spoken in Texas.
A short documentary project named "All Güt Things" was produced about Texas German in 2016.
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