Deitschdaag

On this date in 1683, the first permanent settlers arrived to Philadelphia, marking the beginning of the great migration from the German-speaking lands.

Hail to those who made the voyage and laid the foundation!

Deitscherei Nation in Europa Universalis IV

It is worth noting that the term "Deitscherei" now exists as a playable nation in the video game Europa Universalis IV. This makes me smile!

I first coined the term "Deitscherei" in 1988 in order to refer to the non-contiguous areas that were settled heavily by the people who came to be known as the Deitsch. The first Deitscherei website went up in 1996, and, since then, the term has become used more widely.

As I linked to their page, I hope they will not mind if I share a screenshot of the Deitscherei nation in their game.

We've made it to video games!

Good Article about the Colonial Deitsch

Here is a good article describing the Colonial Deitsch... and it also reflects why Benjamin Rush has long been seen as a friend of the Deitsch people: The Life of the German Settlers in Colonial Times.

For those who have never read Dr. Rush's 1789 publication, An Account of the Manners of the German Inhabitants of Pennsylvania, it is a worthy read.

Word List

More words added!

The list of words missing from the Deitsch dictionaries is increasing!

DEITSCH ➝ ENGLISH

ENGLISH ➝ DEITSCH

Nice Article from the "Historical Review of Berks County"

Folks who are interested in Deitsch history and the history of Berks County, in particular, may want to check out the journal of the Historical Society of Berks County, Historical Review of Berks County.

I recently came into possession of some of the back issues of this excellent journal, and I came across an article titled Pennsylvania Germans a tenacious folk by David Fooks. This article echoes William T. Parsons' 1976 Pennsylvania Dutch: A Persistent Minority and reflects several recent discussions on the various Urglaawe forums online. 

The doom of the Deitsch language and culture has been predicted for hundreds of years, yet it survives. We are currently enjoying a resurgence of interest and reinvigoration of all aspects of the culture, and the Urglaawe community is playing an active role in going beyond mere "preservation" in order to achieve "advancement." Ideas are beginning to bear fruit that allow for folks in the Diaspora to access more information and to take part in the advancement efforts. 

The Deitsch culture survives because something about it resonates with many people, regardless of location, origin or background. It is time to amp up the efforts a bit in order to make the acquisition process easier and more consistent. Folks who are interested in helping to advance the efforts of the Urglaawe community are welcomed to join us on our primary Facebook group.

The article linked above was scanned in and shared with the permission of the Historical Society of Berks County.

Mercer Museum un Fonthill Castle

Wann ihr nimmi bei Mercer Museum un Fonthill Castle gange gewest, gehnt mol!

Wordlists

In addition to the Urglaawe-specific words presented in A Dictionary of Urglaawe Terminology, there are, unfortunately, many words that we use in Deitsch that do not appear in the most accessible dictionaries.

Here on the Deitscherei blog now are lists of words that I have noticed over the years are missing from the dictionaries. The word lists are still not comprehensive, but they do present omitted, yet current, words relating to technology, herbalism, religion, social issues, and more.

Words Missing from the Dictionaries: English to Deitsch

Verseimunge vun de Waddebicher: Deitsch zu English

There are also lists of the Deitsch names of towns (needs to be updated) and states and countries.

This is going to be a long-term, ongoing effort.