Development of the German Language in North America

Development of the German Language in North America

In the 1600s, a large-scale immigration of the Germans to North America took place. The main causes of this migration were related to overpopulation and development. Regardless of why the Germans immigrated, they have left a lasting influence on America. Common items including the Christmas tree, the hamburger, the pretzel, and the gymnasium have all been inspired and brought over by the Germans.

Interestingly, both the German and the English languages developed from the same language, West Germanic. Because they share these roots, there are a few words that are exactly the same in both languages, such as “finger”, “hand”, “wind”, and “winter”. Because of the cultural influence brought over by the German immigrants, some words were adopted into the English language.

English: German:

Angst Angst (“anxiety”)

Cookbook Kockbuch (“cookbook”)

Hold on Halt an (“wait a minute”)

Iceberg Eisberg (“iceberg”)

Waltz Walzer (“roll or dance”)

During the 1600s, the use of the German language steadily grew in the States. When the German immigration reached its peak (in the 1800s), the use of the German language reached its highest point. However, German immigrants also worked to learn the English language to improve communication with other Americans. Throughout the duration of World War I, Germany was considered an enemy to the states; consequently, people were frowned upon for speaking German. During this time, the German immigrants worked very hard to learn the English language and to assimilate into North American culture. In some areas, using the German language was outlawed. To avoid prejudice, German families switched their names to English names. “Schmidt” or “Schmied” became “Smith”, “Braun” became “Brown”, and “Schwarz” became “Black”.

Today, there are a select few places in the States where German is spoken, including parts of Texas, Pennsylvania, Iowa, as well as North and South Dakota.

Citations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language

http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~hr/lang/dt-hist.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_in_the_United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American

"We Came to North America: The Germans" by Greg Nickles