Editing Hutterite German (section)

==Distribution and literacy==
Hutterite is spoken in the US states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], [[Montana]], [[North Dakota|North]] and [[South Dakota]], [[Minnesota]] and [[Oregon]]; and in the Canadian provinces of [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Manitoba]]. Its speakers belong to the ''Schmiedleit'', ''Lehrerleit'', and ''Dariusleit'' Hutterite groups, but there is also a small number of speakers among the older generations of ''Prairieleit'' (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). The Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit each have their own distinct dialects.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hutterites.org/news/hutterisch-mother-tongue-hutterites/ |title=Hutterisch – the Mother Tongue of Hutterites |date=2012-09-25 |access-date=2022-05-06 |publisher=Hutterian Brethren |last=Maendel |first=Linda |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126022914/http://www.hutterites.org/news/hutterisch-mother-tongue-hutterites/ |archive-date=2021-01-26 |url-status=live }}</ref> Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn and speak Hutterite German before learning [[English language|English]], the standard language of the surrounding areas.

As of 2003, there are about 34,000 speakers in the world, 85% of them living in 333 communities in Canada and the remaining 15% in 123 communities in the US. Canadian adults are generally literate in [[Early New High German]] (also called "Biblical German", and the predecessor to [[Standard German]] used by [[Martin Luther]]) that they employ as the written form for Scriptures while [[Standard German]] is used in the US for religious activities.  Children learn English at school; Canadian Hutterites have a functional knowledge of English. Hutterite is for the most part an unwritten language, though in August 2006 Hutterite author Linda Maendel released a children's story titled ''Lindas glücklicher Tag'' (Linda's Happy Day) in which all the dialogue is written in the dialect.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hbbookcentre.com/books/lindas-glcklicher-tag |title=Lindas Glücklicher Tag |publisher=Hutterian Brethren Book Centre |language=en-US |access-date=2020-04-26}}</ref> Maendel is also working on a series of biblical stories with Wycliff Bible translators.