Editing Pennsylvania Dutch (section)

===Language===
{{Main|Pennsylvania Dutch language}}
[[File:Deitsch 2015-01.jpg|thumb|Pennsylvania Dutch arts history in [[Pennsylvania Dutch language]]]]
Although speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch can be found among both sectarians and nonsectarians, most speakers belong to the [[Old Order Amish]] and [[Old Order Mennonite]]s. Nearly all Amish and Mennonites are naturally [[Multilingualism|bilingual]], speaking both Pennsylvania Dutch and English natively.<ref name="Louden"/> The Pennsylvania Dutch language is based on [[High German|German dialects]] which have been significantly influenced by English, primarily in terms of vocabulary. Based on dialect features, Pennsylvania Dutch can be classified as a variety of [[Rhine Franconian dialects|Rhine Franconian]], with the [[Palatine German dialects]] being most closely related.<ref name=mtp/><ref name=js/> The language is both commonly referred to as ''Pennsylvania Dutch'' and ''Pennsylvania German'', with the latter being more common in scholarly publications.<ref name="Louden"/>

The primary use of Pennsylvania Dutch, both historically and today, has focussed on spoken communication. Although there is a relatively large collection of written texts in the language dating back to the mid-nineteenth century (such as newspaper columns, short stories, poems, plays, and dialogues) their production and reception have been limited to a minority of speakers. The significance of English among today's sectarians extends far beyond its use for communication with outsiders for business and other purposes as English is the primary language for active literacy. While Amish and Mennonite sectarians can read the Bible, prayer books, and hymnals in German, most other reading materials are in English.<ref name="Louden"/> Research has show that nonsectarian speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch have a more pronounced Pennsylvania Dutch accent when speaking English compared to sectarian speakers such as the Old Order Amish or Old Order Mennonites.<ref>Glenn G. Gilbert: Studies in Contact Linguistics: Essays in Honor of Glenn G. Gilbert, Austria, P. Lang, 2006, pp. 130.</ref>

In the 20th century, the linguists Albert F. Buffington and Preston A. Barba developed a system for writing Pennsylvania Dutch that was largely based on contemporary German orthography, however this is not in common use. No prescribed norms for writing Pennsylvania Dutch exist and in practice most speakers orientate themselves on both German and English spelling systems.<ref name="Louden"/>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Poem by [[John Birmelin]] (1873-1950) on how to spell Pennsylvania German:<ref name="Louden"/>
|-
! Pennsylvania German  !! Standard German !! English
|-
| Saagt mer mol, wie soll mer schpelle. || Sag mir mal, wie sollen wir buchstabieren?  || So tell me, how should you spell?
|-
| Sel macht immer bissel Schtreit; || Das macht immer ein bisschen Streit; || That always makes a bit of an argument.
|-
| was ner nau net hawwe welle, || was wir nun nicht haben wollen, || What you don't want to deal with,
|-
| schiebt mer graad mol uf die Seit. || schieben wir gerade mal auf die Seite. || you just push off to the side.
|-
|  Saagt, wie soll mer buchschtawiere, || Sag mir mal, wie sollen wir buchstabieren, || Tell me, how should you orthographize,
|-
| in de scheene deitsche Schproch! || in der schönen deutschen Sprache! || in beautiful Pennsylvania Dutch language!
|-
| Brauch mer noh ke Zeit verliere, || Brauchen wir nur keine Zeit zu verlieren, || No point in wasting any time,
|-
| macht mer's ewwe yuscht so nooch. || machen wir es eben just so nach. || you just follow whatever model you please.
|}

Due to [[anti-German sentiment]] between [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], the use of the Pennsylvania Dutch language declined, except among the more insular and tradition-bound [[Plain people]], such as the Old Order Amish and [[Old Order Mennonite]]s. Many German cultural practices continue in Pennsylvania in the present-day, and [[Germans|German]] remains the largest ancestry claimed by Pennsylvanians, according to the 2008 census.<ref>{{cite web |author=American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau |url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_DP3YR2&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=&-_lang=en |title=American Community Survey 3-Year Estimates |publisher=Factfinder.census.gov |access-date=July 31, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200211181836/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-context=adp&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_DP3YR2&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-_caller=geoselect&-geo_id=04000US42&-format=&-_lang=en |archive-date=February 11, 2020 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="merrittgeoprgeyorgey" />