Editing Pennsylvania Dutch (section)

===Anti-German sentiment and Americanization===
{{further|Anti-German sentiment}}
[[File:Restaurant operator Fred Horak of Somerville, 1939.jpg|right|thumb|upright=0.7|An Anti-German sign reading "No German customers wanted here"]]
The next blow to Pennsylvania Dutch came during World War I and World War II. Prior to the wars, Pennsylvania Dutch was an urban language spoken openly in the streets of towns such as Allentown, Reading, Lancaster and York; afterwards, it became relegated only to rural areas.<ref name="merrittgeoprgeyorgey" />{{better source|date=November 2024}}

There was rampant social & employment discrimination for anyone suspected of being German. Meritt G. Yorgey, a Pennsylvania Dutch descendant who grew up during the height of anti-German sentiment, remembers the instructions of his father: "Don't ever call yourself "Dutch" or "Pennsylvania German." You're just American."<ref name="merrittgeoprgeyorgey" />{{better source|date=November 2024}}

Many Pennsylvanians of German heritage have chosen to assimilate into Anglo-American culture, except for a significant number of Amish and Mennonite plain people who have chosen to remain insular, which has added to the modern misconception that "Pennsylvania Dutch" is synonymous with "Amish."<ref name="merrittgeoprgeyorgey" />