Professor of Germanic Linguistics to Present Lecture on Pennsylvania Dutch in 21st Century

Brett Sterling

Mark Louden, the Alfred L. Shoemaker, J. William Frey and Don Yoder Professor of Germanic Linguistics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will give a talk titled "Pennsylvania Dutch in the 21st Century" at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, in Kimpel Hall 305.

America's oldest and most widely spoken German-related language is Pennsylvania Dutch. It is used today by over 400,000 people, mostly Amish and traditional Mennonites, in 32 U.S. states, including Arkansas, and four Canadian provinces. In this presentation, Louden will explore how Pennsylvania Dutch developed from German dialects brought by immigrants to colonial America to become the fastest growing language on the planet.

Louden's visit and lecture are in celebration of the annual induction ceremony of the U of A chapter of Delta Phi Alpha, the National German Honor Society. The talk is free and open to the campus community.