Kjenn Jie Plautdietsch?

Few, if any, of my generation of Bullers can answer yes to the question posed in the title. However, I believe that all (or at least most) of Grandpa and Grandma’s children would say, “Jo! Ekj kjann Plautdietsch!”

As I recently learned, Low German (aka Mennonite Low German) was the language of choice on the Buller Lushton farm at least until the 1940s, even though everyone also had to know and speak English in order to attend school, converse with non-Mennonite neighbors, and the like. If any of that generation would like to tell stories about growing up bilingually or phasing out the use of Low German after the onset of World War II, please email me your reminiscences, and I will post them for all to share.

But back to the language. If you know a little modern German, you might be able to make out the meaning of the response above:

• Jo! = Ja! = Yes!
• Ekj = Ich = I
• kjann = kennen = to know
• Plaut + dietsch = platt + Deutsch = Low (flat) German

The adjective Low does not describe something about the language itself (such as being spoken by the common or lower-class people). Rather, it refers to the fact that this and other Low German dialects were used by people living in the lowlands of northern Europe (e.g., the Netherlands [a name that means “Low Country”] and Belgium).

There are a number of online resources to introduce you to our ancestral language or to enrich your understanding and experience of it.

1.  Psalms, Proverbs, and the New Testament in Plautdietsch

Bible Gateway offers both text and audio files of the entire New Testament in Plautdietsch. To read John 1, click here. To see what other biblical passages are available, click on the Bible Book List drop-down menu circled in red in the screen shot below.

You can also listen to audio readings of biblical texts in Plautdietsch by clicking on the speaker icon below the Related Resources bar. To hear John 1 now, click here.

2. Plautdietsch Music

John C. Klassen provides audio recordings of and sheet music (PDF) with lyrics for over a hundred hymns and songs such as “ Mien Jesus ekj leew die” here.

3. Film

Surprisingly, the Jesus film can also be watched in its entirety with a Plautdietsch soundtrack. See here.

Shockingly, searching for “Plautdietsch” on YouTube returns nearly five thousand different videos, including a Low German rap song that must be seen to be believed (see also an acoustic version of the same as well as the always-popular “I Wish I Could Take a Bath”).

4. Learning and Cultural Resources

Plautdietsch to English dictionaries are available online here and here (the second one seems to me the better of the two).

The Plautdietsch website here lists and describes a number of written resources for learning the language. The entire website is worth exploring for the wealth of audio, video, online, written, and social resources (e.g., conversing with Plautdietsch speakers via Skype) that it lists and describes.

Paul Joyce maintains a website providing links to various German dialects, including Plautdietsch here.

There is even a Plautdietsch Facebook group, where one can connect with other speakers and share graphics such as:

Feel free to add in the comments section any other Plautdietsch resources that you know of—or to tell stories related to your experiences with Low German and English during the 1930s and early 1940s.