German language in the United States

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The spread of German in the USA, 2000

German was one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the United States of America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, German is the second most common language in South Dakota and North Dakota . The vast majority of US citizens of German origin do not understand German today, but they still count themselves among the German-Americans who, according to censusresultswith self-reported main ancestry, form the largest "ethnic group" in the US with almost 50 million, even before the Irish or English Americans. This can be explained by the fact that the Germans immigrated in different waves and to different places over the course of several centuries and that there was little contact between the migration destination areas, between the grandchildren of the migrants on the east coast and the newly arrived migrants on the Prairie were tended. In addition, in connection with the two world wars, the mother tongue was deliberately pushed back.

Muhlenberg legend

There is a widespread legend that German almost became the official language in the United States. Accordingly, a vote in this regard with only one vote majority for English, namely by the vote of the German-American Frederick Muhlenberg (1750-1801), would have failed in Congress . This story has been picked up again and again by the German press since 1840 as a sign that there were very many German immigrants in the United States, especially in the 18th century .

German-speaking methodism

In Pennsylvania, two German-speaking Methodist churches were formed around 1800 , the "United Brothers in Christ" and the "Evangelical Community". Both had a Methodist church order and Methodist song books in German and published German-language newspapers, one of which existed until 1937. From the mid-19th century, English was a second language in both churches, but there were areas well into the 20th century where German was the main language in the churches. In 1937, the two churches merged and in 1968 merged with the Episcopal Methodist Church to form the United Methodist Church .

Within the Episcopal Methodist Church, German-language "conferences" had also formed in the middle of the 19th century, which overlapped with the English-language conferences. An example of this is the St. Louis German Conference , which rose again in 1925 in the surrounding English-speaking conferences. These German-speaking Methodists were divided into the same church as the English-speaking ones, instead of in their own church like the "United Brothers" or "Evangelical Community".

Returnees from the German-speaking Methodist churches were also among the first to spread Methodism in Germany and Switzerland in the 19th century.

German-language press in the USA

German newspapers in North America 1922

German-language newspapers look back on a long tradition in the USA. A German newspaper, the " Pennsylvanian State Messenger " reported on July 5, 1776 about the decision of the Continental Congress to accept the American Declaration of Independence . It was the first newspaper to publish this historic decision and to print the text in a German translation. For members of Congress the English text was printed on the evening of July 4th, but for the American people the English text was not published until July 6th by the Pennsylvania Evening Post .

In the 19th century, the German-language press gained importance and reputation, which contributed to the emergence of a number of other German-language newspapers. In 1900, of 18,226 newspapers in the United States, 613 (3.4%) were published in German, more than any other language except English. During the First World War , however, many of them had to discontinue their publication due to a lack of readership.

Some German-language newspapers still appear today: The “ New Yorker Staats-Zeitung ” published its first edition on December 24, 1834 , making it one of the oldest in the United States. The Washington Journal , a German-language newspaper published in the District of Columbia , is the oldest newspaper in the American capital. The German-language Jewish newspaper Aufbau appeared in New York City from 1934 to 2004; its current seat is Zurich (for other newspapers see below).

Several Yiddish-language newspapers were also German in the broader sense . The most well-known example was “ Der Forverts ” (German: “Forward”). This newspaper appears today as The Forward in Yiddish, Russian and English; the original title was derived directly from the German SPD newspaper of the same name . After 1945 there were very few new newspapers or magazines founded. One example is the newspaper Hiwwe wie Driwwe , founded in 1997 and now appearing in Kutztown , Pennsylvania , the only publication that appears entirely in Pennsylvania German .

1917 and the aftermath

When the USA entered the First World War in 1917, a strongly anti-German attitude quickly developed in the American public. German Americans , especially immigrants , were accused of taking sides with the German Reich . Speaking German was considered unpatriotic . For example, the hot dog was called Frankfurter before World War I , but was then renamed Hot Dog. Many families Anglicized their surnames during this period (for example, von Schmidt zu Smith , Schneider zu Taylor , Müller zu Miller / Muller , Albrecht zu Albright , etc.), and almost all of them severely restricted the use of the German language . Many states banned the use of German in public and language teaching. After German lessons were banned even in private schools in Ohio , Iowa and Nebraska, these laws were repealed as incompatible with the constitution in a fundamental decision of the Supreme Court ( Meyer v. Nebraska ) in 1923 . But the consequences of the anti-German hysteria could not be reversed. German had all but disappeared from the public eye.

The German language today

The distribution of Americans of German origin in the USA (light blue indicates the counties that were dominated by Germans of origin in the 2000 census)

Overall, German-Americans are very well integrated , and the use of the German language in the USA has decreased dramatically. According to the last census (2000), 1,382,610 people stated that they spoke German instead of English at home. Only in some religious communities is German or a German dialect such as Plautdietsch (a variety of Low German) spoken in everyday life . For the old Amish , the old Mennonites and the Hutterites , the preservation of the German language is part of the religious conviction; it also forms a shield against the influences of the modern outside world.

German terms today

Ultimately, nothing more than loan words and family names remain of the German language in North America . Most of the words taken from German into American English have to do with food and drink, for example delicacies ( deli shops are delicatessen shops), sauerkraut , schnitzel , bratwurst or schnapps . But there are also some who bear witness to the German contribution to the cultural development of the new home: for example, firmly in words such as songfest or the widespread Octoberfest , and kindergarten for the generally established preschool, as well as housewife for a particularly hard-working housekeeper. German terms that would be very difficult to express in English, such as leitmotif or fingertip feeling (advertising by Volkswagen AG ), have become firmly imprinted, primarily through advertising by German corporations .

German place names today

Although the Germans mainly settled in areas that were already settled, new localities with German names also emerged. The number of German place names was reduced through official name changes during the First World War and through incorporation. Today there are still places called Berlin , Frankfort , Bingen , Linden , Stuttgart , New Braunfels or Luckenbach . Fredericksburg in Texas is the largest German town in Texas, where much of the old German culture has been preserved. The residents hold Sangerfests , Shutzenfests , wine festivals or children's festivals every year . German family names can still be found much more frequently, although names have been changed again and again and adapted to the English spelling .

German as a foreign language

In Germany, around six million pupils learn English as a foreign language in secondary schools. Approx. 375,000 students learn German at American schools; it is the third most popular foreign language after Spanish and French. In 1997 the German government made about three million US dollars available for projects on German teaching in the USA. The funds were used for teacher training , exchange projects , seminars , the development of teaching materials and for foreign language competitions. There are language consultants from Germany at six education ministries in the USA (in California , Georgia , Pennsylvania , Virginia , Washington , and Wisconsin ) who specifically deal with German as a foreign language. With the support of the German government, these experts help at federal and regional level to develop foreign language concepts and uniform standards.

Seven Goethe Institutes in the USA carry out cultural programs on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany, give language lessons, support teachers, universities and authorities in promoting the German language and offer up-to-date information about Germany; Every year around 2500 American participants take part in intensive language courses at 15 institutes in Germany.

See also

literature

  • German language in North America . In: The Abroad, 1828, No. 32, 33 (available online at Wikisource )
  • Heinz Kloss: The nationality law of the United States of America. , Stuttgart / Vienna 1965.
  • York-Gothart Mix (Ed.) In collaboration with Bianca Weyers and Gabriele Krieg: German-American Calendar of the 18th and 19th Centuries / German-American Almanacs of the 18th and 19th Centuries. Bibliography and Commentary. 2 vol. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2012, ISBN 978-3-11-025353-5 .
  • Don Heinrich Tolzmann: The German Amerikana Collection at the University of Cincinnati . In: Stuttgart works on German studies , No. 423. Hans-Dieter Heinz Akademischer Verlag, Stuttgart 2004 [2005], pp. 247-258, ISBN 3-88099-428-5 [About the large special collection on German language and literature in the UNITED STATES.]
  • Elsie M. Szecsy: German Language in US History. In: Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. Sage, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4129-3720-7 , pp. 320-321.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ US demographic census, Population Group: "German (032-045)", which does not include "Austrian (003-004)", "Swiss (091-096)" and others . Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  2. ^ Albert Bernhardt Faust, The German Element in the United States ...
  3. ↑ www.press-guide.com . Retrieved March 8, 2012