Jersey Dutch
Jersey Dutch was a language based on the Dutch dialect of Zealand . It was spoken mainly in the counties of Bergen and Passaic in New Jersey from the late 17th century to the early 20th century . The language, the main part of which was Dutch and Zeeland, also adopted a large number of words, first from German, later from English and also some elements from the language of the Lenni-Lenape Indians.
Since the Jersey Dutch had a very simple grammar , the language was taught to many slaves who then spoke to one another; later, when they were released, they kept the language. As a result, the language was also referred to by some as Neger Duits - to be distinguished from the Caribbean Creole language Neger- Dutch (for the meaning of duits, see German (Etymology) ).
Text example Jersey Dutch:
- De v'lôrene zőn.
- En kääd'l had two jongers; de êne blêv deceive;
- de other xöng vôrt f'n häus f'r en stât.
- Hāi wāz nît tevrêde täus en dârkîs tû râkni ārm.
- Hāi doǵti ôm dāt täus en z'n vâders pläk.
- Tû zāide: äk zāl na house xâne. Māin vâder has plänti.
- [...]
In Dutch :
- De lost zoon.
- Een man had twee jongens; de êne bleef t'huis;
- The other went voort van huis voor een dar.
- Hij was niet tevreden t'huis en daardoor toen raakte arm.
- Hij dacht aan dat t'huis en zijn vaders plaats.
- Toen zei hij: ik zal naar huis gaan. Mijn vader heeft overvloed.
- [...]
In English :
- The lost son.
- A man had two sons; the one stayed at home;
- the other went abroad from home to make his fortune.
- He was not content at home and therefore then he became poor.
- He thought about it at home and his father's place.
- Then said: I shall go home. My father has plenty.
- [...]
In German :
- The lost Son.
- One man had two sons. One stayed at home;
- the other left home to make his fortune.
- He was not happy at home and it made him poor.
- He thought of his home and his father's place.
- Then he said: I should go home. My father lives in abundance.
- [...]
swell
- A Text in Jersey Dutch by J. Dyneley Prince, Ph. D. , in: Tijdschrift voor nederlandsche taal- en letterkunde, uitgegeven vanwege de maatschappij der nederlandsche letterkunde te Leiden. Twee en dertigste deel. Nieuwe reeks, four en twintigste deel. Leiden, 1913, pp. 306-312 ( HathiTrust-US ). See: J. Dyneley Prince, Ph.D., The Jersey Dutch Dialect , in: Dialect Notes. Publication of the American Dialect Society. Volume III (Parts I-VIII, 1905 to 1912). Pp. 459-484 ( HathiTrust-US )
Individual evidence
- ↑ DBNL: Jo Daan, Ik was te bissie ... Nederlanders en hun taal in de Verenigde Staten · dbnl. Retrieved November 10, 2019 (Dutch).