Page:The Cambridge History of American Literature, v4.djvu/172

 584 Non-English Writings I ving's Knickerbocker History has been of Dutch New York. Sometimes Breitmann' s Ballads are erroneously placed under the head of Pennsylvania German dialect literature. The so-called Pennsylvania German (or Dutch) dialect is a speech -form based upon South-German dialects of the eight- eenth century, upon which English speech-forms were grafted. Since the German immigrants of the eighteenth century came mostly from the Palatinate and the Upper Rhine country, the dia- lect of those sections prevailed in their daily intercourse among the Germans of Pennsylvania and neighbouring provinces. Being in constant contact also with English-speaking people, an EngHsh word-stock, especially of objects and affairs new to them, was imposed upon their dialect, while contact with modern literary German of the nineteenth century practically ceased. Pennsylvania German, being isolated, had an inde- pendent growth, which is exceedingly interesting to the philolo- gist.' Its tendency, as time goes on, is to come nearer and nearer the English language until German disappears. Though the Pennsylvania German dialect undoubtedly assumed definite form much earlier, written records of it did not appear before the last half of the nineteenth century. The most prominent name among the poets who wrote in the dialect is that of Henry Harbaugh, a collection of whose poems was published posthumously in 1870, under the title Harbaugh's Harje. Most of his poems appeared also in English translations by the poet, such as his much appreciated verses on The Old School- house on the Creek, beginning : Today it is just twenty years Since I began to roam : Now, safely back, I stand once more. Before the quaint old school-house door, Close by my father's home. In Pennsylvania German : Heit is's 'xactly zwanzig Johr, Dasz ich bin owwe naus : Nau bin ich widder lewig z'rick Un schteh am Schulhaus an d'r Krick, Juscht neekscht an's Dady Haus. » See Bibliography for grammars and literature of the dialect.