ABSTRACT
The entire southern half of the state of Pennsylvania is occupied by people who use what has been called the Pennsylvania-Dutch dialect. Actually, these people spoke, and still speak, two dialects: a German language dialect and an American-German dialect, both of which are known as Pennsylvania-Dutch. This section treats the American-German dialect. The speech of this region retains many characteristic grammar variants together with much of the lilt. The tonal patterns to be found in the dialect are quite unique because many German inflections have been retained. The typical lilt can easily be detected and has been called by Pennsylvanians the Berks County Accent. The dialect features an excessive elongation, almost a diphthongization, of heavily stressed vowels, especially those of the so-called long variety. The non-German inhabitants of Pennsylvania use an American dialect that varies somewhat from General-American. It is distinguished by a peculiar drawl heightened by Pennsylvania-Dutch influences.
