ABSTRACT
For over three centuries German immigrants have been arriving in North America. In the United States, those of German ancestry now comprise a principal component of the national population. They have also been an important factor in growth in the Canadian population. Yet today, with the exception of a few tourist-oriented German enclaves in urban areas, and save for the persistence of a small number of deutschephones in some rural areas, the German language and culture have left only a faint mark on the dominant culture. Given the extent of German migration to North America, the question can be raised as to why the influence of the German language and German culture is not more apparent.
