PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH or PENNSYLVANIA GERMAN?

Who are we talking about?

The Pennsylvania Dutch (or Germans) emigrated from Europe to America in the 1700's. Their descendants and others who adopted the culture are also called Pennsylvania Dutch.

The great majority of the original 18th Century immigrants spoke a dialect of German, and the great majority came from regions located within 100 (??) miles on either side of the Rhine River. They settled, as one Colonial Pennsylvania official put it, "in the back parts of this province." The first Pennsylvania Dutch were true pioneers, who settled on what was then the frontier and today is the Pennsylvania Dutch country of southeastern Pennsylvania.

So why are they called "Dutch?"

I have encountered three theories about this:

The Deutsch theory.

This, the most commonly given explanation, holds that it's all a misunderstanding. In the German language, Deutsch means German. So, the story goes, English-speaking people would ask the new immigrants what language they were speaking, and the answer came back "Deutsch." The English assumed this meant "Dutch." In other words, "Pennsylvania Dutch" is a corruption of "Pennsylvania Deutsch."

The Rhine theory.

I first encountered this theory is a book by A S Fogleman, who said that Dutch is "not a corruption at all," but rather a "legitimate, well-known term used by the English in the early modern period to describe the people who lived along the Rhine. The 'Low Dutch' came from the area of the present Netherlands, while the 'High Dutch' came from the area of the middle and upper Rhine." [quotation from p 197 of "Hopeful Journeys" by A S Fogleman, 1996, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia]

The Rotterdam theory.

Many of the ships that carried the immigrants to America originated in Rotterdam, the Dutch city at the mouth of the Rhine River. Since the ships came from Holland, the English settlers in America assumed that the people on them were Dutch.

So which theory is correct?

I personally think the Rhine theory rings true, and it has backing in scholarly research. My problem with the Deutsch theory is that the Colonial English -- however eccentric their spelling -- were not stupid. Contemporary writings indicate that the English were well aware of where these immigrants came from. Another name used for them was "Palatines" after the Pfalz region in Germany where many of them came from. As for the Rotterdam theory, in my estimation it is just plain silly.

Why do you prefer "Pennsylvania Dutch" instead of "Pennsylvania German" ?

(To be continued.)