- Hunsrückisch
Hunsrückisch is a German
dialect spoken in theHunsrück region ofGermany (Rhineland-Palatinate ). This mountainous region of Germany has long been an 'exporter' ofimmigrant s toCanada , theUnited States ,Brazil ,Australia and other parts of the world.There are many theories about the exact origin of the term "Hunsrück" but no definitive proof has been established or satisfied the majority of the scholars specializing on the subject.
Hunsrückisch will be familiar to many non-German speakers through
Edgar Reitz 's acclaimed TV series "Heimat".Features
Hunsrückisch is a member of the West
Central German group of dialects. This means that it did not undergo all phases of theHigh German consonant shift . For example:
*Wat (English "what", Dutch "wat", German "was")
*Mudder (English "mother", Dutch "moeder", German "Mutter")French influence
Due to its proximity to
France , the Hunsrückisch dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region has experienced unique influences from the neighboringFrench language through the centuries. During Napoleonic times the Hunsrück region was incorporated into the country of France for a short period.outh Brazil dialects
There is a variation of this dialect in southern Brazil named Riograndenser Hunsrückisch by Dr.
Cléo Vilson Altenhofen in 1996, as to differentiate it from the original European form of this dialect. The term "Riograndenser" refers to someone or something (in this case the dialect) that is from the state ofRio Grande do Sul , the southernmost state of Brazil.There is such a thing as a Deutschbrasilianer or
German-Brazilian identity in southern Brazil - the existence of the language is proof of that. However, especially sinceWorld War II , there has been great political, social and even police pressure to make this cultural regionalism disappear into the mainstream of society. These efforts have been mostly successful. In the state ofRio Grande do Sul , schools are encouraged to teach local, regional languages (like German, Polish, Italian orTalian , as it is best known in southern Brazil; and schools located on bordering regions, that is nearUruguay andArgentina , are encouraged to teach Spanish. English as asecond language remains very popular with students not only in the south of Brazil but throughout the country.Throughout its almost two hundred year history in Southern Brazil, Hunsrückish or Riograndenser Hunsrückisch has been greatly influenced by other Germanic dialects such as Pomeranian, Swabian, and
Austro-Bavarian and also by other immigrant languages; and also, naturally, by Portuguese, the national language of Brazil). As a matter of fact, viaBrazilian Portuguese , Riograndenser Hunsrückisch also incorporatedAmerindian andAfro-Brazilian terminology.Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is not only spoken in the state of
Rio Grande do Sul but also in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina and in other parts of southern Brazil (and in a much smaller scale in other countries of the region, likeParaguay and Argentina).External links
* [http://www.hundheimer.de/Hundemer%20Sprache/A_bis_Z.htm Hunsrücker Platt] . an A-Z of common Hunsrückisch words and phrases (as spoken in the village of
Hundheim ) and their standard German equivalents, as compiled by Achim Berg.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDHUVU4lu6w&mode=related&search= YouTube video interwiew with Hunsrückisch speaker from the town of Biguaçú, Santa Catarina, Brazil] .
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVIAB3OIlfE&mode=related&search= YouTube video interview with a couple of Hunsrückisch speakers from the town of Biguaçú, Santa Catarina, Brazil] .References
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