Outen the Light

   Years ago we bought a light switch plate with a Pennsylvania Dutch design that says "Outen the light." Last week my 12-year-old grandson asked where I got the switch plate. I told him I didn't remember and asked if he knows what it means. He didn't, so I explained that's the way PA Dutch people say "turn the light off." My family actually said "outen the light" when I was growing up.

    I went on to explain that PA Dutch sentence structure is often backwards from the way it is spoken in English. So when a Dutchman speaks in English, things might come out backwards. For instance, "throw the cow over the fence some hay."  He seemed to understand and that was the end of the discussion.

    I never learned enough PA Dutch to hold a conversation but I have a strong Dutch accent. I can understand enough to respond (in English) if someone speaks to me in Dutch. I don't say "outen the light" anymore but more of that kind of thing is still there than I realized. One day this week I caught myself saying to my husband, "get me the hedge trimmer down." Fortunately, I am married to a man whose first language was PA Dutch. He never batted an eye. When I laughed at myself, he said, "We understood each other, didn't we?" 

   That backwards sentence just came out automatically without thinking. How often do I do that without realizing it? There are a lot of terms we use when we speak English that don't make sense unless you have a good Dutch background.

   The milk is all.  (used up)

   I'm going awhile.   (on ahead)

   It's really making down.   (raining heavily)

   Redd up in here. (put the clutter away)

   Give me that once. (let me have it)

   There are also many Dutch words mixed with English. Our children grew up saying words they didn't realize were Dutch. If they did know, they understood what the words meant and when to use them.

    schmutz---grease

    brutz---cry

    catz---cat

    doppich---awkward

    kutz---vomit

    ferschitt---spilled

    gagarish---cry loudly

    unferschtendich---unbelieveable

    wutz---pig

    butz--clean off

    bubbely---baby

    ferhoodled---mixed up

    rutz naus---snot nose

    dunner---thunder or loud noise

    Pennsylvania Dutch is a colorful language. Some things just sound better in Dutch. Maybe I should go back to saying "outen the light."