No grammar? EVERY language has grammar—Pennsylvania Dutch has its share to be sure. There are ten parts of speech, three genders of nouns (and you can’t hang a feminine article on a masculine noun!).
‘Outen the light’ is our common Lancaster County way of saying ‘turn out the light,’ and it is simply a short and efficient expression for getting the deed accomplished. The same is true of the shortened form ‘this after’ instead of ‘this afternoon’—an expression you’ll hear from the lips of every Lancaster City and County inhabitant.
Some expressions in our quaint English here are actually direct translations from the Pennsylvania Dutch language, but they have become such common property that many a Lancastrian uses them even though his background is anything but Dutch. For example, a beautiful little phrase to indicate that you ‘live next door’ to someone is the very warm idiom: ‘they live neighbors to us’ or ‘we live neighbors to them.’ Now isn’t that a real friendly way of putting it?
Actually, then, the impress of Pennsylvania Dutch upon the Nation linguistically has been negligible. It is not enough to boast about the Pennsylvania Dutch ancestry of the Hoovers, the Earharts, and the Eisenhowers when the Nation as a whole has not been conscious of the existence of our deep-rooted folk culture over some nine generations. Meanwhile, however, we bid farewell to the visitor in the Dutch country with those familiar words heard in Lancaster County: koom boll widder! (come soon again)—or, better, the idiom as it is used in the more eastern counties: koom ols widder (keep coming, and coming, and coming, and coming to see us ...).
Cultural Assets of Lancaster
By PROF. FREDERIC S. KLEIN
Member of the Department of History at Franklin and Marshall College
The Lancaster community has inherited a rich tradition of cultural activity and interest since colonial days, and offers a wide variety of opportunity for enjoyment, appreciation and participation in the fields of music, the arts, the theatre, and educational facilities.
Music has a prominent part in the life of Lancaster. The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, composed of professional and non-professional musicians in the community, presents a series of concerts throughout the season, including classical, popular and youth concerts, and presenting guest artists of high calibre. Its fine musical standards have given it recognition as one of the outstanding community orchestras in the State, and it provides opportunities for young musicians and music students in the area to develop their musical talents. Another musical group, the Vivaldi Chamber Orchestra, is composed entirely of girls, and presents regular concerts sponsored by the Y.W.C.A., with special emphasis on classical music and the use of rare musical instruments. Many church and choral groups present formal concerts throughout the year, and a regular series of concert programs is sponsored by a local committee of the Community Concert Association, which brings artists and musical groups to the city.
One of the most recent additions to the musical life of Lancaster is the unique Amphitheatre in Long Park, about one mile west of the city on the old Harrisburg Pike. Located in a beautiful natural setting for open-air concerts, ceremonies or community gatherings, the attractive structure provides stage accommodations for full-size orchestras and seating capacity on the lawn for approximately 10,000 persons. It was constructed through community contributions and civic club interest.
Several theatre groups are active in Lancaster. Foremost among them is the Green Room Theatre of Franklin and Marshall College, which presents a regular series of plays of professional quality. Dramatic productions are also presented regularly by community organizations such as the Lancaster Theatre Arts Association, the Musicomedy Guild, and the Opera Workshop. All of these groups offer opportunities to persons interested in theatrical production, for participation or for training and experience on the stage. A number of summer theatre programs are presented in the Lancaster area, such as the Gretna Playhouse and the Ephrata Legion Star Playhouse.