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When the Plautdietsch-speaking Anabaptist Mennonites left the Volga region of Russia, they settled in Manitoba in the 19th century. Later, the Manitoban/Canadian(?) government refused to allow them to run their own schools free from government interference. So, many of the more conservative of them went to northern Mexico--Chihuahua, and then later Durango, Campeche... Belize, Bolivia... In these communities, Plautdietsch is very vigorous as the family and community language.
Do descendants of the Mennonites who stayed in Manitoba still use Plautdietsch or is the language now completely dead? I know some Mennonites left Belize for Nova Scotia relatively recently. So, they may still use Plautdietsch there, but I don't know about the Mennonites in Manitoba.
I once met Mennonites and they told me that they are " Russlanddeutsche ", both Russian and German.
I also once was at a festival at a church of a Mennonite community, and most were of " Russlanddeutsche" -descent. So it's closely related to their origin and German is important for them.
However, I have absolutely no idea about how it is in Manitoba (I never where in Manitoba).
Thank you -- lot of information on that threat about Mennonites from Mexico. I remember reading a few years ago that Canada stopped issuing citizenship rights to people with at least one grandparent who was Canadian because of the problem of Mexican Mennonites being used by drug cartels to smuggle crap into Canada. That was saddening.
Based on information contained in a related threat that someone kindly pointed out, I am able to partially answer my own question. According to Census 2016 data, in Winkler, MB and out of a total population of 14,311, 6,040 people had German (no distinction made as to dialect) as a mother tongue and 2,495 still used some form of German as the primary home language.
Just posting again for education purposes, in case others have been curious about this as well.
When the Plautdietsch-speaking Anabaptist Mennonites left the Volga region of Russia, they settled in Manitoba in the 19th century. Later, the Manitoban/Canadian(?) government refused to allow them to run their own schools free from government interference. So, many of the more conservative of them went to northern Mexico--Chihuahua, and then later Durango, Campeche... Belize, Bolivia... In these communities, Plautdietsch is very vigorous as the family and community language.
Do descendants of the Mennonites who stayed in Manitoba still use Plautdietsch or is the language now completely dead? I know some Mennonites left Belize for Nova Scotia relatively recently. So, they may still use Plautdietsch there, but I don't know about the Mennonites in Manitoba.
The Volgadeutsche are not the same as the Russian Mennonites. The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans invited to the Russian Empire by Carherine the Great.
The Russian Mennonites are mostly of Dutch ancestry, from the Friesland areas. Persecution moved them eventually to the Prussian state and from there, at the invitation of Catherine the Great, to Ukraine. And from there, in 1874, many to Canada but not all. Many more came as refugees after the Revolution and after the Second World War.
My mother tongue is Plautdietsch. The language is far, far from dead. Everyone of my generation (age 50s) spoke it as a first language and it is kept alive by influxes of Russian Mennonites from the places you mentioned.
Thank you -- lot of information on that threat about Mennonites from Mexico. I remember reading a few years ago that Canada stopped issuing citizenship rights to people with at least one grandparent who was Canadian because of the problem of Mexican Mennonites being used by drug cartels to smuggle crap into Canada. That was saddening.
I've never heard of anything like that. Would you have a link?
The Volgadeutsche are not the same as the Russian Mennonites. The Volga Germans are ethnic Germans invited to the Russian Empire by Carherine the Great.
The Russian Mennonites are mostly of Dutch ancestry, from the Friesland areas. Persecution moved them eventually to the Prussian state and from there, at the invitation of Catherine the Great, to Ukraine. And from there, in 1874, many to Canada but not all. Many more came as refugees after the Revolution and after the Second World War.
My mother tongue is Plautdietsch. The language is far, far from dead. Everyone of my generation (age 50s) spoke it as a first language and it is kept alive by influxes of Russian Mennonites from the places you mentioned.
My husband and I speak Low German together.
What I meant is that the Mennonites who came to Canada from Russia were from the Volga region. I think we are talking about the same population.
I studied a bit of Plautdietsch (from McCaffrey's Wi Leahre Plautdietsch: A Beginner's Guide to Mennonite Low German) and have a copy of De Bibel, the Bible in Plautdietsch. I've heard it on YouTube. I know Standard German and Dutch. Plautdietsch seems to be between the two, but closer to the German.
“Velot die opp däm Harn met dien gaunzet Hoat, un velot die nich opp dien ieejnet Vestaunt.” (Spricha 3:5)
I am glad that Plautdietsch "is far from dead" in Canada. Thank you for that!
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