Pennsyltucky? (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Lancaster: fit in, living, shopper)

[pman]

Originally Posted by 2nd trick op

The 1920 Census included questions of ethnicity which were later used to establish the quota system, which would rule for the next forty years; German descendants, rather than English, Scotch or Irish, were found to be greatest in numbers for the nation as a whole, and the disparity was even more pronounced in Pennsylvania. From Colonial times until the 1850's many state documents had to be printed in German as well as English. So much for those who are easily upset by bilingualism.

It's my understanding they used 1890 targets for the quotas so as to exclude the southern Europeans from the quota system

Btw, the explanation for gravy I've heard is that it's the descendant of neapolitans Sunday ragu which is slow cooked sauce with various cuts of meat. Also keep in mind italian is a relatively new idea and until Mussolini dialects were standard

[Gerania]

There a lot of Sicilians in NEPA, and none of them call it gravy. Not even Nona. Well, Nona's gone now, but she made pasta and sauce. She never made gravy.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

I don't necessarily disagree with all that - my first thought when mentioning "mainly Pennsylvania Dutch" was the influences on speech. Having grown up in central PA, I'm very familiar with certain terms which came from them, which you likely won't hear in the south.

Italians mostly settled in urban areas, and while some may have moved into rural areas later on (I myself have Italian ancestry but grew up in central PA), I don't think they had any impact on the dialect (people in rural PA don't refer to pasta sauce as "gravy" for example, like many Italian-Americans in urban areas still do).

What PA Dutch terms do you remember? My mother is from Lewistown and we would see Amish from time to time when visiting, but I never heard many people speaking PA Dutch. Supposedly I had a great-aunt who spoke it.

Anyone remember the Pittsburgh add for a TV station: "Pittsburgh's a whole world of people", reflecting the diversity of western PA (mostly European).

[blauskies]

This is classic Western Snyder County Pennsylvania German and accent I remember hearing years ago, these old guys are no longer with us, nevermind the boogie picking.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_R0Z1pTsxc

[MissClutterbuck]

Originally Posted by zitsky

What PA Dutch terms do you remember? My mother is from Lewistown and we would see Amish from time to time when visiting, but I never heard many people speaking PA Dutch. Supposedly I had a great-aunt who spoke it.

Anyone remember the Pittsburgh add for a TV station: "Pittsburgh's a whole world of people", reflecting the diversity of western PA (mostly European).

I'm not PA Dutch but my ex's family was. I can't remember a lot of the phrases he used but I do remember that he was astonished when I didn't know what he was talking about.

One word I remember, which is relevant to this thread, was "hooftie," which is basically a dumb redneck.

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by zitsky

What PA Dutch terms do you remember? My mother is from Lewistown and we would see Amish from time to time when visiting, but I never heard many people speaking PA Dutch. Supposedly I had a great-aunt who spoke it.

Anyone remember the Pittsburgh add for a TV station: "Pittsburgh's a whole world of people", reflecting the diversity of western PA (mostly European).

They are English terms the PA Dutch would use: ie, Red up the room, outten the lights, make wet, it wonders me, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsy..._Dutch_English

[PA2UK]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Northumberland County is Central PA, but maybe your Central PA is different from mine?

The coal region of PA was mostly in the eastern/northeastern area. Northumberland County was as far "west" as it went. So in relation to the coal mining region which includes Northumberland County, I was talking about west of there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Region

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

The coal region of PA was mostly in the eastern/northeastern area. Northumberland County was as far "west" as it went. So in relation to the coal mining region which includes Northumberland County, I was talking about west of there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Region

There is/was coal in SW Pa. One of my church friends from Barnesboro was a miner.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by PA2UK

The coal region of PA was mostly in the eastern/northeastern area. Northumberland County was as far "west" as it went. So in relation to the coal mining region which includes Northumberland County, I was talking about west of there: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_Region

First time I ever heard it wasn't Central PA, but that's a wide open issue nothing is clearly defined. Snyder County is right across the river from me and was full of PA Dutch descendants, the schools there in the 70's and 80's even served common PA Dutch foods on the menu, I'm sure that's no longer the case.

Shamokin and Mt. Carmel were heavy mining towns, I had relatives that were miners and my Great-Grandfather died of Black Lung Disease at a young age long before I was even born.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by zitsky

There is/was coal in SW Pa. One of my church friends from Barnesboro was a miner.

Yep, my area was Anthracite.