Jersey Dutch
| Jersey Dutch | |
|---|---|
| Region | New Jersey, United States |
| Ethnicity | Dutch Americans in New Jersey. |
| Extinct | Early 20th century |
|
Indo-European
|
|
| Latin (Dutch alphabet) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Jersey Dutch was an archaic Dutch dialect formerly spoken in and around Bergen and Passaic Counties in New Jersey from the late 17th century until the early 20th century. It may have been a partial creole language based on Zeelandic and West Flemish Dutch dialects with English and possibly some elements of Lenape.
Jersey Dutch was spoken by the descendants of Dutch settlers in New Jersey, who began to arrive at Bergen in 1630, and by their Black slaves and free people of color also residing in that region, as well as the mixed race people known as the Ramapough Mountain Indians. A variety of this dialect, referred to by Jersey Dutch speakers as neger-dauts ("Negro Dutch", not to be confused with the Dutch creole Negerhollands) was spoken only by the Black population. It was distinguished from Jersey Dutch by pronunciation and grammar, reflecting African linguistic retentions: an overall decline in inflection, apparently including a loss of past tense verb forms because of isolation from other Dutch speakers and contact with English-speaking settlers.
An example of Jersey Dutch from A text in Jersey Dutch Dr J. Dyneley Prince, 1910.
In standard modern Dutch:
In English:
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