Understanding Death and Dying Among the Low-German-Speaking Mennonites

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith C. Kulig ◽  
HaiYan Fan
Keyword(s):  
Death And Dying ◽  
Low German ◽  
German Speaking

The Politics of Pronunciation among German-Speaking Mennonites in Northern Mexico

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Klassen
Keyword(s):  
Language Use ◽  
German Language ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Low German ◽  
Politics Of Language ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
Modern Technologies

This chapter discusses the politics of language use in collective singing among conserving Mennonites in northern Mexico. The group migrated to Mexico from Canada to distance itself from the worldly influences of modern technologies and secular society in general. In the new environment the German language stands as a symbolic marker, distinguishing Mennonites from the wider society. The chapter shows how further in-group linguistic distinctions are marked through uses of High and Low German (drawing on the wider class associations of the two languages), in which a distinct “a” (pronounced “au”) from Low German is often employed in contexts of High German use. The chapter explores what happens when this distinctive pronunciation is used politically in collective song as an expression of defiance by individual singers and the tensions that result when collective song becomes a space for “phonological expressions of difference.”

scholarly journals Being a Woman: Perspectives of Low-German-Speaking Mennonite Women

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith C. Kulig ◽  
Ruth Babcock ◽  
Margaret Wall ◽  
Shirley Hill
Keyword(s):  
Low German ◽  
German Speaking

The Meanings of Mobility in Bolivia’s March to the East

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Ben Nobbs-Thiessen
Keyword(s):  
South American ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Low German ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Internal Colonization

The introduction introduces the diverse migrants that settled in lowland Bolivia after the country’s 1952 National Revolution. These include low-German speaking Mennonite farmers from Mexico and Paraguay, Okinawan and Japanese settlers, and Indigenous Andeans from the nation’s own highlands. In contrast to earlier scholarship the introduction places the “March to the East,” a program of internal colonization and infrastructure development as a major, long-lasting, and relatively unexplored legacy of Bolivia’s 1952 Revolution with parallels in other South American nations.

scholarly journals Language Shift Revisited. Linguistic Repertoires of Jews in Low German-Speaking Germany in the Early 20th Century: Insights from the LCAAJ Archive

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-166
Author(s):  
Gertrud Reershemius
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
First Language ◽  
Language Shift ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Northern Germany ◽  
Historical Sociolinguistics ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
Low German ◽  
German Speaking

This paper analyzes the linguistic repertoires of Jews in the Low German-speaking areas in the first decades of the 20th century, as a contribution to historical sociolinguistics. Based on fieldwork questionnaires held in the archives of the Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry (LCAAJ), it addresses the question of whether the Jewish minorities spoke a supralectal form of standard German or Koiné forms of dialects, relating this to issues of language shift from Western Yiddish. The study shows that many Jews living in northern Germany during the 1920s and 1930s still had access to a multilingual repertoire containing remnants of Western Yiddish; that a majority of the LCAAJ interviewees from this area emphasized their excellent command of standard German; and that their competence in Low German varied widely, from first language to no competence at all, depending on the region where they lived.*

scholarly journals The Experiences of Low German-Speaking Mennonite Men in Alternative Education Programs in Southwestern Ontario

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Brubacher ◽  
Stacey Wilson-Forsberg
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Alternative Education ◽  
Religious Beliefs ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Low German ◽  
Alternative Education Programs ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Survey Responses ◽  
Full Time Employment

The tradition of leaving high school and finding full-time employment after grade 8 has put Low German-speaking (LGS) Mennonites in rural Southwestern Ontario in a vulnerable economic position. Consequently, alternative education programs have been developed by Ontario public school boards in areas containing high numbers of LGS Mennonites. The programs strive to keep LGS Mennonite youth in school by creating spaces where primarily male LGS Mennonite students feel more comfortable and can pursue a high school diploma while maintaining their religious beliefs, cultural identity, and work responsibilities. This article draws from qualitative interview data and open-ended survey responses to explore perceptions of LGS Mennonite men’s experiences in alternative education programs, and it highlights factors that caused the men to avoid or leave the programs. This article offers recommendations on how to strengthen the programs to increase the number of LGS Mennonite students attending them. It emphasizes the importance of LGS Mennonite students receiving strong messages from educators that their language, culture, and religious beliefs are valued even if that means separating the youth from Canadian society rather than integrating them on equal terms to minimize their marginalization.

Childbearing beliefs among Low-German-speaking Mennonite women

2008 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith C. Kulig ◽  
Margaret Wall ◽  
Shirley Hill ◽  
Ruth Babcock
Keyword(s):  
Low German ◽  
German Speaking

Psychometrical Properties of a French Version of the General Self-Efficacy Short Scale (ASKU)

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-25
Author(s):  
Jean Philippe Décieux ◽  
Philipp Emanuel Sischka ◽  
Anette Schumacher ◽  
Helmut Willems
Keyword(s):  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
German Version ◽  
French Version ◽  
Context Variable ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Valid Instrument ◽  
General Self Efficacy

Abstract. General self-efficacy is a central personality trait often evaluated in surveys as context variable. It can be interpreted as a personal coping resource reflecting individual belief in one’s overall competence to perform across a variety of situations. The German-language Allgemeine-Selbstwirksamkeit-Kurzskala (ASKU) is a reliable and valid instrument to assess this disposition in the German-speaking countries based on a three-item equation. This study develops a French version of the ASKU and tests this French version for measurement invariance compared to the original ASKU. A reliable and valid French instrument would make it easy to collect data in the French-speaking countries and allow comparisons between the French and German results. Data were collected on a sample of 1,716 adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a good fit for a single-factor model of the data (in total, French, and German version). Additionally, construct validity was assessed by elucidating intercorrelations between the ASKU and different factors that should theoretically be related to ASKU. Furthermore, we confirmed configural and metric as well as scalar invariance between the different language versions, meaning that all forms of statistical comparison between the developed French version and the original German version are allowed.

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