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John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints |
There are a number of relatively minor tourist attractions in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country. In my opinion the area is worth a quick visit if you are nearby, but probably not worth a special diversion. The Farmer's Market in the small town of Bird In Hand is well worth a stop if you are passing.
It is very difficult to be certain of what is really happening in this area. Are the Amish and Mennonites exploiting the tourists, are the tourists exploiting them, or are the owners of the various tourist attractions exploiting both? In any case, the region certainly has a strange feeling to it. I have seen it described as a "human zoo" and it certainly seems wrong to me for tourists to go around poking their cameras at the local people.
The name "Dutch Country" is somewhat of a misnomer. While some of the Amish and Mennonite people did originate from the Netherlands, many came originally from Switzerland, in some cases via Germany. To some extent, the name "Dutch Country" came about through a confusion with the word "Deutsche" which in the German language means German.
There are quite a number of other Amish and Mennonite "colonies" in other parts of the USA, and I suspect probably also in parts of Canada.
There is a detailed description of life in a Pennsylvania Dutch Country Mennonite sect as it was in the first half of the nineteenth century in one chapter of James Michener's book "Centennial".
In terms of British English, I would describe the pronunciation of the word "Amish" as "are-mish", the "are" being pronounced as in "are we happy" (not as "air"). However, Jennifer Kelch of Ohio, who comes from an Amish family, kindly left a message on my Guestbook saying that in terms of American English she would describe the pronunciation as "Ahhh-mish". Obviously the pronunciation should be exactly the same in both cases but the way it is described is different. Anyway, pronouncing the "A" to rhyme with "bay" or "day", as speakers of British English might expect, is definitely incorrect.
Hi! I'm Jane from Lancaster, PA, I'm 18 and you said that there is not much to do in Amish country, so I have a few suggestions:
Lancaster City has many outlet stores and a lot of tourists dig that. There are some breathtaking sights as you are coming in to the city. Lancaster is also the home to Turkey Hill Ice Cream. We have a huge mall called Park City that is worth checking out and it's shaped a bit like eastern state Penn, if you know what that is. There is also Dutch Wonderland towards the eastern side on the way in the city which is a great place for families with kids under 12 or 13.
Some other notes:
Language: you mentioned that in "Dutch country" it is true that Deutsch means German, and Amish speak High German at their religious ceremonies. Also the Amish speak what is known as "Pennsylvania Dutch" at their homes, and English to everyone else.
Religion: I am Mennonite, which is different from Amish, although Orthodox Mennonites are quite similar to the Amish. It is worth noting that all of the horse and buggies that are seen are not all Amish. There are two different kinds - gray and black. The Amish ride in gray buggies and the orthodox Mennonites ride in the black ones.
Pronunciation: Lancaster is Lanc'-as-ter not Lan'-cas-ter and Amish is MOST definitely Ah'-mish.
Exploitation: nobody is exploiting anybody, be it tourists or Amish or locals. What is going on is an appreciation and respect of another culture. It would be the same if you were to go to England or France or Germany. And the local people - I assume you meant Amish, because, let's face it, that's why people come here - don't mind getting their pictures taken, and if you ask, most of them would be happy to pose with you for a picture or let you pet their horse if you're stopped at a store with them.
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Most recently modified 3-Aug-04