Crumbs From an Old Dutch Closet : The Dutch Dialect of Old New York

## De v'lorene zön -The prodigal son . CRUMBS FROM AN OLD DUTCH CLOSET Dutch does not exist, and that it has not existed for a long time. This is not quite true, and came about probably only thru the fact that those knowing something of it or using it were buried in rural sedions and had little to do with things of an academic nature. It may be safely said that no material has ever been gathered or recorded in this field, certainly none that has ever been published, with the possible exception of Professor J. Dyneley Prince's work on the 'Jersey Dutch Dialect', found in 'Dialed Notes' vol. UI. part VI, 1910, and it was stated therein that the Jersey Dutch Dialect consisted of the Flemish or South Holland dialect in use in what was at that time (ca. 1650) a combined Flanders and Holland. This conclusion is possibly drawn from a study of the word list, since pronunciation at this late date, with its natural changes and impurities could scarcely have been used as a guide. In any event it would be difficult to ascertain just which part oftheNetherlands produced the greater number of immigrants arriving in the colonies at that time. Many of the old records, highly incomplete and inaccurate at their best, are destroyed, or spread out in private hands and thus unavailable. However one may draw an hypothetical conclusion and assume that the same rules applied then regarding emigration that prevail today. There is certainly no invariable rule which governs this. Suffice it to say here that the Jersey Dutch Dialect, reported by Professor Prince, is not what one would choose to call a true Flemish or Brabantish, but resembles more the dialect heard occasionally in Rotterdam, in particular with regards to the use of the pronoun 'hullie' and the absence of the pronoun 'gy', the latter so charaderistic in Brabant. Another thing to be taken into consideration is a reflection upon the types of people emigrating at the time, and which is in preponderance. The American colonies at that time were in their infancy for the most part, and only the most rugged survived. Poets, men of letters, etcetera most decidedly did not leave a comfortable family hearth in Holland to struggle along on the new fron tier among the Front Matter....Pages i-v Introduction....Pages 1-5 Orthography....Pages 5-8 Parts of Speech....Pages 8-25 Back Matter....Pages 25-47