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Plautdietsch ([ˈplɑtditʃ]), or Mennonite Low German, is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word Plautdietsch translates to "flat (or low) German", from plat meaning "flat" (referring to the plains of northern Germany), and duits meaning German. In other Low German dialects, the word for Low German is usually realised as Plattdüütsch [ˈplatdyːtʃ] or Plattdüütsk [ˈplatdyːtsk], but the spelling Plautdietsch is used to refer specifically to the Vistula variant of the language.

Plautdietsch, an East Low German dialect, was a German dialect like others until it was taken by Mennonite settlers to the southwest of the Russian Empire starting in 1789. From there it evolved and subsequent waves of migration brought it to North America, starting in 1873, and mostly from there to Latin America starting in 1922.

Plautdietsch is spoken by about 400,000 Russian Mennonites, most notably in the Latin American countries of Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Belize, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, as well as in the United States and Canada (particularly Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario).

Today Plautdietsch is spoken in two major dialects that trace their division to Ukraine. These two dialects are split between Chortitza Colony and Molotschna. Many younger Russian Mennonites in Canada and the United States today speak only English.

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Varieties[edit]
As one might expect from a spoken language which traditionally lacked a consistent writing system, and which has been carried by speakers to several different territories where other languages prevail, several regional differences have developed. However, the major differences seem to have originated in the beginning of the 19th century in the two Mennonite settlements in New Russia (today Ukraine), known as Chortitza (Old Colony) and Molotschna (New Colony), as noted above. Some of the major differences between these two varieties are: A few other differences sometimes related to this issue are the exact pronunciation of the IPA c sound and words as jenau/jeneiw. According to some studies, those might be due to the level of education of the speaker, as well as the influence of Russian and standard German.

Some Plautdietsch speakers might speak a mixture of both dialects. Those, for instance, who trace their origin to the Bergthal Colony in New Russia (Ukraine), a daughter colony of the Old Colony, show all the phonetic distinction of the Old Colony version, but they drop the final -n as the Molotschna speakers do.

Status[edit]
'''Plautdietsch is primarily a spoken language, and does not have an official orthography. However, there have been attempts made by some to create a written form of the language. One of the main issues facing the development of an official orthography is the variation in pronunciation amongst various speech communities. Another hinderance to the unification of the language is the fact that most Plautdietsch speaking people are not found in one geographical region, being spread across Canada, The United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. Noteworthy attempts at an orthography include those done by Fast, Reimer, Epp, Loewen, and Heinrichs. Despite the absence of an official orthography, there are quite a few written texts in the Plautdietsch language.''' Plautdietsch is primarily a spoken, not written language, without a standard form. It shares grammatical and lexical similarities with other varieties of Low German, and in general it is intelligible to other Low German speakers after some acquaintance. On the other hand, it has several developments and sound shifts not found in any other Low German dialect.

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