Analysis: Is Texas German Dialect Dying

Is Texas German Dialect Dying?

Introduction
When headlines read, “Unique dialect, Texas German, taking last gasp,” alarms clang through Texas Germans’ heads (Bell 28). The majority of the 6,900 dialects alive today will disappear by the end of the 21st century (Tesch 1). Is Texas German among them? This article finds that the conditions necessary for dialect maintenance are weak for Texas German, and thus, the dialect is destined to disappear in the next two to three decades.

Is Texas German a unique dialect?
German settlers who arrived in Texas in 1840s spoke traditional German. Over time, the dialect evolved differently in Texas than in Germany or other places in the US. Texas Germans combined German and English in unique ways to create
a new dialect. Dr. Hans Boas of the University of Texas at Austin describes Texas German as follows: “It's an odd mixture of English and 19th-century German… Texas German borrows about 5 to 6 percent of its vocabulary from English, creating words like 'der cowboy’ ” (“Linguists” 1). Table 1 provides examples of unique Texas German words and phrases.

Lip rounding in German have also changed and disappeared in Texas German (see figure 1).

Why care about the maintenance of Texas German?
Dialect is an important part of a community’s identity, culture and knowledge (Law 1). Interviews with Texas Germans indicate that they care about the maintenance of their dialect: e.g.,
Dorothy Schneider says, “I have a lot of friends, even cousins, who did not pass on the language to their children, and that’s what they regret now” (Mendoza 1).
Diane Moltz states,“Our children have all said to us, ‘Why didn’t you teach us German?’… If I had it to do over again, I would. But when I was a young person that wasn’t very important to me” (Williams 1).
Ivarene Hosek says, “It’s hard because there are so few who can speak it with me anymore… Sometimes it just makes me sad” (Mendoza 1).

Why has Texas German faded?
The literature on dialect maintenance suggests that minorities use the following strategies to successfully maintain their dialects: (1) gain special linguistic rights, (2) use the dialect as the dialect of worship, (3) receive influx of new migrants from the homeland, (4) educate new generations in the dialect, and (5) use dialect revitalization efforts.
Special linguistic rights.
Some minorities such as French-speakers in Quebec, Canada, have maintained their dialect by having legislation passed to allow the usage of the dialect in public (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 294). However, Texas Germans have lacked political power to pass such legislation in Texas. On the contrary, Dr. Boas reports that the passage of the “English-only” legislation at the end of World War I contributed to the decline of Texas German. English-speaking groups stigmatized the minorities. An informant states: "When I was in school, Germany was America's enemy. People were prejudiced against the Germans. I was careful not to speak German" (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 249). Texas Germans felt the need to blend into the American culture (“A Dialect” 80). To ensure a safer life, they had to give up the dialect (Law
1).
Dialect of worship. Some minorities such as the Old Order Amish and Mennonite groups used High German as the dialect of worship, which helped with the maintenance of the dialect (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 294). However, for Texas Germans, dialect and worship have never become so interwoven. They integrated well with other ethnicities and allowed English at their churches.
Inflow of migrants from the homeland. Some minorities such as Spanish speakers have an influx of Spanish speakers from Latin America, which helps with the maintenance of their dialect (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 295). However, Texas Germans rarely receive an influx of German-speakers. On the contrary, they had an outflux of German speakers and an influx of English speakers after the 1940s, which reduced the use of Texas German.
Teaching the dialect to new generations. Teaching a dialect to new generations helps with its maintenance. However, Texas Germans rarely teach the dialect to new generations because, some argue, “There is no money in Texas German. There is no fame and prestige” (Winkie 1). Texas Germans who were born between 1920s and 1940s were the last generation to learn German at home (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 292).
Dialect revitalization efforts.
Minorities that invest in revitalization efforts are more likely to salvage and maintain their dialects. However, Texas Germans have been reluctant to support institutional measures that would revitalize Texas German. They believe that dialects other than English are un-American and that there is no practical need for Texas German anymore (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 291).

Due to the lack of effective implementation of the strategies above, Texas German has been fading. Dr. Boas found that the usage of German in New Braunfels schools, churches, shops, and neighborhoods declined significantly between 1920 and 2006 as shown in figures 2(A) through 2(D) respectively) (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 64, 66, 72, 73).

Using McConvell et al.'s “levels of endangerment” scale, Dr. Boas also found that Texas German became critically endangered (see figure 3) (“The Life and Death of Texas German” 241). There are only about 8000-10,000 fluent Texas German speakers left, down from about 150,000 in the 1940s. These trends indicate that Texas German will become extinct. Dr. Boas estimates, "If we're optimistic, we'll get 30 more years… if we're pessimistic, maybe 15 or 20 years" (Winkie 1).

4.
Conclusion
The findings of this research strongly suggest that Texas German will die in a few decades. This seems to be a rational choice by the Texas German community as the costs of maintaining the dialect overweigh the benefits. A major benefit of foregoing the dialect is that Texas Germans integrate better to the American society. They find better socio-economic/cultural opportunities and, ultimately, ensure themselves a safer life.