What do this things have in common? They sound similar in Pennsylvania Dutch. Their definitions, however, are quite are different.
Haus (sounds like Haas to me) -- German for house, the Amish use this word
Hoss (sounds like Hoss from Bonanza) -- means Rabbit. Must be straight-up PA Dutch. The German word for rabbit is quite different than this
Hirsch (believe it or not, this word sounds like Hosh) - Deer. It's so cute to hear a little Amish girl in the car exclaiming "hirsch, hirsch!" when she sees a deer cross the road. On a more morbid note, I drove into a driveway where some kids were talking about the Hirsch hanging in the garage. Of course, it sounded so much like Hoss (rabbit) to me, I asked about the rabbit hanging in the garage. That's when I learned the difference between Hoss and Hirsch!
Hershberger -- the last name of some of my Amish clients. We English normally pronounce it phonetically. Among the Amish I know, Hershberger is pronounced Hoshbahah. Shaking my head!
Angie, I love it, that is hilarious! Thank you for sharing that little story! Too funny!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment, Jake. Glad you enjoyed it. I have so much fun driving the Amish, so many stories to tell. I need to do better with posting them.
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