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Translation: A vehicle for change? Evidence from Pennsylvania German

ABSTRACT The long-term practice of translating within a social context where both a dominant and receding language are spoken promotes linguistic convergence: speakers alter grammatical structures of the receding language to match the structures of the dominant language. During individual acts of translating, speakers often resort to two enabling strategies: the speaker attempts structures which are no longer regularly used in the community and thereby promotes the maintenance of conservative norms; or the speaker uses the language being translated as a model and thereby contributes toward convergence. In both cases, translation biases language forms and produces an inaccurate picture of the language skills current in the speech community. Evidence is provided from translated and free discourse in two Pennsylvania German communities: among nonsectarians, where Pennsylvania German is dying, and among Amish and Men-nonite sectarians, where Pennsylvania German continues to be used for daily discourse.