German Dialect Recordings from Kansas and Missouri

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From 1979 to 2020, Professor William D. Keel and his graduate students at the University of Kansas recorded speakers of German dialects in Kansas and Missouri. This collection contains MP3 excerpts from the recorded interviews, edited to preserve the privacy of participants. The recordings contain data collected from dialect questionnaires developed in Germany and the USA, along with free speech conversation, anecdotes, jokes, songs and recipes.
With just a few exceptions, speakers are identified by a code that begins with KS or MO, depending on the state the speaker represents, Kansas or Missouri.
Questionnaire sets are found in compressed zip file format for easy download of multiple soundfiles.
Refer to the User Guide for more information.
For an introduction to the German dialects in Kansas, read Deitsch, Däätsch, Düütsch and Dietsch: The Varieties of Kansas German Dialects after 150 Years of German Group Settlement in Kansas by William Keel.
For comprehensive statistics on mid-20th century German usage in Kansas counties (along with other languages), read Foreign Language Units of Kansas by J. Neale Carman.

Recent Submissions

  • MO26 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Female speaker born in 1935.

  • MO25 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Female speaker born in 1933.

  • MO24 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Male speaker born in 1922.

  • MO23 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Female speaker born in 1927.

  • MO22 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses and a short phrase recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Female speaker born in 1927.

  • MO21 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Male speaker born in 1927.

  • MO20 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Male speaker born in 1924.

  • MO19 Benton County, Missouri 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D. (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Male speaker born in 1928.

  • MO18 Benton County, Missouri 

    Lunte, Gabi; Keel, William D.; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses and a poem recorded in 2000 for the North Low Saxon (West Low German) Plattdüütsch dialect of Cole Camp, Missouri. Female speaker born in 1925.

  • MOGRP3 Osage County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    This was a group interview conducted in a home in Loose Creek, Missouri. The group participated in a discussion of how words and phrases were expressed in their Lower Rhenish (West Low German) dialect. The speakers ...

  • MOGRP2 Morgan County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    This was a group interview held in a Mennonite restaurant in Versailles, MO. The group consisted of middle-aged and older speakers. KU Questionnaire items #1, #14, #15, and #17 were not collected. A number of short ...

  • MOGRP1 Osage County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    This was a group interview conducted in Westphalia, Missouri. Speakers shared in competing the KU Questionnaire and also participated in some lively back-and-forth about how to say certain words and phrases.

  • KS44 Ellis County, Kansas 

    Johnson, D. Chris (1993)
    Wenker sentences, conversations, and anecdotes recorded in 1993 for the Volga German (West Middle German) dialect of Schoenchen, KS. Male speaker, born in 1919.

  • KS43 Russell County, Kansas 

    Johnson, D. Chris (1995)
    Wenker sentences, conversations and anecotes/jokes recorded in 1995 for the Volga German (West Middle German) dialect of Milberger, KS. Male speaker, born in 1933.

  • KS42 Harvey County, KS 

    Johnson, D. Chris; Lunte, Gabi (2001)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2001 for the Mennonite Plautdietsch (East Low German) dialect of Hesston, KS. Female speaker, born in 1915.

  • KS41 Russell County, Kansas 

    Khramova, Maria (2007)
    Wenker sentences and a conversation about some of the Russian borrowings in the dialect recorded in 2007 for the Volga German (West Middle German) dialect of Milberger, KS. Female speaker, born in 1924.

  • MO17 St. Charles County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses and two words of interest recorded in 2000 for the Westphalian (West Low German) dialect of Cappeln, MO. Male speaker born in 1919.

  • MO14 St. Charles County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses and a word of interest recorded in 2000 for the Westphalian (West Low German) dialect of Augusta, MO. Male speaker born in 1925.

  • MO13 St. Charles County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D.; Lunte, Gabi; Johnson, D. Chris (2000)
    KU Questionnaire responses recorded in 2000 for the Westphalian (West Low German) dialect of Femme Osage, MO. Male speaker born in 1932.

  • MO11 Lafayette County, Missouri 

    Keel, William D. (1993)
    Wenker sentences, a short conversation, and a few words of interest recorded in 1993 for the Eastphalian (West Low German) dialect of Emma, MO. Female speaker born in 1926.

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