Karen M. Johnson-Weiner Papers, 1844-2022 | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Emily Erdlen '23

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Collection Overview

Title: Karen M. Johnson-Weiner Papers, 1844-2022

ID: MSS/MSS-0014

Primary Creator: Johnson-Weiner, Karen

Extent: 10.42 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 05/13/2022

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection contains materials from 1844-2022 and spans fourteen boxes donated by Johnson-Weiner in 2022. The collection contains correspondence, photographs, handwritten and typed notes, research materials, Dr. Johnson-Weiner’s published work, and an assortment of artifacts including hats, bonnets, dolls, children’s clothing, and a school bell. This collection includes Johnson-Weiner’s correspondence with Amish and non-Amish individuals, and her research on Amish schools, language, Amish women, the Amish in New York state, and other topics relating to Amish life.

Collection Historical Note

Karen M. Johnson-Weiner, Ph.D. is a linguistic anthropologist who has been studying Amish and Mennonite communities for over 30 years. She is a Distinguished Service Professor of Anthropology Emerita at SUNY Potsdam. Johnson-Weiner received her B.A. from Hope College in 1975, her M.A. from Michigan State University in 1976, and her Ph.D. in linguistics from McGill University in 1984.

Johnson-Weiner has written multiple books on the Amish: Train up a Child: Old Order Amish and Mennonite Schools (2006), New York Amish: Life in the Plain Communities of the Empire State (2010), The Lives of Amish Women (2020), and All About the Amish: Answers to Common Questions (2021), as well as a number of articles on Old Order Amish language, culture, and education. She also co-wrote The Amish (2013) with Dr. Donald Kraybill and Dr. Steven Nolt.

Administrative Information

Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Use Restrictions: All researchers must complete a privacy agreement provided by the Archivist.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Correspondence, 1985-2023],
[Series 2: Amish Schools, 1892-2008],
[Series 3: Language, 1969-2005],
[Series 4: Research and Publication Materials, 1844-2022],
[Series 5: Artifacts],
[All]

Series 3: Language, 1969-2005

This series spans two boxes and contains Johnson-Weiner’s typed and handwritten notes on Pennsylvania German and other Amish dialects, research materials, and Johnson-Weiner’s published writing on language. Series also contains notecards with phonetic spelling of words from multiple dialects. Materials in this series are from 1969-2008.

Box 5

Folder 4: Amish Dictionary- A
Folder 5: Amish Dictionary- B
Folder 6: Amish Dictionary- C
Folder 7: Amish Dictionary- D
Folder 8: Amish Dictionary- E
Folder 9: Amish Dictionary- F
Folder 10: Amish Dictionary- G
Folder 11: Amish Dictionary- H
Folder 12: Amish Dictionary- I
Folder 13: Amish Dictionary- J
Folder 14: Amish Dictionary- K
Folder 15: Amish Dictionary- L
Folder 16: Amish Dictionary- M
Folder 17: Amish Dictionary- N
Folder 18: Amish Dictionary- O
Folder 19: Amish Dictionary- P
Folder 20: Amish Dictionary- Q
Folder 21: Amish Dictionary- R
Folder 22: Amish Dictionary- S
Folder 23: Amish Dictionary- T
Folder 24: Amish Dictionary- U, V
Folder 25: Amish Dictionary- W
Folder 26: Amish Dictionary- Y
Folder 27: Language Shift Notes and Interviews
Folder 28: Misc. Language Data
Folder 29: Norfolk Deitsch/ Switse Language Data
Folder 30: Rensselaer Falls Deitsch Language Data
Folder 31: Notebooks A: Contains six notebooks with Johnson-Weiner's handwritten language notes, including phonetic spellings.
Folder 32: Notebooks B: Contains two notebooks with Johnson-Weiner's handwritten language notes, including phonetic spellings.
Folder 33: German Lessons
Folder 34: Enninger Paper
Folder 35: Humpa, G.- Indiana Dialects, 1991
Folder 36: Jakobsh, F.- German in Old Order Mennonite Schools, 1993
Folder 37: Martin- Folk Language, 1977
Folder 38: Stoll, J.- German and English, 1969
Folder 39: Wolff- Social and Linguistic Change, 1993
Folder 40: Amish Self-Concept and Language Change, 1993
Folder 41: Assimilation as Divergence, 2000
Folder 42: The Church and Pennsylvania German
Folder 43: Community Identity and Language Change, 1998
Folder 44: Community Expectations and Second Language Instruction, 1988
Folder 45: English Language Texts, 1994
Folder 46: Explaining Language Shift, 1992
Folder 47: German, Dutch, and Fraktur Script, 2005
Folder 48: Keeping Dutch, 1986
Folder 49: Pennsylvania German in Old Order and Beachy Amish Communities, 1990
Folder 50: What Constitutes a Viable Speech Community?, 1985

Box 14

Item 1: Amish Dictionary Notecards A-H