CUAUHTEMOC, CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO
With the complete Old and New Testament now successfully translated into the Plautdietsch language, outsiders are having difficulty catching all the jokes.
“My oma and opa will read something from the Book of Leviticus in Low German and they’ll just crack up, but when I ask them to translate, it’s just not that funny,” said 13-year-old Barney Peters.
The Plautdietsch language is known for being filled with humour that is completely untranslatable.
“There’s just something about the story of Balaam’s talking donkey that isn’t funny when read in Enjelsch,” explained Grandma Peters, 71, of the Cuauahtemoc area. “Young Barney should brush up on his Plautdietsch and then he’ll be able to laugh along with us.”
Mr. and Mrs. Peters, and all their Low German-speaking friends, reportedly spend each evening howling over the ‘begats.’
“I can’t explain it,” said Peters, “but in Plautdietsch, it’s simply hysterical.”
(Photo credit: David Bergin/CC)
