Plautdietsch-Freunde is a Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

-based non-profit organization with the goal of documenting, nurturing, and promoting the Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch, or Mennonite Low German, was originally a Low Prussian variety of East Low German, with Dutch influence, that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia, today Polish territory. The word is another pronunciation of Plattdeutsch, or Low German...

 language. Speakers of Plautdietsch who emigrated from Western Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

 through Southern Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 (present-day Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

), and who now live in Germany, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, and other parts of the world, are also known as Russian Mennonites. Through its web resources and its journal Plautdietsch FRIND, Plautdietsch-Freunde offers an international forum for all those who speak, read, write, or simply have an interest in the language. The organization was founded by Peter Wiens in 1999, acting president is Heinrich Siemens.

External links

• Plautdietsch-Freunde e. V. (web site in German and Plautdietsch)
• Russian German Mennonites Around the World Join Efforts in the Web to Save their Mother Tongue (by Peter Wiens)
• Institut für niederdeutsche Sprache (INS, organization for Low German languages)
• European Charter for Regional or Minority Language