Reuben Epp
Encyclopedia
Reuben Epp is an author of works in Plautdietsch
(Mennonite Low German). His parents were Russian Mennonites who emigrated from Russia
to Canada, where Epp was born. Epp was educated as a mechanic and became an instructor at a vocational school for mechanics. Later he became the director of a vocational school in Dawson Creek, British Columbia
. Epp died in Kelowna
, British Columbia
, Canada. In the far-flung global community of Russian Mennonites, Epp is one of the best known poets and story tellers working in Plautdietsch, alongside such others as Arnold Dyck and Jack Thiessen. His accomplishments include publications on the history of Plautdietsch and on its orthography. Epp's name is rendered "Ruben Ap" in 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...
(Mennonite Low German). His parents were Russian Mennonites who emigrated from 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...
to Canada, where Epp was born. Epp was educated as a mechanic and became an instructor at a vocational school for mechanics. Later he became the director of a vocational school in Dawson Creek, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Epp died in Kelowna
Kelowna
Kelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada. In the far-flung global community of Russian Mennonites, Epp is one of the best known poets and story tellers working in Plautdietsch, alongside such others as Arnold Dyck and Jack Thiessen. His accomplishments include publications on the history of Plautdietsch and on its orthography. Epp's name is rendered "Ruben Ap" in Plautdietsch.
Works
- Biem Aunsiedle: When the settlers came; plautdietsche Jechichte een Resse ut'e Vergangenheit (Winnipeg, Canada 1972)
- Plautdietsche Schreftsteckja: Jedichta, Jeschichte, Leeda, Spelkjes (Steinbach, Manitoba 1972)
- Onse Lied Vetahle [Audio Archive]: Stories our people tell; plautdietsche Jeschichte enn Riemsels (Winnipeg, Manitoba 1973)
- The Story of Low German and Plautdietsch: Tracing a Language Across the Globe (Hillsboro, USA 1993) ISBN 0963849409
- The Spelling of Low German & Plautdietsch: Towards An Official Plautdietsch Orthography (Hillsboro, USA 1996) ISBN 0963849417
- Dit un jant opp Plautdietsch: This and that in Mennonite Low German (Hillsboro, USA 1997) ISBN 0963849425
- Dit un Jant opp Plautdietsch [CD, 17 pieces by Reuben Epp, live recording, lecture on October 7, 2000 in Lage/Lippe, Germany], published by Plautdietsch-Freunde e. V. (Detmold 2006)