Souder, Warren James, Roger Smith, Carl Moyer, interviewed by Kurt Kehr and Sabine Wolters, 1994

Scope and content:

Side A: Interview with Warren James Souder who is 80 years old and lives in Virginia. They begin by discussing his family and ethnic origins. Their discussion of how he and his family came to live in the area takes place in the English language. The majority of this recording actually uses English and mainly discusses who might have spoken the German dialect and in what situations it might have been used. He does identify a few words in the Virginia German dialect though, which were commonly used in his vocabulary while he was growing up. He also gives a quick background on the Lutheran church and his community. Then Kehr moves on to interview Mrs. Souder (Warren's wife) who grew up in southwest Virginia. He interviews her on her background for a short while and asks about why she chose to marry a German. Lastly he switches back to Mr. Souder and they continue to discuss the area (Broadway, Virginia) and the impact of the church and the German dialect. There is also an interview with Roger Smith from Bergton, Virginia. He is 48 years old. They discuss where in Germany his ancestors came from and why they came to Virginia, as well as which people in the area used to speak the Virginia German dialect and who in the town was able to speak it. They also discuss the churches in the area and the role that language played with the churches. Side B: The interview continues the interview at the end of the last CD with Roger Smith. He begins by continuing to list names of people in the area who may have been of German descent. Kehr asks Smith some questions about the settlement patterns of immigrant families in the area. Smith does not seem to be familiar with many of the Virginia German dialect words and Kehr tests him to see which ones he might recognize and if he knows any proverbs or stories from the culture. He also questions Smith on the products in the area and local agriculture, animal life, and business. They also discuss the festivals and other unique characteristics of the area. Then there is an interview with Carl Moyer who is 58 years old. They discuss how Carl's father taught all of his sons the Virginia German dialect. Kehr examines Moyer's familiarity with and ability to identify a multitude of words in the dialect in relation to household products, body parts, numbers, days, hunting, and plants. They also talk more about his family and which members of his family may be able to speak it well and which cannot.

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