The Inter-Amish Language Barriers of Indiana

In addition to their different dialect, the Swiss Amish are distinguished by other quirky customs not found elsewhere, like the yodeling, and the practice of putting celery in vases on the table at weddings. The Amish in the area sit in open buggies, bundled up in thick horse blankets and expertly wielding umbrellas to, depending on the time of year, shade them from the roasting heat or shield them from the piercing rain (although one Amish church in the area has recently started allowing closed buggies, a sign of change in Berne). Also, the community has an affinity for cases of Pepsi and Mountain Dew; in an odd cultural juxtaposition, I’ve seen buggies loaded down with cases of soda.