Background
Webber, Philip Ellsworth was born on December 2, 1944 in Akron, Ohio, United States. Son of Philip Parnitsky and Emma Margaret (Zollinger) Webber.
(Founded as a communal society in 1855 by German Pietists,...)
Founded as a communal society in 1855 by German Pietists, the seven villages of Iowa's Amana Colonies make up a community whose crafts, architecture, and institutions reflect - and to an extent perpetuate - the German heritage of earlier residents. In this intriguing blend of sociolinguistic research and stories from Colonists both past and present, Philip Webber examines the rich cultural and linguistic traditions of the Amanas. Although the Colonies are open to the outside world, particularly after the Great Change of 1932, many distinctive vestiges of earlier lifeways survive, including the local variety of German known by its speakers as Kolonie-Deutsch. Drawing upon interviews with more than fifty Amana-German speakers in 1989 and 1990, Webber explores the nuances of this home-grown German, signaling the development of local microdialects, the changing pattern in the use of German in the Colonies, and the reciprocal influence of English and German on residents' speech. By letting his sources tell their own stories of earlier days, in which the common message seems to be wir haben fun gehabt or 'we had fun working together,' he illuminates the history and unique qualities of each Colony through the prism of language study. Webber's introduction to this paperback edition provides an up-to-date itinerary for visitors to the Colonies, information about recent publications on Amana history and culture, and an overview of expanded research opportunities for language study and historical inquiry. The result is an informative and engaging study that will be appreciated by linguists, anthropologists, and historians as well as by general readers interested in these historic villages.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813821274/?tag=2022091-20
(Traces the response of the Zoar community to the Civil Wa...)
Traces the response of the Zoar community to the Civil War Zoar Village, located in Ohio's Tuscarawas Valley, functioned from 1817 to 1898 as a communal society. Formed by German separatists seeking religious freedom, Zoar became one of the most successful experiments in communal living in America's history. One cardinal principle in the Zoarite's faith and practice was the refusal to bear arms. In the 1860s, with the rise of the Civil War, conflict emerged between the community's pacifist stance and its strong support for the Union cause and for the abolition of slavery. Some Zoarites continued on the path of conscientious objection; others chose the path of conscientious participation in the Union army. Zoar in the Civil War traces the ways that the Zoar community dealt graciously with the war as a difficult yet inescapable event in its history. Based primarily on unpublished material from archives and collections of the Ohio Historical Society and the Western Reserve Historical Society, this study draws together the largest gathering to date of previously untapped Zoar records. Following a brief and informative introduction, Webber allows these eloquent and fascinating primary sources to tell the story, thereby offering a unique perspective on the American Civil War.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0873389069/?tag=2022091-20
( Founded in 1847 by religious separatists, the town of P...)
Founded in 1847 by religious separatists, the town of Pella in central Iowa is the state’s oldest Dutch American colony, and its crafts, architecture, and celebrations reflect and perpetuate the Dutch heritage of its earlier residents. Through his intriguing blend of sociolinguistic research, regional history, and interviews with current speakers of Pella Dutch, Philip Webber examines the town’s rich cultural and linguistic traditions. Drawing upon formal and informal interviews and conversations with more than 150 speakers of Pella Dutch, Webber uses the methods of language research to trace the vestiges of Dutch heritage left on the English spoken by local residents; to explain attitudes toward language and ethnicity that emerged in the twentieth century; and to document the vocabulary, linguistic forms, humor, and conversational patterns that characterize contemporary Pella Dutch. In addition, desiring to let his informants speak for themselves, he includes the playful jokes, proverbial observations, folk wisdom, children’s rhymes, riddles, and puzzles influenced by Pella Dutch. Webber’s introduction to this expanded paperback edition provides new photographs, updated information about recent research and publications, examples of how Dutch continues to be spoken, and descriptions of the ways in which Pella continues to commemorate its linguistic and cultural heritage. Linguists, anthropologists, and historians—as well as all those who enjoy Pella’s Tulip Time festival, its summertime fair or kermis, the Dutch letters in its bakeries, and the early winter visit of Sinterklaas—will appreciate Webber’s informed and engaging study of this unique Iowa community.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609380657/?tag=2022091-20
Webber, Philip Ellsworth was born on December 2, 1944 in Akron, Ohio, United States. Son of Philip Parnitsky and Emma Margaret (Zollinger) Webber.
AB, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, 1967; Master of Arts, University of Chicago, 1968; Doctor of Philosophy, Bryn Mawr (Pennsylvania) College, 1972.
Assistant professor German, Widener College, Chester, Pennsylvania, 1972-1976;
professor German, Center College, Pella, Iowa., since 1976. Consultant Museum of Amana (Iowa) History, since 1988, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Johnston, Iowa, since 1987. Field consultant American Folklife Center/Library.
Congress, Washington, 1982. Administrator National Endowment for Humanities institutional grants to Control College, 1985-1987, 93-95.
(Founded as a communal society in 1855 by German Pietists,...)
( Founded in 1847 by religious separatists, the town of P...)
(Traces the response of the Zoar community to the Civil Wa...)
(Book by Webber, Philip E.)
Trustee Apostolic Christian Church, Garden Grove, Iowa, 1989-1991. Fellow Maatschappij der Nederalndse Ltterkunde. Member International Vereniging voor Nederalndistiek.
Married Janice Eloise Glatt, June 18, 1966. Children: Mark-Philip, Sylvia, James, Hanneli.