How can you correctly use the Pennsylvania Dutch words gans and goah in conversations?
What do gans and goah have in common?
Both the Deitsh words gans and goah are intensifiers and add emphasis in sentences.
How are the 2 words different?
However, gans and goah mean completely opposite things.
- Word gans means: complete, completely, entire, whole, all.
- Word goah means: absolutely (not).
Let’s look at how to use each word correctly in Pennsylvania Dutch.
How to use gans in Pennsylvania Dutch
The word gans means: complete, completely, entire, whole, all.
Gans is used to add emphasis or intensify nouns and prepositions.
Examples of gans with prepositions:
- ivvah (over; all over)
- deich (through; throughout)
- zeit (time; all the time)
- aus (out; completely out)
- ritt vadda (get rid of; completely get rid of)
- diffand (different; completely different)
Gans with nouns:
Glei zayld Jesus roola ivvah di gans eaht. (the entire earth)
En freind gebt leevi di gans zeit. (the whole time; all the time; always)
Du solsht da Hah dei Gott leeva mitt dei gans hatz, un mitt dei gansi sayl un mitt dei gansi meind. (whole heart, whole soul, whole mind)
Di gans family kann’s enjoya. (entire family; whole family)
Examples of gans with adjectives:
Miah zayla peace havva, immah haebbi sei, un gans ksund sei in en shayni paradise. (completely healthy)
Jehova macht uns gans free funn di sind un da doht. (completely free)
Da motor is gans neiy. (completely new)
How to use goah in Pennsylvania Dutch
The word goah means: absolutely (not).
Goah is used together with no words like:
- kenn (none)
- nett (not)
- nix (nothing)
- nimmand (no one)
Examples of goah
Miah zayla goah kenn part nemma in politics. (absolutely none)
“Du vaysht goah nix veyyich meiya.” (absolutely nothing)
Ich’bb goah nix ksawt diveyya. (absolutely nothing)
Mei broodah goah nett haebbi diveyya. (absolutely not)
In da future, zayld goah nimmand grank sei adda shvach vadda. (absolutely no one)
Avvah, alcohol afekt alli ebbah diffand, un’s sinn zeida vann’s besht is fa goah nett drinka. (absolutely not)