If you have a chance, compare Pennsylvania Dutch to Modern High German. With a few exceptions it's mostly a preserved older German dialect. The same is true for

If you have a chance, compare Pennsylvania Dutch to Modern High German. With a few exceptions it's mostly a preserved older German dialect. The same is true for the German spoken by German-Russians who returned to Germany during and after WW2. It's not just language. I assume that it's because while the native population marches on naturally, the emigrants are trying to preserve the culture and language they brought with them, with no influence from their original home country. Being surrounded by a foreign language/culture probably also leads to emphasising the distinctions (e.g. to avoid loan words out of fear of watering down your identity).