Draft:Douglas J. Madenford


Douglas J. Madenford (born July 12th 1980)[1] is a current teacher, author, musician, and performer. He is featured in the movie Hiwwe wie Driwwe - The roots of the Pennsylvania Dutch (2019) also known as Hiwwe wie Driwwe - Pfälzisch in Amerika, (2019) as himself interviewing individuals who speak Pennsylvania Dutch.[2][3]

Douglas J. Madenford
Douglas J. madenford Youtube profile
BornJuly 12 1980 age 44
Notable workHiwwe wie Driwwe - The roots of the Pennsylvania Dutch

What he is most known for is his Youtube career, which features primarily Pennsylvania Dutch lessons such as "PA DUTCH WORD OF THE WEEK!" which is also sometimes shown as "PA DEITSCH WATT FER DIE WOCH!." Another notable series is "Ask a PA Dutchman" which features Chris LaRose along with Madenford answering questions emailed to them.[4] He also appears in a video made by the channel Feli from Germany, where he speaks Pennsylvanian Dutch to Feli as she compares it with German.

Madenford also has a podcast titled Doug's Front Porch where he interviews people, often people he knows. He also is in a folk band called The Broken Spokes, not to be confused with a band originating in Houston, Texas by the same name.

Early Life

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In Douglas' youth he was raised in Centre Township, Berks county, Pennsylvania, with the language of Pennsylvanian Dutch as his first language, due to both sets of his grandparents being Pennsylvanian Dutch.[5] Growing up with this language encouraged him to pursue careers in the future aimed at spreading knowledge of the culture of Pennsylvania Dutch.

Careers

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Educating

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Douglas Madenford has been teaching both German and History at Keystone Central School District since 2008 and continues to this day. He has previously also been a German lecturer at The Pennsylvania State University, as well as The Pennsylvania State University of Altoona.

He also used t

o teach German and History at Sugar Valley Rural Charter School. He is also the advisor for the German Honor Society club in Central Mountain High School.[6]

Music

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Madenford is currently in the folk band The Broken Spokes, he is in this band with Chris Larose. Quite a few of their songs are sung in Pennsylvanian Dutch. Their most popular song is Hei Li, Hei Lo which is one of their songs that are sung in Pennsylvanian Dutch.

Film

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He is shown in Hiwwe wie Driwwe - The roots of the Pennsylvania Dutch (2019) or Hiwwe wie Driwwe - Pfälzisch in Amerika, (2019) interviewing Pennsylvanian Dutch people, as previously stated. He also works on the film Rumspringa (2020) as a dialect couch and translator.[7]

Books

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He has made multiple books, all of them being Pennsylvania Dutch related. His works include:

  • Schwetz mol Deitsch! An Introductory Pennsylvania Dutch Course (2nd Edition)
  • Am I small? Bin ich glee?: Children's Picture Book English-Pennsylvania Dutch/Pennsylvania German (Bilingual Edition) (Bilingual Books by Philipp Winterberg)
  • Schwetz mol Deitsch
  • I'd Choose a Fish Ich Daet en Fisch Waehle
  • Schtimme aus'm Kaerrichof (English and German Edition)

References

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