Babel of the Atlantic

Reviews / Votes

"The volume is successful in exposing the hidden and often underappreciated role that multilingualism played in colonial Philadelphia and its surrounds. Interpreting complex transatlantic networks and cultural change through the lens of multilingual and multicultural societies forces scholars from different disciplines and traditions to collaborate to achieve a more comprehensive, panoramic assessment of these developments. These concerted efforts reveal the complex, sometimes contradictory part that certain key figures such as Benjamin Franklin played in the establishment of societal and linguistic norms."

-Michael T. Putnam H-Transnational German Studies "This fine volume is a highly welcome addition to the literature on translation and intercultural communication in the multiethnic environment of eighteenth-century Pennsylvania. Babel of the Atlantic combines the perspectives of history, literary studies, and material culture; it brings together experts on Pennsylvania German history and culture, ethnohistory, and the history of abolitionism; and it is sensitive to issues of gender."

-Mark Haeberlein, author of The Practice of Pluralism: Congregational Life and Religious Diversity in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 1730-1820 "Taken together, these essays make a strong case for more effectively and thoroughly acknowledging the approximately 120,000 German-speaking immigrant settlers who arrived in Pennsylvania during the eighteenth century, [constituting] nearly one-third of its population. In reminding us of Pennsylvania's multicultural past, they also call on us to more fully reckon with how linguistic and cultural variation influenced the state's early history, and they challenge us to consider the processes by which the English language and Anglo culture became normative."

-Judith Ridner Early American Literature "The connections across the diverse contributions in this skillfully edited volume are facilitated by a thorough index at the end. The endnotes for each chapter appear with their respective chapters. The book's aesthetic appeal is enhanced by the inclusion of over forty high-quality black-and-white images. It is to be recommended to anyone with an interest in the multicultural history of early America, especially those wanting to learn more about the diversity of German Pennsylvania."

-Mark L. Louden Journal of British Studies