Factfile

- There are about 145000 Amish people in the USA.

- Amish communities can be found in 22 American states.

Amish Boys

A Typical Amish Family

2. Reading. Read the text quickly and check your ideas. Were you right?

Imagine a world without telephones or television, without cars or electricity. In this world the women wear long dresses and skirts. Everyone works on farms and travels on foot or by horse. Where do you think this world is? Europe in the 17^th century, perhaps? In fact, it is Pennsylvania in America in the 2010s. It is the world of the Amish people. The Amish people arrived in America in the 18^th century and since then their lifestyle has not changed at all. They don’t even speak the English language among themselves. They speak Amish that sounds like German.

Amish Family

Both men and women wear plain clothes. The women and girls wear plain long dresses because patterned clothes are considered immodest. They also wear aprons and bonnets as a sign of their respect to God. If an Amish woman is married, she usually wears a black bonnet. If she is single, she wears a white one. They do not wear jewellery or make-up. The men and boys wear dark jackets and black-colored or straw hats. Belts, sweaters, ties and gloves are forbidden. They don not have moustache, but they grow beards when they get married.

Amish boys and girls go to public schools where the students are all Amish. The teachers are non-Amish, or, as the Amish call them, English. Though the children speak Amish at home, they are expected to use English at school. Their schooling is like most American kids’.

Amish School

But there is one big difference: Amish children go to school only for eight years. That’s because Amish parents say too much education makes children too ‘worldly’, or sophisticated. And they should be honest, simple and true.

Family life is very important for the Amish. They live in large families and everyone helps with the work. Most Amish families make their living by farming. The day starts when the sun rises and it ends when the sun sets. While the men and boys are busy with building houses and working in the fields, the women and girls work in the house. They prepare the food and look after the children. When something big is needed, such as a new barn, all the neighbours help to build it. Their religion stresses that the needs of others are more important than your own. The Amish are very religious. They base their life on the Bible, that’s why their life is very strict and very simple. Nobody works on Sunday, because everyone goes to church.

But life for the Amish is not all work. They have a lot of village parties. They don’t dance or play musical instruments, but they sing hymns and they have a good time together.