Plattdüütsch
Low German
Franklin Square (NY)s High German gained social status in Germany as the standardized language of education across the 18th and 19th centuries, the number of Low German speakers (from northern Germany) declined drastically. A community of North German immigrants has maintained their Plattdeutsch pride in Franklin Square with two enduring institutions, Plattduetsche Park Restaurant and the neighboring Plattduetsche Retirement Home. The former has a long history in the city, originally founded in Bushwick to serve as a home to an annual folk festival, and later relocated to Long Island. The institution expanded throughout the 20th century to include a dance hall, a biergarten, and even a bowling alley, all of which have served New York's Low German speakers and their descendants. Plattdeutsche Park also serves an important umbrella function for a whole range of regional German organizations with histories of their own, such as the Bavarian-oriented GTEV Schlierachtaler Stamm, in existence since 1928.