Petuh

“Ohaueha, was'n Aggewars"
You hear things like this every day in Flensburg. They originate from the beginning of the 20th century, when housewives from the entire border region would meet on so-called butter trips to chat. Excursions on these steamships were a recurring joy for women. Each year they would purchase an annual ticket called a partout ticket (“partout” is French for “always”). Eventually, the term “Petuh-Karten” began being used for these tickets. A new language arose from Low and High German and Low and High Danish: Petuh, which consisted of Danish grammar and syntax and German words. The hard “s” at the beginning of words and the “ch” instead of “g” are the most striking characteristics in terms of pronunciation.

Insider tip: the book “Ohaueha, was’n Aggewars (oder wie ein’ zusieht un sprechen as die Flensburger Petuhtanten)” by Renate Delfs provides a good introduction to Petuh.