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Hutterite is spoken in the US States of Washington, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Minnesota; and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Its speakers belong to the Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit Hutterite groups, but there are also speakers among the older generations of Prairieleit (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn and speak first Hutterite German before learning English, the standard language of the surrounding areas.

Hutterite German is descended from the German which was spoken in CarinthiaCarinthia (German Karnten was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until it dissolved in 1918. In the 7th century it was part of the Principality of Karantania (Koroshka), and was part of the e, in AustriaAustria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the, in the mid- 18th century17th century 18th century 19th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701- 1800; however, historians will sometimes specifically refer to the 18th Century as 1715- 89,. Since the German dialects spoken in Carinthia resemble those which were spoken in the PalatinateA palatinate is an area administered by a count palatine, originally the direct representative of the sovereign but later the hereditary ruler of the territory subject to the crown's overlordship. Germany More particularly, the Palatinate (German die Pfal and in AlsaceRegion Alsace ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Information Capital: Strasbourg Population Total Density 1,734,145 1999 209/km² Area8,280 km² Arrondissements13 Cantons75 Communes903 President of the regional council Adrien Zeller ( UMP) Departements Bas-Rhin (67) (mostly Alemannic dialects), Hutterite German is fairly intelligible to a speaker of Pennsylvania German, although for geographical reasons, these two languages are rarely in contact.

It should be noted that, although at one time the Hutterites spoke Tirolean German, they no longer do. The switch among Hutterites from Tirolean German to Carinthian German occurred during years of severe persecution in Europe when Hutterite communities were devastated and survival depended on the conversion of many Austrian Protestant refugees to Hutterite Anabaptism.

The language has since adopted some Slavic as well as English loan words, which are the result of Hutterite migrations into eastern Europe and now North America.

Hutterite German is for the most part an unwritten language. The Hutterites employ Martin Luther's predecessor to Standard German as the written form, and every Hutterite child learns Luther's German in school (although their schooling for the most part is in English).