Rhine Franconian
Encyclopedia
Rhine Franconian or Rhenish Franconian, is a dialect
family of West Central German
. It comprises the German dialects spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland
, Rhineland-Palatinate
, and Hesse
in Germany
. It is also spoken in northeast France
, in the eastern part of the département of Moselle
in the Lorraine
region, and in the northern part of Bas-Rhin
in Alsace
. To the north, it is bounded by the Sankt Goar line
(“das/dat line”) which separates it from Moselle Franconian
; to the south, it is bounded by the Main line
which is also referred to as the Speyer line which separates it from the Upper German
dialects.
(adjacent language area)
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
family of West Central German
West Central German
West Central German belongs to the Central, High German dialect family in the German language. Its dialects are thoroughly Franconian including the following sub-families:* Central Franconian...
. It comprises the German dialects spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland
Saarland
Saarland is one of the sixteen states of Germany. The capital is Saarbrücken. It has an area of 2570 km² and 1,045,000 inhabitants. In both area and population, it is the smallest state in Germany other than the city-states...
, Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate is one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has an area of and about four million inhabitants. The capital is Mainz. English speakers also commonly refer to the state by its German name, Rheinland-Pfalz ....
, and Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is also spoken in northeast France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in the eastern part of the département of Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
in the Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
region, and in the northern part of Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin
Bas-Rhin is a department of France. The name means "Lower Rhine". It is the more populous and densely populated of the two departments of the Alsace region, with 1,079,013 inhabitants in 2006.- History :...
in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. To the north, it is bounded by the Sankt Goar line
Sankt Goar line
In German linguistics, the Sankt Goar line, Das-Dat line , or the Was–Wat line is an isogloss separating the dialects to the north, which have a /t/ in the words dat "that" and wat "what", from the dialects to the south , which have an /s/: das, was...
(“das/dat line”) which separates it from Moselle Franconian
Moselle Franconian
Moselle Franconian is a group of West Central German dialects, part of the Central Franconian language area.It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle River, from the Siegerland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and...
; to the south, it is bounded by the Main line
Speyer line
In German linguistics, the Speyer line, or Main line is an isogloss separating the dialects to the north, which have a geminated stop in words like Appel "apple", from the dialects to the south, which have an affricate: Apfel. The line runs from east to west and passes through the town of Speyer...
which is also referred to as the Speyer line which separates it from the Upper German
Upper German
Upper German is a family of High German dialects spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy.-Family tree:Upper German can be generally classified as Alemannic or Austro-Bavarian...
dialects.
Subgroups
- HessianHessian dialectsHessian is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hesse. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German of the Rhine Franconian sub-family...
- Palatinate GermanPalatinate GermanPalatine German is a West Franconian dialect of German which is spoken in the Rhine Valley roughly in an area between the cities of Zweibrücken, Kaiserslautern, Alzey, Worms, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Speyer, Landau, Wörth am Rhein and the border to the Alsace region in France...
- Eastern HunsrückischHunsrückischHunsrückisch is a German dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region of Germany . This mountainous region of Germany has long been an exporter of immigrants to the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia and other parts of the world....
- Lorraine FranconianLorraine FranconianLorraine Franconian is a designation, in practice ambiguous, for dialects of West Central German , a group of High German dialects spoken in the Moselle département in the north-eastern French region of Lorraine.The term Lorraine Franconian has multiple denotations...
See also
Saarland (section Language), Moselle FranconianMoselle Franconian
Moselle Franconian is a group of West Central German dialects, part of the Central Franconian language area.It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle River, from the Siegerland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and...
(adjacent language area)