Franconian German

From Free net encyclopedia

Franconian refers to the Franks that settled in Germany, France, and the Low Countries between 200 and 400 A.D. Various languages and dialects, which are supposed to have developed from the Old Frankish language of the Franks, have been given the name of Franconian. Linguists attempting to find the relationship among these languages or dialects to the Old Frankish language call it Franconian.

While a variety of languages and dialects are referred to as Franconian, there is no Franconian-language group. Rather, West Franconian (also called Moselle Franconian or Frankish) refers to the High German languages and/or dialects of Luxembourg, the Saarland, Lorriane, the Eifel area of Germany, and portions of Belgium. Low Franconian refers to the varieties of the language spoken in the Netherlands (Dutch), and southern Africa (Afrikaans). Central Franconian often refers to the varieties of High Germanic languages spoken in the areas surrounding Frankfurt-am-Main, as well as other areas of southern Germany.

Hence, the Franconian language can refer to:

• Main Franconian, a High German dialect spoken in Franconia (a historically distinct region of Bavaria)
• the West Central German language family
• a number of West Germanic languages and dialects, including all of West Central German and some Low Germanic languages as well (such as Dutch and related languages).

When Franconian is taken in the largest and broadest sense, the following separate groupings should be distinguished:

• Low Franconian
  • Dutch and its dialects
  • Afrikaans (South Africa and Namibia)

• West Central German
  • Middle Franconian
    • Ripuarian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Belgium)
      • Limburgish (Limburg in the Netherlands and Belgium, also extending towards Cologne)
    • Moselle Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
      • Luxembourgish (Luxembourg, Belgium and France)
  • Rhine Franconian
    • Lorrainian German (France)
    • Westpalatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
      • Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch (historical communities in North America, especially Pennsylvania)
    • Forepalatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and France)
    • Hesse-Nassauisch (Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate)
    • Lower Hesse dialects (Hesse, Thuringia)

• transition area between Central German and Upper German
  • East Franconian German (Bavaria, Thuringia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Czech Republic)
  • South Franconian German (Baden-Württemberg)

See also

• East Central GermanTemplate:Ie-lang-stub

af:Frankies (taal) de:Fränkische Sprache fr:Francique li:Frankisch nl:Frankisch no:Frankisk språk pt:Frâncico