Rhine Franconian dialects

Area where Rhine Franconian is spoken. 1 Hessian, 2 Palatinate German 3 Lorraine Franconian

Rhine Franconian (German:  Rheinfränkisch ), 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, northwest Baden-Wurttemberg, 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 north-west 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.

Subgroups

• Hessian
• Palatinate German
• Lorraine Franconian

See also

Saarland (section Language), Moselle Franconian (adjacent language area)

Bibliography

• Hughes, Stephanie. 2005. Bilingualism in North-East France with specific reference to Rhenish Franconian spoken by Moselle Cross-border (or frontier) workers. In Preisler, Bent, et al., eds. The Consequences of Mobility: Linguistic and Sociocultural Contact Zones. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde Universitetscenter: Institut for Sprog og Kultur. ISBN 87-7349-651-0.

References