West Central German

West Central German () belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. It includes the following sub-families:

• Central Franconian ()
• Ripuarian (), spoken in North Rhine-Westphalia (including ) and German-speaking Belgium and a small edge of the south of the Dutch province of Limbourg.
• Moselle Franconian (; ) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and France
• Luxembourgish (; ; or ) in Luxembourg, Belgium and France
• Hunsrik (), spoken in Brazil and derived from the dialect of Moselle Franconian
• Rhine Franconian (; )
• Palatinate Franconian (; ), spoken in Rhineland-Palatinate
• Lorraine Franconian (; ) in the French region of Lorraine
• Bukovina German () in Bukovina (extinct)
• Pennsylvania German () in historical communities in North America, especially Pennsylvania
• Hessian () in Hesse and the Rhenish Hesse region of Rhineland-Palatinate
• North Hessian ()
• Central Hessian ()
• East Hessian ()
• South Hessian ()

On the southern and southeastern edges, West Central German varieties border on an area often considered a transitional area between Central German and Upper German, comprising the dialect groups South Franconian German and East Franconian German (popularly called Franconian because dialects of this sub-family are spoken all over Franconia).

West Central German was spoken in several settlements throughout America, for example in the Amana Colonies.

See also

• East Central German
• Limburgish language
• High German consonant shift

References