West Central German Explained

West Central German
Also Known As:	German: Westmitteldeutsch
Region:	Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, German-speaking Community of Belgium, Lorraine, Deitscherei
Familycolor:	Indo-European
Fam3:	West Germanic
Fam4:	Weser–Rhine Germanic
Fam5:	Central German
Child1:	Central Franconian
Child2:	Rhine Franconian
Glotto:	high1287
Glottorefname:	West Middle German
Map:	Westmitteldeutsches Mundartgebiet.PNG
Mapcaption:	West Central German–language area

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

Central Franconian (German: Mittelfränkisch)
- Ripuarian (German: Ripuarisch), spoken in North Rhine-Westphalia (including German: [[Colognian language|Kölsch]]) and German-speaking Belgium and a small edge of the south of the Dutch province of Limbourg.
- Moselle Franconian (German: Moselfränkisch; French: francique luxembourgeois) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and France
  - Luxembourgish (German: Luxemburgisch; Luxembourgish; Letzeburgesch: Lëtzebuergesch; French: francique luxembourgeois or French: luxembourgeois) in Luxembourg, Belgium and France
  - Hunsrik (German: Riograndenser Hunsrückisch), spoken in Brazil and derived from the German: Hunsrückisch|italic=no dialect of Moselle Franconian
Rhine Franconian (German: Rheinfränkisch; French: francique rhénan)
- Palatinate Franconian (German: Pfälzisch; French: francique palatin), spoken in Rhineland-Palatinate
  - Lorraine Franconian (German: Lothringisch; French: francique lorrain) in the French region of Lorraine
  - Bukovina German (German: Bukowinadeutsch) in Bukovina (extinct)
  - Pennsylvania German (German: Pennsylvaniadeutsch) in historical communities in North America, especially Pennsylvania
- Hessian (German: Hessisch) in Hesse and the Rhenish Hesse region of Rhineland-Palatinate
  - North Hessian (German: Nordhessisch)
  - Central Hessian (German: Mittelhessisch)
  - East Hessian (German: Osthessisch)
  - South Hessian (German: Südhessisch)

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.

West Central German Explained

See also