Moselle Franconian dialects

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Moselle Franconian
Native to Germany, France, Belgium, Romania
Region North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Lorraine, Liège
Native speakers
 (no estimate available)
Language codes
ISO 639-3 –
Area where Moselle Franconian and Luxembourgish are spoken with the isogloss between usage of "op" and "of" (Standard German: auf) shown

Moselle Franconian (German Moselfränkisch) is a group of West Central German dialects, part of the Central Franconian language area.

Central German language area, Moselle Franconian shown in yellow
They are spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle River, in the Siegerland in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, in the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium and in the neighbouring French département of Moselle. A dialect known as Transylvanian Saxon is also spoken in the Transylvania region of Romania, as a result of the emigration of numerous "Transylvanian Saxons" between 1100 and 1300, primarily from areas in which the Moselle Franconian dialect was spoken at that time.
PODCAST: Peter von der Mosel's poem Mei Peef un eech (My pipe and I)

Languages

By some observers Luxembourgish is considered a form of Moselle Franconian, while others only acknowledge the fact that Luxembourgish forms a dialect continuum with the corresponding Moselle Franconian dialects spoken on the German side of the border. The Franconian dialects spoken in French Lorraine are usually referred to as Lorraine Franconian. Transylvanian Saxon spoken in Romania is today considered an endangered language.

See also

  • Saarland (section Language)
  • Rhine Franconian (related neighbouring dialect group)
  • Meuse-Rhenish

Further reading

  • Werner König: dtv-Atlas Deutsche Sprache. dtv-Verlag, München (Munich) 2005; ISBN 3-423-03025-9 (German).


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