Hunsrückisch dialect

Hunsrückisch is a German dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region of Germany (Rhineland-Palatinate). This mountainous region of Germany has long been an exporter of emigrants to the United States, Brazil, Canada, Australia and other parts of the world.

Hunsrückisch was spoken in Edgar Reitz's acclaimed television series Heimat.

Features

Hunsrückisch is a West Central German dialect and a sub-group of Moselle Franconian, which means that it did not undergo all phases of the High German consonant shift. For example:

French influence

Because of its proximity to France, the Hunsrückisch dialect spoken in the Hunsrück region has experienced unique influences from the neighboring French language through the centuries. During Napoleonic times the Hunsrück region was incorporated into France for a short period.

Brazilian dialects

There is a variation of this dialect in southern Brazil and in the northern state of Espírito Santo (counties of Marechal Floriano, Domingos Martins and Santa Leopoldina), named Hunsrik German.

Throughout its almost 200-year history in Southern Brazil and Espírito Santo, Hunsrückisch has been greatly influenced by other German dialects such as East Pomeranian, Swabian, and Austro-Bavarian, by other immigrant languages, and by Portuguese. Via Brazilian Portuguese, it has also incorporated Amerindian terminology, referring notably to fauna, flora and toponyms.

South-American Hunsrik is spoken in the states of Rio Grande do Sul neighboring state of Santa Catarina, in other parts of southern Brazil like Paraná, as well as in the Southeast region such as Espírito Santo and São Paulo, and to a lesser extent in other countries of the region, like Paraguay and Argentina.

References

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