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__NOTOC__ Moselle Franconian (german: Moselfränkisch, lb, Muselfränkesch) is a
West Central German West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. Its dialects are Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including ...
language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
. It is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. ...
, in the
Siegerland The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen (now part of the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in North Rhine-Westphalia) and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoi ...
of
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabi ...
, throughout western
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
and
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
,
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...
, the south of the
German-speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community (german: links=no, Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft, or DG; french: links=no, Communauté germanophone; nl, links=no, Duitstalige Gemeenschap), since 2017 also known as East Belgium (german: links=no, Ostbelgien), is ...
and in the neighboring French département of
Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. ...
(in Arrondissement of Boulay-Moselle). The
Transylvanian Saxon dialect ) , speakers = 200,000 , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = Irminonic , fam5 = High German , fam6 = West Central German , fam7 = Central Franconian , fam8 = Moselle Franconian , map = Deutschsiebenbürg ...
spoken in the
Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
region of
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
is derived from this dialect as a result of the emigration of numerous "
Transylvanian Saxons The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...
" between 1100 and 1300, primarily from areas in which the Moselle Franconian dialect was then spoken. Another variety of Moselle Franconian, the
Hunsrik Hunsrik (natively and Portuguese ''Hunsrik'' or ''Hunsrückisch''), also called ''Riograndenser Hunsrückisch'' or ''Katharinensisch'', is a Moselle Franconian language derived primarily from the Hunsrückisch dialect of West Central German. ...
, is spoken in some rural areas of
southern Brazil The South Region of Brazil (; ) is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina, and covers , being the smallest region of the country, occupying only about 6.76% of the territory o ...
, brought by 19th century immigrants from the
Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...
region in modern Germany.


Varieties

The transition between "dialect" and "separate language" is fluid.Ammon, Ulrich - Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt
(de Gruyter Mouton; )
The ''Linguasphere Register'' lists five dialects of Moselle Franconian (code 52-ACB-dc) with codes -dca to -dce: * Trierisch (Rhineland-Palatinate, Luxembourg, northwestern Saarland) * Eifelisch (Rhineland-Palatinate, East Belgium, Luxembourg, southern
North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabi ...
) * Untermosellanisch (Rhineland-Palatinate) * West-Westerwäldisch (Rhineland-Palatinate) *
Siegerländisch Siegerländisch (german: Siegerländer-Platt, locally called ''Sejerlännr Pladd'') is the northeasternmost dialect of the Moselle Franconian Dialect Group. Siegerländisch is spoken in the region around the city of Siegen in Germany. The dialect ...
(southern North Rhine-Westphalia, northeastern Rhineland-Palatinate) Also considered part of the Moselle Franconian language are the variants of
Lorraine Franconian Lorraine Franconian (Lorraine Franconian: ''Plàtt'' or ''lottrìnger Plàtt''; french: francique lorrain or ''platt lorrain''; german: Lothringisch) is an ambiguous designation for dialects of West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch), ...
,
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
and
Transylvanian Saxon dialect ) , speakers = 200,000 , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = Irminonic , fam5 = High German , fam6 = West Central German , fam7 = Central Franconian , fam8 = Moselle Franconian , map = Deutschsiebenbürg ...
. Some Moselle Franconian dialects have developed into standardized varieties which can be considered separate languages, especially due to the limited intelligibility of some dialects for Standard German speakers: *
Luxembourgish Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide. As a standard form of th ...
(Lëtzebuergesch) *
Lorraine Franconian Lorraine Franconian (Lorraine Franconian: ''Plàtt'' or ''lottrìnger Plàtt''; french: francique lorrain or ''platt lorrain''; german: Lothringisch) is an ambiguous designation for dialects of West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch), ...
*
Transylvanian Saxon dialect ) , speakers = 200,000 , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = Irminonic , fam5 = High German , fam6 = West Central German , fam7 = Central Franconian , fam8 = Moselle Franconian , map = Deutschsiebenbürg ...
*
Hunsrik Hunsrik (natively and Portuguese ''Hunsrik'' or ''Hunsrückisch''), also called ''Riograndenser Hunsrückisch'' or ''Katharinensisch'', is a Moselle Franconian language derived primarily from the Hunsrückisch dialect of West Central German. ...
Most speakers of Luxembourgish are multilingual, speaking Standard German and French in addition to Luxembourgish.


See also

*
Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...
(section ''Local dialect'') *
Rhine Franconian __NOTOC__ Rhenish Franconian or Rhine Franconian (german: Rheinfränkisch ) is a dialect chain of West Central German. It comprises the varieties of German spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, north ...
(related neighboring dialect group) *
Meuse-Rhenish Meuse-Rhenish (German: ''Rheinmaasländisch'', Dutch: ''Maas-Rijnlands'', and French: ''francique rhéno-mosan'') is the modern term for literature written in the Middle Ages in the greater Meuse-Rhine area, in a literary language that is eff ...


Further reading

* Werner König: ''dtv-Atlas Deutsche Sprache''. dtv-Verlag, München (Munich) 2005; (German).


References

Rhineland Central German languages German dialects Articles containing video clips Moselle {{Germanic-lang-stub