Rhine Franconian (German: Rheinfränkisch), or Rhenish Franconian, is a dialect family of West Central German. It comprises the German dialects spoken across the western regions of the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse in Germany. It is also spoken in northeast France, in the eastern part of the département of Moselle in the Lorraine region, and in the northern part of Bas-Rhin in Alsace. To the north, it is bounded by the Sankt Goar line (“das/dat line”) which separates it from Moselle Franconian; to the south, it is bounded by the Main line which is also referred to as the Speyer line which separates it from the Upper German dialects.

[edit] Subgroups

• Palatinate German
• South Hessian
• Lorraine Franconian
• Hunsrückisch

[edit] See also

Saarland (section Language), Moselle Franconian (adjacent language area)

[edit] Bibliography

• Hughes, Stephanie. 2005. Bilingualism in North-East France with specific reference to Rhenish Franconian spoken by Moselle Cross-border (or frontier) workers. In Preisler, Bent, et al., eds. The Consequences of Mobility: Linguistic and Sociocultural Contact Zones. Roskilde, Denmark: Roskilde Universitetscenter: Institut for Sprog og Kultur. ISBN 8773496510.

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