Franconian (linguistics) - Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ulritz (talk | contribs) at 19:39, 12 August 2006 (format). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 19:39, 12 August 2006 by Ulritz (talk | contribs) (format)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)

Franconian is a linguistic marker for a number of West Germanic languages and dialects spoken in the former Frankish Empire.

There are 3 main groups:

The Low Frankish variant, consisting of Dutch, Afrikaans and their dialects.
West Central German dialects.
The High German dialects in the transition area between Central and Upper German dialects.

They divide as follows:

Low Franconian languages

West Central German
- Middle Franconian
  - Ripuarian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Belgium)
    - Limburgish (Limburg in the Netherlands and Belgium, also extending towards Cologne)
  - Moselle Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
    - Luxembourgish (Luxembourg, Belgium and France)
- Rhine Franconian
  - Lorraine Franconian (France)
  - West Palatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
    - Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch (historical communities in North America, especially Pennsylvania)
  - Fore Palatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and France)
  - Hesse-Nassauisch (Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate)
  - Lower Hesse dialects (Hesse, Thuringia)

Transitional areas between Central German and Upper German
- East Franconian German (Bavaria-Franconia, Thuringia, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony and Czech Republic)
- South Franconian German (Baden-Württemberg)

Franconian refers to the Franks that settled in Germany, France, and the Low Countries between 200 and 400 A.D. Various languages and dialects, which are supposed to have developed from the Old Frankish language of the Franks, have been given the name of Franconian. Linguists attempting to find the relationship among these languages or dialects to the Old Frankish language call it Franconian.

While a variety of languages and dialects are refered to as Franconian, it hasnt been proven whether they constitute a language group. Low Frankish (Old Dutch) for instance is commonly excepted to be a descendant of Old Frankish, the proposed common ancestor and language of the Franks, while West Central German and the Upper German transition dialects are though to have been heavily influenced by it. Therefore, it is possible that their name might only stem from the geopolitical extent and influence of the Frankish Empire.

West Franconian (also called Moselle Franconian or Frankish) refers to the High German languages and/or dialects of Luxembourg, the Saarland, Lorraine, the Eifel area of Germany, and portions of Belgium. Low Franconian refers to the Low Saxon-Low Franconian (otherwise known as Low German) varieties of the language spoken in the Netherlands (Dutch), and southern Africa (Afrikaans). Central Franconian often refers to the varieties of High Germanic languages spoken in the areas surrounding Frankfurt-am-Main, as well as other areas of southern Germany. Local Frankish dialects can also be heard in Transylvania, which German colonists known as Transylvania Saxons brought with them to the area.

See also