Low Franconian is any of several West Germanic languages spoken in The Netherlands, northern Belgium, and South Africa. Low-Franconian dialects are also spoken in the German area along the Rhine between Cologne and the border between Germany and The Netherlands. During the 19th and 20th centuries these dialects have partly and gradually been replaced by the today's Standard German. Together with Low Saxon and East Low German, these form the Low Germanic family of languages. Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families (families hereforth). ... The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe and western Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ... The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family, spoken by the Germanic peoples who settled in northern Europe along the borders of the Roman Empire. ... West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as English, Dutch, and German. ... Low German (in Low German, Platt(düütsch) or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of West Germanic languages spoken in northern Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. ... West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as English, Dutch, and German. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... Low Saxon (in Low Saxon, Nedersaksisch, Neddersassisch, Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. ... East Low German dialects are spoken in north eastern parts of Germany as well as by minorities in northern Poland. ... Subdivisions East Low German Low Franconian Low Saxon Low German (in Low German, Platt(düütsch) or Nedderdüütsch) is any of a variety of West Germanic languages spoken in northern Germany and the Netherlands. ...

In Germany it is common to consider the Limburgian dialects as Low Franconian; in The Netherlands and Belgium however they are seen as Middle German or High German. This difference is caused by a difference in definition: the linguists of the Low Countries define a Low German dialect as one that has only taken part in the fourth phase of the High German consonant shift. Limburgian (Dutch: Limburgs, German: Limburgisch, French: Limbourgeois) is a group of Franconian varieties, spoken in the Limburg and Selfkant regions, near the common Dutch/Flemish(Belgium)/German border. ... Central German (in German: Mitteldeutsch) is a group of German dialects spread from the Rhineland to Thuringia, south of Low German and north of Upper German. ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in... In historical linguistics, the High German consonant shift or Second Germanic consonant shift was a philological development (sound change) which took place in the southern dialects of German in several phases, probably beginning between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD, and was almost complete before the earliest written records in...

The modern Low Franconian languages are:

• Dutch (including Flemish)
• Afrikaans

See also: Franconian language The term Flemish language can designate: the official language of Flanders, which is Dutch with only very small variations; any of the regional dialects of Dutch spoken in Belgium; these are more different from Dutch than the official language of Flanders; one of these dialects, the West Flemish. ... Afrikaans is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in South Africa and Namibia. ... The Franconian language can refer to: the Main Franconian, a High German dialect spoken in Franconia (a region of Bavaria, though historically distinct) the West Middle German language family a number of West Germanic languages and dialects, including all of West Middle German and some Low German languages as well...

External link

• Ethnologue report for Low Franconian