West Central German (Westmitteldeutsch) is a High German dialect family in the German language. Its dialects are thoroughly Franconian including the following sub-families: 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... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... 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...

• Middle Franconian
  • Ripuarian Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Belgium)
  • Luxembourgish (Luxembourg, Belgium and France)
• Rhine Franconian
  • Moselle Franconian (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
  • Lorrainian German (France)
  • Westpalatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)
  • Forepalatine dialects (Rhineland-Palatinate and France)
  • Hesse Nassauish (Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate)
  • Bukowinadeutsch (formerly Bukowina)
• Lower Hesse dialects (Hesse, Thuringia)

Apart from West Central German on the southern edge and in south-east Franconian dialects are turning to Upper German. This transition area between Central German and Upper German is captured by the dialect families of Southern Franconian and East Franconian, colloquially miscalled Franconian, because dialects of this sub-family are spoken all over Franconia. With eighteen million inhabitants inhabiting 34,080 km² in western-northwestern Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) is largest in population though only fourth in area among Germanys sixteen federal states, and contains about 22% of Germanys GDP. The capital is Düsseldorf. ... The Rhenish Palatinate (Rheinpfalz, sometimes Lower Palatinate or Niederpfalz) occupies rather more than a quarter of the German Bundesland (federal state) of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz) and contains the towns of Ludwigshafen, Kaiserslautern, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Pirmasens, Landau and Speyer. ... Luxembourgish or Luxembourgian (in French, Luxembourgeois; in German, Luxemburgisch; in Luxembourgish Lëtzebuergesch) is a West Germanic language spoken in Luxembourg. ... Saarland is one of the 16 States of Germany. ... The Frankish language can refer to: the language spoken by the Franks, a Germanic people active in the Roman era, often now called Old Frankish a West Franconian dialect of modern German spoken in Alsace and Lorraine, regions in France the Franconian language family In the second sense, Frankish (German... With an area of 21,110 km² and just over six million inhabitants, Hesse (German Hessen) is one of Germanys sixteen federal states (Bundesländer). ... Bukovina (Bucovina in Romanian; Буковина, Bukovyna in Polish), on the slopes of the Carpathian mountains, comprises an historic province now split between Ukraine. ... The Free State of Thuringia (German Freistaat Thüringen) lies in central Germany and is among the smaller of the countrys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states), with an area of 16,200 sq. ... Subdivisions Alemannic language Austro-Bavarian language Upper German is a family of High German languages spoken primarily in southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy. ... East Franconian (Mainfränkisch) is a dialect which is spoken in Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Bamberg, Würzburg and Bayreuth. ... The Franconian Rake is the symbol and unofficial coat of arms of Franconia, also appearing in emblems of many Franconian cities Franconia (German, Franken), an historic region in Germany, now forms three administrative districts of the state of Bavaria: Lower Franconia (Unterfranken), Middle Franconia (Mittelfranken), and Upper Franconia (Oberfranken). ...

West Central German also is spoken in America, for example as Amana-Deutsch.

See also

• East Central German
• Franconian language
• Limburgish language
• High German consonant shift

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... 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. ... 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...

External link

• German dialects of today (http://members.tripod.com/~radde/Mundarten.html) (in German)