Moselle Franconian language

Moselle Franconian (German: Moselfränkisch; Luxembourgish: Muselfränkesch) is a West Central German language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes Luxembourgish.

Moselle Franconian
Native to	Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Romania, Brazil
Region	North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Lorraine, Liège
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Weser-Rhine Germanic West Central German Central Franconian Moselle Franconian
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Germanic Frankish Old High Franconian Old Central Franconian
Standard forms	Luxembourgish
Official status
Official language in	Luxembourg
Recognised minority language in	Belgium (recognised by the French Community of Belgium),  Brazil (recognised as Cultural Heritage in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul)
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis) Individual codes: ltz – Luxembourgish hrx – Hunsrik
Glottolog	luxe1241
Area where Moselle Franconian / Luxembourgish is spoken with the isogloss between usage of op and of (Standard German: auf) shown
Moselle Franconian is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Central German language area after 1945 and the expulsions of the Germans. Moselle Franconian is shown in yellow (Germany) and blue (Luxembourg)

Overview

Moselle Franconian is spoken in the southern Rhineland and along the course of the Moselle, in the Siegerland of North Rhine-Westphalia, throughout western Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Luxembourg, the south of the German-speaking Community of Belgium and in the neighboring French département of Moselle (in Arrondissement of Boulay-Moselle). The Transylvanian Saxon dialect spoken in the Transylvania region of Romania is derived from this dialect as a result of the emigration of numerous "Transylvanian Saxons" between 1100 and 1300, primarily from areas in which the Moselle Franconian dialect was then spoken. Another variety of Moselle Franconian, the Hunsrik, is spoken in some rural areas of southern Brazil, brought by 19th century immigrants from the Hunsrück region in modern Germany.^[1][2]

Varieties

The transition between "dialect" and "separate language" is fluid.^[3]

The Linguasphere Register^[4] 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)
• Untermosellanisch (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• West-Westerwäldisch (Rhineland-Palatinate)
• Siegerländisch (southern North Rhine-Westphalia, northeastern Rhineland-Palatinate)

Also considered part of the Moselle Franconian language are the variants of Lorraine Franconian, Luxembourgish^[5][6] and Transylvanian Saxon dialect.

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 (Lëtzebuergesch)
• Lorraine Franconian
• Transylvanian Saxon dialect
• Hunsrik

Most speakers of Luxembourgish are multilingual, speaking Standard German and French in addition to Luxembourgish.

See also

• Saarland (section Local dialect)
• Rhine Franconian (related neighboring dialect group)
• Meuse-Rhenish