West Central German
Westmitteldeutsch
Geographic distribution	Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, German-speaking Community of Belgium, Lorraine, Deitscherei
Linguistic classification	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic High German Central German West Central German
Subdivisions	Central Franconian Rhine Franconian
Glottolog	high1287
West Central German–language area

West Central German ( German: Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family of German. It includes the following sub-families:

• Central Franconian (Mittelfränkisch)
  • Ripuarian (Ripuarisch), spoken in North Rhine-Westphalia (including Kölsch) and German-speaking Belgium and a small edge of the south of the Dutch province of Limbourg.
  • Moselle Franconian (Moselfränkisch; French: francique luxembourgeois) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and France
    • Luxembourgish (Luxemburgisch; Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuergesch; francique luxembourgeois or luxembourgeois) in Luxembourg, Belgium and France
    • Hunsrik (Riograndenser Hunsrückisch), spoken in Brazil and derived from the Hunsrückisch dialect of Moselle Franconian
• Rhine Franconian (Rheinfränkisch; francique rhénan)
  • Palatinate Franconian (Pfälzisch; francique palatin), spoken in Rhineland-Palatinate
    • Lorraine Franconian (Lothringisch; francique lorrain) in the French region of Lorraine
    • Bukovina German (Bukowinadeutsch) in Bukovina (extinct) ^{[ citation needed]}
    • Pennsylvania German (Pennsylvaniadeutsch) in historical communities in North America, especially Pennsylvania
  • Hessian (Hessisch) in Hesse and the Rhenish Hesse region of Rhineland-Palatinate
    • North Hessian (Nordhessisch)
    • Central Hessian (Mittelhessisch)
    • East Hessian (Osthessisch)
    • South Hessian (Südhessisch)

On the southern and southeastern edges, West Central German varieties border on an area often considered a transitional area between Central German and Upper German, comprising the dialect groups South Franconian German and East Franconian German (popularly called Franconian because dialects of this sub-family are spoken all over Franconia).

West Central German was spoken in several settlements throughout America, for example in the Amana Colonies.

See also

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

References