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Central German or Middle German (German: mitteldeutsche Dialekte, mitteldeutsche Mundarten, Mitteldeutsch) is a group of High German languages spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.
| Central German | |
|---|---|
| Middle German, Mitteldeutsch | |
| Geographic distribution | Western and Central Germany, southeastern Netherlands, eastern Belgium, Luxembourg and northeastern France |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | fran1268 |
 Central German dialects after 1945 and the expulsions of the Germans 1: Ripuarian 2: Moselle Franconian 3: Luxembourgish 4: Hessian 5: Palatinate German 6: Lorraine Franconian 7: Thuringian 8: Upper Saxon 9: Erzgebirgisch 10: Lusatian-Silesian 11: South Marchian | |
Central German divides into two subgroups, West Central German and East Central German.
Central German is distinguished by having experienced the High German consonant shift to a lesser degree than Upper German. It is spoken in the linguistic transition region separated from Northern Germany (Low German/Low Franconian) by the Benrath line isogloss and separated from Southern Germany (Upper German) by the Speyer line.
Central German is spoken in large and influential German cities such as Berlin, the former West German capital Bonn, Cologne, Düsseldorf, the main German financial center Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Dresden.
The area corresponds to the geological region of the hilly Central Uplands that stretches from the North German plain to the South German Scarplands, covering the states of Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse, Thuringia and Saxony.
The East Central dialects are the closest to Standard German (chiefly as a written language) among other German dialects. Modern Standard German thus evolved from the vocabulary and spelling of this region, with some pronunciation features from East Franconian German.
Classification
- West Central German (Westmitteldeutsch)
- Central Franconian (Mittelfränkisch)
- Ripuarian (Ripuarisch)
- Moselle Franconian (Moselfränkisch)
- Luxembourgish (Luxemburgisch)
- Rhine Franconian (Rheinfränkisch)
- Palatinate German (Pfälzisch)
- Lorraine Franconian (Lothringisch), spoken in Lorraine
- Hessian
- North Hessian (Nordhessisch)
- East Hessian (Osthessisch)
- Central Hessian (Mittelhessisch)
- South Hessian (Südhessisch)
- Central Franconian (Mittelfränkisch)
- East Central German (Ostmitteldeutsch)
- Thuringian (Thüringisch)
- Upper Saxon (Obersächsisch)
- Erzgebirgisch
- Nordobersächsisch-Südmärkisch
- Lusatian
- East Central German dialects spoken in the former eastern territories:
- Silesian (Schlesisch), nearly extinct
- High Prussian (Hochpreußisch), nearly extinct
See also
- High German
- Upper German
- Low German
Notes
- Besch, Werner; Wolf, Norbert Richard (2009). Geschichte der deutschen Sprache. Berlin: Erich Schmidt. p. 227. ISBN 9783503098668.
This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Central German news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2009 Learn how and when to remove this message Central German or Middle German German mitteldeutsche Dialekte mitteldeutsche Mundarten Mitteldeutsch is a group of High German languages spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany Central GermanMiddle German MitteldeutschGeographic distributionWestern and Central Germany southeastern Netherlands eastern Belgium Luxembourg and northeastern FranceLinguistic classificationIndo EuropeanGermanicWest GermanicWeser Rhine GermanicCentral GermanSubdivisionsWest Central German East Central GermanLanguage codesISO 639 3 Glottologfran1268Central German dialects after 1945 and the expulsions of the Germans 1 Ripuarian 2 Moselle Franconian 3 Luxembourgish 4 Hessian 5 Palatinate German 6 Lorraine Franconian 7 Thuringian 8 Upper Saxon 9 Erzgebirgisch 10 Lusatian Silesian 11 South Marchian Central German divides into two subgroups West Central German and East Central German Central German is distinguished by having experienced the High German consonant shift to a lesser degree than Upper German It is spoken in the linguistic transition region separated from Northern Germany Low German Low Franconian by the Benrath line isogloss and separated from Southern Germany Upper German by the Speyer line Central German is spoken in large and influential German cities such as Berlin the former West German capital Bonn Cologne Dusseldorf the main German financial center Frankfurt Leipzig and Dresden The area corresponds to the geological region of the hilly Central Uplands that stretches from the North German plain to the South German Scarplands covering the states of Saarland Rhineland Palatinate Hesse Thuringia and Saxony The East Central dialects are the closest to Standard German chiefly as a written language among other German dialects Modern Standard German thus evolved from the vocabulary and spelling of this region with some pronunciation features from East Franconian German ClassificationWest Central German Westmitteldeutsch Central Franconian Mittelfrankisch Ripuarian Ripuarisch Moselle Franconian Moselfrankisch Luxembourgish Luxemburgisch Rhine Franconian Rheinfrankisch Palatinate German Pfalzisch Lorraine Franconian Lothringisch spoken in Lorraine Hessian North Hessian Nordhessisch East Hessian Osthessisch Central Hessian Mittelhessisch South Hessian Sudhessisch East Central German Ostmitteldeutsch Thuringian Thuringisch Upper Saxon Obersachsisch Erzgebirgisch Nordobersachsisch Sudmarkisch Lusatian East Central German dialects spoken in the former eastern territories Silesian Schlesisch nearly extinct High Prussian Hochpreussisch nearly extinctSee alsoGermany portalHigh German Upper German Low GermanNotesBesch Werner Wolf Norbert Richard 2009 Geschichte der deutschen Sprache Berlin Erich Schmidt p 227 ISBN 9783503098668
