Central Franconian languages

Central Franconian
Central Franconian
Native to	Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands
Region	North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Lorraine, Liège, Limburg
Language family	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic High German West Central German Central Franconian; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Linguist List	goh-mid
Glottolog	None

Central Franconian (German: Mittelfränkisch) is the following set of West Central German dialect groups:

Ripuarian (spoken in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in eastern Belgium, and the southeastern tip of Dutch Limburg)
Moselle Franconian (in German Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, in eastern Belgium and French Lorraine)
Luxembourgish (in Luxembourg and the adjacent areas of Belgium and France)

Luxembourgish is often included within Moselle Franconian, but sometimes regarded as a separate group. The German-speaking Community of Belgium comprises both Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian dialects. The Central Franconian dialects are part of the Rhinelandic continuum stretching from the Low Franconian language area in the northwest to the Rhine Franconian dialects in the southeast.

Along with Limburgish, Central Franconian has a simple tone system called pitch accent.

The Central Franconian language area is not to be confused with the Bavarian administrative district of Middle Franconia, where East Franconian dialects are spoken.

See also