| mapcaption = Area where Moselle Franconian / Luxembourgish is spoken with the isogloss between usage of {{Wikt-lang|lb|op}} and {{Wikt-lang|lb|of}} (Standard German: {{Wikt-lang|de|auf}}) shown

| nation = {{LUX}}

| minority = {{BEL}} (recognised by the French Community of Belgium), {{BRA}} (recognised as Cultural Heritage in the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul)

| agency =

| iso3 = none

| lc1 = ltz

| lc2 = hrx

| ld1 = Luxembourgish

| ld2 = Hunsrik

| glotto = luxe1241

| glottorefname = Moselle Franconian

| map2 = Lang Status 80-VU.svg

| mapcaption2 = {{center|{{small|Moselle Franconian is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger}}}}

}}

File:Mitteldeutsche Mundarten.png. Moselle Franconian is shown in yellow (Germany) and blue (Luxembourg)]]

Moselle Franconian ({{langx|de|Moselfränkisch}}; {{langx|lb|Muselfränkesch}}) is a West Central German language, part of the Central Franconian languages area, that includes Luxembourgish.

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.{{Cite web |last=Documentação |first=Coordenadoria de |title=LEI Nº 16.987, DE 3 DE AGOSTO DE 2016 |url=http://leis.alesc.sc.gov.br/html/2016/16987_2016_lei.html |access-date=2022-04-11 |website=leis.alesc.sc.gov.br}}{{Cite web |date=2019-03-30 |title=Texto da Norma |url=http://www.al.rs.gov.br/legis/M010/M0100099.ASP?Hid_Tipo=TEXTO&Hid_TodasNormas=58094&hTexto=&Hid_IDNorma=58094 |access-date=2022-04-11 |website= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330024221/http://www.al.rs.gov.br/legis/M010/M0100099.ASP?Hid_Tipo=TEXTO&Hid_TodasNormas=58094&hTexto=&Hid_IDNorma=58094 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=dead}}

Varieties

The transition between "dialect" and "separate language" is fluid.[http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf Ammon, Ulrich - Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109200453/http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf |date=2015-11-09 }} (de Gruyter Mouton; {{ISBN|978-3-11-019298-8}})

The Linguasphere RegisterLinguasphere Register, 1999/2000 edition, p. 430 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, Luxembourgishhttp://www.luxembourg.public.lu/catalogue/fr-generalites/ap_histoire/ap_histoire_2008_DE.pdf{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} „Im Alltag sprechen die Luxemburger ihren Dialekt, eine moselfränkische Mundart, die sie selbst noch bis Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts als "Lëtzebuerger Däitsch" ("Luxemburger Deutsch") bezeichneten.“{{Cite web|url=http://www.luxembourg.public.lu/en/le-grand-duche-se-presente/histoire/histoire-mots/sentiment-national/index.html|title=The rise of the national sentiment (19th century)|work=The Official Portal of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg |via=www.luxembourg.public.lu|language=en|access-date=2019-12-01}} 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:

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

Moselle Franconian language

Overview

Varieties

See also

References

Further reading