Editing German language (section)

==Dialects==
{{Main|German dialects}}

The German dialects are the traditional local varieties of the language; many of them are not [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] with standard German, and they have great differences in [[lexicon]], [[phonology]], and [[syntax]]. If a narrow definition of [[language]] based on mutual intelligibility is used, many German dialects are considered to be separate languages (for instance by [[ISO 639-3]]). However, such a point of view is unusual in German linguistics.

The German dialect continuum is traditionally divided most broadly into [[High German languages|High German]] and [[Low German]], also called [[Lower Saxony|Low Saxon]]. However, historically, High German dialects and Low Saxon/Low German dialects do not belong to the same language. Nevertheless, in today's Germany, Low Saxon/Low German is often perceived as a dialectal variation of Standard German on a functional level even by many native speakers.

The variation among the German dialects is considerable, with often only neighbouring dialects being mutually intelligible. Some dialects are not intelligible to people who know only Standard German. However, all German dialects belong to the dialect continuum of High German and Low Saxon.

===Low German===
{{Main|Low German}}
[[File:Verbreitungsgebiet der heutigen niederdeutschen Mundarten-2.PNG|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Low German]] dialects]]
[[Middle Low German]] was the [[lingua franca]] of the [[Hanseatic League]]. It was the predominant language in Northern Germany until the 16th century. In 1534, the [[Luther Bible]] was published. It aimed to be understandable to a broad audience and was based mainly on [[Central German|Central]] and [[Upper German]] varieties. The Early New High German language gained more prestige than [[Low German]] and became the language of science and literature. Around the same time, the Hanseatic League, a confederation of northern ports, lost its importance as new trade routes to Asia and the Americas were established, and the most powerful German states of that period were located in Middle and Southern Germany.

The 18th and 19th centuries were marked by mass education in [[Standard German]] in schools. Gradually, Low German came to be politically viewed as a mere dialect spoken by the uneducated. The proportion of the population who can understand and speak it has decreased continuously since [[World War II]].

* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: most of the [[Ruhr]] ([[Dortmund]], [[Essen]], [[Bochum]], [[Gelsenkirchen]], [[Hagen]], [[Herne, North Rhine-Westphalia|Herne]], [[Bottrop]], [[Recklinghausen]]), [[Hamburg]], [[Bremen]], [[Hanover]], [[Bielefeld]], [[Münster]], [[Braunschweig]], [[Kiel]], [[Groningen]], [[Lübeck]], [[Rostock]], [[Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia|Hamm]], [[Oldenburg (city)|Oldenburg]], [[Osnabrück]], [[Enschede]], [[Paderborn]], [[Wolfsburg]], [[Göttingen]], [[Bremerhaven]], [[Salzgitter]], [[Gütersloh]], [[Hildesheim]], and historically also [[Berlin]], [[Halle (Saale)]], [[Magdeburg]] and [[Potsdam]].

===Low Franconian===
{{Further|Low Franconian}}
The [[Low Franconian languages|Low Franconian]] dialects fall within a linguistic category used to classify a number of historical and contemporary West Germanic varieties most closely related to, and including, the [[Dutch language]]. Consequently, the vast majority of the Low Franconian dialects are spoken outside of the German language area. Low Franconian dialects are spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Namibia, and Suriname, and along the [[Lower Rhine]] in Germany, in [[North Rhine-Westphalia]]. The region in Germany encompasses parts of the [[Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region]].

The Low Franconian dialects have three different standard varieties: In the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname, it is Dutch, which is itself a Low Franconian language. In South Africa, it is [[Afrikaans]], which is also categorized as Low Franconian. During the [[Middle Ages]] and [[Early Modern Period]], the Low Franconian dialects now spoken in Germany, used [[Middle Dutch]] or Early Modern Dutch as their [[literary language]] and [[Dachsprache]]. Following a 19th-century change in Prussian language policy, use of Dutch as an official and public language was forbidden; resulting in [[Standard German]] taking its place as the region's official language.<ref>Heinz Eickmans, ''Aspekte einer niederrheinischen Sprachgeschichte'', in: Werner Besch, Anne Betten, Oskar Reichmann, Stefan Sonderegger (eds.), ''Sprachgeschichte: Ein Handbuch zur Geschichte der deutschen Sprache'', 2nd ed., 3. Teilband, (series: HSK 2.3), Walter de Gruyter, 2003, here p. 2636.</ref><ref>Georg Cornelissen: Das Niederländische im preußischen Gelderland und seine Ablösung durch das Deutsche, Rohrscheid, 1986, p. 93.</ref> As a result, these dialects are now considered German dialects from a socio-linguistic point of view.<ref>Jan Goossens: Niederdeutsche Sprache – Versuch einer Definition. In: Jan Goossens (Hrsg.): Niederdeutsch – Sprache und Literatur. Karl Wachholtz, Neumünster, 1973, p. 9–27.</ref>

The Low Franconian dialects in Germany are divided by the [[Uerdingen line]] (north of which the word for "I" is pronounced as "ik" and south of which as "ich") into northern and southern Low Franconian. The northern variants comprise [[Kleverlandish]], which is most similar to Standard Dutch. The other ones are transitional between Low Franconian and [[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian]], but closer to Low Franconian.
* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Cape Town]], [[Pretoria]], [[Brussels]],{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the [[Francization of Brussels]]}} [[Gqeberha]], [[Amsterdam]], [[Düsseldorf]]*, [[Rotterdam]], [[The Hague]], [[Antwerp]], [[Duisburg]]*, [[Utrecht]], [[Wuppertal]]*, [[Mönchengladbach]]*, [[Ghent]], [[Bloemfontein]], [[Eindhoven]], [[Paramaribo]], [[Krefeld]]*, [[Almere]], [[Oberhausen]]*, [[Tilburg]], [[Nijmegen]], [[Mülheim an der Ruhr]]*, [[Arnhem]], [[Haarlem]], [[Amersfoort]], [[Solingen]]*, [[Neuss]]*, [[Breda]], [[Apeldoorn]], [[Zwolle]], [[Zoetermeer]], [[Leiden]], [[Maastricht]], [[Dordrecht]], [[Bruges]], [[Remscheid]]*, [['s-Hertogenbosch]], [[Delft]], [[Moers]]*, [[Leuven]], [[Willemstad]], and the south of [[Essen]]*.
<nowiki>*</nowiki> <small>city with German as standard language</small>

===High German===
{{Main|High German languages}}
[[File:Mitteldeutsche Mundarten.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Central German]] dialects]]
[[File:Fränkisches Sprachgebiet.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Franconian (linguistics)|Franconian]] dialects<br>(The [[Rhenish fan]])<br>
1. [[Low Franconian]]
{{legend|FFFF00|Northern Low Franconian}}
''[[Uerdingen line|ik–ich line]]''
{{legend|F0E68C|Southern Low Franconian}}
''[[Benrath line|maken–machen line]]''<br>
2. Middle Franconian
{{legend|ADFF2F|[[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian]]}}
''Dorp–Dorf line''
{{legend|9ACD32|[[Moselle Franconian]]*}}
{{legend|006400|[[Moselle Franconian|Moselle]]: [[Luxembourgish]]*}}
''[[Sankt Goar line|dat–das line]]''
{{legend|228B22|[[Rhenish Franconian|Rhenish]]: [[Hessian dialects|Hessian]]}}
{{legend|008000|[[Rhenish Franconian|Rhenish]]: [[Palatine German language|Palatine]]*}}
''[[Speyer line|Appel–Apfel line]]''<br>
3. [[High Franconian]]
{{legend|00008B|[[East Franconian]]}}
{{legend|1E90FF|[[South Franconian]]**
<br>*[[Lorraine Franconian]] in France<br>**[[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] in France}}]]
The High German dialects consist of the [[Central German]], [[High Franconian German|High Franconian]] and [[Upper German]] dialects. The High Franconian dialects are transitional dialects between Central and Upper German. The High German varieties spoken by the [[Ashkenazi Jew]]s have several unique features and are considered as a separate language, [[Yiddish]], written with the [[Hebrew alphabet]].

====Central German====
The [[Central German]] dialects are spoken in Central Germany, from [[Aachen]] in the west to [[Görlitz]] in the east. Modern Standard German is mostly based on Central German dialects.

=====West Central German=====
The West Central German dialects are the [[Central Franconian dialects]] ([[Ripuarian language|Ripuarian]] and [[Moselle Franconian dialects|Moselle Franconian]]) and the [[Rhenish Franconian dialects]] ([[Hessian dialects|Hessian]] and [[Palatine German language|Palatine]]). These dialects are considered as
* German in Germany and Belgium
* [[Luxembourgish]] in Luxembourg
* [[Lorraine Franconian]] in [[Moselle (department)|Moselle]], France
* [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] (in a [[Rhenish Franconian]] variant) in [[Alsace bossue]], France
* [[Limburgish language|Limburgish]] or [[Kerkrade dialect]] in the Netherlands.
* [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]] in [[Transylvania]], Romania (considered a variant of German)
* [[Banat Swabian dialect|Banat Swabian]] in [[Banat]], Romania (considered a variant of German)
Luxembourgish as well as Transylvanian Saxon and Banat Swabian are based on [[Moselle Franconian]] dialects.

* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Cologne]], [[Frankfurt am Main]], [[Bonn]], [[Mannheim]], [[Wiesbaden]], [[Aachen]], [[Mainz]], [[Kassel]], [[Saarbrücken]], [[Ludwigshafen am Rhein]], [[Leverkusen]], [[Heidelberg]], [[Darmstadt]], [[Offenbach am Main]], [[Luxembourg City]], [[Koblenz]], [[Bergisch Gladbach]], [[Trier]], [[Siegen]], [[Hanau]], [[Kaiserslautern]], the south of [[Düsseldorf]], and in Romania: [[Cluj-Napoca]] (German: Klausenburg),{{efn|moribund}} [[Timișoara]] (Temeschburg),{{efn|moribund}} [[Brașov]] (Kronstadt),{{efn|moribund}} [[Oradea]] (Großwardein),{{efn|moribund}} [[Arad, Romania|Arad]],{{efn|moribund}} [[Sibiu]] (Hermannstadt){{efn|moribund}} and [[Târgu Mureș]] (Neumarkt am Mieresch).{{efn|moribund}}

=====East Central German=====
Further east, the non-[[Franconian (linguistics)|Franconian]], East Central German dialects are spoken ([[Thuringian dialect|Thuringian]], [[Upper Saxon German|Upper Saxon]], [[Erzgebirgisch]] (dialect of the [[Ore Mountains]]) and [[East Central German#Nordobersächsisch-Südmärkisch|North Upper Saxon–South Markish]], and earlier, in the then German-speaking parts of [[Silesia]] also [[Silesian German|Silesian]], and in then German southern [[East Prussia]] also [[High Prussian dialect|High Prussian]]).

* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Berlin]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Leipzig]], [[Dresden]], [[Halle (Saale)]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Magdeburg]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Erfurt]], [[Potsdam]],{{efn|historically Low German}} [[Chemnitz]] and [[Jena]].

====High Franconian====
[[File:Oberdeutsche Mundarten.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Upper German]] and [[High Franconian German|High Franconian]] (transitional between Central and Upper German)]]
The [[High Franconian German|High Franconian dialects]] are transitional dialects between Central and Upper German. They consist of the [[East Franconian German|East]] and [[South Franconian German|South Franconian]] dialects.

=====East Franconian=====
The [[East Franconian]] dialects are spoken in the region of [[Franconia]]. Franconia consists of the [[Bavaria]]n districts of [[Upper Franconia|Upper]], [[Middle Franconia|Middle]], and [[Lower Franconia]], the region of [[South Thuringia]] (those parts of [[Thuringia]] south of the [[Thuringian Forest]]), and the eastern parts of the region of [[Heilbronn-Franken]] ([[Tauber Franconia]] and Hohenlohe) in northeastern [[Baden-Württemberg]]. East Franconian is also spoken in most parts of [[Saxony|Saxon]] [[Vogtland]] (in the [[Vogtland District]] around [[Plauen]], [[Reichenbach im Vogtland]], [[Auerbach/Vogtl.]], [[Oelsnitz/Vogtl.]] and [[Klingenthal]]). East Franconian is colloquially referred to as "Fränkisch" ([[East Franconian|Franconian]]) in Franconia (including Bavarian Vogtland), and as "Vogtländisch" ([[Vogtlandian]]) in Saxon Vogtland.

* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Nuremberg]], [[Fürth]], [[Würzburg]] and [[Erlangen]].

=====South Franconian=====
[[South Franconian]] is spoken in northern [[Baden-Württemberg]] and in the northeasternmost tip of [[Alsace]] (around [[Wissembourg]]) in France. In Baden-Württemberg, they are considered dialects of German, and in Alsace a South Franconian variant of [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]].

* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Karlsruhe]] and [[Heilbronn]].

====Upper German====
The [[Upper German]] dialects are the [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] and [[Swabian German|Swabian]] dialects in the west and the [[Austro-Bavarian]] dialects in the east.

=====Alemannic and Swabian=====
[[File:Andermatt - Schwiizerdütsch (15922347261).jpg|thumb|upright=0.81|[[Swiss German]] restaurant sign in [[Andermatt]]: "Chuchichäschtli", in Standard German "Küchenkästlein"]]
[[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] dialects are spoken in [[Switzerland]] ([[High Alemannic German|High Alemannic]] in the densely populated [[Swiss Plateau]] including [[Zürich]] and [[Bern]], in the south also [[Highest Alemannic German|Highest Alemannic]], and [[Low Alemannic German|Low Alemannic]] in [[Basel]]), Baden-Württemberg ([[Swabian German|Swabian]] and Low Alemannic, in the southwest also High Alemannic), [[Swabia (Bavaria)|Bavarian Swabia]] (Swabian, in the southwesternmost part also Low Alemannic), [[Vorarlberg]]/Austria (Low, High, and Highest Alemannic), [[Alsace]]/France (Low Alemannic, in the southernmost part also High Alemannic), [[Liechtenstein]] (High and Highest Alemannic), and in the [[Reutte District|district of Reutte]] in [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]], Austria (Swabian). The Alemannic dialects are considered
* German in [[Baden-Württemberg]] and [[Bavarian Swabia]], Germany
* Vorarlbergerisch in [[Vorarlberg]], Austria (considered dialects of German)
* [[Swiss German]] in Switzerland and Liechtenstein
* [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] in [[Alsace]], France
In Germany, the Alemannic dialects are often referred to as Swabian in [[Bavarian Swabia]] and in the historical region of [[Württemberg]], and as Badian in the historical region of [[Baden]].

The southernmost German-speaking municipality is in the Alemannic region: [[Zermatt]] in the [[Canton of Valais]], Switzerland, as is the capital of [[Liechtenstein]]: [[Vaduz]].
* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Stuttgart]], [[Zürich]], [[Augsburg]], [[Strasbourg]] ([[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]]: Strossburi),{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the Francization of Alsace}} [[Freiburg im Breisgau]], [[Basel]], [[Bern]], [[Ulm]], [[Pforzheim]], [[Reutlingen]], [[Winterthur]] and [[Mulhouse]] (Alsatian: Mìlhüsa).{{efn|in danger of extinction due to the Francization of Alsace}}

=====Austro-Bavarian=====
[[File:Austro Bavarian Languages-01.png|thumb|upright=0.81|The [[Austro-Bavarian]] dialects]]
The [[Austro-Bavarian]] dialects are spoken in [[Austria]] ([[Vienna]], [[Lower Austria|Lower]] and [[Upper Austria]], [[Styria]], [[Carinthia]], [[Salzburg (state)|Salzburg]], [[Burgenland]], and in most parts of [[Tyrol (state)|Tyrol]]), southern and eastern [[Bavaria]] ([[Upper Bavaria|Upper]] and [[Lower Bavaria]] as well as [[Upper Palatinate]]), and [[South Tyrol]]. Austro-Bavarian is also spoken in southwesternmost [[Saxony]]: in the southernmost tip of [[Vogtland]] (in the [[Vogtland District]] around [[Adorf]], [[Bad Brambach]], [[Bad Elster]] and [[Markneukirchen]]), where it is referred to as Vogtländisch ([[Vogtlandian]]), just like the [[East Franconian]] variant that dominates in Vogtland. There is also one single Austro-Bavarian village in Switzerland: [[Samnaun]] in the [[Canton of the Grisons]].

The northernmost Austro-Bavarian village is Breitenfeld (municipality of [[Markneukirchen]], Saxony), the southernmost village is [[Salorno sulla Strada del Vino]] (German: Salurn an der Weinstraße), South Tyrol.
* Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the area: [[Vienna]], [[Munich]], [[Graz]], [[Linz]], [[Regensburg]], [[Salzburg]], [[Ingolstadt]], [[Innsbruck]], [[Bolzano]] (German: Bozen) and [[Klagenfurt am Wörthersee]].