- Hessian dialects
Language classification
----SubdivisionsIndo-European languages Germanic languages West Germanic language sHessian
*Lower Hessian
*East Hessian
*Central Hessian Hessian (Ger.: "Hessisch") is a
West Central German dialect group of theGerman language . The dialect most similar to Hessian isPalatinate German (Ger.: "Pfälzisch", pronounced approx. "Feltzish") of theRhine Franconian sub-family. However, the Hessian dialects have some features which set them somewhat apart from other West Central German dialects.Distribution
Hessian is spoken in
Germany in the state ofHesse mainly, additionally in bordering areas within other states of Germany such as the state ofBavaria .Hessian also is spoken in the
Amana Colonies ofIowa as "Amana Deutsch".History
Some aspects of the Hessian dialects, as well as the region's name, originated from the
Chatti (Ger.: "Chatten", pronounced approx. "Khatten") changing the "t" to "s" in theHigh German consonant shift . The Chatti were the resident Germanic tribe in most of what today is (northern) Hesse, until underClovis I they became a member of theCarolingian Empire and merged into theFranconian s.The Hessian dialects are largely a Franconian ones, tending towards
High German . The Chatti were a very young tribe, evolving since about 100 BC from various settlers and itinerants who settled down and intermarried into a remnant Celtic population, and by contrast, their dialect was aLow German one. Since the lands of the Chatti were north of theSpeyer line however, the consonant shift was not complete and strong Low German elements (namely the "p" which did not shift to "f") are retained to our time.The regions where Hessian was originally spoken are consequently just due south of the
Benrath line . This resulted in some additionalModern era admixture of Low Germanloanword s andsociolect into Hessian. Hesse has some of the most southernly locales where aMissingsch contact variety evolved, although, unusually, on a predominantly High German substratum with the Low German elements being imported from north of the Benrath line.In Germany, Hessian (as usually understood) is sometimes regarded by people from other regions as a uniquely incomprehensible or barbaric dialect (perhaps because it presents an unusual mix of Low and High German elements). Both this fact and the dialect itself are thus the occasional subject in comedy and entertainment (e.g.
Badesalz ,Mundstuhl ,Heinz Schenk ,Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt ). The dialect known to most Germans as "Hessisch" is actually a Missingschregiolect ofSouth Hessian . Somelinguist s call this "Neuhessisch" ("New Hessian"); some speakers of the original dialect sometimes derisively call it "Fernsehhessisch" ("TV Hessian").External links
* [http://www.uni-marburg.de/sprache-in-hessen/ in High German]
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