Franconian languages

Franconian (German: Fränkisch; Dutch: Frankisch) includes a number of West Germanic languages and dialects possibly derived from the languages and dialects originally spoken by the Franks from their ethnogenesis in the 3rd century AD. The languages that evolved in the northern and eastern lands of Francia included Low Franconian, of which present-day Dutch is the primary member, the West Central German Rhine Franconian and Central Franconian dialects (including Luxembourgish), as well as transitional High Franconian German dialects. Linguists have different views about whether these languages and dialects have descended from a single Franconian proto-language, also known as Istvaeonic.

Low Franconian, also called Low Frankish, consists of Dutch, Afrikaans, Limburgish, and their dialects, some of which are sometimes seen as regional languages. They are spoken in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, South Africa, Namibia, the western tip of Germany (in the West German Lower Rhine region, former Duchy of Cleves), Suriname, and parts of the Caribbean, as well as in communities in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.