Low Franconian languages
| Low Franconian | |
|---|---|
| Low Frankish | |
| Geographic distribution: |
Netherlands, northern Belgium, northern France, western Germany, Suriname, Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Namibia and South Africa |
| Linguistic classification: |
Indo-European
|
| Proto-language: | Old Frankish |
| Subdivisions: | |
| Glottolog: | wese1235 |
Franconian-speaking areas in Europe:
Low Franconian languages in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (Meuse-Rhenish) and France (French Flemish)
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Low Franconian, Low Frankish (Dutch: Nederfrankisch, German: Niederfränkisch, French: Bas Francique) are a group of several West Germanic languages spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium (Flanders), in the north department of France, in western Germany (Lower Rhine), as well as in Suriname, South Africa and Namibia that originally descended from Old Frankish.
The Frankish language, also "Old Frankish", was the language of the Franks. It is a West Germanic language and was spoken in Merovingian times, preceding the 7th century. Austrasia formed the northeastern portion of the Kingdom of the Merovingian Franks (Francia), comprising parts of the territory of present-day western Germany, eastern and northern France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The Franks first established themselves in the Netherlands and Flanders before they started to fight their way down south and east. The language had a significant impact on Old French. It evolved into Old Dutch in the north and it was replaced step by step by the langues d'oïl in the south.
Old Frankish is not directly attested except in glosses and small phrases. It has been reconstructed using the comparative method from loanwords in Old French and from Old Dutch. One known phrase in Old Frankish is found in the Salic law of the early sixth century, and is used to free a serf:
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Wikipedia