Thuringian dialect


Thuringian is an East Central German dialect group spoken in much of the modern German Free State of Thuringia north of the Rennsteig ridge, southwestern Saxony-Anhalt and adjacent territories of Hesse and Bavaria. It is close to Upper Saxon spoken mainly in the state of Saxony, therefore both are also regarded as one Thuringian-Upper Saxon dialect group. Thuringian dialects are among the Central German dialects with the highest number of speakers.

History

Thuringian emerged during the medieval German Ostsiedlung migration from about 1100, when settlers from Franconia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Flanders settled in the areas east of the Saale River previously inhabited by Polabian Slavs.

Characteristics

The Thuringian dialect is characterized by a rounding of the vowels, the weakening of consonants of Standard German, a marked difference in the pronunciation of the "g" sound, and a highly-idiosyncratic, melodic intonation of sentences. The second German consonant shift manifested itself in a manner different from that elsewhere in the areas that spoke High German. In many words, "b" is pronounced as "w" or "f" would be in Standard German. For example, the word aber is pronounced as "aḅer". The Thuringian dialect has advanced beyond the stage of basilect.

Classification

Grouping according to German dialectology:
  • Ostmitteldeutsch
  • * Thüringisch
  • ** Zentralthüringisch
  • *** Westthüringisch
  • *** Ostthüringisch
  • ** Nordthüringisch
  • *** Honsteinisch
  • *** Sonderhäusisch
  • *** Eichsfeldisch
  • *** Südmansfeldisch
Another way to subdivide it is: