Westphalian language

Common card · No. 492362

Westphalian or Westfalish (Standard High German: Westfälisch [vɛstˈfɛːlɪʃ] , Standard Dutch: Westfaals [ʋɛstˈfaːls] ) is one of the major dialect groups of Low German. Its most salient feature is its diphthongization (rising diphthongs). For example, speakers say iäten ([ɪɛtn̩]) instead of etten or äten for "to eat". (There is also a difference in the use of consonants within the Westphalian dialects: North of the Wiehengebirge, people tend to use unvoiced consonants, whereas south of the Wiehengebirge they tend to use the voiced equivalents, e.g. Foite > Foide.) The Westphalian dialect region includes the north-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, i.e. the former Prussian province of Westphalia, without Siegerland and Wittgenstein, but including the southern part of former government district Weser-Ems (e.g. the region around Osnabrück and the landscape of Emsland in modern Lower Saxony). Traditionally, all Dutch Low Saxon dialects are considered Westphalian, with the notable exception...

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