Hohenlohisch is an

East Franconian East Franconian (german: Ostfränkisch) or Mainfränkisch, usually referred to as Franconian (') in German, is a dialect which is spoken in Franconia, the northern part of the federal state of Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Nuremberg, ...

dialect spoken principally in north-eastern

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

in Germany, and which also overlaps dialects on the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

n border. It is spoken in

Landkreis Schwäbisch Hall In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a ''Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia a ...

Hohenlohekreis The Hohenlohe (german: Hohenlohekreis ) is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the north of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Neckar-Odenwald, Main-Tauber, Schwäbisch Hall and Heilbronn. Künzelsau is the ...

and what was formerly the

Bad Mergentheim Bad Mergentheim (; Mergentheim until 1926; East Franconian: ''Märchedol'') is a town in the Main-Tauber-Kreis district in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of around 23,000. An officially recognized spa town since 1926, B ...

Landkreis (now in the

Main-Tauber-Kreis Main-Tauber-Kreis is a ''Landkreis'' (district) in the northeast of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from northwest clockwise) Miltenberg, Main-Spessart, Würzburg, Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim and Ansbach (all in Bavaria ...

), although the latter has recently been assumed into the Tauber-Franconian dialect group.

Origin of name

The name ''Hohenlohisch'' comes from the aristocratic

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...

dynasty, which divided into a number of branches, and the name of their

Imperial State An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

. Two branches of the family were raised to the rank of principalities of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

in 1744 and 1764 respectively; in 1806 they lost their independence and their lands became part of the Kingdoms of

(Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst) and of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

. At the time of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...

in 1806, the area of Hohenlohe was 1 760 km² and its estimated population was 108,000. In the course of time the dialect came to be called Hohenlohisch.

Notable writers in the dialect

* Dramatist and lyricist (1926–2008) from Wildentierbach,

Niederstetten Niederstetten () is a town and a municipality in the Main-Tauber district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 14 km southeast of Bad Mergentheim, and 19 km west of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Sights The main attraction is ...

Music in the dialect

* Annâweech

References

* Erwin Strasser: ''Tausend Worte Hohenlohisch''. W. Eppe Verlag, Bergatreute 1988, * Eberhard Zanzinger: ''Hohenloher Ausdrücke und Redensarten''. Verlag Robert Baier, Crailsheim 2004,

External links

* {{cite web , url=http://www.helmut-krass.de/hohe.htm , title=Hohenlohisch-German dictionary , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905082311/http://www.helmut-krass.de/hohe.htm , archive-date=5 September 2019 , url-status=dead Upper German languages German dialects Languages of Germany House of Hohenlohe