Limburgish

Limburgish (Limburgs or Lèmburgs; Dutch: Limburgs; also Limburgian, Limburgic or Limburgan) is the collective designation for a group of closely related language varieties spoken in most of Belgian and Dutch Limburg and in the adjacent areas of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The Limburgish dialects lack a standardized form and instead comprise multiple varieties, each with its own distinctive features. A characteristic feature of many dialects of Limburgish is the occurrence of a lexicalpitch accent (Franconian tone accent), which these dialects adopted from and share with the adjacent Central Franconian dialects of German.

In the Netherlands, Limburgish has been officially recognized as a regional language by the Dutch government since 1997. In Belgium and Germany, Limburgish dialects have no formal legal status.