Hessian (Ger.: Hessisch) is a West Central German dialect group of the German language. The dialect most similar to Hessian is Palatinate German (Ger.: Pfälzisch, pronounced approx. "Feltzish") of the Rhine Franconian sub-family. However, the Hessian dialects have some features which set them somewhat apart from other West Central German dialects.
Distribution
Hessian is spoken in Germany in the state of Hesse mainly, additionally in bordering areas within other states of Germany such as the state of Bavaria.
Hessian also is spoken in the Amana Colonies of Iowa as Amana Deutsch.
History
Some aspects of the Hessian dialects, as well as the region's name, originated from the Chatti (Ger.: Chatten, pronounced approx. Khatten) changing the "t" to "s" in the High German consonant shift. The Chatti were the resident Germanic tribe in most of what today is (northern) Hesse, until under Clovis I they became a member of the Carolingian Empire and merged into the Franconians.
The Hessian dialects are largely a Franconian ones, tending towards High German. The Chatti were a very young tribe, evolving since about 100 BC from various settlers and itinerants who settled down and intermarried into a remnant Celtic population, and by contrast, their dialect was a Low German one. Since the lands of the Chatti were north of the Speyer line however, the consonant shift was not complete and strong Low German elements (namely the "p" which did not shift to "f") are retained to our time.
The regions where Hessian was originally spoken are consequently just due south of the Benrath line. This resulted in some additional Modern era admixture of Low German loanwords and sociolect into Hessian. Hesse has some of the most southernly locales where a Missingsch contact variety evolved, although, unusually, on a predominantly High German substratum with the Low German elements being imported from north of the Benrath line.
In Germany, Hessian (as usually understood) is sometimes regarded by people from other regions as a uniquely incomprehensible or barbaric dialect (perhaps because it presents an unusual mix of Low and High German elements). Both this fact and the dialect itself are thus the occasional subject in comedy and entertainment (e.g. Badesalz, Mundstuhl, Heinz Schenk, Rödelheim Hartreim Projekt). The dialect known to most Germans as Hessisch is actually a Missingsch regiolect of South Hessian. Some linguists call this Neuhessisch ("New Hessian"); some speakers of the original dialect sometimes derisively call it Fernsehhessisch ("TV Hessian").
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