Lorraine (province)

:This article is about the historical duchy and province of Lorraine. For the modern-day administrative région of Lorraine, see Lorraine (région).

Culture

Most of Lorraine is widely considered 'French', hence Bismarck only annexed about a third of today's Lorraine to the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The disputed third, known as Moselle, had a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German possessing both French and German dialects. Like much of the Balkans and Eastern Europe much of Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects, sometimes not even mutually compatible with either French or German.

Related Topics:
Franco-Prussian War - Moselle - Balkans - Eastern Europe

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Despite the French government 'single language' policy, the local German dialect still survives, called Frankish. This is a different German dialect from the neighbouring Alsatian language, with which it is often confused. Both dialects are called Alsacien in French, and neither have any form of official recognition.

Related Topics:
Frankish - Alsatian language - French

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like most of France's regional languages (such as Breton, Provençal and Alsatian) Frankish was largely replaced by French with the advent of mandatory public schooling in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Related Topics:
France's regional languages - Breton - Provençal - Alsatian

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~