West Central German belongs to the Central, High German dialect family in the German language. Its dialects are thoroughly Franconian and comprise the parts of the Rhinelandic continuum located south of the Benrath line isogloss, including the following sub-families:

• Central Franconian (Mittelfränkisch)
  • Ripuarian (Ripuarisch), spoken in North Rhine-Westphalia (including Kölsch) and German-speaking Belgium and a small edge in the south of the Dutch province of Limbourg.
  • Moselle Franconian (Moselfränkisch) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and France (francique mosellan)
    • Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch, luxembourgeois) in Luxembourg, Belgium and France (francique luxembourgeois)