Editing Alsatian dialect (section)

==Language family==
Alsatian is closely related to other nearby [[Alemannic German|Alemannic dialects]], such as [[Swiss German]], [[Swabian German|Swabian]], [[Markgräflerisch]], [[Kaiserstühlerisch]] and the other Alemannic dialects of [[Baden]]. It is often confused with [[Lorraine Franconian]], a more distantly related [[Franconian languages|Franconian]] dialect spoken in the northwest corner of Alsace and in neighbouring [[Lorraine]]. Like other dialects and languages, Alsatian has also been influenced by outside sources. Words of [[Yiddish]] origin can be found in Alsatian, and modern conversational Alsatian includes adaptations of French words and English words, especially concerning new technologies.

Many speakers of Alsatian could, if necessary, write in reasonable [[standard German]]. For most this would be rare and confined to those who have learned German at school or through work. As with other dialects, various factors determine when, where, and with whom one might converse in Alsatian. Some dialect speakers are unwilling to speak standard German, at times, to certain outsiders and prefer to use French. In contrast, many people living near the border with [[Basel]], [[Switzerland]], will speak their dialect with a Swiss person from that area, as they are mutually intelligible for the most part; similar habits may apply to conversations with people of the nearby German [[Markgräflerland]]. Some street names in Alsace may use Alsatian spellings (they were formerly displayed only in French but are now bilingual in some places, especially [[Strasbourg]] and [[Mulhouse]]).


=== Status of Alsatian in France ===
[[File:Rue du Sauvage.JPG|thumb|left|175px|A bilingual ([[French language|French]] and Alsatian) sign in [[Mulhouse]]]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Dominique speaking Alsatian.webm|thumb|left|An Alsatian dialect speaker]]
Since 1992, the constitution of the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]] states that [[French language|French]] is the official language of the Republic. However, Alsatian, along with other [[regional language]]s, is recognized by the [[French government]] in the official list of [[languages of France]].  France is a signatory to the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] but has never ratified the law and has not given regional languages the support that would be required by the charter.

Alsatian has gone from being the prevalent language of the region to one in decline.  A 1999 [[INSEE]] [[Statistical survey|survey]] counted 548,000 adult speakers of Alsatian in [[France]], making it the second-most-spoken regional language in the country (after [[Occitan language|Occitan]]). Like all regional languages in France, however, the transmission of Alsatian is declining. While 43% of the adult population of Alsace speaks Alsatian, its use has been largely declining amongst the youngest generations.

In 2023 local French public schools began offering Alsatian immersion for the first time. The programs have proven popular with students and parents but after years of official state suppression of the language, struggle to find enough teachers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-19 |title=Alsatian: German dialect to be taught in French schools for the first time |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20231019/alsation-german-dialect-to-be-taught-in-french-schools-for-the-first-time |website=www.thelocal.de}}</ref>

A dialect of Alsatian German is spoken in the United States by a group known as the [[Swiss Amish]], whose ancestors emigrated there in the middle of the 19th century. The approximately 7,000 speakers are located mainly in [[Allen County, Indiana]], with "daughter settlements"{{ref|a|[Note 1]}} elsewhere.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Chad |last=Thompson |title=The Languages of the Amish of Allen County, Indiana: Multilingualism and Convergence |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=36 |issue=1 |year=1994 |pages=69–91 |jstor=30028275 }}</ref>