The Uerdingen Line is the isogloss

Isogloss

An isogloss—also called a heterogloss —is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature...

 within West Germanic languages that separates dialects which preserve the -k sound at the end of a word (north of the line) from dialects in which the word final -k has changed to word final -ch (IPA [x]) (south of the line). An example is the first person singular pronoun (I in English): north of the line, this word is ik, while south of the line the word is ich. This sound shift is the one that progressed the farthest north among the consonant shifts that characterize High German and Middle German dialects. The line passes through Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

, and Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.

North of the Uerdingen line Low German

Low German

Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...

 and Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 are spoken. South of the Uerdingen line Central German

Central German

Central German is a group of High German dialects spoken from the Rhineland in the west to the former eastern territories of Germany.-History:...

 is spoken. In the area between the Uerdingen line and the Benrath line

Benrath line

In German linguistics, the Benrath line is the maken-machen isogloss: dialects north of the line have the original in maken , while those to the south have...

 to its south, which includes parts of Belgium and the Netherlands, the Germanic dialect Limburgish is spoken. Especially in eastern Germany, the regional languages have been largely replaced by standard German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 since the 20th century.

The western end of the Uerdingen line is at Bierbeek

Bierbeek

Bierbeek is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Bierbeek proper, Korbeek-Lo, Lovenjoel and Opvelp. On January 1, 2006 Bierbeek had a total population of 9,147. The total area is 39.73 km² which gives a population density of 230...

, southwest of Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...

, Belgium. From there, it runs in northeastern direction, north of Hasselt

Hasselt

Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...

 and Weert

Weert

Weert is a municipality and city in the southeastern Netherlands. As of 2010, Weert had a population of 48,405. It lies on the Eindhoven–Maastricht railway line, and is also astride the Zuid-Willemsvaart canal.- Population centres :* Altweerterheide...

, Netherlands, from where it goes straight east. It passes south of Venlo

Venlo

Venlo is a municipality and a city in the southeastern Netherlands, next to the German border. It is situated in the province of Limburg.In 2001, the municipalities of Belfeld and Tegelen were merged into the municipality of Venlo. Tegelen was originally part of the Duchy of Jülich centuries ago,...

 to cross into Germany's Rhineland

Rhineland

Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....

. It passes through Kempen

Kempen

Kempen may refer to:*Kempen, Germany, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany;*the German name of the Polish town of Kępno, or the former Prussian district Kreis Kempen;*the Dutch and Belgian region of Kempen, usually called Campine in English...

 and Krefeld

Krefeld

Krefeld , also known as Crefeld until 1929, is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its centre lying just a few kilometres to the west of the River Rhine; the borough of Uerdingen is situated directly on the Rhine...

-Hüls, and crosses the Rhine at Krefeld-Uerdingen

Uerdingen

Uerdingen is a district of the city of Krefeld, Germany, with a population of 18,507, though Uerdingen received its charter as a city as early as 1255, well before Krefeld. Uerdingen was merged with Krefeld in 1929, after which the term “Krefeld-Uerdingen” was used, until, eventually, the use of...

. From there, the isogloss passes south of Mülheim an der Ruhr-Saarn, and Essen

Essen

- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...

-Kettwig

Kettwig

Kettwig is the southernmost borough of the city of Essen in western Germany and, until 1975, was a town in its own right. Kettwig is situated next to the Ruhr river, at a median height of 53 metres above sea level. It is the most recently incorporated borough of Essen and also the largest in size,...

, where it turns southeast. It continues past Wuppertal

Wuppertal

Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in and around the Wupper river valley, and is situated east of the city of Düsseldorf and south of the Ruhr area. With a population of approximately 350,000, it is the largest city in the Bergisches Land...

-Elberfeld

Elberfeld

Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...

, Gummersbach

Gummersbach

Gummersbach is a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, being the district seat of the Oberbergischer Kreis. It is located 50 km east of Cologne. In the past it was nicknamed "the Lime Tree Town", because lime trees lined the main street...

 and Bergneustadt

Bergneustadt

Bergneustadt is a municipality in the eastern part of the Oberbergischer Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located 50 km east of Cologne. It is part of the Berg region.-First naming:...

. Further east, it forms the border of the Sauerland

Sauerland

The Sauerland is a rural, hilly area spreading across most of the south-eastern part of North Rhine-Westphalia, in parts heavily forested and, apart from the major valleys, sparsely inhabited...

 (to its north) and the Siegerland

Siegerland

The Siegerland is a region of Germany covering the old district of Siegen and the upper part of the district of Altenkirchen, belonging to the Rhineland-Palatinate adjoining it to the west.Geologically, the Siegerland belongs to the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge...

 (to its south). It passes north of Kassel

Kassel

Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...

, south of Magdeburg

Magdeburg

Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....

 and north of Wittenberg

Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....

. In southern Brandenburg

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...

 in eastern Germany, the isogloss runs by Halbe

Halbe

Halbe is a municipality in the Dahme-Spreewald district of Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated near the capital city Berlin and the SpreewaldFour other villages are part of Halbe: Briesen/Brand with the Tropical Islands Dom, Teurow, Freidorf and Oderin....

, Hermsdorf

Hermsdorf, Brandenburg

Hermsdorf is a municipality in the Oberspreewald-Lausitz district, in southern Brandenburg, Germany....

, Freidorf and Staakow

Rietzneuendorf-Staakow

Rietzneuendorf-Staakow is a municipality in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in Brandenburg in Germany....

.