The dialects spoken in the southern Eifel are part of the Moselle Franconian dialect group. In the northern Eifel, they belong to the Ripuarian dialect group.
Porta Sophia is a nonprofit project dedicated to preserving all the dialects of every town in the Eifel—from Aachen to Zweifelscheid—for future generations, and we ask for your support:
It's quite simple:
- A knowledgeable local speaks the local dialect.
- You can record it, for example, with a smartphone. (Porta Sophia will be happy to assist you with the recording if you'd like.)
- Porta Sophia publishes the recording on a website that is accessible to everyone free of charge at any time.
Listen to an example on the " Eifeler Mundarten " YouTube channel.
Which texts should be included?
- [Place name] is located in the municipality of [Name] in the county of [Name] in the state of [Name]
- Cardinal and ordinal numbers from 1 to 20
(Additional text: "The first, the second, the third, the fourth, etc.") - Poem "Chresdaag Morgen" by Peter Zirbes
- Recipes from the Eifel region for bread, pancakes, or pea soup—including preparation instructions if desired
That's the required part.
Now comes the optional part.
After that, your local community can also request specific items, such as:
- Street and road names—including historical ones, perhaps with an explanation of their origins
- a list of famous people
- Notable events
- striking buildings and things
- The Names of Those Who Fell in War
- a song or a poem
- one suggestion or several suggestions of your choice.
Once all locations have been recorded, the recordings will be transferred to the State Library Center in Koblenz for safekeeping.
The website containing all the recordings is intended to be free of charge and accessible to everyone at all times, so that the whole world can get a sense of the dialects spoken by the people of the Eifel region.
All of the district administrator's offices in the twelve geographical districts of the Eifel welcome the initiative and wish us all the best of success.
You can find a detailed project description here:
. You can find the registration form here:
. Website: https://www.eifeler-mundarten.de/