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The following paper, which aims to examine the boundary between Germany and France along the river Rhine, is based on linguistic geographical research. Research in thisfield has shown that in the past, the river Rhine didnotplay a very important wie in the development ofthe linguistic boundaries, although differences between the two banks of the river must be considered. On the left bank ofthe river, the Alsatian dialect was influenced more by the Rheno-Franconian dialects than on the right bank. The left bank also became an areafor relics ofold German words already replaced on the right bank ofthe river. In the last decades, the number of differences between the two banks ofthe river Rhine has increased enormously. This development is caused by the fact that the two dialects are influenced by two different Standard languages, German on the one side and French on the other side.
On the right bank of the river, an interlayer called colloquial German has evolved between the dialect and Standard German. On the left bank, such an interlayer cannot be found, because Alsatian is a "roofless dialect." In the absence of a colloquial interlayer, the Alsatian Speakers can only choose between their German dialect and the French Standard language. Therefore many French words have now found their way into Alsatian. The influence of the French Standard language is so strong that it may even lead to code-switching under certain circumstances.
