Hessen (Ger.: Hessisch) is a West Central German group of dialects of the German language in the central German state of Hessen. The dialect most similar to Hessen is Palatinate German (Ger.: Pfälzisch, pronounced [ˈp͡fɛlt͡sɪʃ]) of the Rhine Franconian sub-family. However, the Hessen dialects have some features which set them somewhat apart from other West-Central German dialects.