Aachen dialect (natively Öcher Platt) is a dialect of Ripuarian Franconian spoken in the German Rhineland city of Aachen. This dialect, as part of the large West Germanic dialect continuum, is to a large extent similar to the dialects spoken in Eschweiler and in Stolberg. Aachen dialect has a tonal component, which, like Welsh English, is often described as "singsongy" by the layman. It is perhaps closest to the Vaals (Vólsj), Bocholtz (Boches) and Kerkrade (Kirchröadsj) dialects, which are spoken in the Netherlands, only a few miles away.