Central northeastern dialect (Portuguese: dialeto nordestino central, pronounced: [d̪ia'lɛtu nɔɦdɛʃˈt̪ĩnu sẽ'tɾaw]) is a dialect spoken in the central part of the Northeast Region, Brazil, in all the states of Rio Grande do Norte, Paraíba, Alagoas and Sergipe, much of the state of Pernambuco (except for the Zona da Mata and the Recife metropolitan area), northern of Bahia, southern of Ceará, southeastern of Piauí and a few regions of Maranhão. It has roughly about 53,078,137 native speakers and varies within the region. This dialect shares similarities between north coast, Baiano and Recifense dialects.