Usage of the name "South Low Franconian" (German: Südniederfränkisch, Dutch: Zuidnederfrankisch) for this dialect group was originally restricted to German dialectology, while Dutch dialectologists generally employ the terms Limburgish (or Limburgian, Limburgs) or "East Low Franconian" (Oostnederfrankisch).

[1][a] The latter is especially used for earlier forms of this dialect group, as documented in the language of the Wachtendonck Psalms, which is generally held to be a predecessor of the modern South Low Franconian varieties of both Limburg provinces.

[3] For the last decades, "South Low Franconian" has also been used by Dutch scholars in reference to the entire dialect area (including Germany).

The vitality of local South Low Fraconian dialects in everyday usage contrasts sharply between the three countries where they are spoken.

Its western and northern extent is traditionally defined by the arc-shaped Uerdingen line that stretches from the eastern part of Flemish Brabant to Wermelskirchen.

[1] The Central Limburgish–West Limburgish transitional area is characterized by a number of isoglosses that spread from Genk to the south in a fan-like manner.

[17] The easternmost varieties spoken in the Bergisches Land region east of the Rhine river form a distinct subgroup, viz.

Being located between the Benrath and Uerdingen lines, it generally has not taken part in the High German consonant shift, but at the same time, a few lexical items have /x/ for *k in final position, most iconically ich /ix/ 'I' against ik in West Low Franconian varieties (including Standard Dutch).