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| Origins and characteristics | |
| 3>
Simplified diagram of the modern West Germanic languages
The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: West, East and North Germanic.[1] Their exact relation is difficult to determine from the sparse evidence of runic inscriptions, and they remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period, so that some individual varieties are difficult to classify. Dialects with the features assigned to the western group formed from Proto-Germanic in the late Jastorf culture (ca. 1st century BC). The West Germanic group is characterized by a number of phonological and morphological innovations not found in North and East Germanic, such as:[2]
The delabialization of all labiovelar consonants except word-initially.
Gemination (lengthening) of all consonants except /r/ before /j/.
[ð], the fricative allophone of /d/, becomes /d/ in all positions. (The two other fricatives [β] and [ɣ] are retained)
Replacement of the 2nd person singular preterit ending -t with -i.
Loss of word-final /z/. Only Old High German preserves it at all (as /r/) and only in single-syllable words. Following the later loss of word-final /a/ and /aN/, this made the nominative and accusative of many nouns identical.
The development of a gerund.
The distribution of the primary Germanic dialect groups in Europe in around AD 1:
North Germanic
North Sea Germanic, or Ingvaeonic
Weser-Rhine Germanic, or Istvaeonic
Elbe Germanic, or Irminonic
East Germanic
Nevertheless, many scholars doubt whether the West Germanic languages descend from a common ancestor later than Proto-Germanic, that is, they doubt whether a "Proto-West-Germanic" ever existed.[2] Rather, some have argued that after East Germanic broke off from the group, the remaining Germanic languages, the Northwest Germanic languages, divided into four main dialects:[3] North Germanic, and the three groups conventionally called "West Germanic", namely
North Sea Germanic (Ingvaeonic, ancestral to Anglo-Frisian and Low German)
Weser-Rhine Germanic (Istvaeonic, ancestral to Low Franconian)
Elbe Germanic (Irminonic, ancestral to High German)
Evidence for this view comes from a number of linguistic innovations found in both North Germanic and West Germanic,[2] including:
The lowering of Proto-Germanic ē (/ɛː/, also written ǣ) to ā.[4]
The development of umlaut.
The rhotacism of /z/ to /r/.
The development of the demonstrative pronoun ancestral to English this.
Under this view, the properties that the West Germanic languages have in common separate from the North Germanic languages are not inherited from a "Proto-West-Germanic" language, but rather spread by language contact among the Germanic languages spoken in central Europe, not reaching those spoken in Scandinavia or reaching them much later. Rhotacism, for example, was largely complete in West Germanic at a time when North Germanic runic inscriptions still clearly distinguished the two phonemes. There is also evidence that the lowering of ē to ā occurred first in West Germanic and spread to North Germanic later, since word-final ē was lowered before it was shortened in West Germanic, while in North Germanic the shortening occurred first, resulting in e that later merged with i.
Nevertheless, it has been argued that, judging by their nearly identical syntax, the West Germanic languages of the Old period were close enough to have been mutually intelligible.[5]
[edit] Tags:Rhine,Elbe,North Sea,Germanic,Anglo-frisian,Low Franconian,Low German,High German,Languages,German,English,North,East,Migration Period,Proto-germanic,Jastorf Culture,Phonological,Morphological,Delabialization,Gemination,Gerund,East Germanic,Northwest Germanic,Ingvaeonic,Istvaeonic,Irminonic,Umlaut,Rhotacism,Demonstrative,Language Contact,Dialects,Me,North Germanic,Germanic Languages, | |
| Middle Ages | |
| 3>
During the Middle Ages, the West Germanic languages were separated by the insular development of Middle English on one hand, and by the second Germanic sound shift on the continent on the other.
The High German consonant shift distinguished the High German languages from the other West Germanic languages. By early modern times, the span had extended into considerable differences, ranging from Highest Alemannic in the South (the Walliser dialect being the southernmost surviving German dialect) to Northern Low Saxon in the North. Although both extremes are considered German, they are not mutually intelligible. The southernmost varieties have completed the second sound shift, while the northern dialects remained unaffected by the consonant shift.
Of modern German varieties, Low German is the one that most resembles modern English. The district of Angeln (or Anglia), from which the name English derives, is in the extreme northern part of Germany between the Danish border and the Baltic coast. The area of the Saxons (parts of today's Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony) lay south of Anglia. The Anglo-Saxons, two Germanic tribes, were a combination of a number of peoples from northern Germany and the Jutland Peninsula.
[edit] Tags:Middle Ages,Insular Development,Middle English,Second Germanic Sound Shift,High German Consonant Shift,High German Languages,Highest Alemannic,Walliser,Northern Low Saxon,Angeln,Schleswig-holstein,Lower Saxony,Anglo-saxons,Germanic Tribes,Germany,Jutland,Alemannic, | |
| Family tree | |
| 2>
Main article: List of West Germanic languages
The present-day distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe:
North Germanic languages
Icelandic
Faroese
Norwegian
Swedish
Danish
West Germanic languages
Scots
English
Frisian
Dutch
Low German
German
Dots indicate areas where multilingualism is common.
Note that divisions between subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form dialect continua, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not.
Anglo-Frisian
Anglic
English
Scots
Yola (extinct)
Frisian languages
Low German
Northern Low Saxon
Low Franconian
Dutch
Afrikaans
High German
Alemannic
Austro-Bavarian
German
Luxembourgish
Yiddish
Vilamovian
[edit] Tags:Dutch,Afrikaans,Frisian Languages,Yiddish,Multilingualism,Dialect Continua,Anglic,Scots,Yola,Austro-bavarian,Luxembourgish,Vilamovian,Norwegian,Swedish, | |
| Comparison | |
| 2>
The following table demonstrates the relation of modern West Germanic languages to each other, showing some closely related word-forms, as descended from the Proto-Germanic roots *se/*þe, *hwa, and *he, within the three main West Germanic languages (English, Dutch, and High German). (Note: the Proto-Germanic roots given here are simplifications of three sets of related roots that were similar in form, in that they either shared the same initial consonant sound or, in the case of *Se/*þe, alternated between two consonants.)
Comparison table of words derived from three roots in modern West Germanic languages
Description
English
Dutch
German
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
Nominative
Masc.
the
who
he
de
wie
hij, ie
der
wer
er
Neuter
that
what
it
dat
wat
het
das
was
es
Fem.
she
(who)
ME/Dial. hoo
zij, ze
(wie)
sie, die
(wer)
Plural
they
(who)
zij, ze
(wie)
sie, die
(wer)
Demonstrative
this
dit, deze
dies-
Adverbial/Nominal
so, thus
while
zo, dus
wijl
so
Weile
Relative
such
which
each
zulk
welke
elk
solch-
welch-
MHG elch-
Dual
whether
weder
Description
English
Dutch
German
Dative
Masc./Neuter
whom
him
wien (obsolete)[6]
hem
dem
wem
ihm
Fem.
(whom)
her
(wie)
haar
der
(wem)
ihr
Plural
them
(whom)
'em
(wie)
hen/hun
den
(wem)
ihnen
Genitive
Masc./Neut.
whose
his
diens
wiens
des(sen)
wessen
Fem./Plural
their
her
dier
wier
haar
der(en)
ihr-
Locative
there
where
here
daar
waar
hier
da, dar-
wo, war-
hier
Allative
thither
whither
hither
der
wer(waarts)
her
hin
wohin
her
Ablative
thence
whence
hence
(van) daan
(von) dannen
woher
Instrumental
why, how
hoe
wie
Temporal/ Conjunctive
I
then
when
dan
wanneer
dann
wann
II
than
(when)
(dan)
(wanneer)
denn
wenn
Description
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
From *Se/*þe
From *Hwa
From *He
English
Dutch
German
[edit] Tags:Dial.,Mhg, | |
| References | |
| 2>
^ Hawkins, John A. (1987). "Germanic languages". In Bernard Comrie. The World's Major Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 68–76. ISBN 0-19-520521-9.
^ a b c Robinson, Orrin W. (1992). Old English and Its Closest Relatives. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2221-8.
^ Kuhn, Hans (1955–56). "Zur Gliederung der germanischen Sprachen". Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur 86: 1–47.
^ But see Cercignani, Fausto, Indo-European ē in Germanic, in «Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung», 86/1, 1972, pp. 104-110.
^ Graeme Davis (2006:154) notes "the languages of the Germanic group in the Old period are much closer than has previously been noted. Indeed it would not be inappropriate to regard them as dialects of one language. They are undoubtedly far closer one to another than are the various dialects of modern Chinese, for example. A reasonable modern analogy might be Arabic, where considerable dialectical diversity exists but within the concept of a single Arabic language." In: Davis, Graeme (2006). Comparative Syntax of Old English and Old Icelandic: Linguistic, Literary and Historical Implications. Bern: Peter Lang. ISBN 3-03910-270-2.
^ "Wien" was still in use in the 19th century and the early 20th century, especially in the written language. See f.e.: [1]
v
d
e
Modern Germanic languages and dialects
North Germanic
West Scandinavian
Faroese • Icelandic • Norwegian (Nynorsk)
East Scandinavian
Danish • Norwegian (Bokmål) • Swedish
West Germanic
Anglo-Frisian
English • North Frisian • Saterland Frisian • Scots • West Frisian
Low Franconian
Afrikaans • Dutch • West Flemish • Limburgish • Zeelandic
Low German/
Dutch Low Saxon
Achterhooks • Drèents • East Frisian Low Saxon • Gronings • Low German • Plautdietsch • Sallaans • Stellingwarfs • Tweants • Veluws • Westphalian
High German
Central German
German • Colognian • Luxembourgish • Palatinate German • Pennsylvania German • Hunsrik • Silesian German • Upper Saxon • Vilamovian
Upper German
Alsatian • Bavarian • Colonia Tovar • Main-Franconian • Cimbrian • Hutterite German • Mócheno • Swabian • Swiss German • Walser
Yiddish
Yiddish
v
d
e
Germanic languages · Germanic philology
Language subgroups
North · East · West
North · East · Elbe · Weser-Rhine · North Sea
Reconstructed
Proto-Germanic · Proto-Germanic grammar
Historical languages
North
Proto-Norse · Old Norse · Old Swedish · Old Gutnish · Norn · Greenlandic Norse · Old Norwegian
East
Gothic · Crimean Gothic · Vandalic · Burgundian
West
Old Saxon · Middle Low German · Old High German · Middle High German · Old Frankish · Old Dutch · Middle Dutch · Old Frisian · Middle Frisian · Old English · Middle English · Early Scots · Middle Scots · Lombardic · Yola
Modern languages
Afrikaans · Alemannic · Danish · Dutch · English · Faroese · German · Gutnish · Icelandic · Limburgish · Low German · Luxembourgish · North Frisian · Norwegian · Saterland Frisian · Scots · Swedish · Vilamovian · West Frisian · Yiddish
Diachronic features
Grimm's law · Verner's law · Holtzmann's law · Sievers' law · Germanic substrate hypothesis · West Germanic gemination · High German consonant shift · Germanic a-mutation · Germanic umlaut · Germanic spirant law · Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law · Great vowel shift
Synchronic features
Germanic verb · Germanic strong verb · Germanic weak verb · Preterite-present verb · Grammatischer Wechsel · Indo-European ablaut
Language histories
English (phonology) · Scots (phonology) · German · Dutch · Danish · Icelandic · Swedish
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