What Are the Germanic Languages?

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You in all probability know that German is a Germanic language—in spite of everything, it’s proper there within the identify! However what different languages are thought-about Germanic, and what places them in that class? 

Be taught all in regards to the Germanic department of the language household tree, the way it took place, and why Germanic languages can generally sound a bit Romantic.

What’s a Germanic language?

Germanic languages all come from German, however not the German language you’re used to listening to in the present day. They arrive from a typical Proto-Germanic ancestor within the Indo-European language household. 

Linguists date this frequent language to as early as 200 C.E., with completely different Germanic languages forming in varied areas between 700 and 1500 C.E.

Most of those languages continued to adapt previous 1500 C.E., with fashionable languages discovering grammatical and vocabulary roots in these ancestral tongues. Previous Dutch turned Center Dutch (1150-1600 C.E.), for instance, and Previous English turned Center English (1050-1600 C.E.). Previous Norse diverged into a number of dialects within the 14th century, together with Previous Norwegian and Previous Icelandic.

What number of Germanic languages are there?

All advised, you’ll discover 11 fashionable Germanic languages spoken by almost 1.7 billion individuals on the planet—near one-quarter of the world’s inhabitants! Although they might appear completely different at first, their frequent roots and grammatical parts carry these languages collectively.

What fashionable languages are Germanic?

Many languages utilized in Northern European nations are Germanic or have been closely influenced by the Germanic language. English is a Germanic language, for instance, as are Swedish, Dutch, and Norwegian. 

1. English

If you happen to can learn this, you may learn probably the most generally spoken Germanic language (and probably the most generally spoken language on the planet). Greater than 1.5 billion individuals communicate English as a primary or second language!

English comes from Previous English, which break up from Proto-Germanic after the Fifth-century Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. It additionally integrated a robust French affect after the Norman conquest of 1066. Fashionable English dialects embody Scots, British English, Australian English, and American English.

Evaluate Previous English and Fashionable English phrases to their Proto-Germanic roots to see how they developed over centuries. 

2. German

You in all probability guessed that German is a Germanic language. It comes from Previous Excessive German, which was spoken in southern Germany till the twelfth century. At the moment, over 133 million communicate German.

Many fashionable German phrases are intently associated to their Proto-Germanic roots. Take the verb “give,” for instance—it maintains the identical spelling all through German linguistic historical past. Additionally, all nouns are capitalized in German, which isn’t the case in different Germanic languages.

3. Dutch

Dutch is near each German and English. It comes from Previous Dutch, one other Proto-Germanic descendant language, and Low Frankish, which influenced modern-day French.

Round 23 million individuals communicate Dutch in the present day, together with individuals who communicate Flemish—a French-influenced dialect of Dutch spoken in northern Belgium. 

4. Afrikaans

Over 8 million individuals communicate Afrikaans, primarily in South Africa. Afrikaans is a Creole language, which suggests it comes from a mix of languages together with Dutch, Malay, Indonesian, Portuguese, and dialects from neighboring areas.

Afrikaans is most much like fashionable Dutch, which was delivered to Africa by Dutch explorers and settlers within the seventeenth century. Check out a couple of frequent Afrikaans phrases, which look much like their mom language of Dutch.

5. Swedish

Do you know that Swedish and English are associated? They’re, due to their frequent Proto-Germanic ancestor. Swedish and its Scandinavian cousins, Norwegian and Danish, come from dialects of Previous Norse spoken by Vikings within the ninth and tenth centuries.

There are round 8 million Swedish audio system in and round Sweden in the present day. Although Swedish could not sound precisely like English or German, you’ll discover that a lot of its vocabulary and grammar is much like different North Germanic languages.

6. Danish

Like different Scandinavian or Nordic languages, Danish comes from Previous Norse. At the moment, you’ll discover almost 6 million Danish audio system in Denmark and Greenland.

Though Danish comes from Previous Norse, it contains many influences from each German and English within the final 500 years. Its phrase for “king” resembles the German König, whereas the Dutch phrase for “give” seems similar to the English give.

7. Norwegian

Norway is house to virtually 6 million Norwegian audio system in the present day, although many audio system additionally reside in neighboring Denmark and Sweden. Norwegian is intently associated to Danish resulting from their shared roots in Previous Norse. 

Like English, Norwegian combines smaller phrases to type compound nouns. However in Norwegian, you may add as much as 4 phrases to create a compound phrase! That results in some lengthy phrases, resembling Menneskerettighetserklæring (“declaration of human rights”) and Hovedstadspostkontorer (“capital put up workplaces”).

8. Yiddish

Yiddish is a Germanic language spoken primarily by descendants of Ashkenazic Jews from Germany and Northern Europe. At the moment, round 600,000 individuals communicate Yiddish worldwide, together with 250,000 Yiddish audio system in america. 

Like German and Dutch, Yiddish comes from Previous Excessive German. However in contrast to different Germanic languages, Yiddish makes use of the Hebrew writing system as an alternative of the Latin alphabet. If you already know Hebrew and English, studying Yiddish will not be troublesome for you!

9. Frisian

Frisian is derived from Previous Frisian, an early Proto-Germanic descendent. Round 400,000 Frisian audio system reside within the province of Friesland, positioned within the northern Netherlands. 

Although a number of Frisian dialects existed within the area’s historical past, West Frisian is the first dialect now. Frisian can be the closest language to English in the present day. Its related pronunciation and sentence construction make it easy for English audio system to choose up!

10. Icelandic

Round 380,000 individuals communicate Icelandic in the present day. It’s derived from Previous Norse, like Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian, and is spoken primarily in Iceland.

This Germanic language is extra intently associated to its Previous Norse roots than different Scandinavian and Nordic languages. Check out the similarities between Previous Norse and Fashionable Icelandic in these phrases:

11. Faroese

About 75,000 individuals communicate the Faroese language in Denmark and the Faroe Islands ( positioned between Iceland and Norway). Faroese, pronounced “fair-oh-EEZ,” is one other Germanic language derived from Previous Norse. 

Faroese could sound acquainted to those that communicate Icelandic or Norwegian. However Faroese has one other language supply: Gaelic, which was current on the Faroe Islands earlier than Vikings arrived within the ninth century. Gaelic audio system may hear a couple of related phrases and pronunciations on a go to to this area!

How are Germanic languages related?

Although these fashionable languages have had many influences and modifications within the final two millennia, it’s simple to see how related they nonetheless are. Linguists divide Germanic languages into two important classes: West Germanic languages and North Germanic languages. East Germanic languages, which embody Gothic, Burgundian, and Vandalic, haven’t been broadly spoken because the seventeenth century and are actually thought-about extinct.

West Germanic languages checklist

From the preliminary Proto-Germanic language, six West Germanic languages are nonetheless spoken in the present day. These languages come from the North Sea and Rhine-Weser area and are derived from Previous English, Previous Excessive German, Previous Dutch, and Previous Frisian. Many phrases and grammatical patterns are very related throughout these languages.

North Germanic languages checklist

North Germanic languages are spoken in present-day Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). Derived from Previous Norse, these languages are associated to their West Germanic counterparts in construction and syntax, with a number of familiar-sounding vocabulary phrases in every language.

Although North Germanic languages are related, talking every one with the right pronunciation is vital. Options just like the TruAccent speech recognition engine from Rosetta Stone make it simple to sound like an area if you observe a brand new dialect. 

Why do Germanic languages have Latin phrases?

Germanic languages could come from the identical supply, however their vocabulary isn’t restricted to German nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Many Germanic languages share vocabulary and an alphabet with Latin-based Romance languages like French, Italian, and Spanish due to the enlargement of the Roman Empire in Europe. 

Like Germanic languages, Romance languages are within the Indo-European language household, and so they started to type across the similar time (500 C.E.). Many nations that may later undertake Germanic languages spoke Latin first. Roman troops introduced Latin to Germany round 55 B.C., for instance, and Latin arrived in England within the first century C.E. 

By the point Anglo-Saxon troops settled in several areas in Northern and Western Europe, many Latin phrases had already develop into frequent vernacular. Latin phrases re-entered many Germanic languages in the course of the Renaissance as nicely.

Germanic languages tie our historical past collectively

Taking up the duty of studying German doesn’t imply you’ll know each Germanic language, nevertheless it’s an excellent begin. So many parts of each Germanic language tie intently collectively, making them a fantastic place to begin for a language-learning journey. 

If English is your solely language (thus far), Dutch or Norwegian could also be good languages to study subsequent. Those that know Danish could discover it simple to choose up Swedish, whereas German audio system could attempt their hand at studying Yiddish. With Rosetta Stone, the selection—and the journey—is yours!