West Germanic languages

The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of
languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). West Germanic
Geographic Originally between the Rhine,
The three most prevalent West Germanic languages are English, German, and Dutch. The family also includes distribution Alps, Elbe, and North Sea;
other High and Low German languages including Afrikaans and Yiddish (which are daughter languages of today worldwide
Dutch and German, respectively), in addition to other Franconian languages, like Luxembourgish, and
Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) languages next to English, such as the Frisian languages and Scots. Linguistic Indo-European
Additionally, several creoles, patois, and pidgins are based on Dutch, English and German as they were classification
Germanic
languages of colonial empires.
West Germanic
Subdivisions North Sea Germanic – English,

Contents Scots, Frisian, Low German

Weser-Rhine Germanic –
History German (Franconian), Dutch,
Origins Afrikaans
Existence of a West Germanic proto-language
Elbe Germanic – German
The reconstruction of Proto-West-Germanic
(Alemannic, Bavarian),
Dating Early West Germanic
Luxembourgish, Hunsrik, Yiddish
Middle Ages
ISO 639-5 gmw
Family tree
Linguasphere 52-AB & 52-AC
Comparison of phonological and morphological features
Phonology Glottolog west2793 (http://glottolog.or
g/resource/languoid/id/west27
Morphology
93)[1]
Nouns
West Germanic vocabulary
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links

History

Origins

The West Germanic languages share many lexemes not existing in North Germanic or East Germanic—
archaisms as well as common neologisms.
Extent of Germanic languages in present day
Existence of a West Germanic proto-language Europe

Most scholars doubt that there was a Proto-West-Germanic proto-language common to the West Germanic North Germanic languages
languages and no others, though a few maintain that Proto-West-Germanic existed.[2] Most agree that after East
Germanic broke off (an event usually dated to the 2nd or 1st century BC), the remaining Germanic languages, Icelandic
the Northwest Germanic languages, divided into four main dialects:[3] North Germanic, and the three groups Faroese
conventionally called "West Germanic", namely Norwegian

1. North Sea Germanic, ancestral to Anglo-Frisian and Old Saxon Swedish

2. Weser-Rhine Germanic, ancestral to Low Franconian and the Central German dialects of Old Danish
High German
3. Elbe Germanic, ancestral to the Upper German dialects of Old High German and the extinct West Germanic languages
Langobardic language.
Scots
Although there is quite a bit of knowledge about North Sea Germanic or Anglo-Frisian (due to characteristic English
features of its daughter languages, Anglo-Saxon/Old English and Old Frisian), linguists know almost nothing
about "Weser-Rhine Germanic" and "Elbe Germanic". In fact, these two terms were coined in the 1940s to refer Frisian
to groups of archaeological findings rather than linguistic features. Only later were these terms applied to Dutch
hypothetical dialectal differences within both regions. Even today, the very small number of Migration Period Low German
runic inscriptions from this area—many of them illegible, unclear or consisting only of one word, often a name
German
—is insufficient to identify linguistic features specific to the two supposed dialect groups.
Dots indicate areas where multilingualism is
Evidence that East Germanic split off before the split between North and West Germanic comes from a number common.
of linguistic innovations common to North and West Germanic,[4] including:

The lowering of Proto-Germanic ē (/ɛː/, also written ǣ) to ā.[5]

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 necessarily inherited from
a "Proto-West-Germanic" language, but may have 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, whereas in North Germanic the shortening occurred first, resulting in e that later
merged with i. However, there are also a number of common archaisms in West Germanic shared by neither Old Norse nor Gothic. Some authors who support the
concept of a West Germanic proto-language claim that not only shared innovations can require the existence of a linguistic clade but that there can be also
archaisms that cannot be explained simply as retentions later lost in the North or East because this assumption can produce contradictions with attested features of
these other branches.

The debate on the existence of a Proto-West-Germanic clade was recently summarized:

That North Germanic is .. a unitary subgroup [of Proto-Germanic] is completely obvious, as all of its dialects shared a long series of innovations,
some of them very striking. That the same is true of West Germanic has been denied, but I will argue in vol. ii that all the West Germanic languages
share several highly unusual innovations that virtually force us to posit a West Germanic clade. On the other hand, the internal subgrouping of both
North Germanic and West Germanic is very messy, and it seems clear that each of those subfamilies diversified into a network of dialects that
remained in contact for a considerable period of time (in some cases right up to the present).[6]

The reconstruction of Proto-West-Germanic

Several scholars have published reconstructions of Proto-West-Germanic morphological paradigms[7] and many authors have reconstructed individual Proto-West-
Germanic morphological forms or lexemes. The first comprehensive reconstruction of the Proto-West-Germanic language was published in 2013 by Wolfram
Euler.[8]

Dating Early West Germanic

If indeed Proto-West-Germanic existed, it must have been between the 2nd and 4th centuries. Until the late 2nd century AD, the language of runic inscriptions
found in Scandinavia and in Northern Germany were so similar that Proto-North-Germanic and the Western dialects in the south were still part of one language
("Proto-Northwest-Germanic"). After that, the split into West and North Germanic occurred. By the 4th and 5th centuries the great migration set in which probably
helped diversify the West Germanic family even more.

It has been argued that, judging by their nearly identical syntax, the West Germanic dialects were closely enough related to have been mutually intelligible up to
the 7th century.[9] Over the course of this period, the dialects diverged successively. The High German consonant shift that occurred mostly during the 7th century
AD in what is now southern Germany, Austria, and Switzerland can be considered the end of the linguistic unity among the West Germanic dialects, although its
effects on their own should not be overestimated. Bordering dialects very probably continued to be mutually intelligible even beyond the boundaries of the
consonant shift. In fact, many dialects of Limburgish and Ripuarian are still mutually intelligible today.

Middle Ages

During the Early Middle Ages, the West Germanic languages were separated by the insular development of Old and Middle English on one hand, and by the High
German consonant 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, whereas 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 Angles and Saxons, two Germanic tribes, in combination with a number of other peoples from northern Germany and
the Jutland Peninsula, particularly the Jutes, settled in Britain following the end of Roman rule in the island. Once in Britain, these Germanic peoples eventually
developed a shared cultural and linguistic identity as Anglo-Saxons; the extent of the linguistic influence of the native Romano-British population on the incomers
is debatable.

Family tree
Note that divisions between subfamilies of continental
Germanic languages are rarely precisely defined; most form
dialect continua, with adjacent dialects being mutually
intelligible and more separated ones not.

North Sea Germanic / Ingvaeonic languages

Anglo-Frisian languages
English Languages/Anglic
English
Scots
Yola (extinct)
Grouping of the main Germanic languages, including historical dialects, according to Friedrich Maurer.
Fingalian (extinct)
Frisian languages
 West Frisian
East Frisian
North Frisian
Low German / Low Saxon
Northern Low Saxon
Schleswig dialects
Holstein dialects
Westphalian
Eastphalia dialects
Brandenburg dialects ("Märkisch")
Pommeranian (moribund)
Low Prussian (moribund)
Dutch Low Saxon
Weser-Rhine Germanic / Istvaeonic languages
Dutch
West Flemish
East Flemish
Zeelandic
Hollandic
Brabantine
East Dutch (Zuid-Gelders/Clevian)
Afrikaans
Limburgian
Elbe Germanic / Irminonic languages / High German
German
Alemannic, including Swiss German and Alsatian
Swabian
Austro-Bavarian
East Franconian
South Franconian
Rhine Franconian, including the dialects of Hessen, Pennsylvania German, and most of those from Lorraine
Ripuarian
Thuringian
Upper Saxon German
Silesian (moribund)
Lombardic aka Langobardic (extinct, unless Cimbrian and Mocheno are in fact Langobardic remnants.)
High Prussian (moribund)
Luxembourgish
Pennsylvania German language
Yiddish (a language based on Eastern-Central dialects of late Middle High German/Early New High German)

Comparison of phonological and morphological features

The following table shows a list of various linguistic features and their extent among the West Germanic languages. Some may only appear in the older languages
but are no longer apparent in the modern languages.

Old Central Old Upper

Old English Old Frisian Old Saxon Old Dutch
German German
Palatalisation of velars Yes Yes No No No No
Unrounding of front rounded vowels Yes Yes No No No No
Loss of intervocalic *-h- Yes Yes Developing Yes Developing No
Class II weak verb ending *-(ō)ja- Yes Yes Sometimes No No No
Merging of plural forms of verbs Yes Yes Yes No No No
Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law Yes Yes Yes Rare No No
Loss of the reflexive pronoun Yes Yes Most dialects Most dialects No No
Loss of final *-z in single-syllable words Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Reduction of weak class III to four relics Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
Monophthongization of *ai, *au Yes Yes Yes Usually Partial Partial
Diphthongization of *ē, *ō No No Rare Yes Yes Yes
Final-obstruent devoicing No No No Yes Developing No
Loss of initial *h- before consonant No No No Yes Yes Developing
Loss of initial *w- before consonant No No No No Most dialects Yes
High German consonant shift No No No No Partial Yes
Phonology
The original vowel system of West Germanic was similar to that of Proto-Germanic; note however the lowering of the long front vowels.

Monophthong phonemes of West Germanic

Front Central Back
unrounded unrounded rounded
short long short long short long
Close i iː u uː
Mid e eː o oː
Open æ: a aː

The consonant system was also essentially the same as that of Proto-Germanic. Note, however, the particular changes described above, as well as West Germanic
gemination.

Morphology

Nouns

The noun paradigms of Proto-West Germanic have been reconstructed as follows:[10]

Nouns in -a- (m.) Nouns in -ja- Nouns in -ija- Nouns in -a- (n.) Nouns in -ō- Nouns in -i- Nouns in -u- No
Case
Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Sin
Nominative *dagă *dagō, *harjă *harjō, *hirdijă *hirdijō, *suniwi,
*gebu *gebō *gasti *gastī *sunu
Vocative *dag -ōs *hari -ōs *hirdī -ijōs *joką *joku -ō *fe
Accusative *dagą *dagą̄ *harją *harją̄ *hirdiją *hirdiją̄ *gebā *gebā *gastį *gast ̄ *sunų *sunų̄
Genitive *dagas *dagō *harjas *harjō *hirdijas *hirdijō *jokas *jokō *gebā *gebō *gastijō *sunō *suniwō *fe
*suniwi, - *fe
Dative *dagē *harjē *hirdijē *jokē *gebē *gastī
*dagum *harjum *hirdijum *jokum *gebōm *gastim ō *sunum ō
Instrumental *dagu *harju *hirdiju *joku *gebu *sunu *fe

West Germanic vocabulary

The following table compares a number of Frisian, English, Dutch and German words with common West Germanic (or older) origin. The grammatical gender of
each term is noted as masculine (m.), feminine (f.), or neuter (n.) where relevant.
 West Old High
English Dutch German Old English Proto-West-Germanic[11] Proto-Germanic
Frisian German
kąbă [see inscription of Erfurt-
kaam comb kam m. Kamm m. camb m. camb m. *kambaz m.
Frienstedt], *kambă m.
dei day dag m. Tag m. dæġ m. tag m. *dagă m. *dagaz m.
Regen
rein rain regen m. reġn m. regan m. *regnă m. *regnaz m.
m.
wei way weg m. Weg m. weġ m. weg m. *wegă m. *wegaz m.
neil nail nagel m. Nagel m. næġel m. nagal m. *naglă m. *naglaz m.
*kāsijaz m. (late Proto-Germanic, from
tsiis cheese kaas m. Käse m. ċēse, ċīese m. chāsi, kāsi m. *kāsī m.
Latin cāseus)
church
chirihha, *kirikǭ f. (from Ancient Greek kuriakón
tsjerke kirk kerk f.,m. Kirche f. ċiriċe f. *kirikā f.
*kirihha f. "belonging to the lord")
(Scotland)
sibbe sippa f., Old *sibjō f. "relationship, kinship,
sibbe sibling[note 1] Sippe f. sibb f. "kinship, peace" sibbju, sibbjā f.
f./m. Saxon: sibbia friendship"
sleutel Schlüssel cǣġ(e), cǣga f. "key, solution, *slutilaz m. "key"; *kēgaz, *kēguz f.
kaai f. key sluzzil m. *slutilă m., *kēgă f.
m. m. experiment" "stake, post, pole"
ben bin
ha west have been
geweest gewesen
twee
twa zwei
two sheep schapen twā sċēap n. zwei scāfa n. *twai skēpu n. *twai(?) skēpō n.
skiep Schafe n.
n.
hawwe have hebben haben habban, hafian habēn *habbjană *habjaną
ús us ons uns ūs uns *uns *uns
brēad n. "fragment, bit, morsel, *braudą n. "cooked food, leavened
brea bread brood n. Brot n. brōt n. *braudă m.
crumb" also "bread" bread"
hier hair haar n. Haar n. hēr, hǣr n. hār n. *hǣră n. *hērą n.
ear ear oor n. Ohr n. ēare n. < pre-English *ǣora ōra n. *aura < *auza n. *auzǭ, *ausōn n.
doar door deur f. Tür f. duru f. turi f. *duru f. *durz f.
grien green groen grün grēne gruoni *grōnĭ *grōniz
s(w)uozi (<
swiet sweet zoet süß swēte *swōtŭ *swōtuz
*swōti)
troch through door durch þurh duruh *þurhw
wiet wet nat nass wǣt naz (< *nat) *wǣtă / *nată *wētaz / *nataz
each eye oog n. Auge n. ēaġe n. < pre-English *ǣoga ouga n. *auga n. *augō n.
droom drēam m. "joy, pleasure,
dream dream Traum m. troum m. *draumă m. *draumaz (< *draugmaz) m.
m. ecstasy, music, song"
stien stone steen m. Stein m. stān m. stein m. *staină m. *stainaz m.
bed bed bed n. Bett n. bedd n. betti n. *badjă n. *badją n.

Other words, with a variety of origins:

West Proto-West-
English Dutch German Old English Old High German Proto-Germanic
Frisian Germanic[11]
tōgædere
samen saman *tōgadur
tegearre together zusammen samen
tezamen zisamane *samana
tōsamne
paard n.
Pferd n. / Ross hors n. eoh (h)ros n. / pfarifrit n. / ehu- (in
hynder horse ros n. *hrussă n. / *ehu m. *hrussą n., *ehwaz m.
n. m. compositions)
(dated)

Note that some of the shown similarities of Frisian and English vis-à-vis Dutch and German are secondary and not due to a closer relationship between them. For
example, the plural of the word for "sheep" was originally unchanged in all four languages and still is in some Dutch dialects and a great deal of German dialects.
Many other similarities, however, are indeed old inheritances.

Notes
1. Original meaning "relative" has become "brother or sister" in English.

References
1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds.
(2017). "West Germanic" (http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/we
st2793). Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the
Science of Human History.
2. Robinson (1992): p. 17-18
3. Kuhn, Hans (1955–56). "Zur Gliederung der germanischen
Sprachen". Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum und deutsche Literatur.
86: 1–47.
4. Robinson, Orrin W. (1992). Old English and Its Closest Relatives.
Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2221-8.
5. But see Cercignani, Fausto, Indo-European ē in Germanic, in
«Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung», 86/1, 1972, pp.
104–110.
6. Ringe, Don. 2006: A Linguistic History of English. Volume I. From
Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic, Oxford University Press, p.
213-214.
 7. H. F. Nielsen (1981, 2001), G. Klingenschmitt (2002) and K.-H. 9. Graeme Davis (2006:154) notes "the languages of the Germanic
Mottausch (1998, 2011) group in the Old period are much closer than has previously been
8. Wolfram Euler: Das Westgermanische – von der Herausbildung im 3. noted. Indeed it would not be inappropriate to regard them as
bis zur Aufgliederung im 7. Jahrhundert — Analyse und dialects of one language. They are undoubtedly far closer one to
Rekonstruktion (West Germanic: From its Emergence in the 3rd another than are the various dialects of modern Chinese, for
Century to its Split in the 7th Century: Analyses and Reconstruction). example. A reasonable modern analogy might be Arabic, where
244 p., in German with English summary, London/Berlin 2013, considerable dialectical diversity exists but within the concept of a
ISBN 978-3-9812110-7-8. 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.
10. Ringe and Taylor. The Development of Old English. Oxford
University Press. pp. 114–115.
11. sources: Ringe, Don / Taylor, Ann (2014) and Euler, Wolfram (2013),
passim.

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External links
Germanic languages (https://curlie.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Languages/Natural/Indo-European/Germanic/) at Curlie

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