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North Sea Germanic

Eurasian Language Families

North Sea Germanic, also known as Ingvaeonic, is a subgrouping of West Germanic languages consisting of Old Frisian, Old English and Old Saxon, and their descendants. These languages share a number of commonalities, including a single plural ending for all persons of the verb, the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, common changes to the Germanic vowel a, and a plural form -as, features that lead scholars to treat them as a distinct group within West Germanic.

Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language Status
Whether the shared features of North Sea Germanic come from a genuine common proto-language or instead arose through later language contact and mutual influence among neighboring dialects is itself an open scholarly debate. 1
Region
Originally the North Sea coast from Friesland to Jutland; its descendant languages are spoken worldwide today. 1
Sources
1. Wikipedia: North Sea Germanic
Wikimedia Foundation
  • infobox, region field
    Originally the North Sea coast from Friesland to Jutland; today, worldwide
  • Classification section
    It is debated whether the shared features of North Sea Germanic are inherited from a common proto-language or formed through later contact and influence.
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