Language Families
Germanic
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Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European family that divides into West Germanic (English, German, Dutch, Afrikaans and others), North Germanic (Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese and their common ancestor Old Norse) and the now-extinct East Germanic branch, whose sole well-attested member is Gothic. All Germanic languages descend from Proto-Germanic, reconstructed as having been spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia and northern Germany. Today the branch has roughly 515 million native speakers, with English alone accounting for 360 to 400 million of them.
Facts
RegionHistorically Scandinavia and northern Germany; today spoken worldwide, chiefly in Europe, North America, Oceania and southern Africa 1 Speaker CountCombined native speakers of all Germanic languages; English alone accounts for roughly 360-400 million of the total. Proto-Language StatusDescends from Proto-Germanic (Common Germanic), an unattested reconstructed proto-language, thought to have been spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia and northern Germany. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
WikipediaIntroductionQuote, Introduction
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family.
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
WikipediaProto-language sectionQuote, Proto-language section
All Germanic languages are derived from Proto-Germanic, spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia, Iron Age Northern Germany.
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
Wikipedia: Dutch Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Dutch, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Dutch, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Indo-European; immediate parent branch: West Germanic.
Wikipedia: Old English
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Old English, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Old English, Infobox, Language family
Language family, per infobox: Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic.
Wikipedia: Swedish Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Swedish, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Swedish, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Indo-European languages; immediate branch: North Germanic languages.
Wikipedia: Norwegian Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Norwegian, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Norwegian, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Indo-European; immediate branch: North Germanic languages (within Germanic languages).
Wikipedia: Danish Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Danish, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Danish, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Indo-European; immediate branch: North Germanic (within Germanic languages).
Wikipedia: Icelandic Language
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Icelandic, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Icelandic, Infobox, Language family
Top family: Indo-European languages; immediate branch: North Germanic languages.
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