Home›Languages›Language Family (Classification)›GermanicLanguage FamilyGermanicEurasian Language FamiliesReference and ClassificationVerifiedGermanic 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.FactsGermanicConnectionsIn the Other AtlasesSourcesTake a Related QuizComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsRegionWell-attestedHistorically Scandinavia and northern Germany; today spoken worldwide, chiefly in Europe, North America, Oceania and southern Africa 1Speaker CountWell-attested515,000,000 1Combined native speakers of all Germanic languages; English alone accounts for roughly 360-400 million of the total.Proto-Language StatusWell-attestedDescends from Proto-Germanic (Common Germanic), an unattested reconstructed proto-language, thought to have been spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia and northern Germany. 1GermanicFilter Results11 entriesRegionAllFaroe Islands (1)Iceland (1)Norway (1)Sweden and Finland (1)The Netherlands, Belgium, Suriname, France (Nord) (1)Western Europe (1)StatusAllExtinct (2)Living (9)Speaker Count BandAll0.000000 (1)69000.000000 (1)390000.000000 (1)400000.000000 (1)4320000.000000 (1)5500000.000000 (1)10000000.000000 (1)25000000.000000 (1)135000000.000000 (1)1500000000.000000 (1)Script UsedAllLatin Script (11)Runic Alphabet (Elder Futhark) (2)Younger Futhark (1)Period Start YearAll450 (2)765 (1)800 (2)801 (1)1001 (1)1100 (1)1225 (1)1301 (1)1829 (1)Descends FromAllAfrican American Vernacular English (1)Australian English (1)Austrian German (1)Bavarian German (1)Brabantian (1)Canadian English (1)Cockney (1)Flemish (1)Geordie (1)Hiberno-English (1)Indian English (1)Jamaican Patois (1)New Zealand English (1)Newfoundland English (1)Nigerian English (1)Received Pronunciation (1)Scanian (1)Scottish English (1)Scouse (1)Singlish (1)South African English (1)Southern American English (1)Swabian German (1)Swiss German (1)Upper Saxon German (1)Welsh English (1)Yorkshire Dialect (1)Language KindAllExtinct (2)Safe (7)Vulnerable (1)Official StatusAllNational Language (Symbolic, Not Sole Official) (1)No Official Status (2)Official Language (8)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 11DanishGermanicDutchGermanicEnglishGermanicFaroeseGermanicGermanGermanicIcelandicGermanicLuxembourgishGermanicNorwegianGermanicOld EnglishGermanicOld NorseGermanicSwedishGermanicConnectionsAncestor OfNorth Germanic, Language Families Well-attested North Germanic (Scandinavian) groups Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese, one of the three traditional branches of Germanic.West Germanic, Language Families Well-attested West Germanic groups English, German, Dutch and their relatives, one of the three traditional branches of Germanic alongside North and East Germanic.In FamilyIndo-European, Language Families Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Germanic Languagestier 2IncludesDanish, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Danish Languagetier 2Dutch, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Dutch Languagetier 2English, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Germanic Languagestier 2Faroese, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Faroese Languagetier 2German, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Germanic Languagestier 2Icelandic, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Icelandic Languagetier 2Luxembourgish, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Luxembourgish Languagetier 2Norwegian, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Norwegian Languagetier 2Old English, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Old Englishtier 2Old Norse, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Germanic Languagestier 2Swedish, Languages Well-attested Source Wikipedia: Swedish Languagetier 2In the Other AtlasesIncludesAnglo-SaxonsAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Ashkenazi JewsAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.EnglishAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.FranksAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.FrenchAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.GermanAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Germanic PeoplesAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.GothicAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Middle EnglishAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Modern EnglishAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Modern GermanAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.NorseAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Old EnglishAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Old NorseAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Proto-GermanicAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Proto-Indo-EuropeanAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.SaxonsAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.West GermanicAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.YiddishAlso in Divinity Atlas: included in this subject.Found InAfricaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Source Wikipedia: Germanic LanguagesLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articleThe Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, Northern America, Oceania, and Southern Africa.EuropeAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Source Wikipedia: Germanic LanguagesLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articleThe Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, Northern America, Oceania, and Southern Africa.North AmericaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.OceaniaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Source Wikipedia: Germanic LanguagesLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articleThe Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, Northern America, Oceania, and Southern Africa.ScandinaviaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Source Wikipedia: Germanic LanguagesLead sentence 3tier 2Quote, Lead sentence 3All Germanic languages are derived from Proto-Germanic, spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia, Iron Age Northern Germany and along the North Sea and Baltic coasts.Southern AfricaAlso in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.Source Wikipedia: Germanic LanguagesLead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articletier 2Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia articleThe Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, Northern America, Oceania, and Southern Africa.Sources1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languagestier 2Wikimedia FoundationIntroductionThe Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family.Proto-language sectionAll Germanic languages are derived from Proto-Germanic, spoken in Iron Age Scandinavia, Iron Age Northern Germany.Geographic distribution sectionSpeaker population sectionIncludes: German, Major branches sectionIncludes: English, Major branches sectionIncludes: Old Norse, Major branches sectionView the SourceWikidata: GermanicWikidata Q21200, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the SourceWikipedia: Dutch Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Dutch, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Dutch, Infobox, Language familyTop family: Indo-European; immediate parent branch: West Germanic.View the SourceWikipedia: Old Englishtier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Old English, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Old English, Infobox, Language familyLanguage family, per infobox: Indo-European, Germanic, West Germanic.View the SourceWikipedia: Swedish Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Swedish, Article textQuote, Includes: Swedish, Article textSwedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages.View the SourceWikipedia: Norwegian Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Norwegian, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Norwegian, Infobox, Language familyTop family: Indo-European; immediate branch: North Germanic languages (within Germanic languages).View the SourceWikipedia: Danish Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Danish, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Danish, Infobox, Language familyTop family: Indo-European; immediate branch: North Germanic (within Germanic languages).View the SourceWikipedia: Icelandic Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Icelandic, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Icelandic, Infobox, Language familyTop family: Indo-European languages; immediate branch: North Germanic languages.View the SourceWikipedia: Luxembourgish Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Luxembourgish, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Luxembourgish, Infobox, Language familyGermanicView the SourceWikipedia: Faroese Languagetier 2Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Faroese, Infobox, Language familyQuote, Includes: Faroese, Infobox, Language familyGermanicView the SourceTake a Related QuizHow Sure Are We? Reconstructing the World's Language FamiliesIncludes a question about Germanic.Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.