Germanic languages

The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family. The largest Germanic languages are English and German, with ca. 340 and 120 million native speakers, respectively. Other significant languages includes a number of Low German languages including Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages (principally Danish, Norwegian and Swedish). The SIL Ethnologue lists 53 different Germanic languages and dialects.

Related Topics:
Indo-European (IE) language family - English - German - Low German languages - Dutch - Scandinavian languages - Danish - Norwegian - Swedish - SIL

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Their common ancestor is Common Germanic, probably spoken in the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age Northern Europe. Common Germanic, and all its descendants, is characterised by a number of unique linguistic features, most famously the consonant change known as Grimm's law. Early Germanic dialects enter history with the Germanic peoples who settled in northern Europe along the borders of the Roman Empire from the 2nd century.

Related Topics:
Common Germanic - 1st millennium BC - Iron Age Northern Europe - Consonant - Grimm's law - Germanic peoples - Roman Empire - 2nd century

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