English included in the widespread and a large group called the Germanic languages.In this article we look at it in detail.In turn, this branch includes an even larger - European languages.These include, in addition to German, and others - the Hittite, Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Greek, Celtic, Roman, Slavic, and so on.Indo-European languages, in such a way - a broad coalition.
However, we are interested in the family has its own classification.Germanic languages are divided into the following two groups: the northern (otherwise known as the Scandinavian) and western.All of them have their own characteristics.
sometimes isolated Roman-Germanic languages.These include the German and Romance (dating back to the Latin).
Yayki West subgroups
in West include Dutch, Frisian, High German, English, Flemish, Boer, Yiddish.
For the majority of the population of Great Britain - Northern Ireland, Scotland and England - as well as the US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, is a native English.In addition, it is common in Pakistan, India, South Africa as an official means of communication.
Frisian popular in the North Sea - is spoken by people living in Frislandskie island.Literary its variety has its basis zapadnofrizskie dialects.
native language to residents of Austria, Germany and Switzerland is High German.It is also used in the north German city population as a literary.Rural residents of these areas are still talking to "platdoyche 'or Low German dialect - special dialect, which in the Middle Ages was the language.It was created folk literature.
Dutch - native people of the Netherlands.
Modern Germanic languages include Boer, also known as the "Afrikaans", which is widespread in South Africa, in a large territory.This close to the Dutch language spoken Afrikaners, or Boers - descendants of Dutch colonists who fled their homeland in the 17th century.
Flemish very close to him.He said the population of Belgium, the northern part, and the Netherlands (in some areas).Along with Flemish Belgium French is the official means of communication.
Yiddish - formed in 10-12 centuries, the language spoken by the Jews of Eastern Europe.The basis of it - Middle High German dialects.
Language North German subgroup
They belong to the North German German following languages: Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish.
Last - native to the coastal population of Finland (which moved into the distant past, tribal representatives drevneshvedskih) and the Swedish people.Of today's dialects stands out for its features gutnichesky, where the population speaks the island of Gotland.Swedish today consists of a written and arranged in accordance with the German words in English.The active dictionary it is not very large.
Danish - native to the Danish people, who was also in the course of several centuries literary and official language of Norway, which, as we know, was part of the late 14th century and until 1814 a part of the Danish state.
Danish and Swedish, close in the past, is now significantly diverged, sometimes they are combined into a special subgroup of the so-called vostochnoskandinavskih adverbs.
Norwegian language, which is native to the people of Norway, distributed in this country.Its development was delayed greatly influenced by historical conditions as citizens of the state were forced to live under the rule of the Danes almost 400 years.Today, in this country there is a formation of the Norwegian language, common to the whole nation, according to its characteristics occupy a position intermediate between the Danish and Swedish.
population of Iceland speaks Icelandic.The ancestors of the inhabitants of this island country was the Norwegians who settled in the area as early as the 10th century.Icelandic language, developing their own for almost a millennium, has acquired a number of new features, and has retained many properties characteristic of Old Norse.At the same time the modern means of communication inhabitants of the country of fjords has lost much of these features.All these processes have meant that the difference between Icelandic (novoislandskimi) and Norwegian languages are very much at the moment.
Faroese exists today in the Faroe Islands, which are located to the north of the Shetland Islands.He retained, as well as Iceland and other language groups, many features dialect of their ancestors - Old Norse, which subsequently broke.
Faroese, Icelandic and Norwegian combined sometimes one family on the basis of their origin.It's called zapadnoskandinavskie languages.But today, the facts suggest that in the current state of the Norwegian is much closer to the Danish and Swedish than to the Faroese and Icelandic.
Early information about the Germanic tribes
history of Germanic languages studied in some detail today.The first mention of the Germans belong to the 4th century BC.Provide information about them is a traveler and geographer Pytheas astronomer (or Pytheas), a Greek resident of Massilia (which is now called Marcel).He made about 325 BC.e.a great trip to the Amber coast, located, apparently, at the mouth of the Elbe, as well as the southern shores of the North and Baltic Seas.In its report Pytheas mentions guttonov tribes and the Teutons.Their names say clearly that these people - the old Germanic.
Posts Plutarch and Caesar
next mention of the Germans considered the message of Plutarch, the Greek historian who lived in the 1-2 century AD.He wrote about Bastarnae appearing on the lower Danube, around 180 BC.e.But this information is very sketchy, so do not give us an idea of the language and way of life of the Germanic tribes.They are, according to Plutarch, do not know of any animal husbandry or agriculture.The war for these tribes - the only thing.
Julius Caesar was the first Roman author, described the Germans during the First N years.e.He says that their whole life is war and hunting lessons.They pay little attention to agriculture.
information Pliny the Elder
But the most valuable are the details of Pliny the Elder, a naturalist (years of life - 23-79 BC. E.), And Tacitus, the historian (years of life - 58-117 n. E.).In his works, "Annals" and "Germany" informs the last important information not only about the current classification of the tribes, but also about their way of life, culture, social system.Tacitus distinguishes 3 groups: istevony, Hermione and ingaevones.Pliny the Elder also mentioned the same group, but refers to the Teutons and Cimbri ingaevones.This classification is likely, quite accurately reflects the division in the 1st century BC.e.Germanic tribes.
old Germanic languages: classification
study of written records makes it possible to combine three subgroups of Germanic languages in the early Middle Ages: gothic (East German), Scandinavian (North Germany) and Western Europe.
To include East German Gothic, Vandal, and Burgundian.
Burgundy language
Burgundy - language immigrants from Burgundarholma (Bornholm) - Islands in the Baltic Sea.The Burgundians settled in south-eastern France in the 5th century, in the area that received the same name.This ancient Germanic language today has left us a small amount of words, mainly proper names.
Vandalic language
Vandal - adverb Vandals who settled later through Spain to North Africa, where they left behind the name of Andalusia (now the province).This language, as well as burgundy, represented mainly by proper names.Subsequently, the word "vandal" has become the destroyer of value of cultural monuments, a barbarian, as 455, these tribes looted and captured Rome.
Gothic language Gothic
language presented today several monuments.The largest extant - "Silver Scroll" - translation of the Gospels into Gothic.Preserved 187 of 330 pages of the manuscript.
Ancient West German languages
West Germanic language represented the Anglo-Saxon, drevnefrizskim, Saxon, Frankish, Old High German.Each of them has its own characteristics.
last of this family includes a number of dialects.Its most important monuments include the texts of the 8th century:
1. GLOSS - a small dictionary to a text written in Latin, or translations of individual words in German, written in the margins.
2. Translations of works of religious and classical literature by Notker, in the late 10th - early 11th century directed a monastery school.
3. Poem "Muspilli" (2nd half of the 9th century).
4. "Song of Ludwig."
5. "Merseburg spells."
6. "Song of Hildebrand".
Frankish language also has several dialects.Throughout history, they became part of the German, except Lower Frasnian, is the ancestor of the modern Dutch, Flemish and Boer.
North German group languages include Old Norse, Old Norse, Old Norse drevnedatsky and adverbs.They all have their own specific characteristics.
last of this language group is sometimes called the language of the runic inscriptions, as he presented a lot of them (about 150), relating to the period 2-9 centuries BC.e.
Drevnedatsky also preserved in relating to the 9th century runic monuments of epigraphy.In total there are about 400.
first monuments of Old Swedish are also 9th century AD.They are located in the province of Vesteretland and are inscriptions on the stones.The total number of runic inscriptions created in this language reaches 2500.
