35. Old North Germ. Lang-es.

Old Germ. lang-es (400 A.D./ 900 A.D.)

It took approximately 5 centuries for the Old Germ. lang-es (dialects) to form the features of individuality to be definitely distinguished from one another, with the East Germ. lang-es having died away by the time the North Germ. lang-es manifested features of differentiation.

West Germ.		East Germ.		North Germ.
OE	5^th c	Old Norwegian	8^th c	Gothic	3d-4^th c
Old Frisian	5^th c	Old Faroese	9^th c
Old Low Franconian	7^th c	Old Icelandic	9^th c
OHG	8^th c	Old Swedish	8^th c
Old Saxon	9^th c	Old Danish	9^th c

The development of the Germ. group was not confined to successive splits. It involved both linguistic divergence and convergence.

As a result of the expansion of the Germanic-speaking peoples, differences of dialect within Proto-Germanic became more marked, and we can distinguish three main branches or groups of dialects, namely North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic.

Proto-Germanic

West Germanic North Germanic East Germanic

To North Germanic belong the modern Scandinavian languages – Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Icelandic, Faroese and Gutnish (the language of the island of Gotland). The earliest recorded form of North Germanic (Old Norse) is found in runic inscriptions from about AD 300; and it is not until the Viking Age, from about AD 800 onwards, that it begins to break up into the dialects, which have developed into the modern Scandinavian languages. Here is the family tree for the North Germanic languages:

North Germanic (Old Norse)

West Scandinavian East Scandinavian

Icelandic Norwegian Faroese Danish Swedish Gutnish

Old North Germ. lang-es anf their written records (Hilleviones):

Old Norse or Old Scandinavian (2^nd – 3^rd c A.D.) – Futhark, runic inscriptions
Old Icelandic (12^th c A.D.)
Old Norwegian (13^th c A.D.)
Old Danish (13^th c A.D.)
Old Swedish (13^th c A.D.)

36. Old West Germ. Lang-es.

Old Germ. lang-es (400 A.D./ 900 A.D.)

West Germ.		East Germ.		North Germ.
OE	5^th c	Old Norwegian	8^th c	Gothic	3d-4^th c
Old Frisian	5^th c	Old Faroese	9^th c
Old Low Franconian	7^th c	Old Icelandic	9^th c
OHG	8^th c	Old Swedish	8^th c
Old Saxon	9^th c	Old Danish	9^th c

The development of the Germ. group was not confined to successive splits. It involved both linguistic divergence and convergence.

Proto-Germanic

West Germanic North Germanic East Germanic

To West Germanic belong the High German dialects of southern Germany, the Low German dialects of northern Germany (which in their earliest recorded form are called Old Saxon), Dutch, Frisian, and English. The language most closely related to English is Frisian, which was once spoken along the coast of North sea, from Northern Holland to central Denmark, but which is now heard only in a few coastal regions and on some of the Dutch islands. Before the migration of the Anglo-Saxons to England, they must have been near neighbours of the Frisians. Here is a family tree for the West Germanic languages:

West Germanic