5. Classification of Germanic languages

There are two basic types of linguistic classification: the genealogical classification (based on the genetic relatedness of languages) and the typological classification (based on the comparison of the formal similarity which exists between languages). The areal classification is transitional between the genealogical and typological classifications.

All three types of classifications study the structural affinity of languages by different methods relatively:

1) genetic method, which is based on genetic relationship of languages as ancestors of a common source;

2) typological method, which deals with isomorphous character of languages;

3) areal method, which is based on acquired relationship of languages depending on their geographical distribution.

The areal classification of languages is complementary to the two main ways of classifying languages, the genetic and the typological ones. It differs from the genealogical classification in the way of describing language change.

The genealogical classification is based on the assumption that languages have diverged from a parent language, whereas the areal classification reveals convergence of languages. The typological classification attempts to group languages into structural types without taking into account any genetic or historical relationship, whereas the areal classification groups languages in terms of their assumed relationship.

Only the genealogical classification has an absolute character: each language belongs to a certain genetic group and cannot change this relatedness. Thus a genetically related group of languages consists of dialects and languages which are common descendants of one source language. That is why this type of classification is the most important.

The traditional division of Germanic languages into 3 groups was first proposed by August Schleicher, who subdivided them into Northern, Gothic and Germanic that correspond to the North Germanic, East Germanic and West Germanic branches of languages.

The traditional classification of the Germanic language group includes the following geographically related subgroups:

1) North Germanic languages:

a) Icelandic, Faroese, and Norwegian,

b) Swedish and Danish

2) East Germanic languages:

a) Gothic, Burgundian, Vandalic, Langobardic

3) West Germanic languages:

a) English and Frisian,

b) Flemish, Dutch and Afrikaans,

c) German and Yiddish.

Among them only North and West Germanic branches are living. East Germanic branch is dead.

The course of languages diversification and their division into groups is obvious in the diachronic classification.

Diachronic or historical classification reflects the succession of the significant historical stages of the language and thus, represents the evolution of Common Germanic into ancient Germanic dialects in the following steps:

1) PGmc split into Scandinavian (North) and South (continental) groups;

1. The emergence of East Gmc branch (3-1 cc. BC), opposed to South (West) Gmc from the Elbe to the Rhine rivers.

2. Separate development of Gothic during the migration of the Goths in the direction of the Black Sea steppes (2-3 cc. AD);

4) The emergence of an Ingveonic group, disintegration of West Gmc and Scandinavian (4-5 cc.);

5) The migration of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes to the British Isles and the rise of Old English (5-7 cc.), colonisation of Denmark;

6) The migration of the Saxons from the North Sea in the south-western direction (4-5 cc.);

7) The migration of the Erminones from the Lower and Middle Elbe to the south of

Germany;

8) Western expansion of the Franks and unification under the Prankish power of the Franks (Isiveonic), Alemannians and Bavarians (Erminonic) and some others to form Old High German; Old Saxon gave rise to Plattdeutsch;

9) Separation of Scandinavian from continental Germanic (5 c.), colonisation of Jutland by thr Danes and Iceland by the Norsemen; the rise of Old Swedish, Old Danish, Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic.

As we see, In fact, the traditional division into East, North and West Germanic reflects stratification of medieval Germanic languages.

Iron Age 500 BC–AD 200

Proto-Germanic

East Germanic

West Germanic

North Germanic

South Germanic

Anglo-Frisian

Migration period AD 200–700

Gothic,

Lombardic1

Old Frankish

Old Saxon

Old Frisian

Old English

Proto-Norse

Vandalic, Burgundian,

Old High German

Early Middle Ages 700–1100

Old Low Franconian

Runic Old West Norse

Runic Old East Norse

Middle Ages 1100–1350

Middle High German

Middle Dutch

Middle Low German

Early Middle English

Old Icelandic

Old Norwegian

Early Old Danish

Early Old Swedish

Early Old Gutnish

Late Middle Ages2 1350–1500

Early New High German

Late Middle English

Early Scots3

Late Old Icelandic

Old Faroese

Old Norn

Middle Norwegian

Late Old Danish

Late Old Swedish

Late Old Gutnish

Early Modern Age 1500–1700

Crimean Gothic

Low Franconian varieties, including Dutch

Middle Frisian

Early Modern English

Middle Scots

Icelandic

Faroese

Norn

Norwegian

Danish

Swedish

Gutnish

Modern Age 1700 to present

all extinct

High German varieties

Low Saxon varieties

Frisian varieties

English varieties

Modern Scots varieties

extinct4

extinct4

HISTORICAL PHONOLOGY