hel assignment

8/13/2019 HEL Assignment

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Assignment

History of English Language

Topic

Indo-European Languages (Celtic, Germanic and Italic)

Topic Contents

Indo-European Languages

Celtic

Germanic

Italic

Studentsname

Imran maqsood


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Indo-European Languages

Geographic

distribution:

Before the 16th century, Europe, and South, Centraland

Southwest Asia; today worldwide.

Linguistic classification: One of the world's major language families

Proto-language: Proto-Indo-European

Subdivisions: Albanian

Anatolian(extinct)

ArmenianBalto-Slavic(Balticand Slavic)

Celtic

Germanic

Hellenic (Greek)

Indo-Iranian(Iranianand Indo-Aryan)

Italic(includes Romance)

Tocharian(extinct)

Countries with a majority of speakers of IE languages

Countries with an IE minority language with official status


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It was Thomas Young who in 1813 first used the term Indo-European, which

became the standard scientific term through the work of Franz Bopp, whose

systematic comparison of these and other old languages

supported the theory. Franz Bopp's Comparative Grammar,

which appeared between 1833 and 1852, is the beginning of

Indo-European studies as an academic discipline.

The generation of Indo-Europeanists active in the last third

of the 20th century (such as Calvert Watkins, Jochem

Schindler and Helmut Rix) developed a better

understanding of morphology.

Franz Bopp, pioneer in the field of comparative linguistic studies.

Classification

The various subgroups of the Indo-European language family include ten major branches, given

in the chronological order of their earliest surviving written attestations:

1. Anatolian (Asia Minor), the earliest attested branch. Hittite texts and

Mitanni from about the 17th century BC.

2. Indo-Aryan or Indic languages, The Rigveda is assumed to preserve intact

recordsvia oral tradition dating from about the mid-2nd millennium BC in

the form ofVedic Sanskrit.

3. Hellenic.Homeric texts date to the 8th century BC.4. Indo-Iranian, circa 1000 BC, descended from Proto-Indo-Iranian (dated to

the late3rd millennium BC).

5. Italic,includingLatin and its descendants (theRomance languages), attested

from the 7th century BC.

6. Celtic, descended from Proto-Celtic. Gaulish inscriptions date as early as

the 6th century BC; Celtiberian from the 2nd century BC; Primitive Irish

Ogham inscriptions 5th century AD.

7. Germanic (from Proto-Germanic), earliest testimonies inrunic inscriptionsfrom around the 2nd century AD, earliest coherent texts in Gothic, 4th

century AD. Old English manuscript tradition from about the 8th century

AD.

8. Armenian.Alphabet writings known from the beginning of the 5th c. AD.

9. Tocharian, extant in two dialects (Turfanian and Kuchean), attested from

roughly the 6th to the 9th century AD.

10.Balto-Slavic,Slavic (from Proto-Slavic), attested from the 9th century AD,

earliest texts inOld Church Slavonic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Young_(scientist)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bopphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bopphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvert_Watkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochem_Schindlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochem_Schindlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Rixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Minorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitannihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigvedahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_millennium_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_Sanskrithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-Iranian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_millennium_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtiberian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_Irishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham_inscriptionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocharian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Slavichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Church_Slavonichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Church_Slavonichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Slavichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tocharian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogham_inscriptionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primitive_Irishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtiberian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3rd_millennium_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-Iranian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic_Sanskrithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2nd_millennium_BChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pathahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigvedahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitannihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_textshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Minorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Rixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochem_Schindlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jochem_Schindlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvert_Watkinshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_studieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bopphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bopphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Young_(scientist)


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In addition to the classical ten branches listed above, several extinct and little-known

languages have existed:Illyrian,Venetic,Thracian,Ancient and some other Languages.

Sub-Division of Main Branches of Proto-Indo-European Languages

Table Showing Proto-Indo-European Languages Tree

Current Status and Some Facts about

Indo-European Language Family

The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages

and dialects. There are about 439 languages and dialects, according to the 2009

Ethnologue(2) estimate. It includes most major current languages of Europe, the

Iranian plateau, and Indian Subcontinent, and was also predominant in ancient

Anatolia. With written attestations appearing since the Bronze Age, the Indo-

European family is possessing the second-longest recorded history.

Indo-European languages are spoken by almost 3 billion native speakers, the

largest number by far for any recognized language family. Of the 20 languages

with the largest numbers of native speakers according to SIL Ethnologue,12 areIndo-European: Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, German,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illyrian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thracian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Macedonian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bengali_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Macedonian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thracian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venetic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illyrian_languages


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Lahnda,Marathi,French,Urdu,andItalian,accounting for over 1.7 billion native

speakers.

Current distribution of the Indo-European branches within Europe and Asia:

The approximate present-day distribution of the Indo-European branches within their

homelands of Europe and Asia:

Hellenic(Greek)

Indo-Iranian

Italic(Romance)Celtic

Germanic

Armenian

Balto-Slavic(Baltic)

Balto-Slavic(Slavic)

Albanian

Non-Indo-European languages

After a brief discussion about Indo-European Languages. Now we are going to

discuss three major branches of Indo-European Languages in more detail
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahnda_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urduhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indo-European_branches_map.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balto-Slavic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urduhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathi_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahnda_language


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1.Celtic

2.Germanic3.Italic

History of Celtic Languages

The Celtic languages (usuallypronounced/kltk/but sometimes/sltk/)are

descended from Proto-Celtic, a branch of Indo-Europeanlanguage family. The

term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in

1707.

During the 1st millennium BC, they were spoken across Europe. The spread to

Cape Breton and Patagonia occurred in modern times. Irish were spoken in

Australia before federation in 1901 and are still used there to some extent. Celtic

was the first language with which English came into contact with on the land of

England. Celts were barbarians, having no literature, no civilization and were less

in numbers, so could not influence English much. It took just five words from

Celtic language, out of which England is one.

Territories

of the

ancient

Celts

The Celts in Europe, past and

present:

Celtic Languages

Geographic

distribution:

Formerly widespread in Europe; todayCornwall,Ireland,Isle

of Man,Scotland,Wales,Brittany,PatagoniaandNova Scotia

Linguistic

classification:

Indo-European

Celtic

Proto-language: Proto-Celtic

Subdivisions: Continental Celtic

Insular Celtic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_Celtichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lhuydhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Celts_in_Europe2.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insular_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patagoniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Lhuydhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Celtichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English#Keyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_Englishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_Celtic


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Areas where Celtic languages are widely spoken

The six most commonly recognized 'Celtic nations'

Maximum Celtic expansion, by the 3rd century BC

Core Hallstead(3)territory, by the 6th century BC

Celts territory During theEuropean Iron Age

Classification

Proto-Celtic divided into four sub-families:

Gaulishand its close relatives Galatian, Lepontic and Noric. Lepontic the

oldest attested Celtic language (from the 6th century BC), is perhaps the first

language to diverge from Proto-Celtic. These languages were spoken from

France to Turkey and from Belgium to northern Italy. They are now all extinct.

Hispano-Celtic;also extinct: Celtiberian, anciently spoken in theIberian peninsula,in parts of

modernAragn,Old Castile,andNew Castile inSpain.

Gallaecian,spoken in north-west Spain and northern Portugal.

Brythonic,including the living languagesBreton,Cornish,andWelsh,and the

extinct languagesCumbric andPictish.

Goidelic,including the living languagesIrish,Manx,andScottish Gaelic.

The distinction of Celtic into these four sub-families most likely occurred any time between

1200 and 800 BC.

Some Characteristics of Celtic languages

Although there are many differences between Celtic languages, yet they show many family

resemblances.

Twogrammatical genders (modern Insular Celtic only; Old Irish had three)

Verbsubjectobject (VSO) word order (probably Insular Celtic only)

Noinfinitives,replaced by a quasi-nominal verb form called the verb noun

Frequent use of vowel mutation as a morphological device, e.g. formation of

plurals, verbal stems, etc.

Infixedpronouns positioned between particles and verbs

Use ofperiphrasticphrases to express verbal tense or voice

Distinction by function of the two versions of BE verbs traditionally labelled

substantive andcopula

Bifurcateddemonstrative structure

Current Status of Celtic Languages

Celtic languages are most commonly spoken on the north-western edge ofEurope,

notably in what is called Six Celtic Nation Areas named Ireland, Scotland,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age#Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano-Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano-Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtiberian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_peninsulahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arag%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Castilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Castile_(Spain)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaecian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbric_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonstrativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonstrativehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copula_(linguistics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periphrasishttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinitivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbric_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaecian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spainhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Castile_(Spain)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Castilehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arag%C3%B3nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_peninsulahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtiberian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispano-Celtic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Age#Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts


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Wales, Brittany, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man and in Cape Breton Island.

There are also Welsh speakers in the Patagonia area of Argentina. Some people

speak Celtic languages in some areas of United States, Canada, Australia and New

Zealand. In all these areas, the Celtic languages are now only spoken by

minorities. Welsh is the only Celtic language that isn't classified as "endangered"

byUNESCO(5)

.

Living languagesSIL Ethnologue

(2)lists six "living" Celtic languages, of which four have retained a

substantial number of native speakers. These are theGoidelicIrish and Scottish

Gaelic descended fromOld Irish,and theBrythonicWelsh and Breton descended

from theBritish language.Cornish andManx,were spoken into modern times but

later died. For both these languages, revitalization movements produced some

native speakers. There were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic

languages in 2000s. In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic

languages.

Demographics (1)

LanguageNative

nameGrouping

Number of

native speakers

Number of people

who have one or

more skills in the

language

Main

area(s) in

which the

language isspoken

Regulated

by/language

body

Welsh Cymraeg Brythonic

431,000 (14.6%of thepopulation ofWales)

Around 721,700

Wales:562,000England:150,000Argentina: 5,000

Wales;Chubut

Welsh

LanguageCommissioner

Irish Gaeilge Goidelic

About 94,000people use Irishdaily outside theeducation

system.

1,887,437Republic of Ireland:1,774,437United Kingdom:95,000

United States:18,000

IrelandForas na

Gaeilge

Breton Brezhoneg Brythonic 206,000 356,000 BrittanyOfis Publik ar

Brezhoneg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Breton_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIL_Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Irishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_language_(Celtic)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_revitalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chubut_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chubut_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foras_na_Gaeilgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foras_na_Gaeilgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofis_Publik_ar_Brezhoneghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofis_Publik_ar_Brezhoneghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofis_Publik_ar_Brezhoneghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofis_Publik_ar_Brezhoneghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foras_na_Gaeilgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foras_na_Gaeilgehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Irelandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_Language_Commissionerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chubut_Provincehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulatorshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_revitalizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manx_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_language_(Celtic)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breton_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Irishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIL_Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Breton_Islandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isle_of_Manhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brittanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales


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ScottishGaelic

Gidhlig Goidelic58,552 as of2001

92,400 ScotlandBrd naGidhlig

Cornish

Kernewek Brythonic

600 3,000 Cornwall

Keskowethyans

an TavesKernewek
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2rd_na_G%C3%A0idhlighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2rd_na_G%C3%A0idhlighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_Language_Partnershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwallhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brythonic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2rd_na_G%C3%A0idhlighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B2rd_na_G%C3%A0idhlighttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goidelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Gaelic


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History

The Germanic peoples(also called Teutonic, Suebian or Gothic in older

literature) are an Indo-Europeanethno-linguistic group ofNorthern Europe,

identified by their use of theGermanic languages.The term "Germanic" originated

inclassical times, when groups oftribes were referred to using this term by

Roman authors. For them, the term was not necessarily based upon language, but

rather referred to tribal groups and alliances who were considered less civilized,

Germanic languages

Ethnicity: Germanic peoples

Geographic

distribution:

In northern, western and centralEurope,Anglo-America,Oceania,

southernAfrica

Linguistic classification: Indo-European

Germanic

Proto-language: Proto-Germanic

Subdivisions: North Germanic

West Germanic

East Germanic(extinct)

Countries where a Germanic language is thefirst language of the majority of the population

Countries where a Germanic language is an official but not primary language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnolinguisticshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Germanic_languages.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_antiquityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnolinguistics


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than the Celtic Gauls living in the region of modernFrance.Tribes referred to as

Germanic in that period lived generally to the north and east of theGauls.

Expansion of the Germanic tribes

The expansion of the Germanic tribes 750 BC AD 1 (after the Penguin Atlas of World History 1988):

Settlements before 750 BC

New settlements by 500 BC

New settlements by 250 BC

New settlements by AD 1

The Germanic languagesare a branch of the Indo-Europeanlanguage family

spoken byGermanic peoples.The common ancestor of this branch is calledProto-Germanic, which was spoken in Iron Age in northern Europe. Proto-Germanic,

along with all of its descendants, is characterized by a number of unique linguistic

features, most famously theconsonant change known as Grimm's Law.

The earliest coherent Germanic text preserved is the 4th centuryGothic translation

of theNew TestamentbyUlfilas.Early testimonies of West Germanic are inOld

Frankish (5th century),Old High German (scattered words and sentences 6th

century and coherent texts 9th century), andOld English (oldest texts 650,

coherent texts 10th century). North Germanic is only attested in scattered runicinscriptions, asProto-Norse,until it evolves intoOld Norseby about 800.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Roman_Iron_Agehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfilashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frankishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frankishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_High_Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Norse_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Germanic_tribes_(750BC-1AD).pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Norse_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_High_Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frankishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Frankishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulfilashttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testamenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consonanthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Roman_Iron_Agehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaulshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France


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Classification

Around the 2nd century BC, the Germanic varieties are divided into three

branches:

East Germanicwas spoken by peoples who migrated to south Eastern Europe.No East Germanic language is spoken today, and the only written East Germanic

Language that survives is Gothic.

North Germanicevolved into the modern Scandinavian languages of Swedish,

Danish, Norwegian, and Icelandic.

West Germanic is divided into two branches High and Low. High West

Germanic is the ancestor of modern German and Low West Germanic is the

ancestor of Dutch, Flemish, Frisian, and English as is shown in the tree diagrambelow

The East Germanic languageswere marginalized from the end of the Migration

period. TheBurgundians,Goths,andVandalsbecame linguistically assimilated by

their respective neighbors by about the 7th century, with onlyCrimean Gothic

lingering on until the 18th century.

During the early middle Ages, the West Germanic languageswere separated by

the insular development of Middle English on one hand and by theHigh Germanconsonant shift on the other. By early modern times, the span had extended into

considerable differences, the southernmost varieties had completed the second

sound shift, while the northern varieties remained unaffected by the consonant

shift.

The North Germanic languages, remained unified until well past 1000 AD, and

in fact the mainland Scandinavian languages still largely retain mutual

intelligibility into modern times. The main split in these languages is between the

mainland languages and the island languages to the west, especially Icelandic,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundianshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_German_consonant_shifthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_German_consonant_shifthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_German_consonant_shifthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_German_consonant_shifthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_Gothic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vandalshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgundians


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which has maintained the grammar ofOld Norsevirtually unchanged, while the

mainland languages have diverged greatly.

Divisions between and among subfamilies of Germanic

CharacteristicsGermanic languages possess a number of defining features compared with other Indo-

European languages. Probably the most well-known are the following:

1.Thesound changes known asGrimm's Law,which shifted the values of all

the Indo-European stop consonants. (For example, original */t d dh/ became

Germanic */ t d/)

2.The development of a strongstress on the first syllable of the word is

responsible for the reduction of most of the Basic English words into

monosyllables. Examples are Proto-Germanic *strangi strength,

*aimaitj "ant", *haubudan "head".

3.A change known asGermanic umlaut,which modified vowel qualities when

a high vocalic segment (/i/, /i/ or /j/) followed in the next syllable. This

change resulted in pervasive alternations in related words still extremely

prominent in modernGermanbut present only in remnants in modern

English (e.g. mouse/mice, goose/geese, broad/breadth)

4.Large numbers of vowel qualities. English is typical in this respect, with

around 1112 vowels in most dialects (not counting diphthongs).Standard

Swedish has 17 pure vowels, standardGerman andDutch 14 andDanish at

least 11.

Other significant characteristics are:

1.The reduction of the varioustense andaspect combinations of the Indo-

European verbal system into only two: thepresent tense and thepast

tense (also called thepreterite).

2.A large class of verbs that use a dentalsuffix (/d/ or /t/) instead ofvowelalternation (Indo-European ablaut) to indicate past tense. These are called

theGermanic weak verbs; the remaining verbs with vowel ablaut are

theGermanic strong verbs.

3.Some words with etymologies that are difficult to link to other Indo-

European families but with variants that appear in almost all Germanic

languages.

Roughly speaking, Germanic languages differ in how conservative or how progressive each

language is with respect to an overall trend toward analyticity. Some, such asIcelandic and, toa lesser extent,German, have preserved much of the complexinflectional
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norsehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_Lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(language)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlauthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Swedishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Swedishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preteritehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_ablauthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_weak_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_strong_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectional_morphologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectional_morphologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_strong_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_weak_verbhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_ablauthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apophonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffixhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preteritehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Present_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_aspecthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_tensehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Swedishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Swedishhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_umlauthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stress_(language)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm%27s_Lawhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_changehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Norse


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morphology inherited fromProto-Germanic. Others, such asEnglish,Swedish, and Afrikaans,

have moved toward a largely analytic type.

Current status

The most widely spoken Germanic languages areEnglish andGerman, with

approximately 300400 million and over 100 million native speakers respectively.

They belong to the West Germanic family. TheWest Germanic group also

includes other major languages, such asDutch with 23 million andAfrikaans with

over 6 million native speakers. TheNorth Germanic languages include

Norwegian,Danish,Swedish,Icelandic,andFaroese,which have a combined totalof about 20 million speakers. TheSILEthnologuelists 53 different Germanic

languages.

The present-day distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe:

North Germanic languages

Icelandic

Faroese

Norwegian

Swedish

Danish

West Germanic languages

Scots

English

Frisian

Dutch

Low German

German

English is an official language ofCanada,New Zealand,Philippines,Puerto Rico

and former British colonies inAsia andAfrica. Furthermore, it is the de factolanguage of theUnited Kingdom,theUnited States,and Australia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectional_morphologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIL_Internationalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Ricohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Germanic_languages_in_Europe.pnghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Ricohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippineshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low_Germanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frisian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scots_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologuehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIL_Internationalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroese_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Germanic_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Germanichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Germanic_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflectional_morphology


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German is spoken as a secondary language in North and South America, and

African countries, notably the former German colony ofNamibia.

Dutch is only official inAruba,Belgium,Curacao,the Netherlands andSuriname.

Afrikaans is one of 11 official languages inSouth Africa.

Outside Denmark,Danish is an official language in its overseas territory ofFaroe

Islands and is a lingua franca in its overseas territory ofGreenland.

Italic Languages

Ethnicity: Italic peoples

Geographicdistribution:

Originally Italy, today mainly southern Europe, maximum extentworld-wide intermittent (most ofAmerica.Official languages of half

the countries inAfricaand parts ofOceania).

Linguistic

classification:

Indo-European

Italic

Subdivisions: Latino-Faliscan

Osco-Umbrian,formerly Sabellic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arubahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3%A7aohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinamehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino-Faliscan_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino-Faliscan_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osco-Umbrian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osco-Umbrian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osco-Umbrian_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino-Faliscan_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_familyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceaniahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlandhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faroe_Islandshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danish_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrikaanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surinamehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3%A7aohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arubahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_languagehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Americahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language


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History

The Italic languages are first attested in writing from Umbrian and Faliscan

inscriptions dating to the 7th century BC. The alphabets used are based on the Old

Italic alphabet, which is itself based on the Greek alphabet. The Italic alphabets

themselves show minor influence from the Etruscan and somewhat more from

the Ancient Greek alphabet. The intermediate phases between Italic and Indo-European are still in deficit, with no guarantee that they ever will be found. The

question of whether Italic originated outside Italy or developed by assimilation of

Indo-European and other elements within Italy, approximately on or within its

current range there, remains.

Silvestri says:

...Common Italic ... is certainly not to be seen as a prehistoric language that can

largely be reconstructed, but rather as a set of prehistoric and proto-historic

processes of convergence.

Approximate distribution of languages in Iron AgeItalyduring the sixth century BC. (Note: mostof these are not Italic languages.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iron_Age_Italy.svghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy


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In addition,Aequian(spoken by the Aequi just east of Rome)

and Vestinian (spoken by the Vestini in northeast Italy) are Italic but too poorly

known to be further classified. Sicelin Sicily was reported to have been similar to

Latin, but too little is known of it to verify that claim.As Rome extended its political dominion over the whole of the Italian Peninsula,

Latin became dominant over the other Italic languages, which ceased to be spoken

perhaps sometime in the 1st century AD. From Vulgar LatintheRomance

languagesemerged.

Proto-Italic language features

Inhistorical linguistics, language families are often considered to be descended

fromproto-languages.Thecomparative method is used for reconstructing a givenproto-language from its descendants.

Phonetics

A partial list of regular phonetic changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Italic

follows. An arrow denotes that the sound after it descended from the sound before

it. Enclosure within slashes indicates a phoneme. An asterisk denotes a following

reconstructed (unattested) form. A number sign indicates a word boundary; at the

beginning, that the sound following is word-initial.

Diphthongs

eu ou within a word

Plosives

Palatovelars merged with plainvelars,a change termedcentumization.

kk

Voicedlabiovelars unround or lenite

or w

Voicedaspiratesbecome first unvoiced, thenfricativize

bp

dt
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kx

kx

Except after a nasal, where voiced aspirates lose their aspiration, becomeb d g g.

p kbefore kin following syllable (e.g. Latin quinque 'five' from PIE

*penke); unchanged elsewhere

t k when before l within a word;[6] unchanged elsewhere

Remainingplosives (b d k k) are unchanged.

Sibilants

s before r

s z between vowels

unchanged elsewhere

Nouns

Retention of masculine, feminine and neutergenders

Retention of singular and plural; reduction of thedual to a few instances

Retention of the nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, locative and

vocativecases,but loss of the instrumental

Post-proto phases

Further changes occurred during the evolution of the individual Italic languages,

in Latin for example f, b, d between vowels and f at the beginning of a

word.

Importance and Current Status

At present, Latin and its daughter Romance languages are the only surviving

languages of the Italic language family. Latin is also divided into two groups:

One is classical Latinwhich is no extinct.Second group is Vulgar Latin which was the language of common people.

Romance languages group is descended from Vulgar Latin. Romance group of

languages includesItalian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanianlanguages

Italian: It is the only language still is used in the region from where it was

originate i.e. Rome, Italy. It was the language of great philosophers Cicero and

Virgil the poets of 2nd

and 3rd

century. Italian is now used in Italy. The great

literature of its time was written in it.

French: It is spoken in France and it was the language of culture, literature,

education and civilization.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languages#cite_note-sylvestri326-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languages#cite_note-sylvestri326-6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plosivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_(grammatical_number)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_casehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_casehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_(grammatical_number)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grammatical_genderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plosivehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italic_languages#cite_note-sylvestri326-6


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Spanish and Portuguese: These two languages almost share the same features

and characteristics that a Spanish speaker can understand a Portuguese speaker

and vice versa. Spanish is the language of Spain and Portuguese is the language of

Portugal now.

Romanian:It is used in Romania. It is also spoken in America and Remote partsof Britain.

This group of languages is of interest because of the influence made by i.e. Latin

and then the independent influence of Frenchon English.

Glossary

1. Demographics:are the quantifiable statistics of a given population

2. Ethnologue:is a web-based publication that contains statistics for

7,105languages

3. Hallstatt:was the predominantCentral Europeanculture from the 8th to

6th centuries BC (EuropeanEarly Iron Age)

4. Otter:a small animal that has four webbed feet, a tail and thick brown fur.

5. UNESCO:The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization is a specialized agency of theUnited Nations (UN).
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