The acient germanics tribes and thier language content introduction chapter I. History of the germanic tribes

1.2. Development of the Germanic Language Family 
The Germanic language family is one of the largest language families in the 
world, with over 500 million speakers worldwide. The family includes languages 
such as English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Icelandic, and 
Faroese. These languages are spoken primarily in Europe and North America. 
The origins of the Germanic language family can be traced back to the Proto-
Indo-European language, which was spoken around 4,000 years ago in what is now 
Ukraine. This language gave rise to a number of different branches, including the 
Germanic branch. The Germanic branch of the Indo-European family tree split into 
three groups: East Germanic (which is now extinct), North Germanic (which 
includes modern Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic), and West Germanic 
(which includes modern English, Dutch and German). One of the earliest written 
records of a Germanic language is the Gothic Bible, which was translated into Gothic 
by Bishop Wulfila in the 4th century AD. The Goths were an East Germanic tribe 
that lived in what is now Ukraine and Romania. The Gothic language became extinct 
in the 9th century AD
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. 
During the Middle Ages, Old High German (also known as Old High 
Franconian) was spoken in what is now Germany and Austria. This language 
developed from West Germanic dialects spoken by tribes such as the Alemanni and 
Bavarians. Old English (also known as Anglo-Saxon) was spoken in England from 
around the 5th century AD until around the Norman Conquest in 1066 AD. Old 
English developed from West Germanic dialects brought to England by Anglo-
Saxon settlers. Middle Low German was spoken in northern Germany from around 
the 12th century until around the 16th century. It developed from West Low 
Franconian dialects. Modern Standard High German evolved from Middle High 
German (spoken between roughly 1050 and 1350 AD) and Early New High German 
(spoken between roughly 1350 and 1650 AD). Modern Standard High German is 
now the official language of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. 
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The Germanic Languages by Ekkehard König and Johan van der Auwera (1994, p--56

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The development of the Germanic languages was influenced by a number of 
factors. One of the most important factors was contact with other languages. For 
example, English was heavily influenced by French after the Norman Conquest in 
1066 AD. Dutch was influenced by Latin during the Middle Ages, while German 
was influenced by Latin during the Renaissance. 
The development of printing in the 15th century also had a significant impact 
on the Germanic languages. Printing made it possible to produce books on a large 
scale, which helped to standardize spelling and grammar. The spread of 
Protestantism in the 16th century also had an impact on the development of the 
Germanic languages. Martin Luther's translation of the Bible into German helped to 
establish a standard written form of the language. In conclusion, the development of 
the Germanic language family is a complex and fascinating topic. The family has 
evolved over thousands of years, from its roots in Proto-Indo-European to its 
modern-day forms such as English, German, and Dutch. The influence of other 
languages, technological innovations such as printing, and religious movements 
have all played a role in shaping these languages over time. Despite their differences, 
all Germanic languages share certain features such as a similar grammar structure 
and vocabulary.v 
East Germanic is the language of those tribes that settled on the south-east 
shores of the Baltic, east of the Oder, during the last two or three centuries of the 
pre-Christian Era. Inundations were a primary cause of their emigration from Jutland 
and its surroundings, and overpopulation probably contributed. Historians report that 
the who invaded the Roman territory together with the Teutons and Ambrons, were 
driven from their home in the Chersonnesus Cim by storm floods. The certainly 
came from northern Jutland, still called who joined them later on their migration, 
somewhere in the South. Of their languages we know nothing. The only reason for 
grouping them with East Germanic is the fact that the latter is a subsequent 
development among tribes that came, more or less, from the same territory. 
After the Cimbrian and East Germanic migrations the Ingaevones spread from 
Schleswig-Holstein over all or most of Jutland and later appear under the name 

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of Anglians. Probably they had even before that time occupied the coast region 
between the Elbe and the Rhine, where they absorbed the Celtic population. This 
earliest part of the West Germanic expansion represents the later Frisians. The tribes 
south of them, in present Hannover, Oldenburg, Westphalia, towards the end of the 
'Germanic Migration' formed the Saxon Tribal Alliance ('Stammesverband'). This 
whole series of expansions is often called the Anglo-Frisian group. During the fifth 
century the northern section of the Anglian group emigrated to northern England, 
and their territory in Jutland was occupied by Danes. Frisians and Saxons had 
founded settlements on the northern coast of France, which was therefore 
called Litus Saxonicum, and during the fifth century, at first from this coast, but soon 
also from the main land of the Saxons, England south of the river Humber was 
occupied; '
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Northumbria' was settled by Anglians, probably slightly later. Most of the 
land between Thames and Humber (Mercia, East Anglia, Essex, Middlesex) can be 
called literally 'Anglo-Saxon', since it was settled jointly by the two branches. The 
name is first used by Paulus Diaconus (Angli-Saxones; eighth century). The first 
occupation, that of Wight, Hampshire, and Kent, is ascribed to 'Jutes', but these did 
not come from Jutland direct, but were probably remote descendants of earlier emi-
grants from Jutland, who had settled in northwestern Germany. Since the Saxons 
became the political leaders, their name was applied to the Germanic settlers of 
southern England, although linguistically these dialects are more Frisian than 
Saxon. West Saxon, the language of King Alfred, might be termed the standard 
dialect of the Old English period (about 500 to 1066). However, some important 
works were originally written in Anglian, for instance Beowulf , which we possess 
in a later West Saxon rendering. 
On the continent, Frisian originally occupied the coast region of the North Sea 
from southern Jutland to the Zuyder Sea, but it was gradually absorbed by German 
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A History of the Germanic Peoples by Thomas D. Barnes (2018, p-87

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and Dutch; it is still spoken in northwestern Holland and on some of the coast 
islands. 
The language of the Langobards ('Lombards'), who originally lived in 
southern Holstein and eastern Hanover, is usually classed with the Anglo-Frisian. 
But since it shows the High German consonant shift in its Upper German form, it 
should really be considered as closely related to Alemannian and Bavarian. 
The West Germanic expansion had started two or three centuries B.C. and 
continued approximately until 500 A.D. The Saxon group, its oldest layer, had more 
or less coalesced with those Anglians that had stayed on the continent. Although 
dialect differences exist, the two branches have so much in common that in most 
respects they may be considered one group. But the fact should not be lost sight of 
that the 'Anglians' of Schleswig-Holstein and the surrounding country inhabit the 
only part of Germany that, in historical times, has always been Germanic. The West 
was Celtic before our era; the East became Slavic about 450 A.D. and remained so 
for centuries 
Numerous Germanic tribes occupied Central Germany during the two or three 
centuries before and after the beginning of our era. The Romans safeguarded their 
dominion by the chain of fortifications called limes, extending from Mainz to 
Regensburg, which delayed further spread for a considerable time. The tribes of the 
central group gradually consolidated into the Franconian Tribal League, which 
occupies a wide zone in Central Germany, north and south of the Main, but also 
extends into southern Holland and northern Belgium. 
The most important tribal group in the old territory were the Suevians. In 73 
B.C. a group of them under their leader Ariovistus apparently occupied Bohemia, 
migrated southwest and finally reached Gaul, where they were defeated by Caesar. 
The Suevian expansion was thereby delayed, but not stopped. In 213 A.D., Suevians 
under the name of Alemanni reached the limes, and after several unsuccessful 
attempts to break it, gradually occupied southwestern Germany, where they have 
been firmly established since 409. The Suevians in Bohemia, under the name 
of Marcomanni, retained their connection with the home land as long as it remained 

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Germanic. But by the middle of the fifth century most of the Germanic population 
had migrated to the west and southwest, and their land was occupied by Slavs as far 
west as the Elbe and Saale rivers, and in some places even beyond. Around that time 
the Romans withdrew their garrisons from the province of Vindelicia and, possibly 
under the pressure of the Slavic immigration, the larger part of the Marcomanni 
left Boiohaemum (= Bohemia., 'the land of the Boians') and settled as Baiuvarii in 
Vindelicia., which then became 'Bavaria
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'. 
Continental West Germanic (aside from Frisian) developed two (or three) 
standard languages in consequence of political separation. During the sixteenth and 
seventeenth centuries the Netherlands secured their independence from the German 
Empire. Subsequently the Dutch language developed there as a standardized 
combination of the three dialects of that territory. Low Franconia.n predominates, 
but there are considerable Frisian and some Saxon elements. Flemish, essentially 
identical with Dutch, is standardized Low Franconian in present Belgium. 
The other continental West Germanic dialects formed the German language. 
Its present dialect grouping is virtually the same as in Old High German times (about 
750-1100). However, since the ninth century, there has been a constant Eastern 
expansion beyond the Elbe and Saale, over the territory that had been occupied by 
Slavs. 
The successive waves of expansion de- a scribed above had led to the 
formation of the Germanic tribal groups. Since we have detailed historical evidence 
for the most recent period only, we must broadly assume a general Norse expansion 
and a general East Germanic spread, but we can clearly recognize the series of West 
Germanic expansions. This process of tribal growth is reflected in certain features 
of the development of the Germanic languages. 
They had become a distinct linguistic unit among the Indo-European 
languages through a number of far-reaching changes in sounds and forms. Virtually 
all of these changes exhibit a significantly homogeneous character; they follow the 
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The Germanic People: Their Origin, Expansion, and Culture by Francis Owen (1979, p-30

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same 'drift' (cf. Sapir, Language 160 ff.), revealing uniform characteristics of the 
several Germanic languages. The following is not a hypothesis, but a mere statement 
of facts, for which no explanation is attempted at present: Every Germanic language 
followed the general, more or less uniform, trend of development as long as it was 
in close contact with the main body of the nation. After the separation, this 
fundamental trend came to a standstill, but in certain cases a new trend developed. 
Thus, Norse and Gothic represent the oldest layers within the Germanic tribes: In 
these languages the results of the Germanic drift are restricted to those changes that 
took place in pre-Christian and very early Christian times. But certain characteristics 
of these languages point to the rise of new trends. 
In the West Germanic dialects, which were formed essentially as the result of 
the Germanic Migration ('Völkerwanderung'), the symptoms of this process are 
highly significant. In the course of the fanlike spread described above, the Germanic 
drift came to a virtual standstill in a relatively short time-- perhaps sometimes in a 
generation-- after the settlement of each tribe in the new home and the consequent 
separation from the main group. As far as the effect of the Germanic drift is 
concerned, the north-western group-- Frisian, Anglian, Saxon, and Low Franconian-
-, together with its insular 'Anglo-Saxon' expansion represents the general West 
Germanic condition of the period when Norse and Gothic had become independent 
groups, while central and southern Germany were still Celtic. These dialects, from 
the point of view of the drift, are younger than Gothic and Norse, but older than the 
High German dialects. In exact keeping with the chronology of the West Germanic 
spread, Middle and Upper Franconian show very consistent gradations of the drift: 
Middle Franconian is slightly farther advanced than Low Franconian, and Rhine and 
East Franconian present still more recent features. The two Upper German dialects, 
especially in the older period, show the greatest number of features that are the result 
of the Germanic drift and are in that sense as well as historically the youngest among 
the Germanic dialects 

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