Editing German language (section)

== Classification ==
[[File:Europe germanic-languages 2.PNG|thumb|

'''[[Anglic languages]]'''
{{legend|#FCA503|English}}
{{legend|#FD7B24|[[Scots language|Scots]]}}
'''[[Anglo-Frisian languages]]'''<br/> Anglic and
{{legend|#E9D803|[[Frisian languages|Frisian]] ([[West Frisian language|West]], [[North Frisian language|North]], [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland]])}}
'''[[North Sea Germanic languages]]''' Anglo-Frisian and
{{legend|#80FF00|[[Low German|Low German/Low Saxon]]}}
'''[[West Germanic languages]]'''<br/> North Sea Germanic and
{{legend|#F0F702|[[Dutch language|Dutch]]; in Africa: [[Afrikaans]]}}
...... German ([[High German|High]]):
{{legend|#00FF00|[[Central German|Central]]; in [[Luxembourg|Lux.]]: [[Luxembourgish]]}}
{{legend|#008000|[[Upper German|Upper]]}}
...... [[Yiddish]]]]

[[Image:Einteilung der Germanen nach Maurer.de.svg|thumb|Maurer's classification of German tribes (German)]]
[[File:Germanic Languages Map Europe.png|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Germanic languages]] in contemporary Europe]]

German is an [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] that belongs to the [[West Germanic]] group of the [[Germanic languages]]. The Germanic languages are traditionally subdivided into three branches: [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]], [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]], and [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]. The first of these branches survives in modern [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], and [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], all of which are descended from [[Old Norse]]. The East Germanic languages are now extinct, and [[Gothic language|Gothic]] is the only language in this branch which survives in written texts. The West Germanic languages, however, have undergone extensive dialectal subdivision and are now represented in modern languages such as English, German, [[Dutch language|Dutch]], [[Yiddish]], [[Afrikaans]], and others.{{sfn|Robinson|1992|p=16}}

Within the West Germanic language dialect continuum, the [[Benrath line|Benrath]] and [[Uerdingen line|Uerdingen]] lines (running through [[Düsseldorf]]-[[Düsseldorf-Benrath|Benrath]] and [[Krefeld]]-[[Uerdingen]], respectively) serve to distinguish the Germanic dialects that were affected by the [[High German consonant shift]] (south of Benrath) from those that were not (north of Uerdingen). The various regional dialects spoken south of these lines are grouped as [[High German languages|High German]] dialects, while those spoken to the north comprise the [[Low German]] and [[Low Franconian languages|Low Franconian]] dialects. As members of the West Germanic language family, High German, Low German, and Low Franconian have been proposed to be further distinguished historically as [[Irminones|Irminonic]], [[Ingvaeonic languages|Ingvaeonic]], and [[Istvaeones|Istvaeonic]], respectively. This classification indicates their historical descent from dialects spoken by the Irminones (also known as the Elbe group), Ingvaeones (or North Sea Germanic group), and Istvaeones (or Weser–Rhine group).{{sfn|Robinson|1992|p=16}}

[[Standard German]] is based on a combination of [[Thuringian dialect|Thuringian]]-[[Upper Saxon German|Upper Saxon]] and Upper Franconian dialects, which are [[Central German]] and Upper German dialects belonging to the [[High German languages|High German]] dialect group. German is therefore closely related to the other languages based on High German dialects, such as [[Luxembourgish]] (based on [[Central Franconian dialects]]) and [[Yiddish]]. Also closely related to Standard German are the [[Upper German]] dialects spoken in the southern [[List of territorial entities where German is an official language|German-speaking countries]], such as [[Swiss German]] ([[Alemannic German|Alemannic dialects]]) and the various Germanic dialects spoken in the French [[Regions of France|region]] of [[Grand Est]], such as [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]] (mainly Alemannic, but also Central{{ndash}}and{{nbsp}}[[High Franconian German|Upper Franconian]] dialects) and [[Lorraine Franconian]] (Central Franconian).

After these High German dialects, standard German is less closely related to languages based on Low Franconian dialects (e.g., Dutch and Afrikaans), Low German or Low Saxon dialects (spoken in northern Germany and southern [[Denmark]]), neither of which underwent the High German consonant shift. As has been noted, the former of these dialect types is Istvaeonic and the latter Ingvaeonic, whereas the High German dialects are all Irminonic; the differences between these languages and standard German are therefore considerable. Also related to German are the Frisian languages—[[North Frisian language|North Frisian]] (spoken in [[Nordfriesland (district)|Nordfriesland]]), [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]] (spoken in [[Saterland]]), and [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] (spoken in [[Friesland]])—as well as the Anglic languages of English and Scots. These [[Anglo-Frisian languages|Anglo-Frisian]] dialects did not take part in the High German consonant shift, and the Anglic languages also adopted much vocabulary from both [[Old Norse]] and the [[Norman language]].