Editing Germanic languages (section)

==Modern status==
[[File:Europe germanic-languages 2.PNG|upright=1.35|thumb|
[[Germanic-speaking Europe|The present-day distribution of the Germanic languages in Europe]]:<br />
'''[[North Germanic languages]]'''
{{legend|#00FFFF|[[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]}}
{{legend|#1FC5FC|[[Faroese language|Faroese]]}}
{{legend|#0080FF|[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]}}
{{legend|#0000FF|[[Danish language|Danish]]}}
{{legend|#004080|[[Swedish language|Swedish]]}}
'''[[West Germanic languages]]'''
{{legend|#FD7B24|[[Scots language|Scots]]}}
{{legend|#FCA503|[[English language|English]]}}
{{legend|#E9D803|[[Frisian languages|Frisian]]}}
{{legend|#F0F702|[[Dutch language|Dutch]]}}
{{legend|#80FF00|[[Low German]]}}
{{legend|#00FF00|[[Central German]]}}
{{legend|#008000|[[Upper German]]}}
Dots indicate areas where it is common for native non-Germanic speakers to also speak a neighbouring Germanic language, lines indicate areas where it is common for native Germanic speakers to also speak a non-Germanic or other neighbouring Germanic language.|alt=]]

===West Germanic languages===
English is an [[official language]] of [[Belize]], Canada, Nigeria, [[Falkland Islands]], [[Saint Helena]], [[Malta]], New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, Philippines, Jamaica, [[Dominica]], [[Guyana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[American Samoa]], [[Palau]], [[St. Lucia]], [[Grenada]], [[Barbados]], [[St. Vincent and the Grenadines]], Puerto Rico, [[Guam]], Hong Kong, Singapore, Pakistan, India, [[Papua New Guinea]], [[Namibia]], [[Vanuatu]], the [[Solomon Islands]] and former British colonies in Asia, Africa and Oceania. Furthermore, it is the ''[[de facto]]'' language of the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia, as well as a recognized language in [[Nicaragua]]<ref>The [[Miskito Coast]] used to be a part of [[British Empire]]</ref> and Malaysia.

German is a language of Austria, Belgium, Germany, [[Liechtenstein]], [[Luxembourg]] and Switzerland; it also has regional status in Italy, Poland, Namibia and Denmark. German also continues to be spoken as a minority language by [[German diaspora|immigrant communities]] in North America, South America, Central America, Mexico and Australia. A German dialect, [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Pennsylvania Dutch]], is still used among various populations in the American state of [[Pennsylvania]] in daily life. A group of Alemannic German dialects commonly referred to as [[Alsatian dialect|Alsatian]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olcalsace.org/de/definition-der-regionalsprache|title=Office pour la langue et les cultures d'Alsace et de Moselle|website=olcalsace.org|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119191620/https://www.olcalsace.org/de/definition-der-regionalsprache|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://hal.science/hal-02069471/document|access-date=14 July 2021|last=Pierre Vogler|title=Le dialecte alsacien : vers l'oubli|website=hal.science|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119191619/https://hal.science/hal-02069471/document|url-status=live}}</ref> is spoken in [[Alsace]], part of modern France.

Dutch is an official language of [[Aruba]], Belgium, [[Curaçao]], the Netherlands, [[Sint Maarten]], and [[Suriname]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taalunieversum.org/inhoud/feiten-en-cijfers|title=Feiten en cijfers – Taalunieversum|website=taalunieversum.org|access-date=11 April 2015|archive-date=6 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221006231723/http://taalunieversum.org/inhoud/feiten-en-cijfers|url-status=live}}</ref> The Netherlands also [[Dutch Empire|colonized]] [[Netherlands Indies|Indonesia]], but Dutch was scrapped as an official language after [[Indonesian independence]]. Today, it is only used by older or traditionally educated people. Dutch was until 1983 an official language in South Africa but evolved into and was replaced by [[Afrikaans]], a [[mutual intelligibility|partially mutually intelligible]]<ref>Dutch-speakers can understand Afrikaans with some difficulty, but Afrikaans-speakers have a harder time understanding Dutch because of the simplified grammar of Afrikaans, compared to that of Dutch, http://www.let.rug.nl/~gooskens/pdf/publ_litlingcomp_2006b.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200501/http://www.let.rug.nl/~gooskens/pdf/publ_litlingcomp_2006b.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> [[daughter language]] of Dutch.

Afrikaans is one of the 12 [[languages of South Africa|official languages in South Africa]] and is a ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Namibia. It is used in other [[Southern African]] nations, as well.

[[Low German]] is a collection of very diverse dialects spoken in the northeast of the Netherlands and northern Germany. Some dialects like [[East Pomeranian]] have been imported to South America.<ref name="farese">{{Cite web |url=http://www.farese.edu.br/pages/artigos/pdf/ismael/A%20co-oficializa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20da%20L%20Pomer.pdf |title=A co-oficialização da língua pomerana |access-date=11 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221183002/http://www.farese.edu.br/pages/artigos/pdf/ismael/A%20co-oficializa%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20da%20L%20Pomer.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Scots is spoken in [[Scottish Lowlands|Lowland]] Scotland and parts of [[Ulster]] (where the local dialect is known as [[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CV=1&NA=&PO=999&CN=999&VL=1&CM=9&CL=ENG |title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No.&nbsp;148 |publisher=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=9 September 2012 |archive-date=9 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709023931/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CV=1&NA=&PO=999&CN=999&VL=1&CM=9&CL=ENG |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Frisian languages|Frisian]] is spoken among half a million people who live on the southern fringes of the [[North Sea]] in the Netherlands and Germany.

Luxembourgish is a [[Moselle Franconian dialects|Moselle Franconian]] dialect that is spoken mainly in the [[Grand Duchy of Luxembourg]], where it is considered to be an official language.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://luxembourg.public.lu/en/society-and-culture/languages/introduction-letzebuergesch.html|title=An intro to 'Lëtzebuergesch'|access-date=18 April 2023|language=en|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412141332/https://luxembourg.public.lu/en/society-and-culture/languages/introduction-letzebuergesch.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Similar varieties of Moselle Franconian are spoken in small parts of Belgium, France, and Germany.

Yiddish, once a native language of some 11 to 13 million people, remains in use by some 1.5 million speakers in Jewish communities around the world, mainly in North America, Europe, Israel, and other regions with [[Jewish population by country|Jewish populations]].<ref name=yivo-yiddish>{{cite web |last=Dovid Katz |title=YIDDISH |url=http://yivo.org/downloads/Yiddish.pdf |work=[[YIVO]] |access-date=20 December 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322162722/http://yivo.org/downloads/Yiddish.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2012}}</ref>

Limburgish [[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] are spoken in the [[Province of Limburg (1815–1839)|Limburg]] and [[Rhineland]] regions, along the Dutch–Belgian–German border.

===North Germanic languages===
In addition to being the official language in Sweden, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] is also spoken natively by the [[Finland Swedes|Swedish-speaking minority]] in Finland, which is a large part of the population [[List of municipalities of Finland in which Finnish is not the sole official language|along the coast of western and southern]] Finland. Swedish is also one of the two official languages in Finland, along with [[Finnish language|Finnish]], and the only official language in [[Åland]]. Swedish is also spoken by some people in Estonia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Koyfman |first=Steph |date=29 April 2018 |title=How Many People Speak Swedish, And Where Is It Spoken? |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-swedish-and-where-is-it-spoken |access-date=11 June 2024 |website=Babbel Magazine |language=en |archive-date=25 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240225215934/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-swedish-and-where-is-it-spoken |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Danish language|Danish]] is an official language of Denmark and in its overseas territory of the [[Faroe Islands]], and it is a ''lingua franca'' and language of education in its other overseas territory of [[Greenland]], where it was one of the official languages until 2009. Danish, a locally recognized minority language, is also natively spoken by the Danish minority in the German state of [[Schleswig-Holstein]].

[[Norwegian language|Norwegian]] is the official language of Norway (both [[Bokmål]] and [[Nynorsk]]). Norwegian is also the official language in the overseas territories of Norway such as [[Svalbard]], [[Jan Mayen]], [[Bouvet island]], [[Queen Maud Land]], and [[Peter I island]].

[[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] is the official language of [[Iceland]].

[[Faroese language|Faroese]] is the official language of the Faroe Islands, and is also spoken by some people in Denmark.

===Statistics===
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Germanic languages by share (West Germanic in yellow-red shades and North Germanic in blue shades):{{refn|group=nb|It uses the lowest estimate for English (360 million).}}
| label1 = English
| value1 = 69.9
| color1 = LightYellow
| label2 = German
| value2 = 19.4
| color2 = Yellow
| label3 = Dutch
| value3 = 4.5
| color3 = Orange
| label4 = Afrikaans
| value4 = 1.4
| color4 = OrangeRed
| label5 = Other West Germanic
| value5 = 1
| color5 = DarkRed
| label6 = Swedish
| value6 = 1.8
| color6= Cyan
| label7 = Danish
| value7 = 1.1
| color7 = DodgerBlue
| label8 = Norwegian
| value8 = 1
| color8 = Blue
| label9 = Other North Germanic
| value9 = 0.1
| color9 = DarkBlue
}}

[[File:Nordic Bronze Age.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Area of the [[Nordic Bronze Age]] culture, ca 1200 BC]]

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:1em"
|+ Germanic languages by number of native speakers
|-
! Language !! Native speakers (millions){{refn|group=nb|Estimates for English, German and Dutch are less precise than these for the rest of the Germanic languages. These three languages are the most widely spoken ones; the rest are largely concentrated in specific places (excluding Yiddish and Afrikaans), so precise estimates are easier to get.}}
|-
! [[English language|English]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 360–400<ref name="NE100" />
|-
! [[German language|German]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10128380/German-should-be-a-working-language-of-EU-says-Merkels-party.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10128380/German-should-be-a-working-language-of-EU-says-Merkels-party.html |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=German 'should be a working language of EU', says Merkel's party|first=Jeevan|last=Vasagar|date=18 June 2013|via=The Telegraph }}{{cbignore}}</ref>{{refn|group=nb|Estimate includes most [[High German]] dialects classified into the German language spectrum, while leaves some out like the [[Yiddish language]]. [[Low German]] is regarded separately.}}
|-
! [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 24<ref name="taalgebied">{{cite web |url=http://taalunieversum.org/taal/feiten_en_weetjes/#feitencijfers |title=Nederlands, wereldtaal |access-date=7 April 2011 |publisher=Nederlandse Taalunie |year=2010 |archive-date=21 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021192842/http://taalunieversum.org/taal/feiten_en_weetjes/#feitencijfers |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! [[Swedish language|Swedish]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 11.1<ref name="NE">[[Nationalencyklopedin]] "Världens 100 största språk 2007" The World's 100 Largest Languages in 2007</ref>
|-
! [[Afrikaans]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 8.1<ref>{{Cite web |orig-date=April 2015 |date=October 2023 |title=Afrikaans - Worldwide distribution |url=https://www.worlddata.info/languages/afrikaans.php |access-date=3 April 2024 |website=Worlddata.info |language=en |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403212057/https://www.worlddata.info/languages/afrikaans.php |url-status=live }}</ref>{{unreliable source?|certain=yes|reason=Self-published source. See Special:PermanentLink/1244711437#worlddata.info|date=September 2024}}
|-
! [[Danish language|Danish]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 5.5<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/dan|title=Danish|website=ethnologue.com|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-date=8 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208132654/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/dan|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 5.3<ref>{{cite web |title=Befolkningen |url=https://www.ssb.no/befolkning/faktaside/befolkningen |website=ssb.no |language=no |access-date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=23 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323174146/https://www.ssb.no/befolkning/faktaside/befolkningen |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
! [[Low German]]
| style="text-align: right;" |3.8<ref>{{cite web |title=Status und Gebrauch des Niederdeutschen 2016 |url=https://www.ins-bremen.de/fileadmin/ins-bremen/user_upload/umfrage2016/broschuere-umfrage.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116170501/https://www.ins-bremen.de/fileadmin/ins-bremen/user_upload/umfrage2016/broschuere-umfrage.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2021 |access-date=13 March 2021 |website=ins-bremen.de |page=40 }}</ref><ref name="Taaltelling Nedersaksisch" />{{rp|p=78}}
|-
! [[Yiddish]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 1.5{{sfnp|Jacobs|2005}}
|-
! [[Scots language|Scots]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 1.5<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sco|title=Scots|website=Ethnologue|access-date=12 March 2015|archive-date=27 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210327010335/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sco|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! [[Frisian languages]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 0.5<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/fry|title=Frisian|website=Ethnologue|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-date=22 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322022417/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/fry|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! [[Luxembourgish]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 0.4<ref>See [[Luxembourgish|Luxembourgish language]].</ref>
|-
! [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 0.3<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statice.is/?PageID=1390|title=Statistics Iceland|website=Statistics Iceland|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-date=26 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526135129/https://www.statice.is/?PageID=1390|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! [[Faroese language|Faroese]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 0.07<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/fao|title=Faroese|website=ethnologue.com|access-date=18 June 2014|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323174207/https://www.ethnologue.com/language/fao|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! Other Germanic languages
| style="text-align: right;" | 0.01{{refn|group=nb|All other Germanic languages, including [[Gutnish language|Gutnish]], [[Dalecarlian dialects]] (among them [[Elfdalian language|Elfdalian]]) and any other minor languages.}}
|-
! Total
| style="text-align: right;" | est. 515{{refn|group=nb|Estimates of native speakers of the Germanic languages vary from 450 million{{sfnp|König|van der Auwera|1994}} through 500 million and up to more than 520 million. Much of the uncertainty is caused by the rapid spread of the [[English language]] and conflicting estimates of its native speakers. Here used is the most probable estimate as determined by ''Statistics'' section.}}
|}