Editing Germanic peoples (section)

==Languages==
{{see also|Germanic languages}}

=== Proto-Germanic ===
All [[Germanic languages]] derive from the [[Proto-Indo-European language]] (PIE), which is generally thought to have been spoken between 4500 and 2500&nbsp;BCE.<ref>{{harvnb|Ringe|2006|p=84}}; {{harvnb|Anthony|2007|pp=57–58}}; {{harvnb|Iversen|Kroonen|2017|p=519}}</ref> The ancestor of Germanic languages is referred to as [[Proto-Germanic|Proto- or Common Germanic]],{{sfn|Penzl|1972|p=1232}} and likely represented a group of mutually intelligible [[dialect]]s.{{sfn|Timpe|Scardigli|2010|p=593}} They share distinctive characteristics which set them apart from other Indo-European sub-families of languages, such as [[Grimm's law|Grimm's]] and [[Verner's law]], the conservation of the PIE [[Indo-European ablaut|ablaut]] system in the [[Germanic verb|Germanic verb system]] (notably in [[Germanic strong verb|strong verbs]]), or the merger of the vowels ''a'' and ''o'' qualities (''ə'', ''a'', ''o'' > ''a;'' ''ā'', ''ō'' > ''ō'').<ref>{{harvnb|Stiles|2017|p=889}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=989}}</ref> During the [[Germanic parent language|Pre-Germanic]] linguistic period (2500–500 BCE), the [[proto-language]] was almost certainly influenced by [[Germanic substrate hypothesis|an unknown non-Indo-European language]], still noticeable in the Germanic [[phonology]] and [[lexicon]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schrijver|2014|p=197}}; {{harvnb|Seebold|2017|p=978}}; {{harvnb|Iversen|Kroonen|2017|p=518}}</ref>{{efn|The reconstruction of such loanwords remains a difficult task, since no descendant language of substrate dialects is attested, and plausible etymological explanations have been found for many Germanic lexemes previously regarded as of non-Indo-European origin. The English term ''sword'', long regarded as "without etymology", was found to be cognate with the Ancient Greek ''áor'', the sword hung to the shoulder with valuable rings, both descending from the PIE root ''*swerd-'', denoting the 'suspended sword'. Similarly, the word ''hand'' could descend from a PGer. form ''*handu-'' 'pike' (< ''*handuga-'' 'having a pike'), possibly related to Greek ''kenteîn'' 'to stab, poke' and ''kéntron'' 'stinging agent, pricker'.{{Sfn|Seebold|2017|pp=978–979}} However, there is still a set of words of [[Proto-Germanic]] origin, attested in [[Old High German]] since the 8th c., which have found so far no competing Indo-European etymologies, however unlikely: e.g., ''Adel'' 'aristocratic lineage'; ''Asch'' 'barge'; ''Beute'' 'board'; ''Loch'' 'lock'; ''Säule'' 'pillar'; etc.{{Sfn|Seebold|2017|pp=979–980}}}}

Although Proto-Germanic is reconstructed without dialects via the [[comparative method]], it is almost certain that it never was a uniform proto-language.<ref>{{harvnb|Ringe|2006|p=85}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|p=875}}; {{harvnb|Seebold|2017|p=975}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=989}}</ref> The late Jastorf culture occupied so much territory that it is unlikely that Germanic populations spoke a single dialect, and traces of early linguistic varieties have been highlighted by scholars.<ref>{{harvnb|Ringe|2006|p=85}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=989}}</ref> Sister dialects of Proto-Germanic itself certainly existed, as evidenced by the absence of the First Germanic Sound Shift (Grimm's law) in some "Para-Germanic" recorded proper names, and the reconstructed Proto-Germanic language was only one among several dialects spoken at that time by peoples identified as "Germanic" by Roman sources or archeological data.{{Sfn|Ringe|2006|p=85}} Although Roman sources name various Germanic tribes such as Suevi, Alemanni, [[Baiuvarii|Bauivari]], etc., it is unlikely that the members of these tribes all spoke the same dialect.{{sfn|Timpe|Scardigli|2010|p=595}}

=== Early attestations ===
Definite and comprehensive evidence of Germanic lexical units only occurred after [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]'s conquest of [[Gaul]] in the 1st century BCE, after which contacts with Proto-Germanic speakers began to intensify. The ''[[Alcis (gods)|Alcis]]'', a pair of brother gods worshipped by the [[Nahanarvali]], are given by Tacitus as a Latinized form of {{Lang|gem-x-proto|alhiz}} (a kind of '[[Deer|stag]]'), and the word {{Lang|la|sapo}} ('hair dye') is certainly borrowed from Proto-Germanic {{Lang|gem-x-proto|saipwōn-}} (English ''[[soap]])'', as evidenced by the parallel Finnish loanword {{Lang|fi|saipio}}''.''<ref>{{harvnb|Kroonen|2013|p=422}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=990}}</ref> The name of the ''[[Migration Period spear|framea]]'', described by Tacitus as a short spear carried by Germanic warriors, most likely derives from the [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] {{Lang|gem-x-proto|fram-ij-an-}} ('forward-going one'), as suggested by comparable semantical structures found in early [[runes]] (e.g., ''raun-ij-az'' 'tester', on a lancehead) and [[Cognate|linguistic cognates]] attested in the later [[Old Norse]], [[Old Saxon]] and [[Old High German]] languages: {{Lang|non|fremja}}'','' {{Lang|osx|fremmian}} and {{Lang|goh|fremmen}} all mean 'to carry out'.{{Sfn|Rübekeil|2017|p=990}}
[[File:Helm von Negau; KHM, Wien Inschrift.jpg|thumb|261x261px|The inscription on the [[Negau helmet|Negau helmet B]], carved in the [[Etruscan alphabet]] during the 3rd–2nd c. BCE, is generally regarded as Proto-Germanic.<ref name="negau">{{harvnb|Todd|1999|p=13}}; {{Harvnb|Green|1998|p=108}}; {{harvnb|Ringe|2006|p=152}}; {{harvnb|Sanders|2010|p=27}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|p=875}}.</ref>]] In the absence of earlier evidence, it must be assumed that Proto-Germanic speakers living in ''Germania'' were members of preliterate societies.<ref>{{harvnb|Green|1998|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|p=876}}</ref> The only pre-Roman inscriptions that could be interpreted as Proto-Germanic, written in the [[Etruscan alphabet]], have not been found in ''Germania'' but rather in the Venetic region. The inscription ''harikastiteiva<small>\\\ip</small>'', engraved on the [[Negau helmet]] in the 3rd–2nd centuries BCE, possibly by a Germanic-speaking warrior involved in combat in northern Italy, has been interpreted by some scholars as ''Harigasti Teiwǣ'' ({{Lang|gem-x-proto|harja-gastiz}} 'army-guest' + {{Lang|gem-x-proto|teiwaz}} 'god, deity'), which could be an invocation to a war-god or a mark of ownership engraved by its possessor.<ref name="negau" /> The inscription ''Fariarix'' ({{Lang|gem-x-proto|farjōn-}} 'ferry' + {{Lang|gem-x-proto|rīk-}} 'ruler') carved on [[tetradrachm]]s found in [[Bratislava]] (mid-1st c. BCE) may indicate the Germanic name of a Celtic ruler.{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=875}}

=== Linguistic disintegration ===
By the time Germanic speakers entered written history, their linguistic territory had stretched farther south, since a Germanic [[dialect continuum]] (where neighbouring language varieties diverged only slightly between each other, but remote dialects were not necessarily [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]] due to accumulated differences over the distance) covered a region roughly located between the [[Rhine]], the [[Vistula]], the [[Danube]], and southern [[Scandinavia]] during the first two centuries of the [[Common Era]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fortson|2004|pp=338–339}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|p=876}}</ref> East Germanic speakers dwelled on the Baltic sea coasts and islands, while speakers of the Northwestern dialects occupied territories in present-day Denmark and bordering parts of Germany at the earliest date when they can be identified.<ref>{{harvnb|Ringe|2006|p=85}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|p=879}}</ref>

In the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, migrations of East Germanic ''gentes'' from the Baltic Sea coast southeastwards into the hinterland led to their separation from the dialect continuum.<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|pp=879, 881}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=995}}; ; {{harvnb|Simmelkjær Sandgaard Hansen|Kroonen|2022|pp=158–160}}.</ref> By the late 3rd century CE, linguistic divergences like the West Germanic loss of the final consonant ''-z'' had already occurred within the "residual" Northwest dialect continuum.{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|pp=876–877}} The latter definitely ended after the 5th- and 6th-century migrations of [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Jutes]] and part of the [[Saxons|Saxon]] tribes towards modern-day England.{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=881}}

=== Classification ===
[[File:Weyer (Mechernich) - Weihestein des Caldinius Firminius.jpg|thumb| Replica of an altar for the Matrons of Vacallina ([[Matres and Matronae|Matronae Vacallinehae]]) from Mechernich-Weyer, Germany]]
The Germanic languages are traditionally divided between [[East Germanic languages|East]], [[North Germanic languages|North]] and [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] branches.<ref>{{harvnb|Fortson|2004|p=339}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=993}}</ref> The modern prevailing view is that North and West Germanic were also encompassed in a larger subgroup called Northwest Germanic.<ref>{{harvnb|Fortson|2004|p=339}}; {{harvnb|Seebold|2017|p=976}}; {{harvnb|Simmelkjær Sandgaard Hansen|Kroonen|2022|pp=158–160}}.</ref>
* [[Northwest Germanic]]: mainly characterized by the [[Germanic umlaut|''i''-umlaut]], and the shift of the long vowel ''*ē'' towards a long ''*ā'' in accented syllables;{{Sfn|Stiles|2017|pp=903–905}} it remained a [[dialect continuum]] following the migration of East Germanic speakers in the 2nd–3rd century CE;<ref name="auto"/>
** [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]] or [[Proto-Norse|Primitive Norse]]: initially characterized by the [[monophthongization]] of the sound ''ai'' to ''ā'' (attested from c. 400 BCE);<ref>{{harvnb|Schrijver|2014|p=185}}; {{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|p=992}}</ref> a uniform northern dialect or ''koiné'' attested in runic inscriptions from the 2nd century CE onward,{{Sfn|Rübekeil|2017|p=991}} it remained practically unchanged until a transitional period that started in the late 5th century;{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=877}} and [[Old Norse]], a language attested by runic inscriptions written in the [[Younger Futhark|Younger Fuþark]] from the beginning of the [[Viking Age]] (8th–9th centuries CE);{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=878}}
** [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]]: including [[Old Saxon]] (attested from the 5th c. CE), [[Old English]] (late 5th c.), [[Old Frisian]] (6th c.), [[Frankish language|Frankish]] (6th c.), [[Old High German]] (6th c.), and possibly [[Lombardic language|Langobardic]] (6th c.), which is only scarcely attested;<ref name=":1">{{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|pp=987, 991, 997}}; {{harvnb|Nedoma|2017|pp=881–883}}</ref> they are mainly characterized by the loss of the final consonant -''z'' (attested from the late 3rd century),{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|pp=877, 881}} and by the [[West Germanic gemination|''j''-consonant gemination]] (attested from c. 400&nbsp;BCE);{{Sfn|Rübekeil|2017|p=992}} early inscriptions from the West Germanic areas found on altars where votive offerings were made to the ''Matronae Vacallinehae'' (Matrons of Vacallina) in the [[Rhineland]] dated to c. 160–260 CE; West Germanic remained a "residual" dialect continuum until the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|Anglo-Saxon migrations]] in the 5th–6th centuries CE;{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=881}}
* [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic]], of which only [[Gothic language|Gothic]] is attested by both [[Gothic runic inscriptions|runic inscriptions]] (from the 3rd c. CE) and textual evidence (principally [[Gothic Bible|Wulfila's Bible]]; c.&nbsp;350–380). It became extinct after the fall of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] in the early 8th century.{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=879}} The inclusion of the [[Burgundians|Burgundian]] and [[Vandalic language]]s within the East Germanic group, while plausible, is still uncertain due to their scarce attestation.{{Sfn|Rübekeil|2017|pp=987, 997–998}} The latest attested East Germanic language, [[Crimean Gothic]], has been partially recorded in the 16th century.{{Sfn|Nedoma|2017|p=880}}

Further internal classifications are still debated among scholars, as it is unclear whether the internal features shared by several branches are due to early common innovations or to the later diffusion of local dialectal innovations.{{Sfn|Fortson|2004|p=339}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Rübekeil|2017|pp=996–997}}: West Germanic: "There seems to be a principal distinction between the northern and the southern part of this group; the demarcation between both parts, however, is a matter of controversy. The northern part, North Sea Gmc or Ingvaeonic, is the larger one, but it is a moot point whether Old Saxon and Old Low Franconian really belong to it, and if yes, to what extent they participate in all its characteristic developments. (...) As a whole, there are arguments for a close relationship between Anglo-Frisian on the one hand and Old Saxon and Old Low Franconian on the other; there are, however, counter-arguments as well. The question as to whether the common features are old and inherited or have emerged by connections over the North Sea is still controversial."}}