*Proto-Germanic

A reconstructed language

Common Germanic/Germanic/Teutonic

Homeland: southern Scandinavia?

Germanic dispersal

Later migrations 2 3

West Germanic languages

 Dutch (Low Franconian, West Germanic)

 Low German (West Germanic)

 Central German (High German, West Germanic)

 Upper German (High German, West Germanic)

 English (Anglo-Frisian, West Germanic)

 Frisian (Anglo-Frisian, West Germanic)

North Germanic languages

 East Scandinavian (Swedish, Danish)

 West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese)

 Line dividing the North and West Germanic languages

Germanic Languages (source):

EAST Germanic language:

Gothic (long-dead)

Oldest records of Germanic:

Gothic

Translation of the Gospels in 4^th century by Ulfilas (Wulfila)

From Greek; adapted Greek alphabet (not Latin)

Has NO modern descendants

WEST and NORTH Germanic:

Runes !

Kylvar Stone; Einang Stone

6th-century Anglo-Saxon Urn

10th century Thames scramasax

Grammatical and Lexical Changes

From Proto-Indo-European (PIE) to Proto Germanic

Verb system:

PIE: “Strong” Verbs:

Also commonly found in all Germanic languages

The source of about 1/4 Modern English “irregular verbs”

run, ran, run

swim, swam, swum

drink, drank, drunk

Germanic innovation:

WEAK verbs:

MOOD simplification:

VOICE:

NOUNS:

Case syncretism:

reduced to 5

Nominative (vocative)

Accusative

Dative (Abl., loc., dat.)

Instrumental

ADJECTIVES:

Strong and weak forms

Phonological Changes:

The First Sound Shift:

Grimm’s Law

Link to Consonant chart

IPA

This only affects PIE STOPS

(not the fricative, liquids, nasals, glides)

SUMMARY of Grimm’s Law:

Visualization

Aspirated voiced stops	Voiced Stops	Voiceless stops	Voiceless fricatives
bh >	b >	p >	f
dh >	d >	t >	θ
gh >	g >	k >	h

Then Accent Shifted

Accent in Germanic is on First Syllable, almost universally

the accent shift obscured the cause of the exceptions to Grimm’s