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The North Germanic languages make up one of the three branches of the Germanic languages, a sub-family of the Indo-European languages, along with the West Germanic languages (including English, German, and Dutch) and the East Germanic languages (now extinct). They are spoken in the three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), Finland, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and to some extent Greenland as well as by immigrant groups mainly in North America and Australia. The language group is often also called either the Scandinavian or Nordic languages. The latter term is the most commonly used by both scholars and laymen in the Nordic countries and is often favored by these when writing in English. Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ...
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred languages and dialects (443 according to the SIL estimate), including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many in West, Central and Southern Asia. ...
Faroese (føroyskt []) is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by about 80,000 people in two main groups, about 48,000 in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese in Denmark. ...
Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken on the Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. ...
The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ...
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred languages and dialects (443 according to the SIL estimate), including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many in West, Central and Southern Asia. ...
West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as German, English and Dutch. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
The East Germanic languages are a group of extinct Indo-European languages in the Germanic family. ...
For other uses, see Scandinavia (disambiguation). ...
World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ...
The Nordic countries (Greenland not shown) The Nordic countries, also referred to as Norden (The North), and less stringently as Scandinavia, is a term used collectively for five countries in Northern Europe. ...
Classification
There are two main branches, West Scandinavian and East Scandinavian. The eastern branch is heavily influenced by especially Middle Low German and consists of Danish and Swedish along with their various dialects and varieties. The western branch includes Norwegian, Faroese and Icelandic. There is another way of classifying the languages that focuses more on mutual intelligibility than historical development that classifies Norwegian with Danish and Swedish as Continental Scandinavian and Faroese and Icelandic as Insular Scandinavian. The Middle Low German language is an ancestor of the modern Low German language, and was spoken from about 1100 to 1500. ...
A pair of languages is said to be mutually intelligible if speakers of one language can readily understand the other language. ...
As a result, Danish and Norwegian may in reality be somewhat more similar to each other than either is to Swedish. Due to the long political union between Norway and Denmark, the Norwegian Bokmål/Riksmål shares much of the Danish vocabulary. In addition, due to Danish pronunciation, Swedes usually find it easier to understand Norwegian than Danish. One witticism about Norwegian that expresses the basic similarities and differences between the languages is that "Norwegian is Danish spoken in Swedish." The relationships between the three languages might be summarized by the following diagram: Wit is a form of intellectual humour, based on manipulation of concepts; a wit is someone who excels in witty remarks, typically in conversation and spontaneously, since wit carries the connotation of speed of thought. ...
The North Germanic languages are often cited as proof of the aphorism "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy." The differences in dialects within the countries of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark can often be greater than the differences across the borders, but the political independence of these countries leads continental Scandinavian to be classified into Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish in the popular mind as well as among most linguists. This is also due to the strong influence of the standard languages, particularly in Denmark and Sweden. Even if the language policy of Norway has been more tolerant of rural dialectal variation in formal language, the prestige dialect often refered to as "Eastern Urban Norwegian", spoken mainly in and around the Oslo-region, can be considered to be quite normative. The creation of Nynorsk out of dialects after Norway became independent of Denmark in 1814 was an attempt to make the linguistic divisions match the political ones. Aphorism (From the Greek αφοÏιζειν, to define), literally a distinction or a definition (See the Online Etymology Dictionary entry), is a term used to describe a principle expressed tersely in a few telling words or any general truth conveyed in a short and pithy sentence, in such a way that when...
One of the most frequently stated aphorisms in the discussion of the distinction between dialect and language is, “a language is a dialect with an army and a navyâ€. This is commonly attributed to one of the leading figures in modern Yiddish linguistics, Max Weinreich, and the aphorism therefore often...
A standard language (also standard dialect or standardized dialect) is a particular variety of a language that has been given either legal or quasi-legal status. ...
County Oslo NO-03 District Viken Municipality NO-0301 Administrative centre Oslo Mayor (2004) Per Ditlev-Simonsen (H) Official language form Neutral Area - Total - Land - Percentage Ranked 224 454 km² 426 km² 0. ...
Nynorsk (Neonorwegian) is one of the two officially sanctioned written standards of the Norwegian language. ...
1814 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...
Family tree All North Germanic languages are descended from Old Norse. Note that divisions between subfamilies of North Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and the most separated ones not. Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ...
A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area. ...
Beside the two official written norms of Norwegian, there exists two established unofficial norms: Riksmål, similar to, but more conservative than Bokmål, which is used in different extent by a large number of people, especially in the cities; High-Norwegian (Høgnorsk), rather similar to Nynorsk, used by a very small minority. Faroese (føroyskt []) is a West Nordic or West Scandinavian language spoken by about 80,000 people in two main groups, about 48,000 in the Faroe Islands and about 25,000 Faroese in Denmark. ...
The Faroe Islands (Faroese: Føroyar, meaning Sheep Islands) are a group of islands in the north Atlantic Ocean between Scotland and Iceland. ...
Norn is an extinct North Germanic language that was spoken on the Shetland Islands and Orkney Islands, off the coast of Scotland. ...
See Shetland (disambiguation) for other meanings. ...
The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ...
Royal motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ...
Jutlandic or Jutish (jy(d)sk in Danish), is a term for the dialects of Danish spoken on the peninsula of Jutland. ...
Jutland Peninsula Jutland (Danish: Jylland; German: Jütland) is a peninsula in northern Europe that forms the mainland part of Denmark and a northern part of Germany, dividing the North Sea from the Baltic Sea. ...
Svealand Swedens historical four lands. ...
Gästrikland, is a historical Province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden. ...
Hälsingland?, is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. ...
Norrland is a name for the northernmost part of Sweden, historically one of the four lands of Sweden. ...
Gästrikland, is a historical Province or landskap on the eastern coast of Sweden. ...
Hälsingland?, is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. ...
▶ (help· info), is a historical province or landskap in the north of Sweden. ...
(help· info), is a historical province or landskap in the center of Sweden. ...
Västergötland ( ♫) is one of the historical provinces of Sweden (landskap), situated in the southwest of Sweden. ...
(help· info) is a historical Province (landskap) in the south of Sweden. ...
Dalsland â–¶(?) is a Swedish province (landskap) in the south west of Sweden. ...
â–¶(?) is a historical province or landskap in the west of middle Sweden. ...
Småland ▶(?) is a historical province (landskap) in southern Sweden. ...
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Skåne in southern Sweden Scanian ( (help· info)) is a closely related group of dialects spoken in Skåne (Scania). ...
The Scandinavian Peninsula is a peninsula located at the northwest corner of Europe and bounded by the Gulf of Bothnia, the Baltic Sea, the Kattegat, the Skagerrak, the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea. ...
Skåneland is a denomination for the historical region in southern and southwestern Sweden, once making up the eastern part of Denmark. ...
External links - Ethnologue Report for North Germanic
- Dictionary with Swedish - English Translations from Webster's Online Dictionary - the Rosetta Edition
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