The Germanic Languages

This study provides an overview of 12 Germanic languages, including English, German, Faroese, and Yiddish. These languages are spoken by over 450 million people and have significant cultural and social importance. The book covers the current structure of each language, as well as its history and development. It also includes information on rarely-covered languages such as Afrikaans, Pennsylvanian German, and Germanic Creoles. Each chapter is written by an expert and includes information on social context, phonology, morphology, syntax, dialects, and sources for further reading.

This study sets out to provide an up-to-date survey of 12 Germanic languages, from English and German to Faroese and Yiddish. Spoken by more than 450 million native speakers worldwide, the Germanic languages have enormous cultural and social significance. This work offers a chapter-length description of each language, focusing on the structure of the languages as they are spoken today, and also giving an analysis of language history and development. Based on recent scholarship, The Germanic Languages presents detailed research both on the major Germanic languages, and rarely-covered minor languages such as Yiddish, Faroese, Afrikaans, Pennsylvanian German and the Germanic Creoles. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, in a format designed for comparative study; information on each language includes: an introductory description of social context and the development of the language; extensive discussions of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, the main dialects and a bibliography with sources in English and other languages.