| Germanic | |
|---|---|
| Teutonic | |
| Geographic distribution | Principally northern, western and central Europe, the Americas (Anglo-America, Caribbean Netherlands and Suriname), Southern Africa and Oceania |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Germanic |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 / 5 | gem |
| Linguasphere | 52- (phylozone) |
| Glottolog | germ1287 |
 World map showing countries where a Germanic language is the primary or official language Countries where (a) Germanic language(s) is/are the first language(s) of the majority of the population
Countries or regions where (a) Germanic language(s) is/are (an) official but not primary language(s)
Countries or regions where (a) Germanic language(s) is/are (an) unofficial but recognised/used in some areas of life/spoken among a local minority | |
The Germanic languages are a group of Indo-European languages. They came from one language, Proto-Germanic, which was first spoken in Scandinavia in the Iron Age. Today, the Germanic languages are spoken by around 515 million people as a first language. English is the most spoken Germanic language, with 360-400 million native speakers.
The Germanic languages are the East Germanic languages (all extinct), the North Germanic languages, and the West Germanic languages.
When Proto-Germanic split from Proto-Indo-European, one of the main changes to the sounds in the language was Grimm’s law.
