/r/germanic

Photograph via snooOG

Anything and everything to do with the discussion/study/relationships/state of Germanic languages; from historical to the modern-day.

What are Germanic languages?

Those languages that descend from the Proto-Germanic/Common Germanic ancestor language.

Wikipedia on Germanic languages.

What is this subreddit for?

A place for Germanicists to discuss and share trends, theories, and tidbits.

List of Germanic Languages:

West Germanic

Franconian

Afrikaans

Dutch (Nederlands)

Ingvaeonic

English

Scots (Scottis/Inglis/Lallans)

Yola

Frisian (Frysk)

Low German (Plattdüütsch)

High German

German (Deutsch)

Allemanic (Alemannisch)

Austro-Bavarian (Boarisch)

Luxembourgish (Lëtzebuergesch)

North Germanic

Western Scandinavian

Faroese (Føroyskt)

Icelandic (Íslenska)

Norwegian (Norsk)

Eastern Scandinavian

Danish (Dansk)

Swedish (Svenska)

Elfdalian (Övdalską)

Gutnish (Gutniska)

Eastern Germanic

Vandalic

Burgundian

Gothic

Crimean Gothic

Subs We Love

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Related Subreddits

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/r/germanic

900 Subscribers

8

Let's liven this place up, shall we? What about Germanic languages or Germanic linguistics draws you in?

Same as Title!

Edit: For me, it's the regularity (at least in older Germanic) and just how rich and unique the family is.

6 Comments
2022/12/29
03:17 UTC

9

Etymology of the English words "meat" vs "flesh", and what happened in modern English vs German?

In English we have the words "meat" and "flesh". They mean approximately the same thing, although a native speaker would normally say "meat" for flesh that one eats, especially animal flesh (although there are other uses, such as "the meat of a problem" meaning the core issue of a problem). But in German I believe one say "Fleisch" for the meat that one eats. What puzzles me is that apparently both "meat" and "flesh" come from Germanic word roots. So what happened to make mete -> meat and flǣsc -> flesh in English, whereas the word "fleisch" is common in German for what "meat" denotes in English? Is there also a word like "mete" in German? I'm new to this sub, so I'll ask - is this even a sensible question?

5 Comments
2022/07/31
19:52 UTC

14

Germanic Language’s WhatsApp Group

Hello everyone, I would like too start a WhatsApp group for people learning either Afrikaans, Dutch, German, Icelandic, Danish, Swedish or Norwegian. Just a fun groupchat too practice your language skills and meet new people.

Hallo almal, ek wil 'n WhatsApp-groep begin vir mense wat Afrikaans, Nederlands, Duits, Yslands, Deens, Sweeds of Noors leer. Net 'n prettige groepklets om jou taalvaardighede te oefen en nuwe mense te ontmoet.

Hallo allemaal, ik zou ook graag een WhatsApp-groep willen starten voor mensen die Afrikaans, Nederlands, Duits, IJslands, Deens, Zweeds of Noors leren. Gewoon een leuke groepchat om je taalvaardigheid te oefenen en nieuwe mensen te ontmoeten.

Hallo zusammen, ich möchte auch eine WhatsApp-Gruppe für Menschen gründen, die entweder Afrikaans, Niederländisch, Deutsch, Isländisch, Dänisch, Schwedisch oder Norwegisch lernen. Nur ein lustiger Gruppenchat, um Ihre Sprachkenntnisse zu üben und neue Leute kennenzulernen.

Halló allir, mig langar líka að stofna WhatsApp hóp fyrir fólk að læra annað hvort afríku, hollensku, þýsku, íslensku, dönsku, sænsku eða norsku. Bara skemmtilegt hópspjall líka æfðu tungumálakunnáttu þína og hittu nýtt fólk.

Hej alle sammen, jeg vil gerne starte en WhatsApp-gruppe for folk, der lærer enten afrikaans, hollandsk, tysk, islandsk, dansk, svensk eller norsk. Bare en sjov gruppechat for at øve dine sprogkundskaber og møde nye mennesker.

Hej alla, jag skulle vilja starta en WhatsApp-grupp för personer som lär sig antingen afrikaans, holländska, tyska, isländska, danska, svenska eller norska. Bara en rolig gruppchatt för att öva på dina språkkunskaper och träffa nya människor.

Hei alle sammen, jeg vil starte en WhatsApp-gruppe for folk som lærer enten afrikaans, nederlandsk, tysk, islandsk, dansk, svensk eller norsk. Bare en morsom gruppechat for å trene språkkunnskapene dine og møte nye mennesker.https://chat.whatsapp.com/JQX84o9jk7L3TsgQpYnF4h

8 Comments
2022/06/01
16:46 UTC

6

Trying to translate a self-created proto-germanic word into english but unsure how to go about it.

So I'm making a sort of East Germanic based people for this world I'm building had the idea of naming them after the word Maraud/Marauder, primarily as a sort of reference as to how the the words Vandal and Gothic went from referring to actual people to someone who steals and destroys and a specific sort of architectural style derogatorily , respectively. I tried doing this by looking to proto-germanic, with the idea being to then either convert the word to english or to latin and THEN english.

Problem is... I'm unsure how to actually go about it. The proto-germanic ancestor to maraud would be the verb marzijaną (to disturb, hinder, impede | to forget, neglect). In-order to make it a noun I decided to place -ilaz to the end of it, like how Vandal is originally thought to be Wandilaz.

Thus, taking the root of marzijaną, I came up with Marzilaz. I... don't really know where to convert from here, and looking at the descendants of marzijaną has only really further confused on how I should go about this. I know that -ilaz is gonna end up becoming an -al, -el, or -il but I don't really know how it's gonna look or even fit with marzi-.

1 Comment
2022/04/13
00:45 UTC

9

Proto-Germanic religion book

This book is about Proto-Germanic religion which existed in Europe from 500 BC to 300 AD. If you like runes then you will love this book.

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/john-samuel/proto-germanic-religion/paperback/product-egwmp8.html

2 Comments
2022/03/10
15:29 UTC

5

Help me translate this!!

“I find ka oida” — what does “ka” mean? Also “I hop ka oida” ?? What do these phrases mean?

And “amiköter” — what does that mean?

3 Comments
2022/02/13
21:46 UTC

5

Why did the Gothic language insert an epenthetic 'u' between 'h' and 'n' in its word for the number ten, "taihun", but not between 'h' and 's' in its word for "six", "saihs"? Isn't "saihs" even harder to pronounce than "taihn" is?

3 Comments
2021/09/07
20:14 UTC

4

SEEKING BURKHARDT, BURKHART, and EVERHART ANCESTRY INFORMATION

My computer crashed before I had the time to really go through anything. German and French is what I've gathered. Does anyone have information about Burkhart or Burkhardt or maybe Everhart

2 Comments
2021/04/19
05:26 UTC

3

So bit of an odd question but how do the Germanic countries view each other today?

Like Switzerland and the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden, Norway and Austria, Denmark and Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Iceland, etc etc.

2 Comments
2021/03/29
04:09 UTC

6

Live lesson for the Gothic language

Hello there,

Today at 3PM GMT (about 1 hour from now) we offer a live lesson (free) in our Discord server for the Gothic language. For this we use a special lessons method. It will be around 30 to 40 minutes as a first introductory lesson but we might have longer ones in the future (so you can still join even if you can't attend) as we cover more complex aspects of the language.

If you are interested you can join here: https://discord.gg/kxwPnQ7

Gothic is an ancient Germanic language which was spoken by the Visigoths which sacked Rome, the language has some resemblence in certain aspects to modern English and also to German, while it also helps to understand the development of Germanic languages. The language is attested by the Codex Argenteus, a 6th century Bible.

Hope to see you there if you are interested!

6 Comments
2021/03/14
14:00 UTC

2

How as the Catholic Church able to succeed in where the Roman Empire failed the most, subjugate and even civilize the warlike Barbarians Tribes like the Germanics and Picts (modern Scotland)?

Saw this post.

https://www.unrv.com/forum/topic/18854-the-catholic-church-as-the-beacon-of-order-and-stability-even-peace-after-the-fall-of-the-roman-empire-the-church-as-the-light-of-the-brutal-dark-ages-of-europe/

So I have to ask why? Why did the Romans fail even with use of their mighty armies as the OP pointed out while Church missionaries and priests eventually converted entire regions and barbarian peoples Rome could never subjugate like the Picts of Scotland even with military force (often suffering immense defeats when they entered regions like Northern Netherlands)? Yet the Catholic Church was not only able to convert these various regions and barbaric tribes through peaceful means yet also make even the most backwards and warlike of them like the Germanics of Northern Germany submissive to the Church and adopt order and civilization! How did the Church do it despite advocating a religion that condemned violence esp war and advocated order and stable civilization where as mighty armies of the most powerful civilization to have ever existed in Europe have failed so miserably?

It just doesn't make sense that the Germanics north of the Rhine who did human sacrifices and killed and killed each other for fun would eventually find a religion where a God sacrifices himself for mankind appealing to convert to! The Picts committed preying of the weak because much of their culture vouched the rule of the strong and violence as the prime laws-yet all of Scotland would convert through peaceful missionaries to Christianity which is a religion that ruled for the rich and strong to aid the poor in poverty.

The Irish clans practised nature worshipping but some how Catholic priests convinced them that it is better to live in villages and have a strong organized government than to live as random settlements in the woods and other uncultivated wilderness.

Its simple to miraculous that the Catholic Church didn't have to send knights to convert Northern Germany but did this with a couple of martyred saints! And that the Picts could be convinced by hermits wandering around to start sending charity to the poor and convert to a religion advocating responsibility to watch over the weak and needy! And for people who lived in the wild for centuries in Ireland to throw away their old Gods and follow a Church that encourages a more urban livelihood!

All without needing to send massive armies! The Romans tried to civilize these warlike savages through conquest and subjugation but they failed (often facing mass slaughter of their military forces sent to these barbarian areas they can never actually colonize). But the Church did it through peaceful means with just a couple of preachers voluntarily going across Europe!

How did this unbelievable miracle happen?

3 Comments
2021/03/10
19:35 UTC

3

What are the Wheel of the Year holidays called in Germanic languages?

The holidays are: Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon, Samhain.

11 Comments
2021/02/25
01:55 UTC

5

Which Germanic tribe lived in the Ruhr area?

I'm from Hattingen (Bochum /Essen area), in Germany and I'd like to know which tribe lived here! I only find stuff about the Marsi/Marser but they were said to have lived between the Ruhr, the Rhein and another river... which is vague af😂. So, does anyone have any Infos?

1 Comment
2021/02/10
00:15 UTC

2

Best Intro Lang to the Older Tongues?

I was wanting to get into German philology (specifically the Western family) for fun. Should I learn modern German before tackling older ones like Old English or Old High German?

My main intention is to get close to the linguistic/cultural world of the iron age tribes and successor kingdoms.

EDIT: Should note that I ask about modern German because a lot of the grammars for lesser languages of the WesGerm family (like Old Frankish or old Saxon) are by German philologists

9 Comments
2020/12/31
04:52 UTC

4

Any ideas about Para-Germanic dialects or languages?

Do we have any evidence or theories about any Para-Germanic dialects or languages that were spoken at near proximity of reconstructed Proto-Germanic? Maybe around the Baltic, or Northern Scandinavia? I mean we also have the Negau helmet with "Teiva" which could actually be a Para-Germanic dialect.

If yes, do we have any idea how the Germanic dialect continuum would look like?

2 Comments
2020/10/20
01:00 UTC

1

How to classify the predecessors of the germanic languages

I wish to understand which ancient language we really can call a germanic language first time. Is it proto-germanic, the mother language of those languages, from which finaly develope to all modern germanic languages, which is logical? Or can we speak also about palaeo-germanic and pre-germanic, which are before proto-germanic and are without those radical sound shifts, which makes proto-germanic different from other indo-european languages? If we can speak about germanic languages before proto-germanic, which are the daughter languges, for example, of palaeo-germanic? Where is the location they spoke that language and when? Please, I hope you don't tell me about large area in Scandinavia, where they spoke all those language phases for several millennia in exactly the same region.

0 Comments
2020/09/23
09:57 UTC

3

Germanic Pronouns

Hello,

I hope you all enjoy this video I just made where I compare pronouns from some Germanic languages in a historical fashion. I used English, German, Norwegian, and Icelandic, as well as Old English, Old Norse, and Proto-Germanic.

Germanic Pronouns

0 Comments
2020/09/19
12:30 UTC

1

Can anybody recommend sources to learn more about the germanic gods?

3 Comments
2020/09/08
15:23 UTC

6

Is there any map that shows the different territories of the tribes?

Especially interested in the Baden-Württemberg region.

2 Comments
2020/09/08
11:39 UTC

6

Database of nouns?

Good day all, I was wondering if there is a database of all Germanic nouns (including their original Proto-Germanic root vowel/consonant). If there is, or someone is working on it, can I please help?

1 Comment
2020/08/06
14:21 UTC

5

Days of the week in Germanic, Romance, and Celtic languages.

Hello everyone,

I thought some of you might enjoy the video I just made, where I discuss the origins of days of the week in Romance, Germanic, and Celtic languages.

I spend a majority of the video discussing Germanic languages and the way in which Icelandic differs from the other "Norse" languages and the influence of the Germanic (Norse) gods on the days of the week.

Days of the week in Romance, Celtic, and Germanic languages

0 Comments
2020/08/01
18:09 UTC

5

Translating/Converting To Proto-Germanic

I've recently been in a bit of a discovery phase in trying to find a way to write the word 'invincible' in elder futhark. The first step was to convert the word to reconstructed proto-germanic. Consulting with others, as there is no one-to-one translation, I was given this conversion:

un sterbaną likaz (un) (dying) (-like)

I'm not putting in to question the original source's intelligence. I trust them. But second opinions are always a good idea. Would this be a correct (ie: acceptable) conversion?

16 Comments
2020/07/10
14:36 UTC

3

Anyone ready for Unnr the deep minded remembrance tomorrow?

0 Comments
2020/07/09
04:06 UTC

2

Germanic discord server

Hey we made a germanic discord server if want to join here is the link:https://discord.gg/FVVDtMr

1 Comment
2020/06/11
18:10 UTC

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