The Germanic languages include some 58 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects that originated in Europe; this language family is part of the Indo-European language family. Each subfamily in this list contains subgroups and individual languages.

The standard division of Germanic is into three branches:

  • East Germanic languages
  • North Germanic languages
  • West Germanic languages

They all descend from Proto-Germanic, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European.

South Germanic languages, an attempt to classify some of the West Germanic languages into a separate group, is rejected by the overwhelming majority of scholars.

† denotes extinct languages.

West Germanic

  • Proto-West Germanic
  • High German languages
  • Old High German† & Middle High German†
  • Modern German
  • Upper German
  • High Franconian
  • East Franconian
  • South Franconian
  • Alemannic
  • Swabian, including Stuttgart
  • Low Alemannic, including the area of Lake Constance and Basel German
  • Alsatian
  • Colonia Tovar German
  • Central Alemannic
  • Argentinien-schwyzertütsch
  • Italian Walser
  • High Alemannic, including Zürich German and Bernese German
  • Highest Alemannic, including the Bernese Oberland dialects and Walliser German
  • Bavarian
  • Northern Bavarian (including Nuremberg)
  • Central Bavarian (including Munich and Vienna)
  • Southern Bavarian (including Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, and Bolzano, Italy)
  • Hutterite German aka "Tirolean"
  • Mócheno
  • Cimbrian
  • Central German
  • West Central German
  • Amana German
  • Central Franconian
  • Ripuarian Franconian
  • Moselle Franconian
  • Hunsrik
  • Luxembourgish
  • Transylvanian Saxon
  • Rhine Franconian
  • Hessian
  • Palatine
  • Pennsylvania German (spoken by the Amish and other groups in southeastern Pennsylvania
  • Lorraine Franconian
  • East Central German
  • Thuringian
  • Upper Saxon
  • North Upper Saxon–South Markish
  • Silesian
  • Halcnovian
  • Wymysorys (with a significant influence from Low Saxon, Dutch, Polish, and Scots)
  • High Prussian
  • Yiddish (with a significant influx of vocabulary from Hebrew and other languages, and traditionally written in the Hebrew alphabet)
  • Eastern Yiddish
  • Western Yiddish
  • Low Franconian languages
  • Old Frankish†
  • Old Low Franconian†
  • Old East Low Franconian† / Old Limburgian†
  • Middle Limburgian†
  • Limburgian
  • Old West Low Franconian† / Old Dutch†
  • Middle Dutch†
  • Modern Dutch
  • West Flemish
  • East Flemish
  • Zeelandic
  • Central Dutch
  • Hollandic
  • Kleverlandish
  • Brabantine
  • Brusselian
  • Stadsfries dialects
  • Afrikaans (with a significant influx of vocabulary from other languages)
  • Low German languages
  • Old Saxon† & Middle Low German†
  • Modern Low German
  • West Low German
  • Northern Low Saxon
  • East Frisian Low Saxon
  • Westphalian
  • Eastphalian
  • East Low German
  • Brandenburgisch
  • Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch
  • Middle Pomeranian
  • East Pomeranian
  • Low Prussian
  • Plautdietsch (Mennonite Low German, used also in many other countries)
  • Anglo-Frisian languages
  • Old Frisian†
  • Frisian
  • West Frisian languages
  • West Frisian language (spoken in the Netherlands)
  • Clay Frisian (Klaaifrysk)
  • Wood Frisian (Wâldfrysk)
  • Noardhoeks
  • South Frisian (Súdhoeks)
  • Southwest Frisian (Súdwesthoeksk)
  • Schiermonnikoogs
  • Hindeloopers
  • Aasters
  • Westers
  • East Frisian language (spoken in Germany)
  • Saterland Frisian
  • Wangerooge Frisian†
  • Wursten Frisian†
  • North Frisian language (spoken in Germany)
  • Mainland Frisian
  • Mooring
  • Goesharde Frisian
  • Wiedingharde Frisian
  • Halligen Frisian
  • Karrharde Frisian
  • Island Frisian
  • Söl'ring
  • Fering
  • Öömrang
  • Heligolandic
  • Anglic
  • English language (dialects)
  • Old English†
  • Middle English† (significant influx of words from Old French)
  • Early Modern English†
  • Modern English
  • British English (English English, including Northern English, East Midlands English, West Midlands English, Southern English, and others, Welsh English, Scottish English) and Irish English
  • North American English (American English and Canadian English)
  • Australian English and New Zealand English
  • South African English
  • Zimbabwean English
  • South Asian English (Indian English)
  • South East Asian English (Philippine English, Singapore English, Malaysian English)
  • West Indian English (Caribbean English)
  • Lowland Scots
  • Early Scots†
  • Middle Scots†
  • Modern Scots
  • Glasgow
  • Northern Scots
  • North Northern
  • Black Isle and Easter Ross
  • Cromarty†
  • Mid Northern (North East Scots or the Doric)
  • South Northern
  • Central Scots
  • Southern Scots
  • Insular Scots
  • Orcadian
  • Shetland dialect
  • Ulster Scots
  • Yola†
  • Fingallian†

North Germanic

;Ancestral classification

  • Proto-Norse <sup>†</sup>
  • Old Norse <sup>†</sup>
  • West Scandinavian
  • Old West Norse <sup>†</sup>
  • Old Norwegian <sup>†</sup>
  • Middle Norwegian <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Norwegian dialects
  • (Northern Norway)
  • (Bodø)
  • Brønnøy dialect (Brønnøy)
  • (Helgeland)
  • other dialects
  • Trøndersk (Trøndelag)
  • (Fosen)
  • (Härjedalen)
  • Jämtland dialects (Jämtland province) (wide linguistic similarity with the Trøndersk dialects in Norway)
  • Meldal dialect (Meldal)
  • (Tydal)
  • other dialects
  • Vestlandsk (Western and Southern Norway)
  • West (Vestlandet)
  • Bergen dialect (Bergen)
  • (Haugesund)
  • (Jæren district)
  • (Karmøy)
  • (Nordmøre)
  • (Sunndalsøra)
  • (Romsdal)
  • Sandnes dialect (Sandnes)
  • Sogn dialect (Sogn district)
  • (Sunnmøre)
  • Stavanger dialect (Stavanger)
  • (Midhordland district)
  • South (Sørlandet)
  • Arendal dialect (Arendal region)
  • (Upper Setesdal, Valle)
  • other dialects
  • (Eastern Norway)
  • (Lowland districts)
  • Vikværsk dialects (Viken district)
  • (Andebu)
  • (Bohuslän province) (influenced by Swedish in retrospective)
  • (Grenland district)
  • Oslo dialect (Oslo)
  • (Mid-east districts)
  • (Ringerike district)
  • (Hønefoss)
  • (Ådal)
  • (Opplandene district)
  • Hedmark dialects (Hedmark)
  • (Solør)
  • (Hadeland district)
  • (Viken district)
  • Särna-Idre dialect (Särna and Idre)
  • (Midland districts)
  • Gudbrandsdal dialect (Gudbrandsdalen, Oppland and Upper Folldal, Hedmark)
  • Hallingdal-Valdres dialects (Hallingdal, Valdres)
  • Valdris dialect (Valdres district)
  • Telemark-Numedal dialects (Telemark and Numedal)
  • other dialects
  • Old Faroese <sup>†</sup>
  • Middle Faroese <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Faroese
  • Norn †
  • Caithness Norn †
  • Orkney Norn †
  • Shetland Norn †
  • Old Icelandic <sup>†</sup>
  • Middle Icelandic <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Icelandic
  • Greenlandic Norse †
  • East Scandinavian
  • Old East Norse <sup>†</sup>
  • Old Danish <sup>†</sup>
  • Middle Danish <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Danish
  • Bornholmsk
  • Island Danish
  • Jutlandic/Jutish
  • North Jutlandic
  • East Jutlandic
  • West Jutlandic
  • South Jutlandic (; )
  • Gøtudanskt (Faroese street Danish)
  • Urban East Norwegian (generally considered a Norwegian dialect)
  • Old Swedish <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Swedish
  • Norrland dialects
  • Svealand Swedish
  • Dalecarlian
  • Elfdalian (considered a Swedish Sveamål dialect, but has official orthography and is, because of a lower degree of mutual intelligibility with Swedish, considered a separate language by many linguists, see p.&nbsp;6 in this reference)
  • Götamål (Götaland)
  • East Swedish
  • Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia
  • Other dialects of Finland Swedish
  • Estonian Swedish
  • South Swedish
  • Gutnish
  • Old Gutnish <sup>†</sup>
  • Modern Gutnish

;Alternate classification of contemporary North Germanic languages based on mutual intelligibility

  • Insular Scandinavian
  • Icelandic
  • Faroese
  • Continental Scandinavian
  • Danish
  • Norwegian
  • Swedish

East Germanic

See: East Germanic languages#Classification

  • Germanic language tree

References