Anglo-Frisian

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Anglo-Frisian
Insular Germanic
Geographic
distribution:
Originally, the British Isles and the North Sea coast from Friesland to Jutland; today worldwide
Genetic
classification
:
Indo-European
 Germanic
  West Germanic
   Anglo-Frisian
Subdivisions:
The Anglo-Frisian languages are a subdivision of the Germanic Languages      Dutch (West Germanic)      High German (West Germanic)      Anglic group or Insular Anglo-Frisian (West Germanic)      Frisian group or Continental Anglo-Frisian (West Germanic)      East North Germanic      West North Germanic      Line dividing the North from West Germanic languages.

The Anglo-Frisian languages (sometimes Insular Germanic) are a group of Ingvaeonic West Germanic languages consisting of Old English, Old Frisian, and their descendants. The Anglo-Frisian family tree is:

The Anglo-Frisian languages are distinguished from other West Germanic languages partially by the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law, Anglo-Frisian brightening and by the palatalization of Proto-Germanic *k to a coronal affricate before front vowels: cf. English cheese and West Frisian tsiis to Dutch kaas and German Käse, or English church and West Frisian tsjerke to Dutch kerk and German Kirche. Early Anglo-Frisian formed a Sprachbund with Old Saxon, which is counted among the Low Saxon-Low Franconian languages.

The German linguist Friedrich Maurer rejected Anglo-Frisian as a historical subdivision of the Germanic languages. Instead, he proposed North Sea Germanic or Ingvaeonic, a common ancestor of Old Frisian, Old English and Old Saxon.

Examples

Compare the words for the numbers one to ten in the Anglo-Frisian languages.

Language 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
English one two three four five six seven eight nine ten
Scots ane
ae
twa three fower five sax sieven aicht nine ten
Yola oane twye dhree vowér veeve zeese zebbem ayght neene dhen
West Frisian ien twa trije fjouwer fiif seis sân acht njoggen tsien
Saterland Frisian (Seeltersk) aan twäi
twäin
twoo
träi fjauwer fieuw säks soogen oachte njugen tjoon
North Frisian (Mooring dialect) iinj
ån
tou
tuu
trii
tra
fjouer fiiw seeks soowen oocht nüügen tiin

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 13 October 2008, at 14:13.

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