West Germanic language

Węstgeɍmaniſ
Pronounced:	/wɛst.'geəːr.mɑ:n.iʃ/
Timeline and Universe:	Present, Earth
Species:	Human
Spoken:	Europe
Total speakers:	Unknown
Writing system:	Latin alphabet (West Germanic variant)
Genealogy:	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic Anglo-Frisian Anglic Old English (New) West Germanic
Typology
Morphological type:	Inflecting
Morphosyntactic alignment:	Nominative-accusative
Basic word order:	V2
Credits
Creator:	S.C. Anderson
Created:	July 2008

(New) West Germanic (Węstgeɍmaniſ) is a recent West Germanic language, which is closely related to others such as Dutch, English, Frisian and German as well as sharing some traits with North Germanic languages. West Germanic is a descendant of Old English, with an amount of vocabulary derived from Modern Dutch.

West Germanic grammar is similar to that of Dutch and German, particularly its syntax, but has undergone a degree of deflexion, much more so than Dutch but mostly not to the extent of English. West Germanic has retained the usage of three genders, yet these have become simplified because they now relate purely to biological gender.

As Dutch and English, the consonant system of West Germanic did not undergo the High German consonant shift. Complex consonant clusters are, typically of Germanic languages, allowed by the syllable structure.

West Germanic vocabulary could be said to be more Germanic in origin than its predecessors due to drawing neologisms from compounds of old words whereas others have shunned native words in favour of Latin or Greek equivalents; German followed a similar process, which has however been taken a step further in West Germanic.

History

The Germanic languages in Europe are divided into North (blue) and West Germanic (green and orange) languages

West Germanic is artificially descended from the language - now known as Anglo-Saxon - of England's Germanic invaders, which displaced the indigenous Brythonic languages. As a result of this, New West Germanic maintains a link with the North Germanic family due to Old Norse's influence on English. Old English was deemed an appropriate root because, under the rule of Anglo-Saxon kings, it thrived, thought to have coined new words from native roots rather than borrow foreign words. This is a trend that continues in the West Germanic language. The Norman Conquest occurred in 1066, marking the beginning of the Middle English era; thereafter, there is no influence on West Germanic. New words added to the lexicon come from modern Dutch, a widely-spoken, present-day relative of Old English, which has linguistically evolved little since the late 16th century.

Sample

Here is a sample prose text, the beginning of The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan:

Old English

Ōhthere sǣde his hlāforde, Ælfrēde cyninge, ðæt hē ealra Norðmonna norþmest būde. Hē cwæð þæt hē būde on þǣm lande norþweardum wiþ þā Westsǣ. Hē sǣde þēah þæt þæt land sīe swīþe lang norþ þonan; ac hit is eal wēste, būton on fēawum stōwum styccemǣlum wīciað Finnas, on huntoðe on wintra, ond on sumera on fiscaþe be þǣre sǣ. Hē sǣde þæt hē æt sumum cirre wolde fandian hū longe þæt land noþryhte lǣge, oþþe hwæðer ǣnig mon be norðan þǣm wēstenne būde. Þā fōr hē norþryhte be þǣm lande: lēt him ealne weg þæt wēste land on ðæt stēorbord, ond þā wīdsǣ on ðæt bæcbord þrīe dagas. Þā wæs hē swā feor norþ swā þā hwælhuntan firrest faraþ. Þā fōr hē þā giet norþryhte swā feor swā hē meahte on þǣm ōþrum þrīm dagum gesiglau. Þā bēag þæt land, þǣr ēastryhte, oþþe sēo sǣ in on ðæt lond, hē nysse hwæðer, būton hē wisse ðæt hē ðǣr bād westanwindes ond hwōn norþan, ond siglde ðā ēast be lande swā swā hē meahte on fēower dagum gesiglan. Þā sceolde hē ðǣr bīdan ryhtnorþanwindes, for ðǣm þæt land bēag þǣr sūþryhte, oþþe sēo sǣ in on ðæt land, hē nysse hwæþer. Þā siglde hē þonan sūðryhte be lande swā swā hē meahte on fīf dagum gesiglan. Ðā læg þǣr ān micel ēa ūp on þæt land. Ðā cirdon hīe ūp in on ðā ēa for þǣm hīe ne dorston forþ bī þǣre ēa siglan for unfriþe; for þǣm ðæt land wæs eall gebūn on ōþre healfe þǣre ēas. Ne mētte hē ǣr nān gebūn land, siþþan hē from his āgnum hām fōr; ac him wæs ealne weg wēste land on þæt stēorbord, būtan fiscerum ond fugelerum ond huntum, ond þæt wǣron eall Finnas; ond him wæs āwīdsǣ on þæt bæcbord. Þā Boermas heafdon sīþe wel gebūd hiraland: ac hīe ne dorston þǣr on cuman. Ac þāra Terfinna land wæs eal wēste, būton ðǣr huntan gewīcodon, oþþe fisceras, oþþe fugeleras.

West Germanic

Oħteɍe kwąt his lavoɍdųm„ Kųn Ąlfredę„ he ęl Noɍtmęnę noɍtmest wuni. He kwąt he wuni in tąm lǫnd noɍtweɍd lǫn tąm Noɍtsá. He kwąt téħ tąt lǫnd si swidę lǫn taɍut, ak hit is ęl westęlǫnd, butǫn in fé stedęsųm stųŧęmąl wiŧę Fįnz, hųnti ųmbę wįntɍųm ǫnd ųmbę sumoɍųm fiſi be tąm sá. He kwąt he ųmbę sum tidųm wǫldę hu lǫn tąt lǫnd noɍtweɍd liðę fįndǫn, ǫdę wądɍ ąnaɉ mąn noɍt westęlǫndęnę wuni. Ta foɍ he noɍt tąm lǫndųm. Ħjǫld he ęl wiɉ tis westęlǫnd ųmbę his sŧoɍboɍdųm ǫnd tis widsá ųmbę his bąŧboɍdųm ŧri daɉs. Ta wąs he swa fjoɍ noɍt wąlhųnteɍęs fjoɍst farę. Ta foɍ he jįt noɍt swa fjoɍ he in odɍ ŧri daɉsųm sįlę. Ta bugę tąt lǫnd ést, ǫdę tąt sá in tis lǫnd„ he ne wįsę wądɍ„ ak he wįsę he taɍ bidę węstwįndzǫn ǫnd won noɍt, ǫnd sįldę ést tąm lǫnd swa he in fjowɍ daɉsųm sįlę. Ta ſǫldę he noɍtwįndzǫn bidǫn, ųmbętąt tąt lǫnd sut bugę, ǫdę tąt sá in tis lǫnd„ he ne wįsę wądɍ. Ta sįldę he taɍut sut tąm lǫnd swa he in fif daɉsųm sįlę. Ta liðę taɍ miŧęl é ųpǫn tis lǫnd. Ta węndę hi ųpǫn tis é, ųmbętąt hi ne doɍstę foɍt be tąm é to ǫndjųm sįlǫn, ųmbętąt tąt lǫnd si ęl sąt ųmbę tąm odɍ hęlf tąs é. He hąftę naħt aɍ ąnaɉ sąt lǫndǫn meted, sįtǫn he ut his ajęn hamųm foɍ; ak ęl wiɉ wąs tąt westęlǫnd ųmbę his sŧoɍboɍdųm, butǫn fiſeɍęsųm, fugǫleɍęsųm ǫnd hųnteɍęsųm, tąt si ęl Fįnz; ǫnd wąs tąt widsá ęl wiɉ ųmbę his bąŧboɍdųm. Tąt Boeɍmęs hąf hįrę lǫndǫn swidę węl ųmbwoɍfęn, ak hi doɍstę naħt taɍin gǫn. Ak tąt Teɍfįnęnę lǫnd si ęl westę, butǫn waɍ hųnteɍęs wiŧędę, ǫdę fiſeɍęs ǫdę fugǫleɍęs.

Modern English

Ohthere said to his lord, King Alfred, that he of all Norsemen lived north-most. He quoth that he lived in the land northward along the North Sea. He said though that the land was very long from there, but it is all wasteland, except that in a few places here and there Finns [i.e. Sami] encamp, hunting in winter and in summer fishing by the sea. He said that at some time he wanted to find out how long the land lay northward or whether any man lived north of the wasteland. Then he traveled north by the land. All the way he kept the waste land on his starboard and the wide sea on his port three days. Then he was as far north as whale hunters furthest travel. Then he traveled still north as far as he might sail in another three days. Then the land bowed east (or the sea into the land— he didn’t know which). But he knew that he waited there for west winds (and somewhat north), and sailed east by the land so as he might sail in four days. Then he had to wait due-north winds, because the land bowed south (or the sea into the land—he didn’t know which). Then he sailed from there south by the land so as he might sail in five days. Then a large river lay there up into the land. Then they turned up into the river, because they dared not sail forth past the river for hostility, because the land was all settled on the other side of the river. He hadn’t encountered earlier any settled land since he traveled from his own home; but all the way waste land was on his starboard (except fishers, fowlers and hunters, who were all Finns). And the wide sea was always on his port. The Bjarmians have cultivated their land very well, but they did not dare go in there. But the Terfinn’s land was all waste except where hunters encamped, or fishers or fowlers.

Phonology

Phonemes

Consonants

The following table shows the consonant phonemes found in West Germanic. When consonants appear in pairs, fortis consonants (i.e. aspirated or voiceless) appear on the left and lenis consonants (i.e. lightly voiced or voiced) appear on the right:

Consonant phonemes of West Germanic
	Bilabial	Labio- dental	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Nasal	m		n
Plosive	p¹ b		t¹ d			k¹ ɡ	(ʔ)²
Affricate				tʃ dʒ
Fricative		f v	s z	ʃ	ç	x	h
Approximant			ɹ		j	w
Lateral			l³

Voiceless bilabial, alveolar and velar plosives are aspirated initially.
[ʔ] is not a separate phoneme in West Germanic, but is inserted before vowel-initial syllables within words after vowels and often also at the beginning of a word.
/l/ is velarised in the syllable coda.

Vowels

Monophthongs of West Germanic
	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u
Near-close	ɪ		ʊ
Close-mid	e		o
Mid		ə
Open-mid	ɛ œ		ɔ
Near-open	æ
Open			ɑ ɒ

Three diphthongs are encountered in West Germanic: /eə/, /aɪ/ and /ɔɪ/, and [eɪ] as an allophone of /e/.

Phonotactics

Syllable structure

The syllable structure of West Germanic is (C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C). Many words, like in English, begin with three consonants, e.g. ſtret ('street'). There are words that end in three consonants, e.g. betst ('best'), most of them being in the superlative form. The shortest words consist of a single vowel, e.g. aɉ ('egg') and é ('river').

Onset

The following can occur as the onset:

All single consonant phonemes except /x/

Plosive other than /t/, /d/ plus approximant

Voiceless fricative other than /x/, /h/ plus approximant (excluding /sɹ/, ʃj/)

Nasal plus /j/

Voiced fricative other than /x/, /h/ plus /j/

Affricate plus approximant other than /j/, /l/

/s/ plus voiceless plosive other than /k/

/s/ plus nasal

/s/ plus voiceless plosive plus approximant (excluding /str/, /stj/, /skw/, /skj/)

Nucleus

All vowel sounds can occur as the nucleus.

Coda

All of the following, except those which end in /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ or /dʒ/, can be extended with either /s/ or /z/ representing the morpheme -s.

The following can occur as the coda:

All single consonant phonemes except /h/, /w/

Lateral approximant plus plosive

Lateral approximant plus fricative or affricate

Lateral approximant plus nasal

Nasal plus homorganic plosive

Nasal plus affricate

Voiceless fricative plus voiceless plosive (excluding /sk/)

Two voiceless plosives

Voiceless plosive plus /s/, /ʃ/

Lateral approximant plus two consonants

Nasal plus homorganic plosive plus plosive or fricative

Three obstruents

Syllable-level rules

Both the onset and coda are optional

Word-level rules

The checked vowels /æ/, /ɛ/, /ı/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/ cannot occur without a coda

The diphthong /eə/ cannot occur without a coda in a polysyllabic word

Stress

Stress in West Germanic, unlike English and Dutch, is not phonemic; however, like English, stressed syllables are louder, longer and higher-pitched than unstressed syllables. Grammatical words do not normally receive stress, whereas lexical words have at least one stressed syllable. Similarly, within words, grammatical morphemes are not stressed; thus, while regular stress in West Germanic falls on the first syllable, words containing prefixes receive stress on the syllable that follows the prefix, e.g. compare kumǫn /'kuːm.ɒn/ ('to come') with beŧumǫn /be.'ʧuːm.ɒn/ ('to arrive', 'to receive'). In composite words, secondary stress is often present. Marking the stress in West Germanic where there are exceptions to the aforementioned rules, other than in proper nouns, is obligatary. West Germanic is a stress-timed language, with unstressed syllables often shortened to accommodate the tempo.

Intonation

Prosodic stress is extra stress given to words when they appear in certain positions in an utterance or when they receive special emphasis. Prosodic stress can shift for various pragmatic functions, such as focus or contrast. For instance, consider the dialogue:

« ¿Is moɍgenwįst tomoɍgen? »

'Is it breakfast tomorrow?'

« Na, is ąävenwįst tomoɍgen. »

'No, it's dinner tomorrow.'

In this case, the extra stress shifts from the last stressed syllable of the sentence, tomoɍgen /to.'mɔːrg.en/ ('tomorrow'), to the first stressed syllable of the emphasised word, ąävenwįst /"æv.en.wɪst/ ('dinner').

Historical Sound Changes

The following chart shows the correspondence between Old English and West Germanic phonemes:

Old English phoneme	West Germanic phoneme
ɑ	ɑ
æ	æ
e	e
i	i
o	o
u	u
y	u
æɑ	eə
eo, eʊ	jo
ɪ	ɪ
b	b
k	k, ʧ*
ʧ	ʧ
ʤ	ʤ
d	d
θ	t
ð	d
f	f
v	v
g	g
ɣ	g
j	j, g*
h	h, ç*
x	x, ç*
ç	x, ç*
l	l
m	m
n	n
p	p
ɹ	ɹ
s	s
z	z
ʃ	ʃ
sk	ʃ
t	t
w	w
ŋ	n

The Old English rule provides that <c> and <g> are usually [ʧ] and [j], respectively, before or after a front vowel, whereas in West Germanic, this is always the case.

[h] becomes [ç] before /eo/, /eʊ/.

[ç] and [x] are generally perceived as interchangeable variations.

Old English gemination (in <ff>, <ss> and <þþ>) is not preserved in West Germanic, with these graphemes becoming [f] or [v], [s] or [z], and [t] or [d] respectively. Note that gemination does occur across words when the last consonant in a given word and the first consonant in the following word are the same fricative, nasal, or plosive.

All double consonant graphemes in Old English affect the preceding vowel phoneme: [ɑ] > [æ], [e] > [ɛ], [i] > [ɪ], [o] > [ɒ], [u] > [ʊ].

Where there was [ŋ] in Old English, it becomes [n], but also alters the preceding vowel: [ɑ] > [ɒ], [e] > [ɛ], [i] > [ɪ], [o] > [ɒ], [u] > [ʊ], [eə] > [æ]. This same vowel shift occurs before any consonant cluster beginning with a nasal as well as after any consonant cluster.

Syllable-final /j/ modifies the preceding vowel: [i], [æ] > [aj], and [e], [u] > [oj].

/g/, when it precedes /t/, becomes /k/.

The Dutch phonemes correspond mostly to those of West Germanic in the same way as the Old English phonemes, with the following additional rules and exceptions:

Dutch phoneme	West Germanic phoneme
ɪ	i
ʏ	ʊ
ɛ	e
e	ɪ
ø	o
ɑ	æ
a	ɑ
ɔ	ɑ
o	ɑ
u	o
ɛi	i

Orthography

West Germanic orthography uses a variant of the Latin alphabet adapted to suit the needs of the language. It is closer than Dutch to phonemic spelling, which has a 'reputation of being particularly logical'. If one is familiar with the system, pronunciation can be deduced easily from spelling as well as vice versa.

Alphabet

The following letters comprise the West Germanic alphabet:

Letter	Native name	IPA name
A a	a	/ɑ/
B b	be	/be/
C c	ce	/dʒe/
D d	de	/de/
E e	e	/e/
F f	fe	/fe/
G g	ge	/ge/
H h	he	/he/
I i	i	/i/
J j	je	/je/
K k	ke	/ke/
L l	le	/le/
M m	me	/me/
N n	ne	/ne/
O o	o	/o/
P p	pe	/pe/
Q q	eq	/ex/
R r	re	/re/
S s	se	/se/
T t	te	/te/
U u	u	/u/
V v	ve	/ve/
W w	we	/we/
X x	xe	/ʃe/
Z z	ze	/ze/
Â â	â	/æ/
Ê ê	ê	/ɛ/
Î î	î	/ɪ/
Ô ô	ô	/ɒ/
Û û	û	/ʊ/
Ẽ ẽ	ẽ	/eə/
Õ õ	õ	/ɔ/
Ũ ũ	ũ	/œ/
Æ æ	æ	/aɪ/
Œ œ	œ	/ɔɪ/