East Germanic languages

The East Germanic languages ​​( also Vandilische, Illevionische or Oder- Vistula -Germanic languages ​​) form a language extinct branch of the Germanic languages. None of the classified in this tree languages ​​is still practiced today as a mother tongue. The only East Germanic language that has survived sufficiently due preserved texts, Gothic.

From other languages ​​such as Vandal, hearty and Krimgotisch it is believed that they belong to the East Germanic languages. At the last language it is assumed that it was used until the 18th century.

Term " Ostgermanisch "

The term " Ostgermanisch " is how North and West Germanic, a neologism from the 19th century. The prefix " East " refers to the earliest known homeland east of the Oder. For the first time, the philologist Karl Müllenhoff and Wilhelm Scherer shared a the Germans in West and East Germans. The term " East Germans " they used as an umbrella term for the Scandinavian (now North Germanic ) and Gothic (now East Germanic ) group. Ferdinand Wrede wrote in 1886: " We are used to the term, gothic ' generally applicable to the language of the wandilischen tribe, which is certainly inaccurate ". He took the term " Wandilisch " used by Pliny on. In the following years, this conceptualization prevailed. Due to the increasingly preferred tripartite division of the Germanic, the term " Ostgermanisch " beginning of the 20th century supplanted the term " Wandilisch ". For the North and East Germanic group, the terms " Gotonordisch " were later ( Richard Loewe, 1922; Ernst Schwarz, 1951) or " Nordostgermanisch " needed. Today's standard divisions of the Germanic largely based on the five- division of Friedrich Maurer ( 1942), who described this group as " Oder- Vistula - Germanic " or " Illevionen ".

Classification and differences

Several times tried to bring the East Germanic was with the other Germanic branches in conjunction. The problem was that the language groups have different morphological similarities.

Similarities between the language branches

Similarities of the North and East Germanic

Among the most important similarities of the Gothic and Old Norse the declination part in the nominative case by appending an - s or an -r, eg Goth, dags, Old Norse. dagr "the day ". Likewise, given the North and East Germanic, the combination of sounds - from - ggw PGmc. * - ww- and PGmc. * jj developed in Old Norse. to - ggj and in Gothic. to - ddj -. There are also other morphological similarities, such as 1 p Opt Goth -au, cod = Old Norse. -a,- yes.

Similarities of the North and West Germanic

The reason why today tends towards a Northwest Germanic, is that the Gothic has preserved several archaisms and did not take recent developments. This is supported by the so-called rhotacism cf. Gothic -looking, Old Norse. ver, we NHG, or the drop of reduplicating past, cf OHG het prev. Gothic haihait " he said ."

Similarities between the East and West Germanic

The similarities of the Gothic with those of the West Germanic are too low in comparison with the Old Norse, to speak of a "West - East Germanic " transitional language. Only the classification of Lombard, Burgundian or Suebian led to the adoption of a common language German.

Relationship to the other language branches

In the 19th century it was felt due to the similarities of a closer relationship between the North and the East Germanic Germanic. In addition, traditional Jordanes implicitly that the Goths had their origins in Scandinavia ( see also Gotland ). The similarities of the North and West Germanic were regarded as secondary development: " However justified these coincidences with no close relationship of the dialects, but are to be regarded as younger Common Germanic development, from the Gothic has remained untouched because of its induced by the migration of isolation ". In the 20th century, the theory of the tripartite division of the Germanic sat through that refuted Friedrich Maurer with his theory of the five Germanic tribes from 1942. The hypothesis of a so-called gotonordischen transitional speech in 1951 proclaimed again by Ernst Schwarz and found in the following period increased consent, Hans Krahe 1956 and Lehmann 1966. Published in 1975 Elmer Antonsen his theory of a Northwest Germanic transitional language which is still held by many. Today, however, is of the view that the Germanic language groups have influenced a long time and it is the division has more to geographical priorities, as historical proto- languages. An East Germanic original language is therefore no longer accepted.

Languages

• Burgundian
• Gothic Krimgotisch

They are attributed to strains used for the next East Germans also the name Oder- Vistula Germans.