Branch of the Indo-European languages from Northern Europe, including English, German, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages
3
votes
0answers
24 views
What is the relative chronology of Grimm's and Verner's Law?
I'm trying to understand the relative chronology of Grimm's Law and Verner's Law. I understand that there are different views, and that it is not easy to work out. I believe Ringe argues that the ...
0
votes
0answers
45 views
The “close front rounded vowel” mainly used in Germanic, Altaic and far Asian languages
Why is the "close front rounded vowel" /y/ mainly used in Germanic, Altaic and far Asian languages but rare in Latin*, Indo-Iranian and Slavic languages?
Can we say that Germanic phonetics is less ...
0
votes
2answers
67 views
Lingustic relationship between plural suffixes in Turkish and -er in some Nordic/Germanic languages
What's the linguistic relationship between plural suffixes "-ler/-lar" in Turkish and "-er" in some Nordic/Germanic languages?
0
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0answers
53 views
Do all languages with pre-positional articles have zero-articles if they don't have post-positional articles?
To clarify, pre-positional articles are the articles positioned before a noun they refer to, like English the or a(n).
Post-positional articles are those positioned after a noun they refer to, like ...
4
votes
0answers
40 views
Origin of actual order pattern in English/German
It is well-known, or better said, well-accepted, that the ancestral language Proto-Indo-European (PIE) was a OV language with a very limited (or nonexistent) use of subordinate clauses. In ...
5
votes
1answer
129 views
History of the verb positioning in German
In German, the word order is SVO (or V2, to be precise) in main clauses, while in subordinate clauses have the finite verb in final position; there is some discussion of the word order in "German is ...
3
votes
1answer
115 views
Explaining the relationship between “short”, “kurz” and “curzu”
I've recently noticed something that I can't explain, a link between German and Sardinian. Two languages that, at least apparently for me, are not supposed to be that linked. Also English is included ...
4
votes
0answers
131 views
Word order typology in Germanic
I am not a native speaker of English, but I study English and Dutch. I have noticed that the two languages differ in their degree of flexibility. The following sentence, for example, is not acceptable ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views
How does the word “thunder” get the letter “d”?
thunder
O.E. þunor, from P.Gmc. thunraz (cf. O.N. þorr, O.Fris. thuner, M.Du. donre, Du. donder, O.H.G. donar, Ger. Donner "thunder"), from PIE (s)tene- "to resound, thunder" (cf. Skt. tanayitnuh ...
4
votes
1answer
144 views
Why does the Old Norse word “maðr” include “ð”, while its cognate E “man” doesn't?
maðr
From Proto-Germanic *mann-, whence also Old English mann, Old High German man.
mann-
Descendants
Old English: mann, man; manna
English: man
Old Frisian: man, mon
West Frisian: ...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
How does the Icelandic word “finna” come from Proto-Germanic “finþanan”?
finna
From Old Norse finna, from Proto-Germanic *finþanan.
finþanan
From Proto-Indo-European *pent-, *penth- (“to go, pass; path, bridge”). Cognate with Latin pons (“bridge”), Old Indian ...
10
votes
3answers
1k views
The Origin of the Word 'God'
I originally posted this a while ago on my blog, but someone recently suggested that I pose it as a question here.
A brief Wikipedia search on the origin of the word ‘god’ reveals the following:
...
3
votes
1answer
194 views
How can I distinguish Dutch from Flemish from Afrikaans at a glance?
I don't know Dutch, Flemish, or Afrikaans, but will sometimes, on coming across a writing sample of one of them, wish to know which it is. How do I distinguish them in their written forms?
5
votes
1answer
172 views
How can I distinguish modern Scandinavian languages at a glance?
I don't know Danish, Nynorsk, or Bokmål, but will sometimes, on coming across a writing sample of one of them, wish to know which it is. How do I distinguish them in their written forms?
(I'd include ...
4
votes
1answer
174 views
Is there a grammatical construction found in one Germanic language that isn't found in other Germanic languages?
If I recall correctly, Portuguese is unique among Romance languages for having infinitives that take pronoun clitics and so form equivalents to English constructions such as "for you to (do X)" or ...
10
votes
1answer
281 views
About the Swedish /ɧ/
Swedish has quite a peculiarity that I haven't found (yet) in other languages. There are some spellings that are pronounced all the same way. Currently the number of these spellings is disputed, but ...
