| − | '''Germanic languages''' are spoken in northern [[Europe]] and other parts of the world settled by northern Europeans. They include [[English]], [[Dutch]], [[Flemish]], [[German]], [[Icelandic]], [[Norwegian]], [[Danish]] and [[Swedish]]. | + | '''Germanic languages''' are a branch of [[Indo-European languages]], originally spoken in northern [[Europe]] and now in other parts of the world settled by northern Europeans. The Germanic language branch divides into the two extant branches [[North Germanic languages|North]] and [[West Germanic languages|West Germanic]] and an extinct third branch, East Germanic. All Germanic languages derive from the Proto-Germanic language which was spoken from c. 500 BC in [[Iron Age]] [[Scandinavia]], north [[Germany]] and along the [[North Sea]] and [[Baltic]] coasts. |
| | + | The Germanic languages are among the most widely spoken worldwide, with over 2 million native speakers. The most widely spoken are the Western Germanic languages [[English language|English]], with 400 million native speakers, [[German]], with 100 million, and [[Dutch language|Dutch]], with 24 million. |