| covers the "Germanic" or Norsk + Frysk set, part of the "Indo-European" intercontinental affinity; comprising 1 set of languages (= 25 outer languages) spoken traditionally by communities in Europe, extending from Iceland to eastern Europe, with extensions to all other continents of the world: 52-A NORSK + FRYSK including 2 arterial languages: English; Deutsch (German). Historically, the Germanic set was tripartite, represented by the [52=-A] Nordic, [52=-C] Continental West Germanic & [52=-D] extinct Gothic chains. [52=-B] Anglic (English + Anglo-Creole) is now better treated as a fourth chain, having diverged from the languages of [52=-C] under influence ◁ [51=] Romance, esp. French, and also [52=-A] Nordic (see also note below under [52=-C] Frysk + Frasch). This zone and set include (1) the language spoken in Europe west of Russia by the largest number of primary voices, i.e. German, and (2) the language spoken on the planet by the largest number of alternate voices, i.e. English. |