Wiktionary:About Proto-West Germanic

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Proto-West Germanic is the ancestor of all West Germanic languages, old as well as modern. It is a descendant of Proto-Germanic. This page details various considerations to be taken into account when editing Proto-West Germanic entries.

Notation

Vowels

Short vowels: a e i o u
Long vowels: ā ē ī ō ū
Nasal vowels: ą̄ į̄ ų̄
Diphthongs: ai au eu iu

The long nasal vowels result from Proto-Germanic short vowels + -nh-. Other nasal vowels, in particular in the accusative plural ending, are uncertain.

Lowering of *u to *o is shown in the environments where it occurs in all descendants. In some words, for example *fugl, the lowering is found only in the southern languages, but not in the northern languages. Sometimes the situation is the other way around, most noticeably with *sturm, which lowered in all descendants except High German. Since *u is the original vowel in these words, this is the form that gets the entry, with the southern (lowered) form treated as an alternative form. Lowering of *i to *e, likewise restricted to the southern dialects, follows the same rules.

Consonants

Voiceless stops: k p t
Voiceless fricatives: f h s þ
Voiced obstruents: b d g
Sonorants: j l m n r ʀ w

The result of the gemination before *j is indicated by doubling the previous consonant, for example -nnj-. The result of gemination is unclear in the case of the Proto-Germanic labiovelars.

The outcome of Proto-Germanic *z is written with ʀ, following the traditions for Runic Norse studies. It was clearly no longer an obstruent, as it was not affected by the gemination before *j, but it was also still distinct from *r on account of dialect-specific differences.

Restrictions on semivowels:

Short vowel + j or w is not allowed unless followed by a vowel; > diphthong otherwise.
-jj- and -ww- are not allowed; > -ij- or -uw-.
-ji- and -wu- are not allowed after a consonant; > -i- or -u-.

Descendants

When descended in the usual, linear fashion, the main "old" languages are always listed in north-to-south order, with English at the top.

Old English
- Middle English
  - Scots
  - English
  - Yola
Old Frisian
- Saterland Frisian
- West Frisian
- North Frisian
Old Saxon
- Middle Low German
  - Low German
    - German Low German
      - Plautdietsch
    - Dutch Low Saxon
Old Dutch
- Middle Dutch
  - Dutch
    - Afrikaans
  - Limburgish
  - West Flemish
  - Zealandic
Old High German
- Middle High German
  - German
  - Rhine Franconian
    - Pennsylvania German
    - Volga German
  - Central Franconian
    - Hunsrik
    - Transylvanian Saxon
  - East Central German (Upper Saxon, Silesian German, etc.)
  - East Franconian
  - Bavarian
    - Cimbrian
    - Gottscheerish
    - Hutterisch
    - Mòcheno
  - Alemannic German
    - Swabian
      - Sathmar Swabian
    - Colonia Tovar German
  - Luxembourgish
  - Vilamovian
  - Yiddish
  - Zipser German

Please note that the Frankish language is considered an etymology-only variant of Proto West-Germanic per Wiktionary:Votes/2020-01/Make Frankish an etymology-only variant of Proto-West Germanic.