West Germanic language

/wɛst dʒərˌmænɪk ˌlæŋgwɪdʒ/
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Other forms: West Germanic languages

Definitions of West Germanic language
  1. noun
    a branch of the Germanic languages
    synonyms: West Germanic
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    types:
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    English, English language
    an Indo-European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and the United States and most of the commonwealth countries
    German, German language, High German
    the standard German language; developed historically from West Germanic
    Low German, Plattdeutsch
    a German dialect spoken in northern Germany
    Dutch
    the West Germanic language of the Netherlands
    Frisian
    a West Germanic language spoken in Friesland in the northwestern Netherlands; a near relative of English
    American, American English, American language
    the English language as used in the United States
    cockney
    the nonstandard dialect of natives of the east end of London
    geordie
    the nonstandard dialect of natives of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
    King's English, Queen's English
    English as spoken by educated persons in southern England
    Received Pronunciation
    the approved pronunciation of British English; originally based on the King's English as spoken at public schools and at Oxford and Cambridge Universities (and widely accepted elsewhere in Britain); until recently it was the pronunciation of English used in British broadcasting
    Middle English
    English from about 1100 to 1450
    Modern English
    English since about 1450
    Anglo-Saxon, Old English
    English prior to about 1100
    Oxford English
    the dialect of English spoken at Oxford University and regarded by many as affected and pretentious
    Scots, Scots English, Scottish
    the dialect of English used in Scotland
    Old High German
    High German prior to 1200
    Middle High German
    High German from 1100 to 1500
    Yiddish
    a dialect of High German including some Hebrew and other words; spoken in Europe as a vernacular by many Jews; written in the Hebrew script
    Pennsylvania Dutch
    a dialect of High German spoken in parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland
    Old Saxon
    Low German prior to 1200
    Middle Low German
    Low German from 1100 to 1500
    Flemish, Flemish dialect
    one of two official languages of Belgium; closely related to Dutch
    Afrikaans, South African Dutch, Taal
    an official language of the Republic of South Africa; closely related to Dutch and Flemish
    Old Frisian
    the Frisian language until the 16th century; the Germanic language of ancient Frisia
    type of:
    Germanic, Germanic language
    a branch of the Indo-European family of languages; members that are spoken currently fall into two major groups: Scandinavian and West Germanic
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