The Germanic languages

Word order

Word order is best described in terms of the position of the verb in Germanic clauses. It occupies final position in subordinate clauses, and first or second position in main clauses. The position of all other sentence constituents is relatively free. This feature is shared by all Germanic languages, except English, which has a Subject-Verb-Object word order.

Vocabulary

Most words in Germanic languages are derived from *Proto-Germanic. Germanic languages have also borrowed from neighboring languages, and especially from Latin and Greek, as well as from each other. Much of its scientific terminology has Greek and Latin roots. The latest source of loanwords is English. Words are frequently formed by compounding, suffixation and prefixation, e.g., German Weihnachtsmann (literally ”Holy Night Man,’ i.e., ‘Santa Claus’), English antiestablishmentarianism.

Numerals 1-10 in major Germanic Languages