Old Germanic Languages and their Classification

The history of the Germanic group begins with the appearance of what is known as the Proto-Germanic (PG) language also termed Common or Primitive Germanic, Primitive Teutonic or simple Germanic. PG is the linguistic ancestor or the parent-language of the Germanic group. It is believed to have split from the IE related tongues sometime between the 15^th and 10^th c.c.BC. The ancient Germans or Teutons are supposed to have settled on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in the region of the Elbe. This place is regarded as the most probable original home of the Teutons.

PG is an entirely pre-historical language: it was never recorded in written form. In the 19^th century it was reconstructed by methods of comparative linguistics from written evidence in descendant languages. It is believed that at the earliest stages of history, PG was one language, though dialectally coloured. In its later stages dialectal differences grew, so that towards the beginning of our era Germanic appears divided into dialectal groups and tribal dialects. Dialectal differentiation increased with migrations and geographical expansion of the Teutons caused by over population, poor agricultural technique and scanty natural resources in the areas of their original settlement.