The Germanic Languages provides a unique, up-to-date survey of twelve Germanic languages from English and German to Faroese and Yiddish. Spoken by more than 450 million native speakers worldwide, the Germanic languages have unrivalled cultural and social significance. This important new work provides a chapter-length description of each language focusing on the structure of the languages as they are spoken today, but also giving an analysis of language history and development. Based on the most recent scholarship available, The Germanic Languages is fully comprehensive, presenting both detailed research on the major Germanic languages and rarely-covered minor languages such as Yiddish, Faroese, Afrikaans, Pennsylvanian German and the Germanic Creoles. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, in a format designed for comparative study; information on each language includes: an introductory description of social context and the development of the language; extensive discussions of phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis, the main dialects and a bibliography with sources in English and other languages. Special Features: * The only fully comprehensive work on the Germanic languages available in English * Written by an international team of 23 specialists * Drawing on the best recent theory and research, without the use of theory-specific jargon * Comprehensive index, bibliographies and maps of language distribution and development Contributors include: Winfred P. Lehmann University of Texas at Austin, Ans van Kemenade Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, John Ole Askedal Universitet i Oslo, Erik Andersson Svenska Institutionen, Neil Jacobs Ohio State University, Silke Van Ness State University of New York at Albany, Suzanne Romaine Merton College Oxford