The Germanic languages are traditionally divided into three groups: West, East and North Germanic. They remained mutually intelligible throughout the Migration Period. Dutch is together with English and German part of the West Germanic group, that is characterized by a number of phonological and morphological innovations not found in North and East Germanic. The West Germanic varieties of the time are generally split into three dialect groups: Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic), Istvaeonic (Weser-Rhine Germanic) and Irminonic (Elbe Germanic). It appears that the Frankish tribes fit primarily into the Istvaeonic dialect group with certain Ingvaeonic influences towards the northwest, still seen in modern Dutch. COUNT 5
QSN1 Into how many groups are Germanic languages usually split? ANS1 three QSN2 In what historical period did the different types of Germanic languages stop being collectively understood? ANS2 the Migration Period QSN3 What group of Germanic languages includes Dutch, English, and German? ANS3 West Germanic QSN4 What's the West Germanic dialect spoken in the North Sea region called? ANS4 Ingvaeonic QSN5 Which dialect group included most Frankish tribes? ANS5 Istvaeonic