Germanic languages

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Branch of the Indo-European language family, divided into East Germanic (Gothic, now extinct), North Germanic (Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish), and West Germanic (Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Flemish, Frisian, German, Yiddish).

The Germanic languages differ from the other Indo-European languages most prominently in the consonant shift known as Grimm's law: the sounds p, t, k became either (as in English) f, th, h or (as in Old High German) f, d, h. Thus, the typical Indo-European of the Latin pater is father in English and Fater in Old High German. In addition, the Indo-European b, d, g moved to become p, t, k (in English) or (in Old High German) f, ts, kh; compare Latin duo, English two, and German zwei (pronounced tsvai).

The disc represents the full moon, traditionally the most auspicious time for work and celebration. The disc is set towards the hoist. Effective date: 1 January 1981. >>