South Germanic is a term used for a number of proposed groupings of theGermanic tribes ordialects. However, it is not widely used and has no agreed definition.
The following uses of the term "South Germanic" are found:
As a straightforward synonym forWest Germanic (generally excludingBritish Isles). This usage is particularly found in the study ofGermanic mythology andculture, where it covers continental German sources in contrast to those from Scandinavia, which are termedNorth Germanic.[1] However, this usage is also found occasionally in the work of linguists — for example, Stefan Sonderegger.[2] (TheEast Germanic are generally ignored because there are no pre-Christian texts.)
As a term inErnst Schwarz's theory of theGermanic dialects.[3][4] He divides Germanic into aNorth Germanic and aSouth Germanic (or Continental Germanic) group, with the Scandinavian (or Nordic) languages and the extinctEast Germanic (Gothic andCrimean Gothic) languages in the former. A feature of his grouping is the intermediate position of two other groups,Elbe Germanic andNorth Sea Germanic (Anglo-Frisian andOld Saxon), with the latter viewed "floating" being initially part of North Germanic (in the 2nd century BC), but moving closer to the more southerly dialects in the subsequent five centuries.[5] This view has received some support, although a number of those who share Schwarz's view, such as Lehmann, use instead the termsNortheast Germanic (for Schwarz's North Germanic) andSouthwest Germanic (for Schwarz's South Germanic).[6]
As a synonym forHigh German. This usage seems to be exclusive to Claus Jürgen Hutterer,[7] who groups North Sea Germanic separately from theWeser-Rhine Germanic andElbe Germanic groups which give rise to (among others) the High Germanvarieties. Although it can be seen as a development of Schwarz's theory, it implies that North Sea Germanic and South Germanic did not form any sort of larger West Germanic grouping. The German termBinnengermanisch (Inland Germanic) is also used informally in a similar sense to distinguish between the coastal West Germanic dialects and the rest, though it does not imply that they are not all part of West Germanic.[8]
Hutterer, Claus Jürgen (1999).Die germanischen Sprachen. Wiesbaden: Albus. pp. 251–360.ISBN3-928127-57-8.
H.L. Kufner, "The grouping and separation of the Germanic languages" inF. van Coetsem & H.L. Kufner (eds.),Toward a Grammar of Proto Germanic (Niemeyer, 1972)
H. Kuhn, "Zur Gliedering der germanischen Sprachen", inZeitschrift für deutsches Altertum 86 (1955), 1-47.
Lehmann, Winfred P. (1966). "The Grouping of the Germanic Languages". In Birnbaum, Henrik; Puhvel, Jaan (eds.).Ancient Indo-European Dialects. Berkeley, Los Angeles: University of California. pp. 13–27.
Marchand, James M. (2016). "Mythology". In Jeep, John M. (ed.).Medieval Germany: An Encyclopedia. Abingdon, New York: Routledge. pp. 553–555.ISBN9781138062658.
