New in paperback, The Germanic Languages provides a unique 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 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. This book is fully comprehensive, presenting detailed research on both the major Germanic languages and rarely-covered minor languages such as Pennsylvania German and the Germanic Creoles. Each chapter is written by an expert in the field, in a format designed for comparative study and incorporates the following key elements: An introductory description of the social context and the development of the language Extensive discussions of phonology, morphology, syntax and lexis An outline of the main dialects A bibliography with sources in English and other languages

Ekkehard König is Professor of English linguistics at the Free University of Berlin and Johan van der Auwera is Professor of English and General Linguistics at the University of Antwerp.