West Germanic languages

The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages). The West Germanic branch is classically subdivided into three branches: Ingvaeonic, which includes English and Frisian; Istvaeonic, which encompasses Dutch and its close relatives; and Irminonic, which includes German and its close relatives and variants.

Quick facts: West Germanic, Geographic distribution, Lingu... ▼

West Germanic
Geographic distribution	Originally between the Rhine, Alps, Elbe, and North Sea; today worldwide
Linguistic classification	Indo-European Germanic West Germanic
Subdivisions	North Sea Germanic – Anglo-Frisian, Low German Weser–Rhine Germanic – Central German dialects, Hunsrik, Luxembourgish, Dutch, Afrikaans Elbe Germanic – Upper German dialects, Lombardic
ISO 639-5	gmw
Linguasphere	52-AB & 52-AC
Glottolog	west2793
Extent of Germanic languages in present day Europe North Germanic languages   Icelandic   Faroese   Norwegian   Swedish   Danish West Germanic languages   Scots   English   West, North and Saterland Frisian   Dutch   Afrikaans (not shown)   Low German   High German Dots indicate areas where multilingualism is common.

English is by far the most-spoken West Germanic language, with more than 1 billion speakers worldwide. Within Europe, the three most prevalent West Germanic languages are English, German, and Dutch. Frisian, spoken by about 450,000 people, constitutes a fourth distinct variety of West Germanic. The language family also includes Afrikaans, Yiddish, Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Scots. Additionally, several creoles, patois, and pidgins are based on Dutch, English, or German.