Frankish language

This article is about the extinct Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century. For the modern Romance language, see French language.
This article is about Franconian dialects spoken from the 5th to 9th century. For their descendant language also known as Old Low Franconian, see Old Dutch.
Frankish
Old Franconian, Old Frankish
*Frenkisk
Native toFrancia
RegionWestern Europe
EthnicityFranks
EraGradually evolved into Old Low Franconian (Old Dutch) and the Old High Franconian dialects (Rhine Franconian, East Franconian and Central Franconian) by the 9th century,[1][2] which dissolved with other West Germanic varieties into Old High German, and influenced Old French as a superstrate.
Elder Futhark (not widely used)
Language codes
ISO 639-3frk
frk
Glottologfran1264
oldd1237
Approximation of the Old Frankish Sprachraum in late antiquity, without smaller exclaves in Gallia Belgica[3]
Legend:
  Old Frankish Varieties (1.)
  North Sea (2.) and Elbe Germanic (3.) Varieties
  Romance Varieties

  Somme–Aisne Line, north of which Germanic toponyms dominate
  Border of the later High German consonant shift, which spread from Elbe Germanic areas in the 7th century[4][5]

Frankish (reconstructed endonym: *Frankisk),[6][7] also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century.

After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul (roughly, present-day France), its speakers in Picardy and Île-de-France were outnumbered by the local populace who spoke Proto-Romance dialects. However, many modern French words and place names, including the eventual country's name, "France", have a Frankish (i.e. Germanic) origin. France itself is still known in some languages by terms literally meaning the "Frankish Realm".

Between the 5th and 9th centuries, Frankish spoken in Northeastern France, present-day Belgium, and the Netherlands is subsequently referred to as Old Dutch, whereas the Frankish varieties spoken in the Rhineland were heavily influenced by Elbe Germanic dialects and the Second Germanic consonant shift and would form part of the modern Central Franconian and Rhine Franconian dialects of German and Luxembourgish.[8]

The Old Frankish language is poorly attested and mostly reconstructed from Frankish loanwords in Old French, and inherited words in Old Dutch, as recorded in the 9th to 12th centuries. A notable exception is the Bergakker inscription, which may represent a primary record of 5th-century Frankish, though it is debated whether the inscription is written in Frankish, or Old Dutch.[9]

  1. ^ Stefan Müller, Germanic syntax: A constraint-based view, series: Textbooks in Language Sciences 12, Language Science Press, Berlin, 2023, p. 3
  2. ^ Graeme Davis, Comparative Syntax of Old English and Old Icelandic: Linguistic, Literary and Historical Implications, series: Studies in Historical Linguistics vol. 1, Peter Lang, Oxford / Bern / Berlin / Bruxelles / Frankfurt am Main / New York / Wien, 2006, p. 93f.
  3. ^ Map made after: P. A. Kerkhof: Language, law and loanwords in early medieval Gaul: language contact and studies in Gallo-Romance phonology. Leiden, 2018, S. 24 und H. Ryckeboer: Het Nederlands in Noord-Frankrijk. Sociolinguïstische, dialectologische en contactlinguïstische aspecten. Gent, 1997, S. 183–184.
  4. ^ H. K. J. Cowan: Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde. Jahrgang 71. E. J. Brill, Leiden, 1953, S. 166–186.
  5. ^ Note: The line is not the same as the later Benrath Line, which reached this position only in the High Middle Ages.
  6. ^ Willemyns, Roland (11 April 2013). Dutch: Biography of a Language. OUP USA. p. 5. ISBN 9780199858712. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  7. ^ Tor, D. G. (20 October 2017). The ʿAbbasid and Carolingian Empires: Comparative Studies in Civilizational Formation. BRILL. ISBN 9789004353046. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. ^ Harbert, Wayne Eugene (2007). The Germanic Languages. Cambridge Language Surveys. Cambridge / New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 15–17.
  9. ^ "Runeninscriptie met het oudste Nederlands(?)" [Runic inscription with the oldest Dutch(?)]. Museum piece information (in Dutch). Valkhof Museum. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2017. All experts agree on the meaning of the second word: "I (he) grant(s)", and many consider the first word to be the name of the owner of the sword that the scabbard belonged to. Opinions vary on how this name should be read, just as the latter two words have been interpreted very differently. Keeping in mind the function of the piece, some academics read the last word as "sword(s)".