Proto-West Germanic (PrWGmc)

PrWGmc refers to the putative ancestor of the West Germanic languages, or to our reconstruction of it. It may be dated to the early part of the first millennium BC, and is a descendant of Proto-Germanic (PrGmc). Its sister branches, according to the traditional view, are North Germanic and East Germanic (Gothic).

It is characterised by the following main phonological innovations:

Development of new diphthongs from combinations of original simple vowels with PrGmc /jj/ and /ww/ eg. Old English wae:g, Gothic waddjus "wall"; OE hre:owan, Old Norse hryggva "to grieve, rue"
Development of PrGmc /z/ to /r/ (also in North Germanic) eg. OE e:are, Goth auso "ear"; OE de:or, Goth dius "animal"
Development of PrGmc /dh/ (voiced dental fricative) to /d/ eg. OE go:d, ON go:dhr "good"; OE mo:dor, ON mo:dhir "mother"
Development of PrGmc medial /lth/ > /ld/ eg. OE wilde, Goth wiltheis "wild"; OE gold, Goth gulth "gold"

One classification of the West Germanic family is as follows:

               	       Proto-West Germanic
	                   _____|______
                          |            |
                     Ingvaeonic        |
                     _____|_____       |
                    |     |	|      |
		 English  |   Dutch    |
		          |            |
	               Frisian       German