The Neolithic Hypothesis

[Miguel Carrasquer Vidal]

JoatSimeon at aol.com wrote:

>>mcv at wxs.nl writes:

>>That's indeed all "North-West Germanic" means.  Mutual influence between
>>North and West Germanic, after the split between North and East Germanic,
>>and of course long after the split between West and North-East Germanic.

>-- given the existance of bridge dialects like Anglian (and Jutish, since the
>Jutes came from further north in the Danish peninsula),

I've never seen any Jutish, and Anglian only of the
non-continental variety.  Neither Kentish (sometimes though to be
the continuation of Jutish on Englsih soil) nor Anglian look
particularly like "bridge dialects".  It's true that O.E. is
probably the West Germanic language with most similarities to
North Germanic (even before the Viking era).

>doesn't the idea of
>an old and sharp distinction between North and West Germanic look rather iffy?

Old but not sharp.  I think it's completely logical that West
Germanic and North Germanic started to diverge a long time ago
(surely many centuries BC), while at the same time not ceasing to
converge...

>This isn't surprising, given the small area, the short distances, and the
>frequency and ease of travel by sea.

=======================
Miguel Carrasquer Vidal
mcv at wxs.nl
Amsterdam