{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.germanic-languages","code":"thing-q21200","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q21200/","name":"Germanic languages","alternateNames":["North Germanic","East Germanic","Northwest Germanic","Old Germanic","Paleo-Germanic","Germanic Parent Language","West Germanic languages","Proto-Germanic","Sarrois","Scandinavian languages","Proto-Norse","Svorsk"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.2","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A branch of the Indo-European language family descended from Proto-Germanic, divided into North Germanic languages such as Swedish, Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic, West Germanic languages such as English, German, Dutch and Frisian, and the extinct East Germanic languages such as Gothic, spoken today by over five hundred million native speakers; the family is characterised by sound shifts and shared vocabulary.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the Germanic language family and its branches, describe its history and characteristic features, support comparison between Germanic languages, and provide sourced classification.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Proto-Germanic origin","Grimm and Verner sound shifts","Three branches","Global spread through English"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"classify","name":"Classify","description":"The family tree.","layers":[{"id":"branches","name":"Branches","description":"Branches and members.","findings":[{"id":"branches-finding","name":"Branches","description":"Branches.","questions":[{"text":"Which languages belong to the North, West and East Germanic branches, and how are they subgrouped?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits a specific language?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"concept","name":"Concept","description":"Germanic versus German.","findings":[{"id":"concept-finding","name":"Concept","description":"Concept.","questions":[{"text":"How does the Germanic language family differ from the German language and from Germanic peoples?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the linguistic sense meant?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"features","name":"Features","description":"Characteristic features.","layers":[{"id":"sounds","name":"Sounds","description":"Sound shifts.","findings":[{"id":"sounds-finding","name":"Sounds","description":"Sound shifts.","questions":[{"text":"What are Grimm and Verner laws, and how do they define the Germanic branch?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What other shared features exist, such as stress and verb classes?","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"compare","name":"Compare","description":"Comparing languages.","findings":[{"id":"compare-finding","name":"Compare","description":"Comparison.","questions":[{"text":"How similar are these two Germanic languages, and how mutually intelligible are they?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which shared vocabulary reveals the relationship?","kind":"definition"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of the family.","layers":[{"id":"origins","name":"Origins","description":"Proto-Germanic and early stages.","findings":[{"id":"origins-finding","name":"Origins","description":"Origins.","questions":[{"text":"What is known about Proto-Germanic and the earliest Germanic languages, according to historical linguists?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What are the oldest attestations, such as runic inscriptions and Gothic?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"spread","name":"Spread","description":"Spread and change.","findings":[{"id":"spread-finding","name":"Spread","description":"Spread.","questions":[{"text":"How did Germanic languages spread and diversify, including the global spread of English?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which debates about subgrouping exist, with positions attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Study and teaching.","layers":[{"id":"teach","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching the family.","findings":[{"id":"teach-finding","name":"Teach","description":"Teaching.","questions":[{"text":"How can the Germanic language family be taught with cognates and sound laws?","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which misconceptions arise?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"resources","name":"Resources","description":"Resources.","findings":[{"id":"resources-finding","name":"Resources","description":"Resources.","questions":[{"text":"Which reference works and databases document Germanic languages?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Indo-European generally?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the Germanic branch and its North, West and East groupings from linguistic sources.","Distinguish Germanic languages from the German language."],"mustNot":["Present disputed subgrouping claims as settled.","Use linguistic terms to support claims of ethnic or racial superiority.","Treat the smaller Germanic languages as dialects of larger ones without basis."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing material on language status for minority Germanic languages."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Germanic language history was misused to support racist ideologies.","Minority languages such as Frisian and Yiddish need recognition."],"affectedParties":["Speakers of Germanic languages","Speakers of minority languages"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the language family; it belongs to its speakers and linguistics.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q19860","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Indo-European","type":"related","note":"category"},{"target":"Swedish","type":"related","note":"a North Germanic language"},{"target":"Slavs","type":"related","note":"speakers of a neighbouring branch"},{"target":"alphabet","type":"related","note":"runic and Latin scripts"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.germanic-languages","Wikidata: Q21200 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21200)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Descended from Proto-Germanic","North, West and East branches","Romance and Slavic are other Indo-European branches","Not physical; a group of languages."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the family and its branches","describe history and features","compare Germanic languages","provide classification with sources"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Confusing Germanic with German","Outdated subgrouping claims","Misuse of linguistic terms for ethnic claims"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Linguistic classification conventions","ISO 639 language codes"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["A family of related languages.","North Germanic languages","West Germanic languages","East Germanic languages (extinct)","historical stages such as Old Germanic languages","Proto-Germanic reconstruction"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q21200: Germanic languages","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21200","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Germanic languages","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanic_languages","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should each branch be a separate entry?","How should classification databases be linked?","How should historical stages be modelled?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q21200/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q21200/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-11T22:51:39Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:57+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}