Which language family includes German, Dutch, Austrian, Swedish, and English?

Which language family includes German, Dutch, Austrian, Swedish, and English?

• A. Romance
• B. Slavic
• C. Semitic
• D. Germanic Language Family

Answer: (D)

This question tests knowledge of how languages are grouped by their shared origin. German, Dutch, Austrian German, Swedish, and English all trace their origins to Proto-Germanic, which places them in the Germanic language family. Austrian German is not a separate language; it’s a regional variety of German, so it remains part of the same Germanic family. Within Germanic, languages split into West Germanic (like German, Dutch, English) and North Germanic (like Swedish), showing how the family covers different branches while keeping a common ancestry. Other language families don’t include these languages: Romance (Spanish, French) comes from Latin, Slavic (Polish, Russian) from a different branch, and Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew) from yet another lineage.

This question tests knowledge of how languages are grouped by their shared origin. German, Dutch, Austrian German, Swedish, and English all trace their origins to Proto-Germanic, which places them in the Germanic language family. Austrian German is not a separate language; it’s a regional variety of German, so it remains part of the same Germanic family. Within Germanic, languages split into West Germanic (like German, Dutch, English) and North Germanic (like Swedish), showing how the family covers different branches while keeping a common ancestry.

Other language families don’t include these languages: Romance (Spanish, French) comes from Latin, Slavic (Polish, Russian) from a different branch, and Semitic (Arabic, Hebrew) from yet another lineage.