Bahasa-bahasa Jerman: Perbezaan antara semakan

 

==Writing==

The earliest evidence of Germanic languages comes from names recorded in the first century by [[Tacitus]] (especially from his work ''[[Germania (book)|Germania]]''), but the earliest Germanic writing occurs in a single instance in the second century BC on the [[Negau helmet]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Early Germans|author=Malcolm Todd|year=1992|publisher=Blackwell Publishing}}</ref>.

From roughly the second century AD, certain speakers of early Germanic varieties developed the [[Elder Futhark]], an early form of the [[runic alphabet]]. Early runic inscriptions also are largely limited to personal names, and difficult to interpret. The [[Gothic language]] was written in the [[Gothic alphabet]] developed by Bishop [[Ulfilas]] for his translation of the [[Bible]] in the fourth century. Later, [[Christianity|Christian]] priests and monks who spoke and read [[Latin]] in addition to their native Germanic varieties began writing the Germanic languages with slightly modified Latin letters. However, throughout the [[Viking Age]], [[runic alphabet]]s remained in common use in Scandinavia.