List of languages of the North Sea

This is a list of the languages spoken on the shores of the North Sea. The majority are in the Germanic sub-family of Indo-European languages. In addition, French (a Romance language) and Scottish Gaelic (a Celtic language) are used in certain regions.

North Germanic languages

 * Danish
 * Norwegian

Anglo-Frisian languages

 * English language
 * English English
 * Essex dialect
 * Estuary English
 * Geordie
 * Highland English
 * Mackem
 * Norfolk dialect
 * Suffolk dialect
 * Scottish English
 * Yorkshire dialect and accent
 * Frisian languages
 * North Frisian
 * West Frisian
 * Scots language
 * Doric
 * Northern Scots
 * Orcadian dialect
 * Shetland dialect

High German languages

 * Standard German
 * Yiddish

Low Franconian languages

 * Dutch
 * Brabantian
 * Hollandic
 * Zeelandic
 * West Flemish

Low German

 * Low German

Romance languages

 * French

Celtic languages

 * Scottish Gaelic

Extinct languages



 * Old Norse (North Germanic). This evolved into the modern North Germanic language group, of which most except for Norn still survive.
 * Norn language. This was spoken in the Orkney and Shetland islands but was replaced by English/Scots in the 18th and 19th centuries.  The last speaker died in the 19th century.
 * Pictish language (Celtic). Was spoken in wha is now Scotland in the early Middle Ages by the Picts. It was replaced by Scottish Gaelic and Old Norse in the 9th and 10th centuries.
 * Old Brythonic language (Celtic) was spoken in Britain in the Iron Age, the Roman Era and the Sub-Roman Period. It was replaced by the Germanic dialects of the Anglo-Saxon invaders that would later be Old English.