Guten
Tag
Добрый
дењ
Languages of Europe
a.
SS6G11 The student will describe the cultural characteristics of Europe
Explain the diversity of European languages as seen in a comparison of German, English,
Russian, French, and Italian
(adapted from a PPT by Effingham County Schools)
The Problems with Multiple Languages
• Over 200 languages are spoken in
Europe.
• Many European countries are about the
size of our states.
What problems are created when so many
languages are spoken in such a small
area?
Many European languages are in 3 main
categories
Many of these 200+ languages fit into 3
main groups:
• Germanic Languages
• Romance Languages
• Slavic Languages
• Which countries
speak Germanic
languages?
• Which countries
speak Romance
languages?
• Which countries
speak Slavic
languages?
• What are some of
the other smaller
groups?
Germanic Language Group
• Has most native speakers
• English is a Germanic language
• Native speakers live mostly in northwest
and central Europe
• About 20% of Europeans speak English
or German as their native language
• Most Europeans learn English
as a second language
in their schools
Romance Language Group
• This group includes French, Italian, and
Spanish
• These are found in the south and west of
Europe
• These languages come from Latin, the
language of the Roman Empire
• The Roman alphabet is used to write
Romance and Germanic languages
Slavic Language Group
• This includes Russian
• They are found in central and eastern Europe
• They are written with a Cyrillic Alphabet
Complete your Thinking Map
3 Main Language Groups of Europe
Germanic
Romance
Slavic
Look at the map of
the 3 main
groups again.
Which countries
are included in
the
1.
2.
3.
Germanic Group
Romance Group
Slavic Group