ADJECTIVE CLauses: Determinative and DESCRIPTIVE 192-196 ADJECTIVE CLAUSES INTRODUCED BY RELATIVE PRONOUNS AN ENGLISH GRAMMAR INTRODUCTION THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1. English is a member of the great family of languages called Aryan, or Indo-Germanic, or Indo-European. The table on the following page shows the extent of this family, and the relationship existing between the various other members and English. 2. From the table it will be seen that English is a development from a Low German dialect in the West Teutonic group of the Teutonic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It is most nearly related to the German dialects found along and near the coast of the North Sea, and is a more distant cousin of the literary High (South) German. Its connection with the North and East Teutonic groups may be plainly seen, though this is evidently not so close as its connection with High German. But the identity of its words and grammatical forms (as far as such identity exists) with those of languages in other branches of the Indo-European family can be detected only by careful study of sounds and forms. No one knows how long the family has been scattered-it must be many centuries at least; and the members have developed each in its own peculiar way, until now there is little superficial resemblance of the various branches to one another. 3. Our first historical meeting with our Teutonic ancestors is on the continent of Europe. Three tribes-the Jutes, the Angles, and the Saxons-occupied Jutland (now Denmark) and the territory immediately south of it, at the mouths of the Elbe and the Weser. Like the other Teutonic tribes, they were hardy and warlike. While their cousins to the east were pressing down on the Roman provinces and even on the city of Rome, the Angles and the Saxons set out across the North Sea to make new homes for themselves on the island of Britain. This island was |