Ynglingic

Ynglingic refers to a hypothetical linguistic grouping of North Germanic languages, proposed by some linguists. This grouping suggests a divergence of the North Germanic languages into two main branches: Continental Scandinavian and Insular Scandinavian. The Continental Scandinavian branch would encompass Danish and Swedish, while the Insular Scandinavian branch would include Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese.

The term "Ynglingic" is derived from the Yngling dynasty, a legendary line of Swedish kings mentioned in Old Norse sagas. The theory posits that the languages spoken by the populations that evolved into these two Scandinavian branches diverged at a relatively early stage. Proponents of the Ynglingic theory point to certain linguistic features, particularly in phonology and morphology, that they believe distinguish these two proposed groups.

However, the Ynglingic grouping is not universally accepted within the field of historical linguistics. Many scholars consider the traditional division of North Germanic into West Scandinavian and East Scandinavian to be more accurate and descriptive of the historical development of the languages. The debate often hinges on the interpretation of comparative linguistic evidence and the precise dating of linguistic innovations. Ultimately, the classification of North Germanic languages remains a subject of ongoing scholarly discussion.