Danish is the usual working language of the Kalmar Union. This is due to the central role of Denmark in the Union historically, as well as the fact it is intelligible to several other national languages. It is taught as a second language in most of the member states.
The official languages of the Kalmar Union differ slightly to the official languages of the constituent nations:
- Abernaki (Abernakriga)
- Ais (Aismark)
- Anglian (Anglia)
- Danish (Denmark)
- Estonian (Estonia, Saaremaa)
- Faroese (Hordaland)
- Finnish (Finland, Lade)
- German (Denmark)
- Götamål (Gothenland)
- Icelandic (Iceland)
- Karelian (Karelia)
- Manx (Man)
- Norn (Orkney)
- Norwegian (Lade, Hordaland)
- North Russian (Lade)
- Passamaquoddy (Passamaquoddia)
- Pomersk (Denmark)
- Ranish (Denmark)
- Sami (Lade)
- Sveamål (Svealand)
- Vinlandic (Vinland)
- Welsh (Man, Ynys Mons)
- Álengsk (Álengiamark)
Finnish, Sami, Karelian, and Estonian are Ugrian languages distantly related to Hungarian.
Manx and Welsh are Celtic languages.
Pomersk, Ranish, and North Russian are Slavic languages.
Abernaki and Passamaquoddy are Algonquin languages with heavy Norse influences. Meanwhile Ais is an Leifian isolate.
The remainder (and by far the most widely spoken) are Germanic languages.
Below is a family tree of the Germanic languages showing their relationship and development.
| Pre-Roman Iron Age 500–100 BCE |
Early Roman Iron Age 100 BCE–100 CE |
Late Roman Iron Age 100–300 |
Migration Period 300–600 |
Early Middle Ages 600–1100 |
Middle Ages 1100–1350 |
Late Middle Ages 1350–1500 |
Early Modern Age 1500–1700 |
Modern Age 1700 to present | |
| Proto-Germanic | West Germanic | Irminonic (Elbe Germanic) |
Primitive Upper German | Old Upper German, Lombardic |
Middle High German | Early New Upper German |
Upper German varieties | ||
| Standard German | |||||||||
| Istvaeonic (Weser-Rhine Germanic) |
Primitive Frankish | Old Frankish | Old Central German | Middle Central German | Early New Central German |
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| Central German varieties (Franconian, Luxembourgoise) |
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| Old Low Franconian (Old Dutch) |
Early Limburgish Middle Dutch</a> |
Late Limburgish Middle Dutch |
Early Limburgish | Limburgish | |||||
| Early Middle Dutch |
Late Middle Dutch |
Early Modern Dutch |
Dutch varieties | ||||||
| Singapore Dutch | |||||||||
| Ingvaeonic (North Sea Germanic) |
Primitive Saxon (Southeast Ingvaeonic) |
Old Saxon | Middle Low German | Low German varieties | |||||
| Britannic-Frisian (Northwest Ingvaeonic) |
Primitive Frisian | Old Frisian | Middle Frisian | Frisian varieties | |||||
| Primitive Britannic | Old Britannic |
Middle Anglian |
Early Modern Anglian |
Anglian varieties | |||||
| Middle Wessexian |
Early Modern Wessexian |
Wessexian | |||||||
| Early Scots | Middle Scots | Scots varieties | |||||||
| North Germanic | Proto-Norse | Runic Old West Norse |
Old Icelandic | Late Old Icelandic |
Icelandic | ||||
| Middle Vinlandic |
Early Modern Vinlandic |
Vinlandic | |||||||
| Hafsvaedish† | |||||||||
| Early Modern Álengsk‡ |
Álengsk | ||||||||
| Nanticokish¶ | |||||||||
| Old Norwegian | Old Faroese | Faroese | |||||||
| Old Norn | Norn | ||||||||
| Runic Old East Norse |
Middle Norwegian | Norwegian | |||||||
| Early Old Danish |
Late Old Danish |
Danish | |||||||
| Early Old Swedish |
Late Old Swedish |
Sveamål | |||||||
| Götamål | |||||||||
| Runic Old Gutnish |
Early Old Gutnish |
Late Old Gutnish |
Gutnish | extinct | |||||
| East Germanic | Gothic | (unattested Gothic dialects) | Crimean Gothic | extinct | |||||
| Vandalic | extinct | ||||||||
| Burgundian | extinct | ||||||||
†Essentially Vinlandic with a significant Central Algonquin vocabulary.
‡Essentially Vinlandic but with Southern Algonquin grammar and phrasing.
¶Álengsk with considerable Finnish vocabulary following large settlement in 1790s.
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