The languages of Scandinavia: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, have been either of Indo-European or Finno-Ugrian origin. The conception of the development of Finnish and Sami branches of Finno-Ugrian rests on comparison of their various post-Reformation manifestations with each other and with related languages. The development of a characteristically Scandinavian form of the Germanic branch of Indo-European has largely to do with the spread of Germanic to the east, south and west, with resulting linguistic splits between the different groups of speakers involved. The earliest extant vernacular manuscripts, of Iceland and Norway in twelfth and Denmark and Sweden in late thirteenth century, confirm the existence of numerous and significant linguistic differences between the various areas of Scandinavia. Many scholars have in fact reckoned with an East Nordic-West Nordic split from as early as the end of the syncope period. East Nordic is roughly the language of Denmark and Sweden, West Nordic that of Norway and later of Iceland.