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- Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Wilhelm Braune's "A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary" stands as a pioneering work in the study of the Gothic language, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding its grammatical structure. Braune's methodical and thorough approach reflects the philological rigor prevalent in 19th-century Germany, with his stylistic choices embodying clarity and precision suitable for both novice and advanced scholars. The selections included not only serve to illustrate grammatical concepts but also capture the rich literary heritage of the Gothic tradition, offering insights into early Germanic culture and its linguistic evolution. Wilhelm Braune (1850-1926), a prominent figure in the field of Germanic studies, dedicated much of his academic career to exploring the historical linguistics of the Germanic languages. His profound interest in the roots of language and its cultural implications was likely influenced by the burgeoning interests in nationalism and mythic identity during his time. A committed educator, Braune's desire to illuminate the Gothic language's significance in the wider tapestry of Germanic linguistics is evident throughout his work. This book is essential for anyone serious about Gothic studies, historical linguistics, or early Germanic literature. Braune's exhaustive treatment of Gothic grammar, coupled with his astute literary selections, makes it a valuable resource for students, scholars, and anyone intrigued by the foundations of the Germanic linguistic landscape. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
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A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary
Table of Contents
Introduction
Languages long fallen silent can speak again when approached with patient, principled attention to their forms. A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary by Wilhelm Braune presents the structure of Gothic in a clear, tightly organized framework that invites rigorous study. Designed as both a reference and a guided introduction, it offers readers the essential tools to read and analyze the earliest extensively attested Germanic language. By combining systematic description with carefully chosen texts and a compact lexical aid, Braune’s work provides a coherent pathway from foundational concepts to independent engagement with primary materials.
Situated within the tradition of historical and comparative philology, this book belongs to the genre of academic grammar and reader. It emerged from the late nineteenth-century movement to codify Germanic languages through evidence-based methods that stress regular sound change and verifiable correspondences. In that context, Braune’s presentation aligns with the discipline’s emphasis on clarity, economy, and the careful handling of attestations. The result is a work that situates Gothic within a broader Indo-European perspective while remaining close to the data. Readers encounter an authoritative synthesis that reflects the standards and ambitions of historical linguistics in its formative professional period.
The premise is straightforward: equip students and scholars to understand Gothic structure and read authentic texts with confidence. The book proceeds from phonology to morphology and then to elements of syntax, establishing the building blocks needed to parse forms and recognize patterns. Its style is exact, distilled, and didactic, favoring concise paradigms and minimal ornament. The selections for reading follow naturally from the grammar, reinforcing core concepts through exposure to continuous passages. A glossary facilitates swift consultation while encouraging cumulative learning. The overall experience is that of a disciplined workshop where theory, examples, and practice are held in productive balance.
Braune’s approach models how linguistic systems can be reconstructed from securely attested evidence. Sound correspondences are introduced as regular, predictive guides rather than ad hoc explanations, and morphological classes are presented in a way that foregrounds both recurring patterns and significant exceptions. Comparison with related Germanic and Indo-European forms is used to clarify function and history without overwhelming the reader. Throughout, the focus remains on demonstrable relationships among forms, tables, and texts. The voice is measured and precise, cultivating habits of careful inference: observe the form, identify the pattern, test the pattern against new data, and refine understanding accordingly.
The reading selections are not mere illustrations; they are the laboratory in which the grammar’s principles are applied and tested. Passages are chosen to display frequent constructions, representative morphology, and variations that challenge rote memorization. The accompanying glossary serves both as a practical aid and as a map of the language’s lexical terrain, steering readers toward productive stems and common derivational pathways. Together, the readings and glossary convert abstract paradigms into working knowledge, fostering the transition from analytical recognition to fluid comprehension. They also encourage habitual cross-referencing, so that each new sentence deepens familiarity with forms previously introduced.
Key themes resonate beyond Gothic itself: the explanatory power of regularity, the cumulative force of small changes, and the intellectual discipline required to move from fragmentary data to robust generalization. For contemporary readers, the book underscores how historical linguistics unites close reading with empirical method, making visible the ancestry of many features in modern Germanic languages. It also raises enduring questions: how do we balance normalization with fidelity to manuscripts, or system with variation? What counts as sufficient evidence for a rule? By engaging these issues, the grammar remains relevant to debates about methodology, reproducibility, and the ethics of textual representation.
A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary persists as a model of scholarly craft: precise in statement, transparent in organization, and anchored in verifiable detail. It rewards readers who move deliberately—mastering sound patterns, internalizing inflection, and testing each claim against the texts. Students will find a disciplined initiation into historical linguistics; researchers will appreciate a dependable reference that frames questions clearly. Above all, the book offers an invitation to hear an early Germanic language on its own terms, to read it with confidence, and to recognize in its forms the enduring principles by which languages change and endure.
Synopsis
Wilhelm Braune’s A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary presents a concise, systematic description of the Gothic language as the earliest extensively attested Germanic tongue. The work is arranged to guide readers from fundamentals to application: it begins with the sources and writing system, advances through sound structure and inflectional morphology, surveys syntax and word formation, and concludes with annotated reading selections and a comprehensive glossary. Drawing primarily on the biblical translations attributed to Wulfila and related fragments, Braune establishes a reliable grammatical baseline for study, aiming to support both introductory learning and scholarly reference without advancing interpretive theories beyond the available evidence.
The opening chapters outline the manuscript sources and editorial conventions. Braune identifies principal witnesses, notably the Codex Argenteus and Ambrosianus, and explains how orthographic variation is treated. He introduces the Gothic alphabet, its distinctive letters, and the transliteration practices used in the book, ensuring readers can connect printed forms to manuscript realities. A brief note on punctuation and capitalization clarifies where conventions reflect editorial decisions rather than original usage. This foundation enables consistent citation of forms across examples and allows learners to recognize how documentary constraints shape our knowledge of Gothic phonology and morphology.
Braune’s account of the sound system proceeds from inventory to patterning. He describes vowel qualities and quantities, diphthongs, and consonantal oppositions, then situates Gothic within the Germanic branch through standard sound laws. Attention is given to stress placement, syllable structure, and common assimilatory processes, with ablaut patterns introduced as a key mechanism linking phonology and morphology. References to comparative Indo-European correspondences frame Gothic developments without overextending reconstruction. The section equips readers to interpret alternations in later chapters and to understand how stable phonological regularities underlie inflectional paradigms and derivational formations attested in the texts.
Nominal morphology is presented in a clear sequence, beginning with the case and gender system and proceeding through the major stem classes. Braune catalogs the strong declensions (a-, ja-, wa-, i-, and u-stems) alongside the weak n-stems and less frequent r- and nd-stems, providing paradigms and typical distribution. He illustrates number and case forms with authenticated examples, notes predictable phonological alternations within endings, and signals common analogical leveling. The treatment emphasizes Gothic’s four-case system and the alignment of stem type with inflectional pattern, giving readers a practical reference for analyzing nouns encountered in the reading selections.
Adjectives and pronouns are handled with similar precision. Braune distinguishes strong and weak adjective inflection, shows comparative and superlative formation, and clarifies agreement rules with nouns. The pronominal inventory covers personal forms, including the first- and second-person dual, demonstratives functioning as articles, possessives, interrogatives, and related particles. Paradigms highlight case, number, and gender contrasts, with notes on enclitic elements and distribution in context. Numerals are presented with their inflectional behavior and typical syntactic placement. This segment positions pronominal and adjectival systems as central to Gothic concord and prepares readers for the clause-level patterns discussed in syntax.
The verb system is organized by class and category. Braune introduces person, number (including dual forms), tense, mood, and non-finite forms before treating the strong classes I–VII with their ablaut-based principal parts. Weak verbs are divided into established classes with the dental preterite, and preterite-present verbs receive a concise overview of their distinctive paradigms and semantics. Participles and the infinitive are described with their combinatory possibilities. The presentation emphasizes regular correspondences across classes, notes typical analogical developments, and provides representative examples, enabling readers to parse finite and non-finite forms in continuous prose and to correlate morphological patterns with the sound laws previously outlined.
A compact chapter on derivation and syntax links form to function. Braune surveys common prefixes and suffixes (including productive verbal and nominal formations) and then outlines clause structure, constituent order, and case government. He describes the use of prepositions with genitive, dative, or accusative, the distribution of negation, interrogative particles, and the function of the relative particle. Subordination, coordination, and the behavior of finite verbs in main and subordinate clauses are exemplified with citations. The approach highlights typical Gothic patterns while noting where translation context may influence phrasing, equipping readers to interpret passages with attention to both grammar and usage.
The selections for reading offer curated passages from the Gothic biblical corpus and related fragments, chosen to illustrate the grammatical topics previously introduced. Texts are presented with references to the grammar’s sections, facilitating immediate cross-checking of forms and constructions. Notes clarify salient morphological or syntactic points and indicate significant textual variants where relevant. The progression moves from simpler to more complex material, reinforcing mastery through exposure to authentic usage. Readers thus consolidate paradigmatic knowledge through context, encountering a representative range of vocabulary, idioms, and clause types that mirror the distribution of forms in the surviving Gothic record.
The glossary concludes the volume with an alphabetized inventory of words occurring in the readings and commonly cited examples. Entries supply headword forms, principal parts where applicable, basic meanings, and grammatical information, with occasional etymological or comparative notes. Cross-references to the grammar guide users from lexical items to relevant paradigms and rules. Together, the grammar, readings, and glossary serve the book’s central purpose: to provide a reliable framework for learning and analyzing Gothic as a historical Germanic language, grounded in the extant texts and organized for efficient study, classroom use, and ongoing reference.
Historical Context
Wilhelm Braune’s A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary arose in the German Empire during the high tide of scientific philology. First issued in 1880, it reflects the university world of the Kaiserreich (1871–1918), especially Leipzig and Heidelberg, where Braune (1850–1926) worked. The seminar system, state-backed research, and international manuscript access shaped its method. Core sources of Gothic—foremost the sixth-century Codex Argenteus housed at Uppsala—were being edited to modern standards. This milieu of competitive German universities and Scandinavian archives made possible a precise, data-driven grammar that pairs systematic description with curated excerpts from late antique Gothic texts.
The Neogrammarian revolution of the 1870s—centered in Leipzig under scholars such as August Leskien, Karl Brugmann, and Hermann Osthoff—insisted that sound laws operate without exception and demanded empirical rigor. Key statements appeared in 1876–1880, including Brugmann and Osthoff’s programmatic prefaces in Leipzig. This methodological shift transformed Indo-European and Germanic studies, privileging exact phonetic correspondences and controlled comparison. Braune’s grammar applies these principles to Gothic, organizing phonology, morphology, and syntax around demonstrable regularities and analogical change. The book’s structure and its evidence-led argumentation are direct products of this movement, translating an academic revolution into a practical manual for students and researchers.
German unification in 1871 reorganized higher education, expanding research funding and founding strategic institutions such as the reconstituted University of Strasbourg in 1872. Philology prospered alongside national historical scholarship, and seminar libraries amassed manuscripts, facsimiles, and editions. The Kulturkampf (c. 1871–1887) sharpened interest in confessional and early medieval histories that intersected with Germanic origins. Braune’s appointments, notably at Heidelberg, placed him within this state-supported system. His Gothic Grammar, used in seminars and examinations, mirrors the Kaiserreich’s investment in rigorous source-based scholarship: it codifies the earliest extensive Germanic language, providing students with vetted texts and a glossary that fit the research-intensive pedagogy of the period.
Late Roman imperial politics shaped the very texts excerpted in the book. The Gothic Bible translation is attributed to the missionary-bishop Wulfila (Ulfilas), active c. 348–383 among Tervingi north of the lower Danube. Under pressure from the Huns, Gothic groups crossed the Danube in 376; after the Roman defeat at Adrianople in 378, a treaty in 382 settled many as foederati in Moesia. Wulfila devised the Gothic alphabet and translated Scripture from Greek, often reflecting Arian theology. Braune’s selections regularly derive from these Gospels. His grammatical paradigms and notes reveal how frontier Christianity, Roman-Gothic diplomacy, and bilingual contact imprinted the phonology, lexicon, and syntax preserved in these passages.
The Migration Period and successor kingdoms provided the scribal context for key manuscripts. The Ostrogothic kingdom of Theoderic the Great (493–526), with its capital at Ravenna, likely hosted production of the purple-dyed, silver-ink Codex Argenteus (sixth century). Earlier, Visigoths had sacked Rome in 410 and established a kingdom in Aquitaine (418), later centered in Toledo; after 589 (Third Council of Toledo), Visigoths shifted from Arianism to Nicene Christianity. The Gothic War (535–554) extinguished Ostrogothic rule in Italy. Braune’s commentary links textual variants and loanwords to these settings, showing how ecclesiastical controversy, courtly scriptoria, and Latin-Greek contact conditioned the language exemplified in his reading selections.
Manuscript transmission tied Gothic studies to early modern warfare and Scandinavian custody. The Codex Argenteus, probably compiled in Italy, entered Emperor Rudolph II’s Prague collections. In 1648, during the final campaign of the Thirty Years’ War, Swedish troops seized the volume and transferred it to Sweden; by 1669 it was lodged at Uppsala University Library. Nineteenth-century scholars, notably Anders Uppström (editions 1854–1856), produced reliable texts; later, Wilhelm Streitberg’s Die gotische Bibel (1908) refined the critical apparatus. Braune’s grammar depends on these editions, and his references track variants across witnesses, anchoring rules in readings shaped by the codex’s dramatic seventeenth-century displacement.
Important ancillary witnesses broaden the historical frame. The Ambrosian fragments in Milan preserve parts of the Gothic New Testament and the Skeireins (a commentary on John), while the Codex Carolinus—a Latin-Gothic palimpsest discovered by F. A. Knittel at Wolfenbüttel in 1756—supplies Romans 11:33–12:5. Outside Christian texts, the Pietroassa treasure ring, found in 1837 near Pietroasele (Romania), bears an Elder Futhark inscription often read as gutani wih hailag (“sacred [thing] of the Goths”). Braune invokes such materials when explaining alphabet history, orthography, and lexicon, showing how liturgical manuscripts and epigraphic finds jointly inform a grammar grounded in concrete, datable evidence.
Although a technical manual, the book functions as a quiet social and political critique of its era’s myths. By privileging verifiable sound laws and dated texts, it resists romanticized origin-stories and nationalist appropriations of the “Goths,” emphasizing cross-cultural contact, religious plurality (Arian–Nicene conflicts), and imperial frontiers. In a Kaiserreich preoccupied with pedigree and power, Braune’s evidence-driven reconstruction elevates scholarly egalitarianism over ideology, foregrounding collaborative, transnational custody of knowledge (Uppsala, Milan, Wolfenbüttel). The work exposes how linguistic facts unsettle simplistic narratives about ethnicity and faith, modeling a disciplined inquiry that checks chauvinism and legitimizes marginalized, “barbarian” voices through precise historical description.
A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary
ABBREVIATIONS.
Anz. fda., Anzeiger für deutsches alterthum, s. Zs. fda.
Beitr., Beiträge zur geschichte der deutschen sprache und literatur. Halle 1874 ff.
Bezzenb. beitr., Beiträge zur kunde der indogerm. sprachen, hg. v. A. Bezzenberger. Göttingen 1875 ff.
Brugm., Grundriss der vergleichenden grammatik der indog. sprachen von K. Brugmann (Engl. edition). Strassburg 1886-92.
Dietrich, aussprache des got., s. § 2 n. 1.
Germ., Germania, hg. von Pfeiffer-Bartsch-Behaghel (1856-92).
Grundr., Grundriss der germ. philologie, hg. v. H. Paul. Strassburg 1889-93.
IF., Indogerm. forschungen, hg. v. K. Brugmann und W. Streitberg. Strassburg 1892 ff.
Kl. W., Kluge, Wörterbuch.
Kuhns zs., Zeitschrift für vergleichende sprachforschung. Berlin 1852 ff.
Litbl., Literaturblatt für germ. und roman. philologie. Heilbronn 1880 ff.
Sk., Skeat, Etymological Dictionary.
vB., von Bahder, Verbalabstracta.
Wrede, Wand., Sprache der Wandalen, s. § 220 n. 4.
Wrede, Ostg., Sprache der Ostgoten, s. § 221 n. 4.
Zs. fda., Zeitschrift für deutsches alterthum. Berlin 1841 ff. With this sinse vol. 19: Anzeiger für d. alt. Berlin 1876 ff.
Zs. fdph., Zeitschrift für deutsche philologie. Halle 1869 ff.
FONOLOGY.
CHAP. I. THE ALFABET.
§ 1. The monuments of the Gothic language ar handed down to us in a peculiar alfabet which, according to Greek ecclesiastic writers, was invented by Wulfila (s. § 221). The Gothic alfabet, however, is not entirely a new creation, but Wulfila based it on the Greek alfabet which he accomodated to the Gothic sounds, increasing it by several signs from the Latin alfabet, and, in a few cases, availing himself of the familiar runic alfabet. Of the Greek alfabet he also retaind the order and numerical value. The Gothic alfabet is now sufficiently represented in Roman letters. In the following we giv in the first line the original Gothic characters, in the second their numerical values, in the third the transliteration of the Gothic characters by Roman letters, which latter we shall uze exclusivly in this book.
§ 2. Of the 27 characters two hav only numerical values, (§ 1, n. 2), a third, the χ, is retaind only in Greek foren words, especially in the name 'Christus', and denotes no Gothic sound. Hense there remain the following 24 characters whose fonetic values ar to be determind:
(a) Consonants:
p b f m w | t d þ s z n l r | k q g h ƕ j.
(b) Vowels:
a e i o u.
(c) Difthongs:
ei iu ai au.
In determining the fonetic values of these characters we ar guided by the following means: (1) The Gothic alfabet is based on the Greek alfabet; hense, the pronunciation of the Greek letters to be determind for the 4th century, must also be regarded as that of the Gothic letters so long as there is no proof to the contrary. (2) The rendition of the numerous Greek foren words and proper nouns by Wulfila. (3) The transliteration of the Gothic proper nouns in Latin documents and by Latin authors of the 4th-8th centuries. (4) The testimony of the cognate Germanic languages. (5) Fonetic changes and grammatical fenomena in the Gothic language itself permit us to draw conclusions about the nature of the sounds.
Note 1. Concerning the pronunciation of the Gothic letters, cp. Weingärtner, 'Die Aussprache des Gotischen zur Zeit des Ulfilas', Leipzig 1858; Fr. Dietrich, 'Ueber die Aussprache des Gotischen während der Zeit seines Bestehens', Marburg 1862; about the consonants, Paul, 'Zur Lautverschiebung', Beitr. 1, p. 147 et seq.
Note 2. An old testimony for the Gothic pronunciation in the Salzburg-Vienna MS.:
ubi dicit. genuit .j. ponitur ubi gabriel .g. ponunt et alia his sim̅ ubi aspiratione. ut dicitur gah libeda jah libaida diptongon ai pro e longa p ch q ponunt.—Cp. § 1, n. 5, and, for explanation, especially Kirchhoff, p. 20 et seq.
CHAP. II. THE VOWELS.
a
§ 3. The Gothic a signifies as a rule the short a-sound [as in G. mann].
Note 1. Foren words and names; as, Annas, Ἀννας; Akaja, Ἀχαΐα; barbarus, βάρβαρος; aggilus, ἄγγελος; karkara, carcer; lukarn, lucerna; Kafarnaum, Καπερναούμ.
Note 2. Gothic names: Athanaricus[1], Ariaricus, Amalafrigda (Ammian.)
§ 4. Short a is very frequent both in stem-syllabls and in inflection. E. g.
(a) Stem-syllabls: agis, aw; aljis, 'alius'; tagr, tear; aƕa, 'aqua'; alan, to grow; hafjan, to heav; saltan, to salt; haldan, to hold; waldan, to rule; fadar, father; staþs, place.—ahtau, 'octo'; gasts, guest; ƕaþar, 'uter'; awistr, sheepfold (OHG. au, 'ovis'; ahd. gr., § 219, n. 3); bandi, band; barn, child; saggws, song; all preterits of the III.-V. ablaut-series: bar, I bore; hlaf, I stole; band, I bound; gaf, I gave, etc.
(b) Inflections: daga (dat. sg., § 90), waúrda (nom. acc. pl., § 93), giba (nom. acc. sg., § 96), guma (nom. sg., § 107), haírtôna (nom. acc. pl., § 109); —blindamma, blindana, blinda, blindata (str. adj., § 123); —imma, ina, ita, ija, meina (prn.; § 150 et seq.); —nima (1st pers. sg. prs. ind.); nimaima, nimaiwa, nimaina (1st pers. pl. du. and 3d pers. pl. opt., § 170); haitada (medio-passiv, § 170); sôkida (weak prt., § 184); —adverbs: -ba (as, glaggwuba), nêƕa, inna, ana, waíla, etc.
Note 1. Apocope of an unaccented a before enclitics: þat-ist, þat-ei, þan-uh, þamm-uh, þan-ei, þamm-ei, kar-ist.—Also frêt and frêtum (prt. of fra-itan, to devour, § 176, n. 3).
Note 2. For a in the difthongs ai, au, s. §§ 21. 25.
§ 5. In a few cases a is long [as in E. father]. (Comp. Holtzmann, Altd. Gr., I, 3 et seq.).
(a) In foren words: Silbânus (Silvanus), aurâli (orale), spaíkulâtur (speculator), Peilâtus, etc.;
(b) In the following Gothic words: fâhan (OHG. fâhan), to cach; hâhan (OHG. hâhan), to hang; þâhta (prt. of þagkjan, to think); brâhta (prt. of briggan, to bring); gafâhs, a haul; faúrhâh, curtain; gahâhjô, in order; -gâhts, a going; also þâhô (OHG. dâha), clay; unwâhs, blameless (OE. wôh, wrong).
Note. In the words mentiond under (b) âh arose from anh (§ 50, n. 1). Cp. also Litbl. 1886, p. 485.
e
§ 6. e is always a long, close vowel (ê) approaching very much the sound of i [as in E. they].
Note 1. In Greek words η is regularly represented by ê; e. g., Gabriêl, Kêfas, aíkklêsjô, Krêta; —sumtimes also ι: Naên, Ναίν; Tykêkus, Τυχικός; aíloê, ἐλωί; likewise e: Jarêd, Ἰαρέδ.
Note 2. In Gothic names Latin writers employ e for Gothic ê: Sigismêres, Gelimêr, Reccarêd; besides, as erly as the 6th century, quite regularly also i; as, Theodemir, Valamir. Cp. Beitr., 11, 7 et seq.; Wrede, Wand., 92 et seq.
§ 7. Goth. ê (which regularly corresponds to OHG. and OS. â; ahd. gr., § 34) is found:
(a) in reduplicating verbs, in part with the ablaut ô (§§ 179. 181): grêtan, lêtan, slêpan; (b) in the prt. pl. of the IV. and V. ablaut-series: sêtum (inf. sitan, to sit), nêmun (inf. niman, to take), têmum (inf. timan, to befit), êtum (inf. itan), and in the prt. sg. frêt; Luc. XV, 30 (§ 176, n. 3); (c) in derivativs from the verbal stems givn under (b); as, andanêms, agreeabl; andanêm, a receiving; gatêmiba, becumingly; uzêta, manger; (d) in other words; as, jêr, year; qêns, wife; mêna, moon; lêkeis, fysician; mêrjan, to preach; manasêþs ('man-seed'), world, etc.; (e) in formativ syllabls: fahêþs, joy; awêþi, flock of sheep (cp. however § 17, n. 1); azêts, easy; 2nd pers. sg. prt. of wvs., -dês (nasidês, § 184); (f) final: in the ending of the gen. pl.; as, dagê; in monosyllabic instrumentals: þê, ƕê (§§ 153. 159); in particls and advs.; as, swê, untê, hidrê, bisunjanê; lastly, in the dativs ƕammêh, ƕarjammêh, ainummê-hun (cp. §§ 163-166).
Note 1.ê before vowels appears as ai; s. § 22.
Note 2.ei occurs quite often for ê, especially in the Gospel of St. Luke; as, qeins (= qêns), faheid (= fahêd), fraleitais (= fralêtais); Lu. II, 5. 10. 29; afleitan; Mt. IX, 6, etc.
Note 3. Sporadically also i for ê; so, frequently, in the Gospel of St. Lu.; as, birusjôs; Lu. II, 41; qiþeina; VIII, 56. IX, 21; tawidideina; VI, 11; duatsniwun; Mk. VI, 53. Only i is found in wriþus, herd; Lu. VIII, 33 (for wrêþus; cp. Bezzenb. Beitr. 3, 114).
Note 4. Reversely, also e occurs for i and ei (§ 10, n. 5; § 17, n. 1).—These deviations (in ns. 2-4) seem due to East Gothic writers; cp. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 161.
§ 8. From the preceding ê must be separated the ê of sum Gothic words in which it corresponds to OHG. ea, ia (not â): hêr, here; Krêks, Greek; fêra, side, region; mês, table. Cp. ahd. gr., §§ 35. 36; Beitr., 18, 409 et seq.
i
§ 9. Gothic i, as a rule, denotes the short vowel i [as in E. it], while its corresponding long sound is represented by ei [= ie in E. believ]; s. § 16.
Note 1. The i in Greek words stands for short ι, only exceptionally for η which is generally represented by ê; e. g., Aúnisimus, Ὀνήσιμος; Biþania, Βηθανία.
Note 2.i in Gothic words is long, when it is incorrectly employd for ê (cp. § 7, n. 3).
§ 10. The Gothic i, from an historical point of view, is of two kinds: It represents two originally distinct sounds which, from a purely Gothic standpoint, can not be separated.
Note 1. Final i occurs in ni, bi, si, hiri; in the nominativs of feminin and neuter j-stems: bandi (§ 96), kuni (§ 93); in the acc. and voc. sg. of the masculin j-stems: hari (§ 90); 3d pers. sg. prt. opt.: nêmi. This final i appears as j, when it becums medial (§ 45).
Note 2. Final i before a following i of an enclitic word is elided in nist (= ni-ist), sei (= si-ei), niba (= ni-iba).
Note 3. Every i before h and r is broken to aí; cp. § 20.
Note 4.ij is found in ija, 'eam'; þrija, 'tria'; fijan, to hate; frijôn, to luv; sijum, we ar; kijans, germinated, etc. i for ij is rare: fian, sium, etc., but friaþwa (beside frijaþwa), luv, occurs very often.
Note 5. Occasionally e takes the place of i; as, usdrebi; Mk. V, 10; seneigana; I. Tim. V, 1.
Note 6. For i in the difthong iu, s. §§ 18. 19.
Note 7. For a separation of the two is (= OHG. ë and i) in East Gothic names, s. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 162.
o
§ 11. The Gothic character o always denotes a long close o approaching sumwhat the sound of û (= o in E. home).
Note 1. In Greek words o, as a rule, corresponds to ω, rarely to ο; e. g., Makidonja, Μακεδονία; it also stands for ου: Iodas, Ἰούδας; Lu. III, 26.
Note 2.o in Gothic words often stands for (short) u (§ 14, n. 3).
§ 12. ô (= OHG. uo; s. ahd. gr., § 38 et seq.) is frequent in Gothic words. E. g., brôþar, brother; bôka, beech; frôþs, wise; flôdus, flud; fôtus, foot.
In the prt. of the VI. series (§ 35) and of the ê—ô-series (§ 36): ôl, hôf, ôg, pl. ôlum, hôfum, ôgum; laílôt, laílôtum, aísô. In endings, as in nom. pl. gibôs, dagôs; wvs. II.: salbôn; final, in gen. pl. f. gibô, tuggônô; nom. sg. tuggô, haírtô. Prns.: ƕô, þô, sô, ƕanô-h, ainnô-hun, ƕarjanô-h. Verb salbô. Advs. in -ô (§ 211).
Note 1. For ô we sumtimes find u: gakrôtûda (inf. krôtôn), he is crusht; Lu. XX, 18; ûhtêdun (prs. ôg), they feard; Mk. XI, 32.—In East Gothic names u often takes the place of ô; s. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 164.
Note 2. In a few words ô before vowels becums au; s. § 26.
Note 3.ô and u interchange in the inflection of fôn, gen. funins (§ 118). Concerning this and other relations between ô and u, cp. Beitr. 6, 377 et seq.; 564; also Kuhns Zs., 26, 16 et seq.
u
§ 13. The letter u in Gothic denotes both a short and a long vowel; the short u, however, occurs oftener than long û.
Note 1.u in foren words regularly represents Gr. ου. In unaccented syllabls, however, it stands for Gr. ο: diabulus, διάβολος (beside diabaúlus), apaústulus (beside apaústaúlus), paíntêkustê, πεντηκοστή.
Note 2.u for ô seldom (§ 12, n. 1), u for áu (§ 25, n. 3).
§ 14. Short u is very frequent in Gothic. E. g.
(a) juk, yoke; sunus, sun; drus, fall; us-drusts, a falling; fra-lusts, lost; lusnan, to perish; —in the prt. pl. and pp. of the verbs of the II. series (§ 31); e. g., gutum, gutans; lusum, lusans; —in endings of the sbs. of the u-decl.: handus, handu; —final, as in þu, prn., thou; nu, now; -u (interr. particl).
(b) wulfs, wolf; wulla, wool; gaqumþs, council; gulþ, gold; swumfsl, pond; hund, 100; sibun, 7; taíhun, 10; fulls, ful; un- (privativ prefix); in the prt. pl. and pp. of the verbs of the III. series (§ 32): bundum, bundans; in the pp. of the verbs of the IV. series (§ 33): numans, stulans.
brukans, broken; us-bruknan, to break off (intr.); trudan, to tred, pp. trudans; snutrs, wise.
Note 1. As a rule, the final u of stems is dropt before derivativ j-suffixes; e. g., -hardjan, to harden (< hardus); -agljan, to trubl (< aglus); manwjan, to prepare (< manwus); ufarassjan, to increase (< ufarassus); L. Meyer, 'Got. Spr.', p. 325 et seq. But skadwjan, to overshadow (< skadus), and skadweins, a shading (cp. Zs. fda. 36, 269).—Concerning u beside w, cp. § 42.
Note 2. Every u before h and r is broken to aú; cp. § 24.
Note 3.u is eight times (mostly in Lu.) represented by o; e. g., laúhmoni, lightning: Lu. XVII, 24; sunjos, suns; Lu. XVI, 8; ushôfon; Lu. XVII, 13; ainomêhun; Lu. VIII, 43; faího, muney; Mk. X, 23.
Note 4. In the endings of the u-declension u is occasionally represented by au; as, sunaus (nom. sg.); Lu. IV, 3; cp. § 105, n. 2.
§ 15. Long û certainly appears in: (a) ût, out (ûta, etc.); dûbô, duv; rûna, mystery; rûms, room, roomy; *mûl (in faúrmûljan, to muzl); brûþs, bride; hûs, house; skûra, shower; hlûtrs, pure; fûls, foul; *mûks (in mûkamôdei), meek; þûsundi, 1000; brûkjan, to uze (prt. brûhta; adj. brûks); lûkan, to lock (§ 173, n. 2); hrûkjan, to crow (s. Beitr., 6, 379); hnûþô, sting (Icel. hnúþa; s. Noreen, Nord. revy, April 1883).
(b) for nasalized u, the primitiv nasal being lost (cp. § 5, b; § 50, n. 1): þûhta (prt. of þugkjan, to think), þûhtus, thought (adj. þûhts); hûhrus, hunger; jûhiza (compar. to juggs), yunger; ûhtwô, daybreak; ûhteigs, ûhtiugs, seasonabl; bi-ûhts, accustomd (s. Brgm., I, 181).
Note 1.u is perhaps long in: þrûtsfill, leprosy (cp. ON. þrútinn, swoln; OE. þrûstfell; Beitr., 9, 254); anabûsns, commandment (Beitr., 9, 152 and 10, 497; Brgm., II, 287); lûns, ransom (Brgm., II, 285); sûts, sweet (OS. swôti, OE. swête; cp. however Kuhn's Zs., 26, 380); the suff. -dûþs (§ 103; cp. Beitr. 6, 380); jûs, ye (§ 150; Brgm., III, 374. 398). Sum write also fidûr- and -ûh (cp. § 24, n. 2).
Note 2. In Rûma, Rome, Rûmôneis, a Roman, û stands for the Lt. o.
Note 3.o for û occurs only in ôhteigô; II. Tim. IV, 2 (in codex B, for ûhteigô in A).
Note 4. For û becuming au before vowels, s. § 26, b.
ei
§ 16. Like Greek ει at the time of Wulfila, and in imitation of it, Gothic ei denotes long î.
Note 1. In Greek words ei uzually stands for ι, but also for ei, and sumtimes for η.
Note 2. Concerning ei for Goth. ê, s. § 7, n. 2.
Note 3. The difthongal pronunciation of ei suggested by J. Grimm is refuted also for linguistic reasons. Cp. J. Schmidt, 'Idg. Vocalismus', I, 485; Litbl. 1886, 485; Brgm., I, 57.
§ 17. ei in stem syllabls of Gothic words occurs especially in the prs. tense of the I. series (§ 30): beitan, to bite; steigan, to mount; þeihan, to thrive; in the inflection of these verbs it interchanges with ai and i.
Other exampls: ƕeila, time; eisarn, iron; leiþu, cider; þreis, 3; leihts, light; weihs, holy; skeirs, clear; pronouns: weis, we; meins, þeins, seins; —very often in formativ and inflectional syllabls; as, adjs. in -eigs (mahteigs, mighty); in -eins (aiweins, eternal); nomina actionis in -eins (laiseins, doctrin); nom. and gen. sg. of the m. ja-stems: haírdeis, herd; laisareis, teacher; nom. pl. of the i-decl.: gasteis; opt. prt.: nêmeis; final, in feminins in -ei: managei (§ 113); imperativs: sôkei, etc. (§ 186); the rel. particl ei (§ 157), alone and in composition.
Note 1.ei is quite often represented by ê; as akêtis; Mt. XXVII, 48; wêhsa; Mk. VIII, 26. 27; akê; Gal. II, 14; izê; Mk. IX, 1. Lu. VIII, 13. 15, etc.—Here perhaps belongs also awêþi (§ 7, e), which, however, occurs three times with ê: Jo. XVI, 16. I. Cor. IX, 7; cp. Beitr., 11, 32; 18, 286.
Note 2. Onse (in seiteina; II. Cor. XI, 28) occurs ei beside in (in sinteins, daily; sinteinô, always).
Note 3. Beside gabeigs, rich (gabei, riches), which occurs 5 times in Luke, also II. Cor. VIII, 9. Eph. II, 4 (in B), we find more frequently (11 times) gabigs (> gabigjan, to enrich; gabignan, to grow rich); cp. Brgm., II, 261. 271.
iu
§ 18. In the pronunciation of iu the stress is on the i, and u is a consonant.
§ 19. iu is a normal vowel of the present tense of the II. series (§ 31), and here it interchanges with the ablauts au, u: biugan, to bend; biudan, to offer.—In other words; as, þiuda, peple; dius, animal; liuhaþ, light; diups, deep; siuks, sick; niujis, new; niun, 9; iup, upward.—In formativ and inflectional syllabls iu does not occur, except in the isolated ûhtiugs (I. Cor. XVI, 12. Cp. Beitr., 12, 202).
Note. In triu, tree; qiujan, to quicken, etc., iu interchanges with iw before an inflectional vowel: gen. triwis; prt. qiwida; cp. § 42.
ai
ai in Gothic words denotes two etymologically, and certainly also fonetically, different sounds.
§ 20. I. The short vowelaí [= a in E. fat]. ai is uzed in Gothic to denote a short, open e[1]-sound. In this case, according to Grimm's exampl, grammarians put an accute accent over the i (aí) in order to distinguish it from ái (§ 21). Gothic ai corresponds to e or i in OHG. and in the other Germanic languages. The short e-sound represented by aí occurs:
(1) before h (ƕ) and r, which sounds hav caused breaking of every preceding short i to e (aí; § 10, n. 3); e. g., aírþa, erth; waírpan, to throw; baírhts, bright; faíhu, catl; maíhstus, dung; raíhts, right; taíhun, 10; saíƕan, to see; þaíhum (prt. pl. of þeihan, to grow). (2) in reduplicated syllabls (§ 178 et seq.): haíhald, aíaik, laílôt, saísô, etc. Cp. Osthoff, 'Zur Geschichte des Perfects', p. 276 et seq. Brugmann, IV, 15. (3) in the conj. aíþþau, or (= OHG. ëddo, ahd. gr. § 167, n. 11; cp. Beitr. 12, 211); probably, also, in waíla, wel (= OHG. wëla, ahd. gr., § 29, n. 4), but cp. Beitr. 11, 553.
§ 21. II. The old Difthongai. By far the greater number of the Gothic ais express a difthongal sound which is equivalent to OHG. ei or ê (ahd. gr., §§ 43. 44), OS. ê, ON. ei. The Goths of Wulfila's time indeed seem to hav stil pronounced this ai as a + i.—For the difthong ai we employ Grimm's sign ái whenever it is likely to be confused with aí. Exampls of difthongal ai (before h, r, cp. § 20, n. 2): The prts. sg. of the I. ablaut-series (§ 30),—bait, I bit (inf. beitan); staig, I mounted (inf. steigan); etc.; wait (§ 197); ains, one; hlaifs, (loaf of) bred; staiga, path; laisjan, to teach; —haitan, to be calld; maitan, to cut; skaidan, to separate; aiws, time; —hails, hale, sound; dails, deal.
ai appears also in inflectional syllabls of the III. Weak Conjugation (§ 191): habais, habaida, etc.; in the prs. opt.: nimais, etc.; anstais, gen. sg. of the i-decl.; in the str. adjs.: blindaizôs, etc. (§ 123); —final: gibai, anstai, dat. sg.: nimai, 3 prs. sg. opt.; blindai, dat. sg. f. and nom. pl. m. of the str. adj.; —monosyllabls: þai, nom. pl., these; twai, 2; bai, both; jai, yes; sai, behold!; wai, woe!
Note 1. Latin writers express the Gothic ai predominantly by ai, ei: Dagalaiphus, Gaina, Radagaisus, Gisaleicus (cp. Dietrich, 'Ausspr.'), eils in a Lt. epigram (Zs. fda., 1, 379). On the Bukarest rune-ring (cp. § 221, n. 3) stands hailag[2] (Paul's 'Grundriss', I, 411).—Concerning the difthongal pronunciation of the Gothic ai, cp. especially Wrede, 'Wand.', 95 et seq.; about monofthongization in East Goth., s. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 165.
Note 2.ai and aj interchange in wai, woe!; wai-dêdja, evil-doer, and waja-mêrjan, to blasfeme; in aiws, time, and ajukdûþs, eternity.
§ 22. Many scholars hold that also the ai in the reduplicating ablaut vs. (§ 182) saian and waian is difthongal. This ai, however, stands etymologically for Gothic ê, and its OHG. equivalent is â (not ei): OHG. sâen, wâen (cp. ahd. gr., § 359, n. 3.) The difthong ai before a vowel would becum aj; hense, *sajan, *wajan. Here ai perhaps has the sound of long æ, i. e. open e representing close e (ê) when followd by a vowel; thus, saian, waian, for sêan, wêan.
Note 1. Before the i of the 3d pers. sg. prs. a j is often found: saijiþ (Mk. IV, 14), saijiþ (II. Cor. IX, 6 in A, for saiiþ in B; Gal. VI, 7. 8. in A, for saiiþ in B). Before a the j occurs but onse: saijands (Mk. IV, 14). Cp. Beitr. 11, 75 et seq.
Note 2. Here belongs also the isolated faian (Rom. IX, 19, in prs. faianda); but the prs. to the prt. laílôun is lauan rather than laian. Cp. Beitr. 11, 56.
Note 3. Also the ai in armaiô, alms (Bezzenb. Beitr. 7, 210; Beitr. 11, 74), is likely to belong here.—Concerning the fonetic values of the ais discust here, cp. especially Beitr. 11, 51 et seq.; Brgm., I, pp. 126. 127; Wrede, 'Wand.' 99, who, beside Holtzmann, is inclined to assume a long sound for these ais; Noreen, 'Urg. Lautlehre', p. 35 et seq.
Note. Gothic ai for Greek η is exceptional; e. g., Hairodiadins, gen. to Ἡρωδίας (Mk. VI, 17); Neikaúdaimus (Skeir. 52); Νικόδημος (for Nikaúdêmus elsewhere.)
au
Also Goth. au (like ai) stands for historically and fonetically different sounds.
§ 24. I. The short vowelaú.—au in Gothic denotes a short open o-sound. In this case grammarians put an accute accent over the u (aú) in order to keep it apart from the difthong au. Goth. aú corresponds to o or u in OHG. and in the other Germanic languages.
The aú, before h and r in Gothic words, has in every instance developt from a short u which, when immediately followd by these sounds, was 'broken' to short ŏ. E. g.
waúrms, wurm; haúrn, horn; baúrgs (OHG. burg), city; waúrd, word; waúrpum, prt. pl. of waírpan, to throw (cp. § 32); saúhts (OHG. suht), sickness; daúhtar, daughter; aúhsa, ox; taúhum, prt. pl. of tiuhan, to pul; baúhta, prt. of bugjan, to buy.
§ 25. II. The old difthongau [= ou in E. house]. Every au not broken from u (before h, r; s. § 24 and note 3) is a difthong; it corresponds to OHG. au, ou, or ô (ahd. gr., §§ 45. 46), OS. ô, ON. au. Whenever it is likely to be confused with aú, we put (according to Grimm), an accute accent over the a (áu). E. g.
The prts. sg. of the II. ablaut-series (§ 31): gaut, I pour (inf. giutan); laug, I lied, etc.; laugnjan, to deny; daupjan, to baptize; galaubjan, to believ; galaubeins, belief; rauþs, red; dauþus, deth; —aukan, to increase; hlaupan, to run; stautan, to push, strike; —haubiþ, hed; augô, ey.
au in inflections and final occurs in the u-declension: sunaus, sunau; 1st pers. sg. opt.: nimau, nêmjau; 3d pers. sg. imper.: lausjadau; opt. midl: haitaidau.
Note 1.au often interchanges with aw (cp. § 42); e. g., taujan, prt. tawida, to do; mawi, gen. maujôs, girl; sniwan, prt. snau, to hasten.
Note 2. Latin writers express Goth. au by au; as, Ausila, Austrovaldus, Audericus. Cp. Wrede, 'Wand.', 96 et seq. Concerning East Gothic monofthongizations, s. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 165 et seq. (Zs. fda., 36, 2732).
Note 3. In the u-declension u is often found for áu; cp. § 24, n. 4; § 105, n. 2.
§ 26. Another au, historically, and probably also fonetically, different from the preceding ones occurs before vowels.
(a) For original ô: stauida, prt. of stôjan, to judge; staua, f., judgment; staua, m., judge; taui, n., gen. tôjis, deed (cp. also ubiltôjis, evil-doer; taujan, to do, prt. tawida); afmauidai and afdauidai, pps. of *afmôjan, and *afdôjan, to tire out, weary; sauil, n., sun.
(b) For û in the other Germanic languages: trauan (OHG. trûên), to trust; bauan (OHG. bûan), to dwel; bnauan, to rub (to pieces or powder. ON. (g)núa, OHG. nûan). Cp. also § 179, n. 2.
Sinse this au does not change into aw before vowels, it must denote a monofthong which is likely to be the long of aú, hense a long open o (= a in E. fall), while long close o (shading very much to û, like ô in E. home) is denoted by ô. Accordingly, Goth. antevocalic ô, û past into au. Cp. Brgm., I, 156. For the extensiv literature on this question, s. Noreen's 'Urgerm. Lautlehre', p. 34; also Beitr., 17, 563-567.
Note 1. Also Gr. ω before a vowel, which is represented as a rule by ô, is renderd by au: Trauada, Τρῳάς; Nauêl, Νωέ; Lauidja, Λωίς.
Note 2.ô before u occurs, however, in the preterit forms waiwôun (inf. waian, § 182), lailôun (inf. *lauan, § 179, 4). Cp. Beitr., 11, 742.
APPENDIX.
§ 27. Beside the vowel-signs discust in the foregoing paragrafs, a few consonant-signs may likewise discharge the function of vowels, for the Gothic liquids l, r and the nasals m, n ar very often vocalic (i. e. syllabic) at the end of a word after a consonant. Here an original suffixal vowel was lost in most cases, and in its place the following liquid or nasal became the bearer of the accent. Thus the Gothic has dissyllabic words with vocalic liquids or vocalic nasals (sonant liquids or sonant nasals); as, akrs, field; fugls, bird; taikns, token; maiþms, present.
Note In the West Germanic languages a new vowel (OHG. a) has developt from these vocalic liquids and nasals; e. g., OHG. akkar, fogal, zeihhan, OS. mêþom. Cp. ahd. gr., § 65, and Brgm., I, 190. 237.
Footnote
[1] For the values of this sign according to 'Amended Spelling', s. 'Standard Dictionary', p. 568.
CHAP. III. TABLE OF THE GOTHIC VOWELS.
A. FONETIC SYSTEM.
§ 28. In the preceding paragrafs the Gothic vowels hav been givn according to the letters by which they ar represented. Now they wil be arranged according to the nature of their sounds, the following scale of seven vowels from i to u being taken as a basis:
i e æ a ǫ o u.
In the following survey we shal state after each of these vowel grades whether it occurs in Gothic, and by what letter it is exprest.
B. HISTORICAL SYSTEM (Ablaut-Series).
§ 29
