Gothic language Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Alphabet and transliteration== {{Main|Gothic alphabet}} {{Cleanup lang|date=June 2022}} A few [[Gothic runic inscriptions]] were found across Europe, but due to early Christianization of the Goths, the Runic writing was quickly replaced by the newly invented Gothic alphabet. Ulfilas's Gothic, as well as that of the ''Skeireins'' and various other manuscripts, was written using an alphabet that was most likely invented by Ulfilas himself for his translation. Some scholars (such as Braune) claim that it was derived from the [[Greek alphabet]] only while others maintain that there are some Gothic letters of [[Runic]] or [[Latin]] origin. A standardized system is used for transliterating Gothic words into the [[Latin script]]. The system mirrors the conventions of the native alphabet, such as writing long {{IPA|/iː/}} as ''ei''. The Goths used their equivalents of ''e'' and ''o'' alone only for long higher vowels, using the digraphs ''ai'' and ''au'' (much as in [[French orthography|French]]) for the corresponding short or lower vowels. There are two variant spelling systems: a "raw" one that directly transliterates the original Gothic script and a "normalized" one that adds [[diacritic]]s ([[Macron (diacritic)|macron]]s and [[acute accent]]s) to certain vowels to clarify the pronunciation or, in certain cases, to indicate the [[Proto-Germanic]] origin of the vowel in question. The latter system is usually used in the academic literature. The following table shows the correspondence between spelling and sound for vowels: {|class="wikitable" ! Gothic letter<br />or [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] ! Roman<br />equivalent ! "Normalised"<br />transliteration ! Sound ! Normal environment of occurrence <br />(in native words) ! Paradigmatically alternating sound<br />in other environments ! Proto-Germanic origin |- | rowspan="2" | {{lang|got|𐌰}} | rowspan="2" | ''a'' | ''a'' | {{IPA|/a/}} | Everywhere | — | {{IPA|/ɑ/}} |- | ''ā'' | {{IPA|/aː/}} | Before {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}} | Does not occur | {{IPA|/ãː/}} (before {{IPA|/h/}}) |- | rowspan="3" | {{lang|got|𐌰𐌹}} | rowspan="3" | ''ai'' | ''aí'' | {{IPA|/ɛ/}} | Before {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} | ''i'' {{IPA|/i/}} | {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/i/}} |- | ''ai'' | {{IPA|/ɛː/}} | Before vowels | ''ē'' {{IPA|/eː/}} | {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}} |- | ''ái'' | {{IPA|/ɛː/}} | Not before vowels | ''aj'' {{IPA|/aj/}} | {{IPA|/ɑi/}} |- | rowspan="3" | {{lang|got|𐌰𐌿}} | rowspan="3" | ''au'' | ''aú'' | {{IPA|/ɔ/}} | Before {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} | ''u'' {{IPA|/u/}} | {{IPA|/u/}} |- | ''au'' | {{IPA|/ɔː/}} | Before vowels | ''ō'' {{IPA|/oː/}} | {{IPA|/ɔː/}} |- | ''áu'' | {{IPA|/ɔː/}} | Not before vowels | ''aw'' {{IPA|/aw/}} | {{IPA|/ɑu/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌴}} | ''e'' | ''ē'' | {{IPA|/eː/}} | Not before vowels | ''ai'' {{IPA|/ɛː/}} | {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌴𐌹}} | ''ei'' | ''ei'' | {{IPA|/iː/}} | Everywhere | — | {{IPA|/iː/}}; {{IPA|/ĩː/}} (before {{IPA|/h/}}) |- | {{lang|got|𐌹}} | ''i'' | ''i'' | {{IPA|/i/}} | Everywhere except before {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} | ''aí'' {{IPA|/ɛ/}} | {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/i/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌹𐌿}} | ''iu'' | ''iu'' | {{IPA|/iu/}} | Not before vowels | ''iw'' {{IPA|/iw/}} | {{IPA|/eu/}} (and its allophone {{IPA|[iu]}}) |- | {{lang|got|𐍉}} | ''o'' | ''ō'' | {{IPA|/oː/}} | Not before vowels | ''au'' {{IPA|/ɔː/}} | {{IPA|/ɔː/}} |- | rowspan="2" | {{lang|got|𐌿}} | rowspan="2" | ''u'' | ''u'' | {{IPA|/u/}} | Everywhere except before {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} | ''aú'' {{IPA|/ɔ/}} | {{IPA|/u/}} |- | ''ū'' | {{IPA|/uː/}} | Everywhere | — | {{IPA|/uː/}}; {{IPA|/ũː/}} (before {{IPA|/h/}}) |} Notes: * This "normalised transliteration" system devised by [[Jacob Grimm]] is used in some modern editions of Gothic texts and in studies of [[Proto-Germanic language|Common Germanic]]. It signals distinctions not made by Ulfilas in his alphabet. Rather, they reflect various origins in Proto-Germanic. Thus, ** <big>''aí''</big> is used for the sound derived from the Proto-Germanic short vowels ''e'' and ''i'' before {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/r/}}. ** <big>''ái''</big> is used for the sound derived from the Proto-Germanic [[diphthong]] ''ai''. Some scholars have considered this sound to have remained as a diphthong in Gothic. However, Ulfilas was highly consistent in other spelling inventions, which makes it unlikely that he assigned two different sounds to the same digraph. Furthermore, he consistently used the digraph to represent Greek {{lang|grc|αι}}, which was then certainly a [[monophthong]]. A monophthongal value is accepted by [[Eduard Prokosch]] in his influential ''A Common Germanic Grammar''.<ref name="Prokosch">Prokosch p. 105</ref> It had earlier been accepted by [[Joseph Wright (linguist)|Joseph Wright]] but only in an appendix to his ''Grammar of the Gothic Language''.<ref name="Wright">Wright (1910 edition) p. 362</ref> ** <big>''ai''</big> is used for the sound derived from the Common Germanic long vowel ''ē'' before a vowel. ** <big>''áu''</big> is used for the sound derived from Common Germanic diphthong ''au''. It cannot be related to a Greek digraph, since {{lang|grc|αυ}} then represented a sequence of a vowel and a spirant ([[fricative consonant|fricative]]) consonant, which Ulfilas transcribed as ''aw'' in representing Greek words. Nevertheless, the argument based on simplicity is accepted by some influential scholars.<ref name="Prokosch"/><ref name="Wright"/> *The "normal environment of occurrence" refers to native words. In foreign words, these environments are often greatly disturbed. For example, the short sounds {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} alternate in native words in a nearly [[Allophone|allophonic]] way, with {{IPA|/ɛ/}} occurring in native words only before the consonants {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}} while {{IPA|/i/}} occurs everywhere else (nevertheless, there are a few exceptions such as {{IPA|/i/}} before {{IPA|/r/}} in ''hiri'', {{IPA|/ɛ/}} consistently in the [[reduplication|reduplicating]] syllable of certain past-tense verbs regardless of the following consonant, which indicate that these sounds had become phonemicized). In foreign borrowings, however, {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/i/}} occur freely in all environments, reflecting the corresponding vowel quality in the source language. *Paradigmatic alterations can occur either intra-paradigm (between two different forms within a specific [[Linguistic paradigm|paradigm]]) or cross-paradigm (between the same form in two different paradigms of the same class). Examples of intra-paradigm alternation are {{lang|got-Latn|gawi}} {{IPA|/ɡa.wi/}} "district ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|gáujis}} {{IPA|/ɡɔː.jis/}} "district ({{abbr|gen.|genitive}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|mawi}} {{IPA|/ma.wi/}} "maiden ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|máujōs}} {{IPA|/mɔː.joːs/}} "maiden ({{abbr|gen.|genitive}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|þiwi}} {{IPA|/θi.wi/}} "maiden ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|þiujōs}} {{IPA|/θiu.joːs/}} "maiden ({{abbr|gen.|genitive}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|taui}} {{IPA|/tɔː.i/}} "deed ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|tōjis}} {{IPA|/toː.jis/}} "deed ({{abbr|gen.|genitive}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|náus}} {{IPA|/nɔːs/}} "corpse ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|naweis}} {{IPA|/na.wiːs/}} "corpses ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|triu}} {{IPA|/triu/}}?? "tree ({{abbr|nom.|nominative}})" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|triwis}} {{IPA|/tri.wis/}} "tree ({{abbr|gen.|genitive}})"; {{lang|got-Latn|táujan}} {{IPA|/tɔː.jan/}} "to do" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|tawida}} {{IPA|/ta.wi.ða/}} "I/he did"; {{lang|got-Latn|stōjan}} {{IPA|/stoː.jan/}} "to judge" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|stauida}} {{IPA|/stɔː.i.ða/}} "I/he judged". Examples of cross-paradigm alternation are Class IV verbs {{lang|got-Latn|qiman}} {{IPA|/kʷiman/}} "to come" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|baíran}} {{IPA|/bɛran/}} "to carry, to bear", {{lang|got-Latn|qumans}} {{IPA|/kʷumans/}} "(having) come" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|baúrans}} {{IPA|/bɔrans/}} "(having) carried"; Class VIIb verbs {{lang|got-Latn|lētan}} {{IPA|/leː.tan/}} "to let" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|saian}} {{IPA|/sɛː.an/}} "to sow" (note similar preterites {{lang|got-Latn|laílōt}} {{IPA|/lɛ.loːt/}} "I/he let", {{lang|got-Latn|saísō}} {{IPA|/sɛ.soː/}} "I/he sowed"). A combination of intra- and cross-paradigm alternation occurs in Class V {{lang|got-Latn|sniwan}} {{IPA|/sni.wan/}} "to hasten" vs. {{lang|got-Latn|snáu}} {{IPA|/snɔː/}} "I/he hastened" (expected *''snaw'', compare {{lang|got-Latn|qiman}} "to come", {{lang|got-Latn|qam}} "I/he came"). *The carefully maintained alternations between ''iu'' and ''iw'' suggest that ''iu'' may have been something other than {{IPA|/iu/}}. Various possibilities have been suggested (for example, high central or high back unrounded vowels, such as {{IPA|[ɨ] [ʉ] [ɯ]}}); under these theories, the spelling of ''iu'' is derived from the fact that the sound alternates with ''iw'' before a vowel, based on the similar alternations ''au'' and ''aw''. The most common theory, however, simply posits {{IPA|/iu/}} as the pronunciation of ''iu''. *Macrons represent long ''ā'' and ''ū'' (however, long i appears as ''ei'', following the representation used in the native alphabet). Macrons are often also used in the case of ''ē'' and ''ō''; however, they are sometimes omitted since these vowels are always long. Long ''ā'' occurs only before the consonants {{IPA|/h/}}, {{IPA|/hʷ/}} and represents [[Proto-Germanic]] nasalized {{IPA|/ãː(h)/}} < earlier {{IPA|/aŋ(h)/}}; non-nasal {{IPA|/aː/}} did not occur in Proto-Germanic. It is possible that the Gothic vowel still preserved the nasalization, or else that the nasalization was lost but the length distinction kept, as has happened with [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] {{lang|lt|ą}}. Non-nasal {{IPA|/iː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}} occurred in Proto-Germanic, however, and so long ''ei'' and ''ū'' occur in all contexts. Before {{IPA|/h/}} and {{IPA|/hʷ/}}, long ''ei'' and ''ū'' could stem from either non-nasal or nasal long vowels in Proto-Germanic; it is possible that the nasalization was still preserved in Gothic but not written. The following table shows the correspondence between spelling and sound for consonants: {|class="wikitable" ! Gothic Letter !! Roman !! Sound (phoneme) !! Sound (allophone) !! Environment of occurrence !! Paradigmatically alternating sound, in other environments !! Proto-Germanic origin |- | rowspan=2 | {{lang|got|𐌱}} || rowspan=2|''b'' || rowspan=2|{{IPAslink|b}} || {{IPAblink|b}} || Word-initially; after a consonant || – || rowspan=2|{{IPA|/b/}} |- | {{IPAblink|β}} || After a vowel, before a voiced sound || {{IPA|/ɸ/}} (after a vowel, before an unvoiced sound) |- | rowspan=2 | {{lang|got|𐌳}} || rowspan=2|''d'' || rowspan=2|{{IPAslink|d}} || {{IPAblink|d}} || Word-initially; after a consonant || – || rowspan=2|{{IPA|/d/}} |- | {{IPAblink|ð}} || After a vowel, before a voiced sound || {{IPA|/θ/}} (after a vowel, before an unvoiced sound) |- | {{lang|got|𐍆}} || ''f'' || {{IPAslink|ɸ}} || {{IPAblink|ɸ}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || {{IPA|/b/}} {{IPA|[β]}} || {{IPA|/ɸ/}}; {{IPA|/b/}} |- | rowspan=5 | {{lang|got|𐌲}} || rowspan=4|''g'' || rowspan=3|{{IPAslink|ɡ}} || {{IPAblink|ɡ}} || Word-initially; after a consonant || – || rowspan=3|{{IPA|/g/}} |- | {{IPAblink|ɣ}} || After a vowel, before a voiced sound || {{IPA|/ɡ/}} {{IPA|[x]}} (after a vowel, not before a voiced sound) |- | {{IPAblink|x}} || After a vowel, not before a voiced sound || {{IPA|/ɡ/}} {{IPA|[ɣ]}} (after a vowel, before a voiced sound) |- | {{IPAslink|n}} || {{IPAblink|ŋ}} || Before ''k'' {{IPA|/k/}}, ''g'' {{IPA|/ɡ/ [ɡ]}}, ''gw'' {{IPA|/ɡʷ/}}<br/>(such usage influenced by [[Greek language|Greek]], compare [[gamma (letter)|gamma]]) || – || {{IPA|/n/}} |- | ''gw'' || {{IPAslink|ɡʷ}} || {{IPAblink|ɡʷ}} || After ''g'' {{IPA|/n/}} {{IPA|[ŋ]}} || – || {{IPA|/ɡʷ/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌷}} || ''h'' || {{IPAslink|h}} || {{IPAblink|h}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || {{IPA|/ɡ/}} {{IPA|[ɣ]}} || {{IPA|/x/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍈}} || ''[[hwair|ƕ]]'' || {{IPAslink|ʍ|hʷ}} || {{IPAblink|ʍ|hʷ}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || – || {{IPA|/xʷ/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌾}} || ''j'' || {{IPAslink|j}} || {{IPAblink|j}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/j/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌺}} || ''k'' || {{IPAslink|k}} || {{IPAblink|k}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || – || {{IPA|/k/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌻}} || ''l'' || {{IPAslink|l}} || {{IPAblink|l}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/l/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌼}} || ''m'' || {{IPAslink|m}} || {{IPAblink|m}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/m/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌽}} || ''n'' || {{IPAslink|n}} || {{IPAblink|n}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/n/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍀}} || ''p'' || {{IPAslink|p}} || {{IPAblink|p}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || – || {{IPA|/p/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌵}} || ''q'' || {{IPAslink|kʷ}} || {{IPAblink|kʷ}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || – || {{IPA|/kʷ/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍂}} || ''r'' || {{IPAslink|r}} || {{IPAblink|r}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/r/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍃}} || ''s'' || {{IPAslink|s}} || {{IPAblink|s}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || {{IPA|/z/}} || {{IPA|/s/}}; {{IPA|/z/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍄}} || ''t'' || {{IPAslink|t}} || {{IPAblink|t}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || – || {{IPA|/t/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌸}} || ''þ'' || {{IPAslink|θ}} || {{IPAblink|θ}} || Everywhere except before a voiced consonant || {{IPA|/d/}} {{IPA|[ð]}} || {{IPA|/θ/}}; {{IPA|/d/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐍅}} || ''w'' || {{IPAslink|w}} || {{IPAblink|w}} || Everywhere || – || {{IPA|/w/}} |- | {{lang|got|𐌶}} || ''z'' || {{IPAslink|z}} || {{IPAblink|z}} || After a vowel, before a voiced sound || {{IPA|/s/}} || {{IPA|/z/}} |} *{{IPA|/hʷ/}}, which is written with a single character in the native alphabet, is transliterated using the symbol ''[[hwair|ƕ]]'', which is used only in transliterating Gothic. *{{IPA|/kʷ/}} is similarly written with a single character in the native alphabet and is transliterated ''q'' (with no following ''u''). *{{IPA|/ɡʷ/}}, however, is written with two letters in the native alphabet and hence {{lang|got|𐌲𐍅}} (''gw''). The lack of a single letter to represent this sound may result from its restricted distribution (only after {{IPA|/n/}}) and its rarity. *{{IPA|/θ/}} is written ''þ'', similarly to other Germanic languages. *Although {{IPA|[ŋ]}} is the [[allophone]] of {{IPA|/n/}} occurring before {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{IPA|/k/}}, it is written ''g'', following the native alphabet convention (which, in turn, follows Greek usage), which leads to occasional ambiguities, e.g. {{lang|got-Latn|saggws}} {{IPA|[saŋɡʷs]}} "song" but {{lang|got-Latn|triggws}} {{IPA|[triɡɡʷs]}} "faithful" (compare English "true"). Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). 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