Gothic Online
Lesson 3
Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum
Linguistic Origins of the Goths
The linguistic remains of Gothic provide a window into the origin and history of the Gothic tribes that sometimes complements, and sometimes conflicts with, literary and archaeological records. Specifically, the words borrowed by Gothic from different languages, as well as those borrowed by other languages from Gothic, provide clues about cultural contact, and hence possible geographic location. Generally, at least in the ancient world, languages are assumed to borrow from neighboring languages. Such an assumption certainly leads to some objections, but on the whole it forms a good working hypothesis, which may lead to conclusions that can be compared with the archaeological and literary records for confirmation. If such a hypothesis fails, however, scholars must look for other means for the languages to come into contact, such as through travel along common trade routes.
The Gothic language as recorded in Wulfila's translation contains loan-words from Latin and Celtic. This could imply that either the Goths were settled close to Roman or Celtic populations, or they were in contact with them via commerce or some other means. Since the literary sources pertaining to the Goths generally speak of their origins near the Baltic Sea, scholars have primarily looked for what modes of contact the Goths may have had with these peoples from a distance. For example, if the Goths were never proximate to the Romans, the Latin loans may have come from Gothic mercenaries in Roman employ, since many of the loans have a military character: Gothic *annō from Latin annōna 'military wages'; Gothic militōn 'serve in the army' from Latin mīlēs, pl. mīlitēs 'soldier'. Such loans could could date to the period of contact between Romans and Gutones, when Drusus, son of Tiberius, convinced Catualda, chief of the Gotones, to enter the fight against the Marcomanni.
Celtic loans are likewise often of a military or political character, such as Gothic reiks: compare Gaulish -rīx, and Old Irish rī, genitive rīg. Such Celtic acculturation was possible during the Wielbark period, where the Gutones in the region belonged to the Lugian cult league. Scholars suspect the Lugians were considered Celts before the birth of Christ, but after a century had come to be considered Germanic, closely allied to the Vandals. This holdover of Celtic terms, as with Latin terms possibly borrowed during the Marcomannic wars, requires the Gutonic language to carry over into 4th century Gothic. Proximity to Celtic Lugians does not explain why these particular elements are common only to Celtic and Gothic, since other Germanic tribes were part of the Lugian league.
There are some facts (see Kortlandt, 2000) which argue against a theory of Scandinavian origin for the Goths. On the one hand, much of the source material, admittedly for Jordanes and perhaps for his predecessors Ablabius and Cassiodorus as well, is in the form of oral traditions, the interpretation of which may change within a culture as the culture itself changes. On the other hand, there are some problems with the notion of large-scale migration from the Baltic to the Black Sea. One problem is that the region between the point of origin and the destination is believed to be the homeland of the Slavs, who seem not to have moved until the advent of the Huns. This seems unlikely if there was a mass migration of Goths through the territory. (It is subject to the same argument that supposes the advent of the Huns is what caused the Goths to press into Roman territory.) In addition, the general trend of migration near the borderland of the steppes was westward from poorer lowland to richer upland, not eastward. Another typical trend of the period is that of migration toward more civilized areas rather than away from them, hence in this case toward the Roman Empire's nearest border, the Danube -- a direction in which the Slavs in fact moved, a few centuries later.
Therefore a different proposal arises (Kortlandt, 2000), namely that the Gutones moved south early, toward Italy and the Roman Empire, until they came to the Danube. There they adopted the speech of Alemannic tribes that had previously migrated to the region from the west, and whose speech would already be colored by Roman contact. They were prevented from entering Roman territory, and joined forces with other Germanic tribes in Lower Austria. This mingling of the Gutones with other Germanic tribes in the region resulted in the Gothic ethnogenesis.
One simple fact supporting such a theory is the panoply of names applied to the Goths in the course of their migrations, none of which is actually 'Goth' until a fairly late date. It seems especially likely that the Gothic tribe through the 3rd and 4th centuries was composed of several fluid factions. To add to such literary observations, there is linguistic data as well that may support a Gothic ethnogenesis in southern Germany.
In particular, some of the linguistic features deemed most conservative in Gothic, such as the reduplicated suffix in the past plural of weak verbs, may in fact be innovations. If the origin of the weak verbs is the dh-determinative, then the reduplication found in Gothic may not be an archaic holdover, but rather a form based on analogy with such forms as the preterite of *dhē in Old High German.
In reference to Latin, the fact that the Latin suffix -ārius is productive in the Gothic words such as bōkareis 'scribe', láisareis 'teacher', liuþareis 'singer', mōtareis 'toll-taker', sōkareis 'disputer', may argue for closer contact than merely mercenary jargon. Other cultural loans from Latin, lacking military character, are common, e.g. aurali 'napkin' < Lat. ōrārium; kubitus 'reclining (company) at a table' < Lat. cubitus; aurti-gards, with first element from Latin hortus; mēs < Vulgar Latin mēsa < Latin mēnsa. The word lukarn 'lamp' is an early borrowing from Latin; aket, akeit 'vinegar', a borrowing from Latin acētum, because of non-palatalized c-, may have been borrowed in 1st-3rd centuries, before migration to Russia. Also borrowed from Latin were Kreks 'Greek' and marikreitum 'pearls', showing the change of Latin g to Gmc k, interesting in light of the fact that the Alemannic dialects lack voiced obstruents. In fact, Greek words often appear in Latinized forms, e.g. aípistula 'letter', aíwaggeljō 'gospel', paúrpura 'purple', diabulus 'devil'. Greek words with accented -í- often show -j-, i.e. no accent, in Gothic: aikklesjō 'congregation', skaúrpjōnō 'of scorpions'. In general Greek o is represented by Gothic ō, as in Gothic Aírmōgaínēs corresponding to Greek Ermogénēs. However the fact that Greek o-stems are inflected as Gothic u-stems in the singular, and as i-stems in the plural, may be a result of Latin transmission: Iudaius, -áus sg.; Iudaieis, ē pl.
Thus there may have been a protracted period of close contact between the Goths and Romans well before Wulifila's translation, and the Celtic loans need not have come from Lugians in the north, but possibly from the Bastarni (if they were in fact Celts) in the Balkans. Certain words adopted from Latin into Gothic also show devoicing characteristic of Alemannic dialects, which suggests that the Goths may have been in close proximity to southern Germanic dialects for an extended period. It seems that the linguistic picture of Gothic origins is as heterogeneous as that derived from the literary and archaeological remains.
Reading and Textual Analysis
The following passage is from John 6.1-14, in which Jesus provides enough bread and fish to feed the multitude. The Gothic translation shows some noteworthy linguistic features. In 6.6, the phrase habáida táujan '(what) he would do' provides an example of a compound future tense, with a sense of necessity given by haban. The following verse, John 6.7, has the phrase twáim hundam skattē hláibōs ni ganōhái sind, literally 'loaves at (the price) two hundred of coins are not enough'. This shows the common use of the genitive with a numeral, analogous to Modern English 'a little bit of money'; likewise it illustrates the use of an instrumental dative with genōhs to denote price. John 6.8 contains the genitive Paítráus. Greek loan words in -os tend to be declined according to the Gothic u-declension.
We find in verse 6.11 some insight into the original Greek source of the Gothic translation. As with the Old English translation and Wycliffe's translation of 1389, Gothic lacks the phrase 'to the disciples, and the disciples'. This suggests that the Gothic translator worked with a manuscript different from that used to prepare the King James Version, but belonging to the same family as that of earlier English translations.
Note also the syntax of the word wáihts in John 6.12 : wáihtái ni fraqistnái 'that nothing be lost'. Here the dative of wáihts (with negative ni) is used with an impersonal verb, giving more literally '(that) it be lost for (no)thing' or 'at (no)thing', equivalent to '(that) it be lost in no way, in no respect'. The syntax of John 6.14 is similarly noteworthy: gasaíƕandans þōei gatawida táikn Iēsus, literally 'seeing the-which-(Jesus)-did miracle', where the relative clause has been pulled to the front, before its actual antecedent. This fronting of the relative clause is common to many of the Indo-European languages, including Sanskrit and even its modern daughters, such as Hindi.
6:1 - Afar þata galaiþ Iesus ufar marein þo Galeilaie jah Tibairiade.
- afar
-- preposition;<afar> after, according to-- after - þata
-- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<þata> this, that-- these things - galaiþ
-- strong verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<galeiþan> to go, travel-- went - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - ufar
-- preposition;<ufar> over, above, beyond-- over - marein
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<marei> sea, lake-- sea - þo
-- article; accusative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - Galeilaie
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<Galeilaius> Galilean-- of Galilee # literally 'of the Galileans' - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - Tibairiade
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<*Tibaíriadeis> Tiberians-- (which is the sea of) Tiberias # literally '(and) of the Tiberians'
2 - jah laistida ina manageins filu, unte gaseƕun taiknins þozei gatawida bi siukaim.
- jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - laistida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<láistjan> to follow-- followed - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - manageins
-- weak noun; genitive singular feminine of<managei> crowd, multitude-- multitude - filu
-- strong noun; nominative singular neuter of<filu> much, many-- a great - unte
-- conjunction;<untē> for, because, since, until-- because - gaseƕun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<gasaíƕan> to see-- they saw - taiknins
-- strong noun; accusative plural feminine of<táikns> sign, wonder-- (his) miracles - þozei
-- relative pronoun; accusative plural feminine of<saei> who, he who, which-- which - gatawida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<gatáujan> to do, make-- he did - bi
-- preposition;<bi> by, about; concerning; around, against; according to, on account of; for; at; after; near-- on - siukaim
-- substantive adjective; dative plural masculine of<siuks> sick-- them that were diseased
3 - usiddja þan ana fairguni Iesus jah jainar gasat miþ siponjam seinaim.
- usiddja
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<usgaggan> to go out-- went up - þan
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- and - ana
-- preposition;<ana> in, on, upon, at, over; to, into; against-- into - fairguni
-- strong noun; accusative singular neuter of<faírguni> mountain-- a mountain - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - jainar
-- adverb;<jáinar> yonder, there-- there - gasat
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<gasitan> to sit-- he sat - miþ
-- preposition;<miþ> with, among, together with, through, by, near-- with - siponjam
-- strong noun; dative plural masculine of<sipōneis> disciple-- disciples - seinaim
-- possessive adjective; dative plural masculine of<*seins> one's own-- his
4 - wasuh þan neƕa pasxa, so dulþs Iudaie.
- wasuh
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<wisan> to be + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- was - þan
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- and - neƕa
-- preposition;<nēƕa> near-- nigh - pasxa
-- indeclinable strong noun; feminine of<paska> Passover-- the passover - so
-- article; nominative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - dulþs
-- strong noun; nominative singular feminine of<dulþs> feast-- a feast - Iudaie
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<*Iudaieis> Jew-- of the Jews
5 - þaruh ushof augona Iesus jah gaumida þammei manageins filu iddja du imma, qaþuh du Filippau: ƕaþro bugjam hlaibans, ei matjaina þai?
- þaruh
-- conjunction;<þaruh> therefore, but, and; there; now-- When... then - ushof
-- strong verb class 6; third person singular preterite of<ushafjan> to lift up-- lifted up - augona
-- weak noun; accusative plural neuter of<áugō> eye-- (his) eyes - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - gaumida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<gáumjan> to observe, perceive, see-- saw - þammei
-- conjunction; dative singular neuter of<saei> who, he who, which-- ... - manageins
-- weak noun; nominative plural feminine of<managei> crowd, multitude-- company - filu
-- strong noun; nominative singular neuter of<filu> much, many-- a great - iddja
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<usgaggan> to go out-- come - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - imma
-- personal pronoun; dative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - qaþuh
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- he saith - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - Filippau
-- strong noun; dative singular masculine of<Filippus> Philip-- Philip - ƕaþro
-- adverb;<ƕaþrō> whence, where-- whence - bugjam
-- weak verb class 1; first person plural of<bugjan> to buy-- shall we buy - hlaibans
-- strong noun; accusative plural masculine of<hláifs> bread, loaf-- bread - ei
-- conjunction;<ei> that, so that; whether; (relative particle)-- that - matjaina
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural present subjunctive of<matjan> to eat-- may eat - þai
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- these
6 - þatuh þan qaþ fraisands ina: iþ silba wissa þatei habaida taujan.
- þatuh
-- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- this - þan
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- and - qaþ
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak-- he said - fraisands
-- strong verb class 7; nominative singular masculine of present participle of<fráisan> to tempt-- to prove - ina
-- personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - iþ
-- conjunction;<iþ> but, however, if-- for - silba
-- reflexive pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<silba> self-- himself - wissa
-- preterite present verb; third person singular preterite of<*witan> to know-- he... knew - þatei
-- relative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of<saei> who, he who, which-- what - habaida
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular preterite of<haban> to have-- he would - taujan
-- weak verb class 1; infinitive of<taujan> to do-- do
7 - andhof imma Filippus: twaim hundam skatte hlaibos ni ganohai sind þaim, þei nimai ƕarjizuh leitil.
- andhof
-- strong verb class 6; third person singular preterite of<andhafjan> to answer-- answered - imma
-- personal pronoun; dative singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- him - Filippus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Filippus> Philip-- Philip - twaim
-- numeral; dative plural masculine of<twa> two-- two - hundam
-- numeral; dative plural masculine of<hund> hundred-- hundred - skatte
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<skatts> coin, denarius-- pennyworth of - hlaibos
-- strong noun; nominative plural masculine of<hláifs> bread, loaf-- bread - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- not - ganohai
-- adjective; nominative plural masculine of<ganōhs> enough-- sufficient - sind
-- athematic verb; third person plural of<wisan> to be-- is - þaim
-- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- for these - þei
-- conjunction;<þei> that, so that; as-- that - nimai
-- strong verb class 4; third person singular present subjunctive of<niman> to take, receive-- may take - ƕarjizuh
-- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<ƕarjizuh> each, every-- every one (of them) - leitil
-- substantive adjective; accusative singular neuter of<leitils> little-- a little
8 - qaþ ains þize siponje is, Andraias, broþar Paitraus Seimonaus:
- qaþ
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak-- saith (unto him) - ains
-- numeral; nominative singular masculine of<áins> one, alone, only; one, a certain one-- one - þize
-- article; genitive plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- ... - siponje
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<sipōneis> disciple-- disciples - is
-- personal pronoun; genitive singular masculine of<is> he, she, it-- his - Andraias
-- weak noun; nominative singular masculine of<Andraías> Andrew-- Andrew - broþar
-- weak noun; nominative singular masculine of<brōþar> brother-- brother - Paitraus
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<Paítrus> Peter-- Peter's - Seimonaus
-- strong noun; genitive singular masculine of<Seimōn> Simon-- Simon
9 - ist magula ains her, saei habaiþ ·e· hlaibans barizeinans jah ·b· fiskans; akei þata ƕa ist du swa managaim?
- ist
-- athematic verb; third person singular of<wisan> to be-- there is - magula
-- weak noun; nominative singular masculine of<magula> little boy-- lad # diminutive of magus 'child, boy' - ains
-- numeral; nominative singular masculine of<áins> one, alone, only; one, a certain one-- a - her
-- adverb;<hēr> here-- here - saei
-- relative pronoun; nominative masculine singular of<saei> who, he who, which-- which - habaiþ
-- weak verb class 3; third person singular of<haban> to have-- hath - ·e·
-- numeral;<fimf> five-- five - hlaibans
-- strong noun; accusative plural masculine of<hláifs> bread, loaf-- loaves - barizeinans
-- adjective; accusative plural masculine of<barizeins> of barley-- barley - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - ·b·
-- numeral;<twái> two-- two - fiskans
-- strong noun; accusative plural masculine of<fisks> fish-- (small) fishes - akei
-- conjunction;<akei> but, yet, still, nevertheless-- but - þata
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- they - ƕa
-- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<ƕas> who, what-- what - ist
-- athematic verb; third person singular of<wisan> to be-- are - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- among - swa
-- adverb;<swa> so, thus, as-- so - managaim
-- substantive adjective; dative plural masculine of<managáim> much, many-- many
10 - iþ Iesus qaþ: waurkeiþ þans mans anakumbjan. wasuh þan hawi manag ana þamma stada. þaruh anakumbidedun wairos raþjon swaswe fimf þusundjos.
- iþ
-- conjunction;<iþ> but, however, if-- and - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - qaþ
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak-- said - waurkeiþ
-- weak verb class 1; second person plural imperative of<waúrkjan> to work, to make-- make - þans
-- article; accusative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - mans
-- weak noun; accusative plural masculine of<manna> man-- men - anakumbjan
-- weak verb class 1; infinitive of<anakumbjan> to recline, to sit down-- sit down - wasuh
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<wisan> to be + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- there was - þan
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- now - hawi
-- strong noun; nominative singular neuter of<hawi> grass-- grass - manag
-- adjective; nominative singular neuter of<manag> much, many-- much - ana
-- preposition;<ana> in, on, upon, at, over; to, into; against-- in - þamma
-- article; dative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - stada
-- strong noun; dative singular masculine of<staþs> place; land-- place - þaruh
-- adverb;<þaruh> therefore, but, and; there; now-- so - anakumbidedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<anakumbjan> to recline, to sit down-- sat down - wairos
-- strong noun; nominative plural masculine of<waír> man-- the men - raþjon
-- weak noun; dative singular feminine of<raþjō> number-- in number - swaswe
-- adverb;<swaswē> as, just as; so as; so as to, so that-- about - fimf
-- numeral;<fimf> five-- five - þusundjos
-- numeral; nominative plural feminine of<þūsundi> thousand-- thousand
11 - namuh þan þans hlaibans Iesus jah awiliudonds gadailida þaim anakumbjandam; samaleiko jah þize fiske, swa file swe wildedun.
- namuh
-- strong verb class 4; third person singular preterite of<niman> to take, receive + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- took - þan
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however-- and - þans
-- article; accusative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - hlaibans
-- strong noun; accusative plural masculine of<hláifs> bread, loaf-- loaves - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - awiliudonds
-- weak verb class 2; nominative singular masculine of present participle of<awiliudōn> to give thanks-- when he had given thanks - gadailida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<gadáiljan> to divide-- he distributed - þaim
-- article; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- to them # the part 'to the disciples, and the disciples' does not occur in the Gothic text - anakumbjandam
-- adjective; dative plural masculine of participle of<anakumbjan> to recline, to sit down-- that were set down - samaleiko
-- adverb;<samaleikō> in like manner, likewise-- likewise - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - þize
-- article; genitive plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- of the - fiske
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<fisks> fish-- fishes - swa
-- adverb;<swa> so, thus, as-- as - file
-- strong noun; genitive plural masculine of<filu> much, many-- much - swe
-- adverb;<swē> like, as, just as; so that; about-- as - wildedun
-- irregular verb; third person plural preterite of<wiljan> to will, wish-- they would
12 - þanuh, biþe sadai waurþun, qaþ du siponjam seinaim: galisiþ þos aflifnandeins drauhsnos, þei waihtai ni fraqistnai.
- þanuh
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- ... - biþe
-- conjunction;<biþē> while, when, after that, as soon as; then, thereupon-- when - sadai
-- adjective; nominative plural masculine of<*sads> satisfied-- filled - waurþun
-- strong verb class 3; third person plural preterite of<waírþan> to become, to happen-- they were - qaþ
-- strong verb class 5; third person singular preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak-- he said - du
-- preposition;<du> to, towards; against; in-- unto - siponjam
-- strong noun; dative plural masculine of<sipōneis> disciple-- disciples - seinaim
-- possessive adjective; dative plural masculine of<*seins> one's own-- his - galisiþ
-- strong verb class 5; second person plural imperative of<galisan> to gather-- gather up - þos
-- article; accusative plural feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - aflifnandeins
-- weak verb class 4; accusative plural feminine of present participle of<aflifnan> to remain-- that remain - drauhsnos
-- strong noun; accusative plural feminine of<dráusna> piece-- fragments - þei
-- conjunction;<þei> that, so that; as-- that - waihtai
-- strong noun; dative singular feminine of<waíhts> thing-- -thing # literally 'in (no)thing' - ni
-- adverb;<ni> not-- no- - fraqistnai
-- weak verb class 4; third person singular subjunctive of<fraqistnan> to be lost, to perish-- be lost
13 - þanuh galesun jah gafullidedun ·ib· tainjons gabruko us fimf hlaibam þaim barizeinam, þatei aflifnoda þaim matjandam.
- þanuh
-- conjunction;<þan> when, as (long as); then, at that time; but, and, however + enclitic conjunction;<-uh> but, and, now, therefore-- therefore - galesun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<galisan> to gather-- they gathered (them) together - jah
-- conjunction;<jah> and, also-- and - gafullidedun
-- weak verb class 1; third person plural preterite of<gafulljan> to fill-- filled - ·ib·
-- numeral;<twalif> twelve-- twelve - tainjons
-- weak noun; accusative plural feminine of<táinjō> basket-- baskets - gabruko
-- strong noun; genitive plural feminine of<gabruka> fragment-- with the fragments - us
-- preposition;<us> out, out of, from-- of - fimf
-- numeral;<fimf> five-- five - hlaibam
-- strong noun; dative plural masculine of<hláifs> bread, loaf-- loaves - þaim
-- article; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - barizeinam
-- adjective; dative plural masculine of<barizeins> of barley-- barley - þatei
-- relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of<saei> who, he who, which-- which - aflifnoda
-- weak verb class 4; third person singular preterite of<aflifnan> to remain-- remained (over and above) - þaim
-- article; dative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- them - matjandam
-- weak verb class 1; dative plural masculine of present participle of<matjan> to eat-- that had eaten
14 - þaruh þai mans gasaiƕandans þoei gatawida taikn Iesus, qeþun þatei sa ist bi sunjai praufetus sa qimanda in þo manaseþ.
- þaruh
-- conjunction;<þaruh> therefore, but, and; there; now-- then - þai
-- demonstrative adjective; nominative plural masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- those - mans
-- weak noun; nominative plural masculine of<manna> man-- men - gasaiƕandans
-- strong verb class 5; nominative plural masculine of present participle of<gasaíƕan> to see-- when they had seen - þoei
-- relative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of<saei> who, he who, which-- that # taking its gender from táikns following - gatawida
-- weak verb class 1; third person singular preterite of<gatáujan> to do, make-- did - taikn
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<táikns> sign, wonder-- the miracle - Iesus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<Iēsus> Jesus-- Jesus - qeþun
-- strong verb class 5; third person plural preterite of<qiþan> to say, speak-- said - þatei
-- conjunction;<þatei> that, because, if-- ... - sa
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- this - ist
-- athematic verb; third person singular of<wisan> to be-- is - bi
-- preposition;<bi> by, about; concerning; around, against; according to, on account of; for; at; after; near-- of - sunjai
-- strong noun; dative singular feminine of<sunja> truth-- a truth - praufetus
-- strong noun; nominative singular masculine of<praúfētus> prophet-- prophet - sa
-- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- that - qimanda
-- strong verb class 4; nominative singular masculine of present participle of<qiman> to come, arrive-- that should come - in
-- preposition;<in> into, towards; on account of; in, among, by-- into - þo
-- article; accusative singular feminine of<sa> this, that; he, she, it; the-- the - manaseþ
-- strong noun; accusative singular feminine of<manasēþs> mankind, the world-- world
Lesson Text
6:1 Afar þata galaiþ Iesus ufar marein þo Galeilaie jah Tibairiade. 2 jah laistida ina manageins filu, unte gaseƕun taiknins þozei gatawida bi siukaim. 3 usiddja þan ana fairguni Iesus jah jainar gasat miþ siponjam seinaim. 4 wasuh þan neƕa pasxa, so dulþs Iudaie. 5 þaruh ushof augona Iesus jah gaumida þammei manageins filu iddja du imma, qaþuh du Filippau: ƕaþro bugjam hlaibans, ei matjaina þai? 6 þatuh þan qaþ fraisands ina: iþ silba wissa þatei habaida taujan. 7 andhof imma Filippus: twaim hundam skatte hlaibos ni ganohai sind þaim, þei nimai ƕarjizuh leitil. 8 qaþ ains þize siponje is, Andraias, broþar Paitraus Seimonaus: 9 ist magula ains her, saei habaiþ ·e· hlaibans barizeinans jah ·b· fiskans; akei þata ƕa ist du swa managaim? 10 iþ Iesus qaþ: waurkeiþ þans mans anakumbjan. wasuh þan hawi manag ana þamma stada. þaruh anakumbidedun wairos raþjon swaswe fimf þusundjos. 11 namuh þan þans hlaibans Iesus jah awiliudonds gadailida þaim anakumbjandam; samaleiko jah þize fiske, swa file swe wildedun. 12 þanuh, biþe sadai waurþun, qaþ du siponjam seinaim: galisiþ þos aflifnandeins drauhsnos, þei waihtai ni fraqistnai. 13 þanuh galesun jah gafullidedun ·ib· tainjons gabruko us fimf hlaibam þaim barizeinam, þatei aflifnoda þaim matjandam.
14 þaruh þai mans gasaiƕandans þoei gatawida taikn Iesus, qeþun þatei sa ist bi sunjai praufetus sa qimanda in þo manaseþ.
Translation
From the King James version:
6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.
14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world.
Grammar
11. Strong Declension
Not all nominal stems end in a vowel. Several end in consonants. The type most common in Gothic, the n-stems, will be discussed in a subsequent lesson. The consonant stems in the present section are fewer in number, but generally denote important concepts, the names for which are undoubtedly survivals from a very archaic stage of the language.
11.1. r-Stems
The r-stem nouns form a small but important fraction of the Gothic vocabulary. All r-stems in Gothic are inherited directly from Proto-Indo-European. The nouns fadar 'father', brōþar 'brother', daúhtar 'daughter', and swistar 'sister' illustrate the declension. All Gothic r-stems denote familial relation, with the grammatical gender following the natural gender.
| r-Stem | Masculine | Feminine | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem | brōþar- | fadar- | daúhtar- | swistar- | ||||
| N Sg. | brōþar | daúhtar | swistar | |||||
| A, V | brōþar | fadar (V) | daúhtar | swistar | ||||
| G | brōþrs | daúhtrs | swistrs | |||||
| D | brōþr | daúhtr | swistr | |||||
| N Pl. | brōþrjus | daúhtrjus | swistrjus | |||||
| A | brōþruns | daúhtruns | swistruns | |||||
| G | brōþrē | daúhtrē | swistrē | |||||
| D | brōþrum | daúhtrum | swistrum | |||||
The word fadar occurs only once in the vocative, the word atta 'father' being used elsewhere. The declensions of the nouns are the same, being reproduced for the sake of completeness. The nominative plural ending -jus comes by analogy with sunjus, the r-stems already having accusative and dative plurals identical to the u-stems (see Section 7.2).
11.2. nd-Stems
The nd-stems derive from an original present participle formation, but were frozen as substantives. These nouns are generally masculine. The nouns frijōnds 'friend', fijands 'enemy', nasjands 'savior' illustrate the declension.
| nd-Stem | Masculine | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem | frijōnd- | fijand- | nasjand- | |||
| N Sg. | frijōnds | fijands | nasjands | |||
| A, V | frijōnd | fijand | nasjand | |||
| G | frijōndis | fijandis | nasjandis | |||
| D | frijōnd | *fijand | nasjand | |||
| N Pl. | frijōnds | fijands | nasjands | |||
| A | frijōnds | fijands | nasjands | |||
| G | frijōndē | fijandē | nasjandē | |||
| D | frijōndam | fijandam | nasjandam | |||
Note the identical forms of the nominative singular and nominative and accusative plural. The following nouns decline similarly: allwaldands 'the Almighty'; bisitands 'neighbor'; dáupjands 'baptizer, baptist'; fráujinōnds 'ruler'; fraweitands 'avenger'; gibands 'giver'; mērjands 'proclaimer'; midumōnds 'mediator'; talzjands 'teacher'.
11.3. Other Consonant Stems
Some noun stems end in consonants different from those above. Their declensions are not prevalent enough to warrant separate discussion, so they are collected below. The nouns mēnōþs 'month', reiks 'ruler' are masculine; baúrgs 'city', mitaþs 'measure', nahts 'night' are feminine; fōn 'fire' is neuter. Their forms are given below.
| Cons. Stems | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stem | mēnōþ- | reik- | baúrg- | mitaþ- | naht- | fōn- | ||||||
| N Sg. | mēnōþs | reiks | baúrgs | mitaþs | nahts | fōn | ||||||
| A, V | *mēnōþ | *reik | baúrg | mitaþ | naht | fōn | ||||||
| G | *mēnōþs? | reikis | baúrgs | mitads | nahts | funins | ||||||
| D | mēnōþ | reik | baúrg | mitaþ | naht | funin | ||||||
| N Pl. | *mēnōþs | reiks | baúrgs | mitaþs | nahts | |||||||
| A | mēnōþs | reiks | baúrgs | mitaþs | nahts | |||||||
| G | *mēnōþē | reikē | baúrgē | mitaþē | nahtē | |||||||
| D | mēnōþum | reikam | baúrgim | mitaþim | nahtam | |||||||
Note: the feminine genitive and dative plurals were formed by analogy with i-stems, except the dative plural nahtam which parallels dagam. Note also the -d- in the genitive singular of mitaþs. The only neuter noun of this type is fōn, with no plural forms attested.
12. Demonstratives and the Definite Article
In comparison to other Germanic languages, Gothic has a fairly reduced set of demonstratives. The demonstratives could generally be used as deictic adjectives, or in a substantival role as demonstrative pronouns.
The most common demonstrative is sa, þata, sō. As adjective, it may point to something relatively close ('this') or relatively distant ('that') from the perspective of the speaker. In a less marked sense, the demonstrative is used as a simple definite article 'the'. As pronouns, the same forms may translate as 'this one' or 'that one'. The forms are as follows.
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Sg. | sa | þata | sō | |||
| A | þana | þata | sō | |||
| G | þis | þis | þizōs | |||
| D | þamma | þamma | þizái | |||
| N Pl. | þái | þō | þōs | |||
| A | þans | þō | þōs | |||
| G | þizē | þizē | þizō | |||
| D | þáim | þáim | þáim | |||
The final a of þata is often elided before ist: þat' ist. A neuter instrumental singular is preserved in certain phrases and as part of some conjunctions: ni þē haldis 'none the more'; bi-þē 'while'; jaþ-þē 'and if'; du-þē 'therefore'; þē-ei 'that'. A locative or instumental form survives as the relative particle þei 'that'.
The emphatic demonstrative sah, þatuh, þōh 'that, that in particular, that especially' is formed by adding the enclitic -uh to the forms of sa, þata, sō. This demonstrative expresses not only emphasis, but contrast as well. The attested forms are as follows.
| Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Sg. | sah | þatuh | sōh | |||
| A | þanuh | þatuh | ||||
| G | þizuh | þizuh | ||||
| D | þammuh | þammuh | ||||
| N Pl. | þáih | |||||
| A | þanzuh | þōh | ||||
| G | ||||||
| D | þáimuh | |||||
When the simple pronoun ends in -a, the -a is elided before the following -u, except in the nominative singular masculine (that is, weakly stressed -a is lost). When the simple pronoun ends in a long vowel or diphthong, the following -u is elided. Final -s changes to -z before -uh. The instrumental occurs in the adverb bi-þēh 'after that, then afterward'.
There are remnants of a demonstrative built to the stem hi-. These are confined, for the most part, to a small number of temporal adverbial phrases: himma daga 'on this day, today'; und hina daga 'to this day'; fram himma 'henceforth'; und hita (nu) 'till now, hitherto'; also hidrē 'to here'.
The demonstrative jáins 'that, that there, yon' declines as a strong adjective (the nom. and acc. pl. neut. is always jáinata). The demonstratives silba 'self' and sama 'same' decline as weak adjectives.
13. Adjectives: Strong Declension
Adjectives employ two different sets of endings, strong and weak. These names only reflect a binary system, equivalent to Type A and Type B, respectively; the adjectives 'strong' and 'weak' have no other connotations. Whereas a given noun is either strong (inherently) or weak (inherently) but not both, a given adjective by contrast may employ either strong or weak endings as the context requires. There is thus a difference in use and connotation between strong adjectival endings and their weak counterparts. The term 'strong adjective' is generally used as a shorthand for 'adjective with strong endings'; similarly 'weak adjective' means 'adjective with weak endings'. Using this terminology, the difference in usage is the following: strong adjectives are indefinite, weak adjectives are definite.
13.1. a/ja/wa-Stems
The strong adjective endings are a mixture of the endings of strong nouns like dags, waúrd, giba (cf. Section 3) and of pronouns (cf. Sections 8.2 and 12). The adjective blinds 'blind' illustrates the declension of a-stem adjectives. Pronominal endings are italicized.
| Strong a-Stem | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Sg. | blinds | blind, blindata | blinda | |||
| A | blindana | blind, blindata | blinda | |||
| G | blindis | blindis | blindáizōs | |||
| D | blindamma | blindamma | blindái | |||
| N Pl. | blindái | blinda | blindōs | |||
| A | blindans | blinda | blindōs | |||
| G | blindáizē | blindáizē | blindáizō | |||
| D | blindáim | blindáim | blindáim | |||
The ja-stem adjectives divide into two groups: (1) those with short radical syllable, and those whose stems end in a vowel; (2) those with a long radical syllable. The difference between the two only appears in the singular forms. The adjective midjis 'middle' illustrates the endings of group (1).
| Strong ja-Stem | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group (1) | ||||||
| N Sg. | midjis | *midi, midjata | midja | |||
| A | midjana | *midi, midjata | midja | |||
| G | midjis | midjis | midjáizōs | |||
| D | midjamma | midjamma | midjái | |||
| N Pl. | midjái | midja | midjōs | |||
| A | midjans | midja | midjōs | |||
| G | midjáizē | midjáizē | midjáizō | |||
| D | midjáim | midjáim | midjáim | |||
The adjective wilþeis 'wild' serves to illustrate the endings of group (2). The forms which differ from those of Group (1) are in boldface.
| Strong ja-Stem | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group (2) | ||||||
| N Sg. | wilþeis | wilþi, wilþjata | wilþi | |||
| A | wilþjana | wilþi, wilþjata | wilþja | |||
| G | *wilþeis | *wilþeis, -jis? | wilþáizōs | |||
| D | wilþjamma | wilþjamma | wilþjái | |||
| N Pl. | wilþái | wilþja | wilþjōs | |||
| A | wilþjans | wilþja | wilþjōs | |||
| G | wilþjáizē | wilþjáizē | wilþjáizō | |||
| D | wilþjáim | wilþjáim | wilþjáim | |||
The wa-stem adjectives are sparsely attested. The adjective triggws 'true' serves to illustrate the attested forms.
| Strong wa-Stem | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Sg. | triggws | triggw | ||||
| A | *triggwana | *triggw | ||||
| G | *triggws | triggws, triggwis | ||||
| D | *triggwamma | *triggwamma | ||||
| N Pl. | triggwái | triggwōs | ||||
| A | *triggwans | |||||
| G | *triggwáizē | *triggwáizē | *triggwáizē | |||
| D | *triggwáim | *triggwáim | triggwáim | |||
Only a handful of wa-stem adjectives remain in the surviving Gothic texts. The adjective lasiws 'weak' occurs only in the nominative singular maculine. Other wa-stems such as *qius 'alive', *fáus 'little', *usskáus 'vigilant' do not occur in the nominative singular masculine at all.
13.2. i-Stems
The strong forms of the i-stem adjectives differ from the ja-stem forms only in the nominative singular of all genders, the accusative singular neuter, and the genitive singular masculine and neuter. The adjective hráins 'clean' serves to illustrate the paradigm. The forms differing from the ja-stems are in boldface.
| Strong i-Stem | Masculine | Neuter | Feminine | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N Sg. | hráins | hráin | hráins | |||
| A | hráinjana | hráin | hráinja | |||
| G | hráinis | hráinis | *hráinjáizōs | |||
| D | hráinjamma | hráinjamma | hráinjái | |||
| N Pl. | hráinjái | hráinja | hráinjōs | |||
| A | hráinjans | hráinja | hráinjōs | |||
| G | hráinjáizē | hráinjáizē | hráinjáizō | |||
| D | hráinjáim | hráinjáim | hráinjáim | |||
The following adjectives decline similarly: analáugns 'hidden'; anasiuns 'visible'; andanēms 'pleasant'; áuþs 'desert'; brūks 'useful'; gafáurs 'well-behaved'; gamáins 'common'; sēls 'kind';