Vocabulary

af   prep. +datof
afar   prep. +accafter
agis   n. n.Afright
aglus   adj  +dathard
ahtáu   num. aj.ieight
ahtáutehund   numeighty
aƕa   n. f.Oriver
aíƕs   n. m.Ahorse
áinam   advalone
áinlif   num. aj.ieleven
áins   num. 1one
aírþa   n. f.Oearth
aírþeins   adjearthly
aírzeis   adjastray
áiþs   n. m.Aoath
aíþþáu   conjor
áiweins   adjeternal
áiws   n. m.Atime
ak   conjbut
akran   n. n.Afruit
akrs   n. m.Afield
alan   v. VI ablaut  intrto grow
alja   prep. +datexcept
aljis   adjother
alls   adj. s.ajall
alþeis   adjold
ana   prep. +acconto
ana   prep. +daton
anaháitan   v. VII redup(+acc) to call on
and   prep. +accalong
andastaþjis   n. m.JAadversary
andbahti   n. n.JAservice
andeis   n. m.JAend
andhafjan   v. VI ablaut  +datto answer
andizuh   conjeither (used with aíththáu)
ansteigs   adj  +datgracious
arbi   n. n.JAheritage
arms   adjpoor
asneis   n. m.JAservant
asts   n. m.Abranch
at   prep. +accat
aþþan   conjbut
attekan   v. VII red.abl.  +datto touch
áudags   adjblessed
áuk   conjbut also
áukan   v. VII redupto add
aúrkeis   n. m.JAjug
áuþida   n. f.Owilderness
badi   n. n.JAbed
bagms   n. m.Atree
baíran   v. IV ablaut  +accto bear
baírgan   v. IV ablaut  +datto hide
baírhts   adjbright
báitrs   adjbitter
balwjan   v. I weak  +datto torment
bandwa   n. f.Osign
barn   n. n.Achild
barnisks   adjchildish
bauan   v. III weak pret.to dwell
beidan   v. I ablautto await
bi   prep. +datby
bida   n. f.Orequest
bidjan   v. V ablautto ask
bileiban   v. I ablaut  intrto remain
biudan   v. II ablautto offer
blinds   adjblind
bloþ   n. n.Ablood
boka   n. f.O(sing) letter of the alphabet; (pl) book
bokareis   n. m.JAscribe
bota   n. f.Oadvantage
brikan   v. IV ablautto break
brinnan   v. III ablaut  intrto burn
brūkjan   v. I weak  +gento use
brūks   adj. aj.i  +datuseful
dags   n. m.Aday
daúr   n. n.Adoor
diups   adjdeep
dius   n. n.Awild beast
diwan   v. V ablaut  intrto die
dreiban   v. I ablautto drive
drigkan   v. III ablautto drink
du   prep. +datto
dwals   adjfoolish
ei   conjthat
eisarn   n. n.Airon
fagrs   adjbeautiful
fāhan   v. VII redupto seize
faírguni   n. n.JAmountain
faírneis   adjold
falþan   v. VII redupto fold
fara   n. f.Otraffic
faran   v. VI ablaut  intrto fare
fastubni   n. n.JAfasting
faúr   prep. +accfor
faúra   prep. +datbefore
faúramaþleis   n. m.JAruler
fáus   adj. aj.ausmall
fera   n. f.Oregion
fidwor   num. aj.ifour
fidwor tigjus   num  +genforty
fidwortaíhun   num. aj.ifourteen
fijaþwa   n. f.Ohatred
filhan   v. III ablautto hide
filu   adj. snu!j  +gengreat
fimf   num. aj.ifive
fimf tigjus   num  +genfifty
fimftaíhun   num. aj.ififteen
finþan   v. III ablaut  +accto find
fisks   n. m.Afish
frabugjan   v. I weak  +datto sell
fraíhnan   v. V ablaut  +gento ask
fráisan   v. VII redupto tempt
fráistubni   n. f.JOtemptation
fráiw   n. n.Aseed
frakunnan   v. pret-pres. III abl.  +datto despise
fraliusan   v. II ablaut  +datto lose
fram   prep. +datfrom
fraqiman   v. IV ablaut  +datto expend
fraþi   n. n.JAunderstanding
fraþjan   v. VI ablaut  +datto understand
freis   adj  +genfree
frijaþwa   n. f.Olove
frijondi   n. f.JOfriend
froþs   adjwise
fugls   n. m.Abird
fulgins   adjhidden
fullatojis   adjperfect
fulljan   v. I weak  +gento fill
fullnan   v. IV weak  +gento become full
fulls   adj. s.aj  +genfull
gaggan   v. VII redup  intrto go
gahráinjan   v. I weak  +gento cleanse
gáidw   n. n.Awant
gaírnjan   v. I weak  +gento be fain or willing
galáubjan   v. I weakto believe
galeiks   adj  +datlike
garūni   n. n.JAconsultation
gastaldan   v. VII redupto possess
gaþarbān   v. III weak  +gento suffer want
gáumjan   v. I weak  +datto perceive
gáurs   adjsad
gawaírþi   n. n.JApeace
gawi   n. n.JAregion
gawiljis   adjwilling
giba   n. f.Ogift
giban   v. V ablautto give
goþs   adj  +datgood
graba   n. f.Oditch
gras   n. n.Agrass
gredags   adjhungry
gretan   v. VII red.abl.  intrto weep
groba   n. f.Oden
gulþ   n. n.Agold
gulþeins   adjgolden
Gutrazda   n. f.OGothic language
hāhan   v. VII redupto hang
háiljan   v. I weak  +gento heal
háils   adjwhole
haírdeis   n. m.JAshepherd
háitan   v. VII redup  +accto call
háiþi   n. f.JOfield
háiti   n. f.JOorder
haldan   v. VII redupto hold
halja   n. f.Ohell
handugs   adjclever
harjis   n. m.JAarmy
háubiþ   n. n.Ahead
haúrn   n. n.Ahorn
háusjan   v. I weakto hear
hawi   n. n.JAhay
hilpan   v. III ablaut  +gento help
himins   n. m.Aheaven
hindar   prep. +accbehind
hláifs   n. m.Aloaf
hláiw   n. n.Agrave
hlūtrs   adjpure
hulþs   adj  +datgracious
hunds   n. m.Adog
huzd   n. n.Atreasure
-ƕa   conjwhether (clitic)
ƕáiteis   n. m.JAwheat
ƕáiwa   conjhow
ƕeila   n. f.Otime
ƕeits   adjwhite
ƕopan   v. VII redup  intrto boast
ibái   conjlest
ibns   adjeven
iddja   v  intr(preterite of gaggan) I went
igqar   pron(poss) of you two
ik   pronI
im   v  intrI am
in   prep. +accin
in   prep. +genon account of
in   prep. +datin
inuh   prep. +accwithout
is   pronhe
is   v  intrthou art
ist   vis
ita   pronit
itan   v. V ablautto eat
  conjbut
izwar   pron(poss) your
jabái   conjif
jah   conjand
jaþþe   conjand if
jer   n. n.Ayear
juggs   adjyoung
juk   n. n.Ayoke
jus   pronye
jut   pronye two
juþan   advalready
kalds   adjcold
kara   n. f.Ocare
karkara   n. f.Oprison
kaúrn   n. n.Agrain
kiusan   v. II ablautto choose
kniu   n. n.Aknee
kukjan   v. I weak  +datto kiss
kunþi   n. n.JAknowledge
kunþs   adj  +datknown
laggs   adjlong
láiba   n. f.Oremnant
láisareis   n. m.JAteacher
láistjan   v. I weakto follow
lamb   n. n.Alamb
lasiws   adjweak
lats   adjslothful
láufs   n. m.Aleaf
láun   n. n.Apay
láus   adj. aj.s  +genempty
leiƕan   v. I ablautto lend
leik   n. n.Abody
leiþan   v. I ablaut  intrto go
leitils   adjlittle
lekeis   n. m.JAphysician
letan   v. VII red.abl.to let
lew   n. n.Aoccasion
libān   v. III weak  intrto live
ligan   v. V ablaut  intrto lie
ligrs   n. m.Abed
liudan   v. II ablaut  intrto grow
liufs   adj  +datdear
ludja   n. f.Oface
mahteigs   adjmighty
mahts   adjpossible
máitan   v. VII redupto cut
máiþms   n. m.Agift
manags   adjmuch
maúrgins   n. m.Amorning
maúrþr   n. n.Amurder
mawi   n. f.JOmaiden
midjis   adj. s.ajmiddle
mikils   adjgreat
miþ   prep. +datwith
miþ   advwith
modags   adj  +datangry
mota   n. f.Ocustom
motareis   n. m.JAtoll-taker
mulda   n. f.Odust
nati   n. n.JAnet
neƕa   prep. +datnigh to
neþla   n. f.Oneedle
ni   advnot
nibái   conjunless
nidwa   n. f.Orust
nih   conjand not
niman   v. IV ablautto take
nist   v= ni ist
niþjis   n. m.JAkinsman
niujis   adjnew
niun   num. aj.inine
niuntehund   numninety
niutan   v. II ablaut  +gento enjoy
nu   advnow
qiman   v. IV ablaut  intrto come
qiþan   v. V ablaut  +accto say
qius   adjalive
ragineis   n. m.JAcounsellor
raíhts   adjright
razda   n. f.Olanguage
razn   n. n.Ahouse
reiki   n. n.JArule
riqis   n. n.Adarkness
riqizeins   adjdark
rūna   n. f.Osecret
sa   pronthis
saian   v. VII red.abl.to sow
saíhs   num. aj.isix
saíhs tigjus   num  +gensixty
saíƕan   v. V ablaut  +accto see
sáiwala   n. f.Osoul
salt   n. n.Asalt
saþs   adjfull
saúrga   n. f.Osorrow
si   pronshe
sibun   num. aj.iseven
sibuntehund   numseventy
sifān   v. III weak  intrto rejoice
siggwan   v. III ablautto sing
sik   prononeself
silubr   n. n.Asilver
sineigs   adjold
sinteins   adjdaily
siponeis   n. m.JApupil
sitan   v. V ablaut  intrto sit
sitls   n. m.Aseat
siukan   v. II ablaut  intrto be sick
siuks   adjsick
skáidan   v. VII redupto divide
skalks   n. m.Aservant
skeinan   v. I ablaut  intrto shine
skip   n. n.Aship
skulds   adj  +datowing
slepan   v. VII redup  intrto sleep
smals   adjsmall
snáiws   n. m.Asnow
snutrs   adjwise
so   pronthe (f.)
stáins   n. m.Astone
standan   v. VI ablaut  intrto stand
staua   n. f.Ojudgement
stibna   n. f.Ovoice
sums   pron(indefinite) someone
sunja   n. f.Otruth
sunjis   adjtrue
sunsei   conjas soon as
swaei   conjso that
swarts   adjblack
swaswe   conjjust like
swe   conjlike
sweiban   v. I ablaut  intrto cease
swers   adj  +dathonored
swikunþs   adj  +datmanifest
swinþs   adjstrong
tagl   n. n.Ahair
tagr   n. n.Atear
taíhun   num. aj.iten
taíhuntaíhund   num  +genhundred
taíhuntehund   num  +genhundred
taui   n. n.JAdeed
táujan   v. I weak  +accto do
tekan   v. VII red.abl.  +datto touch
þaírh   prep. +accthrough
þan   conjbut
þande   conjif
þannu   conjtherefore
þata   pronthat
þatei   conjthat
þaúrban   v. pret-pres. III abl.  +gento need
þeihan   v. I ablaut  intrto thrive
þiubi   n. n.JAtheft
þiuda   n. f.Opeople
þiudangardi   n. f.JOkingdom
þiudans   n. m.Aking
þius   n. m.Aservant
þiwi   n. f.JOmaidservant
þliuhan   v. II ablautto flee
þreis   num. 3three
þreis tigjus   num  +genthirty
þū   pronthou
þūsundi   num. sf  +genthousand
þwahan   v. VI ablautto wash
tigjus   num  +gen-ty (suffix for decades 20-60)
tils   adjfit
tiuhan   v. II ablautto lead
triu   n. n.Atree
twaddje   numof two
twái   num. 2two
twái tigjus   num  +gentwenty
twalif   num. aj.itwelve
ubils   adjevil
ubiltojis   adjevil-doing
uf   prep. +datunder
ufar   prep. +datover
ufarmeli   n. n.JAsuperscription
ufháusjan   v. I weak  +datto submit
ugkar   pronof us two
-uh   conj(enclitic) but
und   prep. +accunto
und   prep. +datfor
undar   prep. +accunder
undaro   prep. +datunder
unkunþs   adj  +datunknown
unsar   pronour
unsibjis   adjlawless
unte   conjuntil
unweis   adj. aj.sunlearned
us   prep. +datout
uskiusan   v. II ablaut(+acc) to choose out
wadi   n. n.JApledge
waian   v. VII red.abl.to blow
waírpan   v. III ablaut  +acc/datto throw
waírþan   v. III ablaut  intrto become
waírþs   adj  +genworthy
wakan   v. VI ablaut  intrto wake
waldufni   n. n.JApower
wamba   n. f.Obelly
wans   adj  +genlacking
wasti   n. f.JOclothing
waúrd   n. n.Aword
waúrms   n. m.Aserpent
waúrstw   n. n.Awork
weihan   v. I ablautto fight
weihs   adjholy
wein   n. n.Awine
weis   pronwe
wenjan   v. I weakto hope
wigs   n. m.Away
wilþeis   adjwild
winds   n. m.Awind
wisan   v. V ablaut  intrto be
wit   pronwe two
wiþra   prep. +accagainst
wiþrawaírþo   adv  +datcontrariwise
wiþrawaírþs   adj  +datopposite
wulfs   n. m.Awolf
wundufni   n. f.JOwound
 

Statement of Inclusivity

Unit 7

7.1) Preterite of Wisan

In English we have only two words for the past tense of "to be": was and were. Gothic has more than this.

Singular
1st ik was I was
2nd þū wast you (thou) were
3rd is was he was
Dual
1st wit wēsu we two were
2nd jut wēsuts you two were
Plural
1st weis wēsum we were
2nd jus wēsuþ you (pl.) were
3rd eis wēsun they were

7.2) Personal Pronouns

Pronouns in English still retain some of the original cases; notice how the pronouns differ in the sentences "I see her" and "she sees me". In fact, one could even say "her see I" and be unambiguous; in Gothic, that word order would not only be completely understandable, it would even sound natural. Here are the Gothic personal pronouns and their English equivalents. Don't let the size of the table scare you, as there is a pattern to them.

Singular
1st person 2nd person
Nom ik I þū thou
Acc mik me þūk thee
Gen meina mine þeina thine
Dat mis me þūs thee
 
3rd person
Masc Fem Neut
Nom is he si she ita it
Acc ina him ija her ita it
Gen is his izōs hers is its
Dat imma him izái her imma it

Dual
1st person 2nd person
Nom wit we two jut ye two
Acc ugkis us two igqis you two
Gen ugkara ours two igqara yours two
Dat ugkis us two igqis you two

Plural
1st person 2nd person
Nom weis we jus ye
Acc uns, unsis us izwis you
Gen unsara ours izwara yours
Dat uns, unsis us izwis you
 
3rd person
Masc Fem Neut  
Nom eis ijōs ija they
Acc ins ijōs ija them
Gen izē izō izē theirs
Dat im im im them

English pronouns have merged the accusative case into the dative, while Gothic retains the distinction. English also does not distinguish grammatical gender on third person plural pronouns, but Gothic does. Each set of plurals can refer to groups of all the same grammatical gender, whereas a group of mixed grammatical gender or a group of masculine and feminine beings could use the neuter plural. For groups of people of mixed gender, the neuter plural and masculine plural are both attested.

The pronoun þū also serves a vocative purpose, e.g. atta unsar þū in himinam where Greek uses a definite article instead of a pronoun.

7.3) Simple Reflexive Pronoun

There is a reflexive pronoun for the third person. It does not have a nominative, although it can be found in the lexicon as *seins. Its acc., gen., dat. forms are: sik, seina, sis. First and second person reflexives simply use the personal pronoun, as ik þwaha mik (I wash myself), but in the third person, if the reflexive pronoun refers to the subject of the sentence or clause, sik/seina /sis are used for all numbers and genders.

7.4) Ablaut Table of Strong Verb Classes

Last unit we introduced the verb classes, but without explaining what each class is. The seven classes of strong verb differ primarily in the way their core vowel changes. This change is called ablaut. Here is a table showing the principal parts of representative strong verbs from the first 6 classes, with English equivalents:

Class I dreiban, dráif, dribun, dribansdrive, drove, driven
Class II kiusan, káus, kusun, kusanschoose, chose, chosen
Class III drigkan, dragk, drugkun, drugkansdrink, drank, drunk
Class IV (i) brikan, brak, brekun, brukansbreak, broke, broken
Class IV (aí)baíran, bar, berun, baúransbear, bore, borne
Class V (i) giban, gaf, gebun, gibansgive, gave, given
Class V (aí)saíƕan, saƕ, seƕun, saíƕanssee, saw, seen
Class VI wakan, wok, wokun, wakanswake, woke, woken

7.5) Reduplicated Verbs

Class VII verbs are quite varied; some of them don't use ablaut at all. (Some Gothic language enthusiasts consider them a "mixed bag", but as with most language features there's a pattern to them.) What they do all have in common is reduplication: the preterite of saian is not ** but saísō. Reduplication was common in Proto-Indo-European verbs and can still be found in Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and the occasional Latin verb, but was lost in most Germanic languages. It is one of the archaic features that Gothic holds over from Proto-Indo-European.

For each Class VII verb, the initial consonant plus the short sound occur at the beginning of the stem in all preterite forms:

grētan (to weep) gaígrōt (I wept)
lētan (to let) laílōt (I let)
tēkan (to touch) taítōk (I touched)
saian (to sow) saísō (I sowed)
waian (to blow) waíwō (I blew)

Class VII verbs that don't use ablaut can have any of several vowels in the stem:

áukan (to add) aíáuk (I added)
fāhan (to seize) faífāh (I seized)
falþan(to fold) faífalþ (I folded)
fráisan (to tempt) faífráis (I tempted)
hāhan (to hang) haíhāh (I hung)
háitan (to call) haíháit (I called)
haldan (to hold) haíhalþ (I held)
ƕōpan (to boast) ƕaíƕōp (I boasted)
máitan (to cut) maímáit (I cut)
slēpan (to sleep) saíslēp (I slept)

Only the consonant clusters sk, st are reduplicated wholesale in the preterite; all other clusters reduplicate only the first consonant. That is why we find ga-staldan (possess), ga-staístald; skáidan (divide, sever), skaískáþ but fráisan, faífráis.

Here is a table of principal parts for all 7 classes of strong verbs:

Class I dreiban, dráif, dribun, dribansdrive, drove, driven
Class II kiusan, káus, kusun, kusanschoose, chose, chosen
Class III drigkan, dragk, drugkun, drugkansdrink, drank, drunk
Class IV (i) brikan, brak, brekun, brukansbreak, broke, broken
Class IV (aí)baíran, bar, berun, baúransbear, bore, borne
Class V (i) giban, gaf, gebun, gibansgive, gave, given
Class V (aí)saíƕan, saƕ, seƕun, saíƕanssee, saw, seen
Class VI wakan, wok, wokun, wakanswake, woke, woken
Class VIIa (a) haldan, haíhald, haíhaldun, haldanshold (no English equivalent on conjugation)
Class VIIa (ái) skáidan, skaískáiþ, skaískáidun, skáidanssever (related to English shed)
Class VIIa (e) slepan, saíslep, saíslepun, slepanssleep (no English equivalent on conjugation)
Class VIIa (áu) áukan, aíáuk, aíáukun, áukansadd (related to the aug- in augment)
Class VIIa (o) ƕopan, ƕaíƕop, ƕaíƕopun, ƕopansboast (no English equivalent)
Class VIIb (ái) saian, saíso, saísoun, saianssow (no English equivalent on conjugation)
Class VIIb (e) letan, laílot, laílotun, letanslet (no English equivalent on conjugation)

The irregular verb gaggan was originally a reduplicated strong verb. Its regular preterite *gaígagg was lost early on and replaced with iddja, which is inflected iddja, iddjēs, iddja; iddjēdu, iddjēduts; iddjēdum, iddjēduþ, iddjēdun.

7.6) Prepositions

The prepositions we've encountered so far have been incidental to the example sentences. A more complete list would include:

af +dat of, from
afar +acc/dat after, according to
alja +dat except
ana +acc/dat on, upon
and +acc along, through, towards
at +acc/dat at, by, to
bi +acc/dat by, about, around, against, according to
du +acc to
faúr +acc for, before
faúra +dat before
fram +dat from
hindar +acc/dat behind, beyond
in +acc into, towards
in +gen on account of
in +dat in, into, among
inuh +acc without
miþ +dat with
nēƕa +dat near, nigh to
þaírh +acc through, by
uf +acc/dat under
ufar +acc/dat over, above
und +acc until, up to
und +dat for
undar +acc under
undarō +dat under
us +dat out of
wiþra +acc against

7.7) Conjunctions and Clitics

Similarly, Gothic has a wealth of conjunctions; here are just some of them:

aíþþáu or
ak but (after negative clauses)
andizuh... aíþþáu either... or
áuk because
ei, þatei that
-ƕa whether (clitic)
ƕáiwa how
ibái lest, that... not
iþ, þan, aþþan but, however
jabái if
jah and, also
jah... jah both... and
jaþþē... jaþþē whether... or
nibái unless, if not
nih and not
nih... ak jah not only... but also
sunsei as soon as
swaei, swaswē so that
swē as, just as (both temporal and comparative)
þan then
þannu therefore
-uh and (clitic)
untē for, because; until

The clitics never occur as the first word of a sentence; they are always tacked onto the end of a word. When a clitic is applied to a word that contains a prefix, the clitic goes onto the prefix. If the prefix ends in a voiceless consonant, it becomes voiced:

1. Ga-h-mēliþ. And s/he writes. (ga-mēljan = to write; see section 9.3 for explanation on the ending)
2. Diz-uh-þan-sat ija. And then s/he seized them. (dis-sitan = to seize upon)

The clitic -uh and conjunction jah sometimes assimilate to a following consonant, e.g. bidjandansuþ-þan, "but while praying"; jal-liban, "and to live".

Additionally, some conjunctions such as áuk and þan never occur as the first word of a sentence or clause.

7.8) Examples of Material from This Unit

3. Saíƕa ik ija, iþ ni þagkja þatei si mik saíƕiþ. I see her, but I don't think that she sees me.
4. Saísōuts kaúrn in akran meina. You two sowed corn in my field.
5. þwahiþ-þan sō mawi wastja seina. So the maiden washes her clothes.
6. Is ist lats jah unnuts jah saíslēp and allana dag. He is lazy and useless and slept all day.
7. Ƕaíƕōpun eis miþ mikilái stibnái. They boasted with a loud (lit. great) voice.
Translate these from Gothic:
8. Gaígrōtun ija fram saúrgái mikilái.
9. Sa fugls haíhalþ ƕáiti jah nam ina du mis.
10. Faífráis þata riqis sáiwala meina.
11. Laílōt ik hund in badja meina slēpan.
12. Razn unsara ist in þiudangardjái fagrái.
Translate these into Gothic:
13. Wind blew along the way to the kingdom.
14. She is angry because he slept all day.
15. How did you sow if there are no seeds?
16. I'll go with you until daytime comes.
17. They seized it according to their ruler's command.


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