A Gothic Grammar

(REMAINS OF CONSONANTAL DECLENSIONS.)

§ 114. Nouns in -r denoting relationship. The words brôþar, brother; daúhtar, daughter; swistar, sister; fadar, father, hav replaced their old consonantal inflection in the nom., acc., and dat. pl. with the forms of the u-declension (§ 104 (#para_104)). Paradim:

Note. Cp. the cpd. brôþru-lubô, brotherly luv (§ 88 (#para_88)^a, n. 3; § 210 (#litres_trial_promo), n. 1).

§ 115. The present participls in Gothic inflect like weak adjectivs (§ 133 (#para_133)). An older (substantival) inflection, however, persists with sum participls uzed substantivly. Paradim: nasjands, savior.

Furthermore: fijands, fiend; frijônds, frend (> frijôndi, § 98 (#para_98)), daupjands, the Baptist; mêrjands, preacher; bisitands, neighbor; talzjands, teacher; -waldands, ruler (all-w., the Almighty; garda-w., master of the house); fraweitands, avenger; fraujinônds, ruler; midumônds, mediator; gibands, giver. Cp. Zs. fdph., 5, 315.

§ 116. A number of feminins following in sum cases the i-decl. (ansts, § 102 (#para_102)) appear in others as short forms which ar remains of an old consonantal inflection. Paradim: baúrgs, (burg), town, city.

Like baúrgs inflect also alhs, templ; spaúrds, race-course; brusts, brest; dulþs, feast; waíhts, thing; miluks, milk; mitaþs (d), mezure.

The word nahts, night, inflects in the sg. like baúrgs, in the pl. only the dat. nahtam is found. Cp. nahta-mats, § 88a (#para_88a), n. 3.

Note 1. waíhts and dulþs chiefly follow the i-declension; hense, g. sg. waíhtais, dulþais. According to the cons. declension occur onse each the dat. sg. dulþ and acc. pl. waíhts. Beside waíhts there is a n. nom. sg. waíht in the combination ni-waíht, nothing.

§ 117. Masculins with short (consonantal) cases: manna, man; mênôþs, month; reiks, ruler; weitwôds, witness (cp. § 74 (#para_74), n. 2). But in point of inflection they ar not fully alike.

(1) manna follows in sum cases the n-decl. (guma, § 107 (#para_107)). These cases ar here put in Italics:

Note 1. To manna belongs the cpd. *alamans (all men), found in the dat. pl. alamannam (Skeir.) only; also the neuter gaman (cumpanion, cumpany) which inflects, however, in all the extant forms (nom. acc. sg. gaman, dat. sg. gamana, dat. pl. gamanam) precisely like waúrd (§ 93 (#para_93)).

Note 2. In composition the stem mana- (man-) appears; s. § 88a (#para_88a), n. 3.

(2) mênôþs and reiks follow in the g. sg. the a-decl.: mênôþis, reikis, but in the dat. sg. the short forms mênôþ and reik (Eph. II, 2) occur. In the nom. acc. pl. the short forms mênôþs and reiks ar uzed; gen. pl. reikê. In the dat. pl. mênôþum, but reikam. – Beside the nom. sg. weitwôds there occur the acc. sg. weitwôd and the g. pl. weitwôdê.

Note 3. The g. sg. mênôþis (Neh. VI, 15) is not quite certain; Löbe red mênôþs.

Note 4. Here belongs also the nom. bajôþs, dat. bajôþum, both (s. § 140 (#para_140), n. 1).

§ 118. The neuter fôn, fire, has this form in the nom. acc. sg., but funins in the gen., and funin in the dat. – No plural occurs. Cp. § 12 (#para_12), n. 3.

Note 1. Concerning the neuter genitivs guþs and hatis, s. § 94 (#para_94), n. 3, and § 94 (#para_94), n. 5, respectivly.

APPENDIX.

DECLENSION OF FOREN WORDS

§ 119. A number of foren words from the Latin and Greek wer fully adopted into the Gothic language thru commercial and political intercourse, so that their inflection is the same as that of purely Gothic words; e. g., pund, n., pound; marikreitus, m., perl; Krêks, m., Greek; karkara, f., 'carcer'; alêw, n., oil; kaisar, m., Cæsar.

§ 120. A second portion of foren words wer at a later period forced on the Gothic language by Christianity and especially by the version of the Bible. To these belong for the most part proper nouns which ar stil felt to be foren elements and hav but imperfectly adopted the Gothic inflection. For their treatment in Gothic no fixt rules can be givn. Sumtimes they retain their Greek inflection, sumtimes they take either similar or arbitrarily formd case-endings. – Cp. Bernhardt's 'Vulfila', p. XXVIII, and especially M. H. Jellinek, 'Beitr. zur erklärung der german. flexion' (Berlin 1891), pp. 76-84.

Note 1. Most consistent is the treatment of the Gr. masculins in – ος, Lt. – us, which inflect in Gothic according to the u-decl. (§§ 104 (#para_104), 105 (#para_105)); e. g., Paítrus, Barþaúlaúmaius, Teitus, aípiskaúpus, ἐπίσκοπος; apaústaúlus, ἀπόστολος; aggilus, ἄγγελος; sabbatus, sabbath. But only in the sg. pl. forms follow mostly the i-decl.; e. g., apaústaúleis, sabbatins, aggileis, aggilê beside aggiljus.

Note 2. Greek case-endings ar retaind in the neuters alabalstraún, ἀλάβαστρον; praitôriaún, πραιτώριον, etc.; Israêleitês has the nom. pl. Israêleitai = Ἰσραηλῖται; Rom. IX, 4; or (with Gothic inflection) Israêleiteis; II. Cor. XI, 22.

Note 3. The following exampl may illustrate arbitrary inflection. The Gr. ἐπιστολή is represented in Goth. by aípistaúlê (nom. sg.). But the dat. sg. is aípistaúlein, the dat. pl. aípistaúlêm, and the acc. pl. aípistaúlans.

CHAP. II. DECLENSION OF ADJECTIVS

§ 121. In Gothic, as in all other Germanic languages, adjectivs hav two kinds of inflection, the strong and the weak. The strong inflection is the original one corresponding to that of the cognate languages, the weak originated on Germanic soil. Every normal adj. may hav both a strong and a weak inflection. The distinction is a syntactic one: the weak form is employd after the articl (rarely in other positions), the strong form in all other cases, especially when the adj. is uzed predicativly, or attributivly without the articl. Cp. Zs. fda., 18, 17-43.

A. STRONG ADJECTIVS

§ 122. The strong inflection of adjectivs is in part the same as the vocalic (or strong) inflection of the substantivs with which it was originally identical. In Germanic, however, sum cases of the adj. hav adopted the pronominal inflection, so that the identity between the adjectival inflection and that of the substantivs is now confined to certain cases. The nom. and acc. sg. of the neuter gender hav two forms of the same value, a substantival and a pronominal one (in -ata). The latter, however, is not uzed predicativly.

The Gothic adjectiv, like the substantiv, has three vocalic declensions: (1) Adjectivs of the a-declension which correspond to the substantival a-declension in the m. and n. (§ 89 (#para_89) et seq.) and in the f. of the ô-declension (§ 96 (#para_96) et seq.). – A subdivision is formd by the ja-stems, just as in the case of the corresponding substantivs. (2) Adjectivs of the i-declension which correspond to the substantivs in §§ 99 (#para_99)-103. (3) Adjectivs of the u-declension belonging to the substantivs in §§ 104 (#para_104)-106.

Classes (2) and (3), however, contain but very few remains in Gothic. The few adjectival ja-stems hav in most of the inflectional cases past over to the 1st class, so that the normal strong declension of the adjectivs in Gothic embraces only the a-declension and its subdivision, the ja-stems.

Note. Subject to strong inflection ar all pronouns (except sama and silba, § 132 (#para_132), n. 3), the cardinal numbers, inasmuch as they inflect adjectivly, and anþar, the second; also the adjectivs of a more general meaning: alls, all; ganôhs, enuf; halbs, half; midjis, 'medius'; fulls, ful.

§ 123. Paradim of the strong adjectival declension: blinds, blind. The pronominal forms differing from the inflection of the corresponding substantivs ar in the following paradim put in Italics:

§ 124. Here belong most of the extant adjectivs; e. g., hails, hole, helthy; siuks, sik; juggs, yung; triggws, tru, faithful; swinþs, strong; ubils, evil; aiweins, eternal; haiþiwisks, wild; mahteigs, mighty; ansteigs, gracious; manags, much, many; môdags, angry; handugs, wise. – Also adjectiv pronouns; as, meins, mine, my; þeins, thine, thy; seins, his; jains, yun; the superlativs (§ 137 (#para_137)) and pps. pass.; as, numans, taken; nasiþs, saved (cp. § 134 (#para_134)).

Note 1. According to § 78 (#para_78), n. 2, the s of the nom. sg. is dropt, (1) after s; e. g., swês, swêsis, own; gaqiss, gaqissis, consenting. (2) after r preceded by a short vowel: anþar, the second, the other; unsar, our; izwar, your; ƕaþar, which of the two. Accordingly, the nom. pl. warai must hav had a nom. sg. war, wary.

Note 2. The rules for the hardening of final soft spirants (79) must be noted; as, frôþs, frôdis, wise; gôþs, gôdis, good (§ 74 (#para_74)); liufs, liubis, dear; daufs, daubis, def (§ 56 (#Page_24), n. 1).

Note 3. Stems having a w before the case-endings ar subject to the rule for final w (§ 42 (#para_42)) in the nom. sg. m. and n. The three words of this kind occur only in other cases. Therefore the noms. pl. fawai, qiwai, usskawai suggest as noms. sg. m. and n. faus, fau, few; qius, qiu, alive; usskaus, usskau, wakeful. According to usskawjan (to awake, § 42 (#para_42), n. 2), also usskaws might be supposed insted of usskaus. For lasiws, s. § 42 (#para_42), n. 1.

Note 4. The pronominal adjectivs in -ar: unsar, izwar, anþar, ƕaþar, hav in the n. sg. only the shorter forms: unsar, izwar, etc.

§ 125. Adjectiv-stems with ja before the endings (ja-stems) hav most of their forms like the paradim blinds. Only in few forms a change is caused by the j. As in the case of nouns, we distinguish between short and long adjectival ja-stems.

Paradim of a short ja-stem: midjis, midl:

§ 126. As regards inflection, the m. midjis is closely related to the substantiv harjis (§§ 90 (#para_90). 92 (#Page_41)), the n. midi to the substantiv kuni (§§ 93 (#para_93). 95 (#para_95)). The fem. midja shows no deviation whatever.

Only a small number of adjectivs belong to this class: aljis, another; sunjis, tru; ga-wiljis, unanimous; unsibjis, criminal; -fraþjis, minded (only in grinda-, sama-fr.); ƕarjis (§ 160 (#para_160)); also those whose stems end in a vowel (§ 44 (#para_44), c): niujis, new; -tôjis, doing (as, ubiltôjis, evil-doing).

Note 1. On account of the small number of these adjs. sum forms of the abuv paradim ar not extant. Thus, the short form of the neuter midi is givn in conformity with the long stems (§ 127 (#para_127)), and that of niujis would be niwi; only niujata occurs; the n. of -tôjis would be -taúi (§ 26 (#para_26), a).

Note 2. The adj. – stem frija-, free, which occurs in the f. sg. frija, frijaizôs, frijai, frija, and in the m. forms, acc. sg. frijana, nom. pl. frijai, acc. frijans, has a contracted nom. sg. m. freis (for frijis). Also the gen. sg., if extant, would be freis.

Note 3. The nom. sg. f. of niujis is niuja (contrary to þiwi, § 98 (#para_98), n. 1).

§ 127. The long ja-stems inflect in the pl. like midjis. Paradim wilþeis (stem wilþja-), wild, in the sg.:

§ 128. The infl. of the m. is related to that of the sb. haírdeis (§§ 90 (#para_90). 92 (#Page_41)), the infl. of the f. to that of bandi (§§ 96 (#para_96). 98 (#para_98); only wôþi occurs; II. Cor. II, 15). None of the few adjs. of this class occurs in the gen. sg.; wilþjis (Rom. XI, 24) probably stands for wilþjins; s. § 132 (#para_132), n. 1.

Further exampls: alþeis, old; faírneis, old; aírzeis, astray; wôþeis, sweet.

§ 129. According to § 122 (#para_122), only remains of the original adjs. of the i- and u-declension ar extant in Gothic, viz.: nom. sg. of all genders, acc. sg. n., and gen. sg. m. and n. All other extant cases hav past over to the inflection of the ja-stems (§§ 125 (#para_125)-127). The same rule applies to the weak forms (§ 132 (#para_132), n. 1).

Note. The old form of the gen. sg. [m.] n. is seen in skeiris (Skeir. 45) for the i-decl., in filaus (§ 131 (#para_131), n. 3) for the u-decl.; the latter, of course, is only a partial proof for the adj.