Gothedish: Difference between revisions
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| ة || تی بندنه || te bundene || [teː ˈbʊnd.nə] || Used as an ending in mostly feminine nouns, especially those of Arabic origin. Usually replaced with ه or ت. | | ة || تی بندنه || te bundene || [teː ˈbʊnd.nə] || Used as an ending in mostly feminine nouns, especially those of Arabic origin. Usually replaced with ه or ت. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـَ || || || || | | ـَ || || || || ''Fatḥah'', used for the vowel ''a'' /ɐ, aː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـِ || || || || | | ـِ || || || || ''Kasrah'', used for the vowel ''i'' /ɪ, iː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـُ || || || || | | ـُ || || || || ''Ḍammah'', used for the vowel ''u'' /ʊ, uː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـٰ || || || || | | ـٰ || || || || Rotated ''fatḥah'', used for the vowel ''ä'' /æ, ɛː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | ـٖ || || || || Rotated ''kasrah'', used for the vowel ''e'' /ɛ, eː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | ـٛ || || || || Rotated ''ḍammah'', used for the vowel ''å'' /ɒ, ɔː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـࣷ || || || || | | ـࣷ || || || || Flipped ''ḍammah'', used for the vowel ''o'' /ɔ, oː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| ـࣹ || || || || | | ـࣹ || || || || Flipped ''ḍammah'' under, used for the vowel ''ö'' /œ, øː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| | | ـࣺ || || || || ''Ḍammah'' under, used for the vowel ''y'' /ʏ, yː/. | ||
|- | |- | ||
| || || || || | | ـْ || || || || ''Sukūn'', used for a consonant not followed by a vowel. | ||
|- | |||
| ـّ || || || || ''Shaddah'', used for a geminate consonant (mainly in loanwords). | |||
|- | |||
| ـً || || || || ''Tanwīn fatḥah'' (-''an''). | |||
|- | |||
| ـٍ || || || || ''Tanwīn kasrah'' (''-in''). | |||
|- | |||
| ـٌ || || || || ''Tanwīn ḍammah'' (-''un''). | |||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} |
Revision as of 13:06, 13 February 2022
Gothedish (Native: Guþþydske /ˈɡuːθʏtskə/) is an East Germanic language. One of its most distinctive feature is extensive palatalization, which is most likely due to Slavic influence.
Gothedish | |
---|---|
Razde Guþþydske Razdă Γn̄ффindskă 𐍂𐌰𐌶𐌳𐌰 𐌲𐌿𐌸𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐍃𐌺𐌰 | |
Pronunciation | [[Help:IPA|ˈrɐzdə ˈɡuːˌθʏtskə]] |
Created by | Shariifka |
Indo-European
| |
Early forms | Gothic
|
Introduction
Gothedish is a descendant of Gothic, spoken by the Gothedes (Guþþyde).
Etymology
The ethnonym Guþþyde "Gothede" is derived from Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰 gutþiuda "Goths", from *𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌰 guta "Goth" + 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰 þiuda "people". Folk etymology derives it from Gud "God" (< Gothic 𐌲𐌿𐌸 guþ "God") + þyde "slave" (< Gothic *𐌸𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌳𐌰 þiwaida "enslaved"), in which case it means "slave of God". Guþþyde is declined as a strong feminine noun when referring to the Gothedes as whole and as a weak noun when referring to an individual.
Phonology
Consonants
Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar/palatal | Velar | Guttural | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
voiceless | voiced1 | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | voiceless | voiced | |
Nasal | m [m] |
hn [n̥] |
n [n] |
nj, mj [ɲ] |
(n) [ŋ]2 |
|||||||
Stop | p, kv [p] |
b, gv [b] |
t [t] |
d [d] |
k, c3 [k] |
g [ɡ] |
||||||
Affricate | tj, ts, c3 [t͡s] |
k(j), pj [t͡ʃ] |
g(j), bj [d͡ʒ] |
|||||||||
Fricative | f, hv [f] |
v [v]3 |
þ [θ] |
s [s] |
z, dj [z] |
sj, sk(j), fj, hj, -g4 [ʃ] |
zj, rj, zg(j) [ʒ] |
ch2, -g [x] |
h [h] |
|||
Approximant | w [w] |
j, g4 [j] |
||||||||||
Lateral | hl [ɬ] |
l [l] |
lj [ʎ] |
|||||||||
Trill | hr [r̥] |
r [r] |
Notes:
1 Voiced stops, affricates, and fricatives are devoiced word-finally. Word-final voiced stops and affricates are additionally fricatized, unless preceded by certain consonants (see orthography for more information).
2 Allophone of /n/ before velars.
3 In loanwords.
4 In palatalizing environments.
Vowels
Front | Central | Back | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
unrounded | rounded | |||||||
short1 | long | short | long | short | long | short | long | |
Close | i [ɪ] |
i, ie, ige [iː] |
y [ʏ] |
y, ye, ygi [yː] |
u [ʊ] |
u, ue [uː] | ||
Close-mid | e [eː] |
ö, eo [øː] |
e, i [ə]2 |
o [oː] | ||||
Open-mid | e [ɛ] |
ä, ea [ɛː] |
ö [œ] |
a [ɐ] |
o [ɔ] |
å, oa [ɔː] | ||
Open | ä [æ] |
a [äː] |
å [ɒ] |
|||||
Narrow diphthong |
ei, egi, ägi [ɛɪ̯] |
oi, eu, ey, ögi [œʏ̯] |
ou [ɔʊ̯] | |||||
Wide diphthong |
ai, agi [aɪ̯] |
åi, ågi, ogi [ɔɪ̯] |
au [aʊ̯] |
Notes:
1 Any vowel is lengthened when it has an acute accent or circumflex. Similarly, vowels followed by ⟨h⟩ are lengthened even if there is an intervening consonant. An exception is the digraph ⟨hj⟩, which shortens the preceding vowel.
2 In unstressed syllables. Dropped when immediately preceded by vowel or followed by vowel in the next syllable, unless that leads to a forbidden consonant cluster. Written ⟨i⟩ after palatalized ⟨g⟩ that is not preceded by ⟨i⟩.
Orthography
Gothedish can be written in various orthographies. The most commonly used is the Latin alphabet.
Latin (Lateinske) | IPA | Perso-Arabic (Arabske) | Old Gothic (Alþgutske) | New Gothic (Neygutske) | Cyrillic (Cyrillske) | Examples |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A a | ɐ, aː1 | ــَـ ، ــَا | 𐌰 | A a, Ā ā | А а (Я я), А́ а́ (Я́ я́) |
hand /hɐnt/ "hand", apel /ˈaːpl̩/ "apple" |
Á á; Â â | aː1 | ــَا | Ā ā; Â â | А́ а́ (Я́ я́) | hábde /ˈhaːbdə/, hâde /ˈhaːdə/ "had" | |
Ai ai | aɪ̯ | ــَىْ | 𐌰𐌾 | Ag ag | Ай ай (Яй яй) | haiku /ˈhaɪ̯kuː/ "haiku" |
Au au | aʊ̯ | ــَـوْ | 𐌰𐍅 | Ay ay | Аў аў (Яў яў) | auto /ˈaʊ̯toː/ "car" |
Ä ä | æ, ɛː1 | ــٰـ ، ــٰى | 𐌰𐌹 | Ai ai, Āi āi | Ѧ ѧ (Ѩ ѩ), Ҍ ҍ (Ꙓ ꙓ) |
ärþe /ˈærθə/ "earth", än /ɛːn/ "one" |
Ea ea; Êa êa | ɛː1 | ــٰى | Āi āi; Âi âi | Ҍ ҍ (Ꙓ ꙓ) | leazde /lɛːzdə/ "crawled", êan /ɛːn/ "property" | |
Å å | ɒ, ɔː1 | ــٛـ ، ــٛو | 𐌰𐌿 | An an, Ān ān | Ѫ ѫ (Ѭ ѭ), Ѡ ѡ (Іѡ іѡ) |
åster /ˈɒstr̩/ "east", håbed /ˈhɔːbəθ/ "head" |
Oa oa; Ôa ôa | ɔː1 | ــٛو | Ān ān; Ân ân | Ѡ ѡ (Іѡ іѡ) | loakde /lɔːɡdə/ "lapped", hôad /hɔːθ/ "head" | |
Åi åi | ɔɪ̯ | ــٛـىْ | 𐍉𐌾 | Ωg wg | Ѫй ѫй (Ѭй ѭй) | åi! /ɔɪ̯/ "oops!, ouch!" |
B b | b, V/NN-f, N-p2 | ب ، ف | 𐌱 | B b | Б б | barn /bɐrn/ "child", hläb /ɬɛːf/ "bread", lamb /lɐmp/ "sheep" |
Bj bj | d͡ʒ, V/NN-ʃ, N-t͡ʃ2 | ج ، ش | 𐌱𐌾 | Bg bg | Бь бь | glåbjen /ˈɡlɒd͡ʒn̩/ "to believe", glåbj /ɡlɒʃ/ "believe (sg. imper.)", ankumbj /ˈaːŋkʊnt͡ʃ/ "relax (sg. imper.) |
C c3 | k, t͡s | – | – | – | К к; Ц ц | calcien /ˈkɐlt͡sin/ "calcium" |
Ch ch | x | خ | 𐍇 | X x | Ӿ ӿ | duchan /dʊˈxaːn/ "smoke" |
D d | d, V-θ, C-t2 | د ، ث | 𐌳 | D d | Д д | dal /daːl/ "valley", god /goːθ/ "good", hund /hʊnt/ "dog" |
Dj dj | z, N-d͡z- V/NN-s, N-t͡s2 | ز، س | 𐌳𐌾 | Dg dg | Дь дь | arbedjen /ˈɐrbəzn̩/ "to work", wӓdedj /ˈwɛːdəs/ "robber", andj /ɐnt͡s/ "end" |
E e | ɛ, eː 1 | ــٖـ ، ــٖی | 𐌴 | E e, Ē ē | Е е (Є є), Е́ е́ (Є́ є́) |
merjen /ˈmɛʒn̩/ "to preach", weg /weːx/ "storm" |
E e, I i | ə4 | ــَـ ، ــِـ | 𐌰 | Ă ă | Э э (Ӭ ӭ) | make /ˈmaːkə/ "I make", hugi /huːjə/ "mind, reason" |
É é; Ê ê | eː1 | ــٖی | 𐌴 | Ē ē; Ê ê | Е́ е́ (Є́ є́) | lékjenen /leːt͡ʃnn̩/ "to heal", wêmilhme /ˈweːˌmiːlmə/ "stormcloud" |
Ei ei; Êi êi | ɛɪ̯ | ــَی | 𐌴𐌹 | Ei ei | Ей ей (Єй єй) | eis /ɛɪ̯s/ "ice" |
Eu eu; Êu êu | œʏ̯ | ـٰـوْ | 𐌴𐌿 | En en | Eў еў (Єў єў) | eu /œʏ̯/ "(for)ever" |
Ey ey; Êy êy | œʏ̯ | ــٗی | 𐌴𐌹𐌿 | Ein ein | Ёй ёй (Іёй іёй) | ney /nœʏ̯/ "new" |
F f | f | ف | 𐍆 | F f | Ф ф | fisk /fɪsk/ "fish" |
Fj fj | ʃ | ش | 𐍆𐌾 | Fg fg | Фь фь | hafjen /ˈhɐʃn̩/ "to lift" |
G g | ɡ, V-x, C-k2 | گ | 𐌲 | Г r | Г г | god /ɡoːθ/ "good", dag /daːx/ "day", bårg /bɒrk/ "city, town" |
d͡ʒ-, V-j-V, -ʃ2,5 | ج ، ی ، ش | Ѓ ŕ | Гь гь | giben /ˈd͡ʒiːbn̩/ "to give", huiges /ˈhuːjəs/ "minds", gvärþig /ˈbærθɪʃ/ "peaceful" | ||
Gj gj | d͡ʒ, V-ʃ, C-t͡ʃ | ج | 𐌲𐌾 | Гg rg | Џ(ь) џ(ь) | hugjen /ˈhʊd͡ʒn̩/ "to think, intend", andågj /anˈdɒʃ/ "face", angj /ɐnt͡ʃ/ "egg" |
Gv gv | b, V-f, C-p | ب ، ف | 𐍁 | Ч ɥ | Гв гв | gvärþj /bærs/ "peace",sangv /sɐmp/ "song" |
H h | h, Ø6 | هـ | 𐌷 | Һ h | Х х | hund /hʊnt/ "dog", naht /naːt/ "night" |
Hj hj | ʃ | ش | 𐌷𐌾 | Һg hg | Ш(ь) ш(ь) | hlahjen /ɬɐʃn̩/ "to laugh" |
Hl hl | ɬ, -ːl(-) | هل ، ل | 𐌷𐌻 | Һλ hλ | Хл хл | hlahjen /ɬɐʃn̩/ "to laugh", mahle /maːlə/ "juice" |
Hn hn | n̥, -ːn(-) | هن ، ن | 𐌷𐌽 | ҺN hv | Хн хн | hnåt /n̥ɔːt/ "nut", lähn /lɛːn/ "loan" |
Hr hr | r̥, -ːr(-) | هر ، ر | 𐌷𐍂 | Һp hp | Хр хр | hraben /r̥aːbn̩/ "raven", huhr /huːr/ "hunger" |
Hv hv | f | ف | 𐍈 | Θ ɵ | Хв хв | sähven /sɛːfn̩/ "to see" |
I i | ɪ, iː1 | ــِـ ، ــِی | 𐌹 | I i, Ī ī | И и (І і), И́ и́ (Í í) |
sähven /ˈsɛːfn̩/ "to see" |
Í í; Î î | iː1 | ــِی | Ī ī; Î î | И́ и́ (Í í) | niþj /nɪs/ "relative". ik /iːk/ "I" | |
Ie ie | iː1 | ــِی | 𐌹𐌰 | Iă iă | Иэ иэ (Іэ іэ) | friend /friːnt/ "friend" |
J j | j | ی | 𐌾 | G g | Й й | jah /jaː/ "and" |
K k | k | ک | 𐌺 | K k | К к | katt /kɐt/ "cat" |
t͡ʃ | چ | Ḱ ḱ | Ч(ь) ч(ь) | kinn /t͡ʃɪn/ "cheek" | ||
Kj kj | t͡ʃ | چ | 𐌺𐌾 | Kg kg | Ч(ь) ч(ь) | míkjel /miːt͡ʃl̩/ "big, great" |
Kv kv | p | پ | 𐌵 | U u | Кв кв | kvimen /piːmn̩/ "to come" |
L l | l | ل | 𐌻 | Λ λ | Л л | lamb /lɐmp/ "sheep" |
Lj lj | ʎ | ڷ | 𐌻𐌾 | Λg λg | Ль ль | alj /ɐʎ/ "other" |
M m | m | م | 𐌼 | M m | М м | mäze /mɛːzə/ "bigger" |
Mj mj | ɲ | ݧ | 𐌼𐌾 | Mg mg | Мь мь | tamjen /ˈtɐɲn̩/ "to tame" |
N n | n | ن | 𐌽 | N v | Н н | name /naːmə/ "name" |
Nj nj | ɲ | ݧ | 𐌽𐌾 | Ng ng | Нь нь | sunj /sʊɲ/ "true" |
O o | ɔ, oː | ــࣷـ ، ــࣷو | 𐍉 | Ω w; Ω̄ w̄ | О о (Іо іо), О́ о́ (Іо́ іо́) |
sokjen /sɔt͡ʃn̩/ "to search, investigate", bok /boːk/ "writing, letter, contract" |
Ó ó; Ô ô | oː | ــࣷو | Ω̄ w̄; Ω̂ ŵ | О́ о́ (Іо́ іо́) | hólde /hoːldə/ "accused falsely", ôn /oːn/ | |
Ö ö | œ, øː | ــࣹـ ، ــࣹا | 𐍉𐌹 | Ωi wi; Ω̄i w̄i | Ё ё (Іё іё), Ö ö (Іö іö) |
östrogen /œstroˈd͡ʒeːn/, fötus /ˈføːtus/ "fetus" |
Eo eo; Êo êo | øː | ــࣹو | Ω̄i w̄i; Ω̂i ŵi | Ö ö (Іö іö) | ||
Oi oi; Ôi ôi | œʏ̯ | ــࣷی | 𐌰𐌿𐌹 | Ani ani | Ой ой (Іой іой) | |
Ou ou; Ôu ôu | ɔʊ̯ | ــࣷـوْ | 𐍉𐌿 | Ωw Ωw | Оў оў (Іоў іоў) | |
P p | p | پ | 𐍀 | П ր | П п | |
Pj pj | t͡ʃ | چ | 𐍀𐌾 | Пg րg | Пь пь | |
R r | r | ر | 𐍂 | R p | Р р | |
Rj rj | ʒ | ژ | 𐍂𐌾 | Rg pg | Рь рь | |
S s | s | س | 𐍃 | S s | С с | |
Sj sj | ʃ | ش | 𐍃𐌾 | Sg sg | Сь сь | |
Sk sk | sk | سک | 𐍃𐌺 | Sk sk | Ск ск | |
ʃ | ش | Sḱ sḱ | Щ(ь) щ(ь) | |||
Skj skj | ʃ | ش | 𐍃𐌺𐌾 | Skg skg | Щ(ь) щ(ь) | hnaskj /n̥ɐʃ/ "soft" |
T t | t | ت | 𐍄 | T t | Т т | |
Tj tj | t͡s | ڃ | 𐍄𐌾 | Tg tg | Ть ть | |
Þ þ | θ | ث | 𐌸 | Ψ ф | Ѳ ѳ | |
Þj þj | s | س | 𐌸𐌾 | Ψg фg | Ѳь ѳь | niþj /nɪs/ "relative" |
U u | ʊ, uː1 | ــُـ ، ــُو | 𐌿 | Ո n, Ո̄ n̄ | У у (Ю ю), У́ у́ (Ю́ ю́) |
|
Ú ú; Û û | uː1 | ــُو | Ո̄ n̄; Ո̂ n̂ | У́ у́ (Ю́ ю́) | ||
Ue ue | uː1 | ــُو | 𐌿𐌰 | Ոă nă | Уэ уэ (Юэ юэ) | |
Ui ui | uː7 | ــُو | 𐌿 | Ո̄ n̄ | У у (Ю ю) | huig /ˈhuːʃ/ "mind, reason" |
V v3 | v, -f | ڤ | 𐌱 | B b | В в | |
W w | w | و | 𐍅 | Y y | В в; Ў ў | |
Y y | ʏ, yː1 | ــࣺـ ، ــࣺو | 𐌹𐌿 | In in, Īn īn | Ѵ ѵ (Іѵ іѵ), Ѵ́ ѵ́ (Іѵ́ іѵ́) |
|
Ý ý; Ŷ ŷ | yː1 | ــࣺو | Īn īn; În în | Ѵ́ ѵ́ (Іѵ́ іѵ́) | ||
Ye ye | yː1 | ــࣺو | 𐌹𐌿𐌰 | Ină ină | Ѵэ ѵэ (Іѵэ іѵэ) | |
Z z | z, -s | ز | Z z | З з | ||
Zj zj | ʒ, -ʃ | ژ | 𐌶 | Zg zg | Зь зь | |
Zg zg | zɡ | زگ | 𐌶𐌲 | Zr zg | Зг зг | |
ʒ | ژ | Zŕ zŕ | Ж(ь) ж(ь) | |||
Zgj zgj | ʒ | ش | 𐌶𐌲𐌾 | Zrg zrg | Ж(ь) ж(ь) |
1 Unmarked vowels are lengthened by default in “unchecked" syllables (i.e. stressed and followed by no more than one consonant) and are shortened otherwise. Short unchecked vowels are indicated by doubling the following consonant, and long checked vowels are indicated with special long forms. The circumflexed long forms are used when a letter (usually "b" or "g") has been dropped. Compound words and loanwords do not always conform to these rules. Note that long vowels may be pronounced shorter in closed and/or unstressed syllables; however, this shortening is non-phonemic.
2 V = vowel; C = consonant; N = nasal consonant; NN = non-nasal consonant; FV = front vowel; VS = voiced sound
3 In loanwords.
4 Unstressed. Written ⟨e⟩ in the Latin script, except adjacent to palatalized ⟨g⟩, where it is written ⟨i⟩ if there is no other indicator of palatalization. Dropped in pronunciation when followed by another vowel in the next syllable, unless that leads to a forbidden consonant cluster. Not written before sonorants in Gothic and Cyrillic scripts.
5 The velar consonants ⟨k⟩ and ⟨g⟩ as well as the clusters ⟨sk⟩ and ⟨zg⟩ are palatalized before the front vowels ⟨ä, e, i, ö, y⟩ and digraphs beginning in them. The voiced velar ⟨g⟩ is also palatalized after ⟨i⟩ and digraphs ending in it. Note that unstressed ⟨e⟩ /ə/ does not cause palatalization. Unpalatalized /(s)k, (z)g/ only occur before front vowels in loanwords, and may be indicated with a following ⟨h⟩ – i.e. ⟨(s)kh, (z)gh⟩.
6 Lengthens preceding vowel, even if an intervening consonant is present.
7 Used before palatalized ⟨g⟩ when palatalization would not otherwise be indicated.
Latin alphabet (Lateinske)
|
|
|
Notes:
1 These are treated as the same letter for purposes of alphabetization.
Non-alphabetic letters/digraphs
Letter/digraph | Name | IPA |
---|---|---|
Á á (etc) | a langet (etc) | [aː lɐŋɡət] (etc) |
 â (etc) | a ibenet (etc) | [aː iːbnət] (etc) |
Ea ea (etc) | ä brädet langet (etc) | [ɛː brɛːdət lɐŋɡət] (etc) |
Bj bj (etc) | be hnaskjet (etc) | [beː n̥ɐʃət] (etc) |
Ei ei (etc) | e i (etc) | [eː iː] (etc) |
Ch ch | che/ce ha | [xeː]/[t͡seː haː] |
Gothic alphabet (Gutske)
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Accented characters
These occur in the New Gothic (Neygutske) script and optionally in the Middle Gothic (Miþgutske) script.
Character | Name | IPA | ||
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Miþgutske | Neygutske | Neygutske | Lateinske | |
== | Ā ā (etc) | avs λavrăs (etc) | ans langes (etc) | [ɐns lɐŋɡəs] (etc) |
== | Â â (etc) | avs ībvǎs (etc) | ans ibenes (etc) | [ɐns iːbnəs] (etc) |
== | Ă ă | avs smāλăs | ans smales | [aː smaːləs] |
== | Ѓ ŕ | rībă hvasugă | gibe hnaskje | [d͡ʒiːbə n̥ɐʃə] |
== | Ḱ ḱ | knsmă hvasugă | kusme hnaskje | [kʊzmə n̥ɐʃə] |
== | Ą ą (etc)1 | avs vāsirăs | ans nasiges | [ɐns naːsiːs] |
Notes:
1 Used for nasal vowels, which do not occur in Standard Modern Gothedish but did occur in earlier forms and still occur in some dialects.
Perso-Arabic (Arabske)
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Diacritics and non-alphabetical symbols
Symbol | Name | Remarks | ||
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Arabske | Lateinske | IPA | ||
ء، أ، ؤ، ئ | همزه | hamze | [ˈhɐmzə] | Used for glottal stop and/or hiatus between vowels. Depending on position and the surrounding vowels, may be written on its own or on a "supporting" alif, waw, or ya'. |
ة | تی بندنه | te bundene | [teː ˈbʊnd.nə] | Used as an ending in mostly feminine nouns, especially those of Arabic origin. Usually replaced with ه or ت. |
ـَ | Fatḥah, used for the vowel a /ɐ, aː/. | |||
ـِ | Kasrah, used for the vowel i /ɪ, iː/. | |||
ـُ | Ḍammah, used for the vowel u /ʊ, uː/. | |||
ـٰ | Rotated fatḥah, used for the vowel ä /æ, ɛː/. | |||
ـٖ | Rotated kasrah, used for the vowel e /ɛ, eː/. | |||
ـٛ | Rotated ḍammah, used for the vowel å /ɒ, ɔː/. | |||
ـࣷ | Flipped ḍammah, used for the vowel o /ɔ, oː/. | |||
ـࣹ | Flipped ḍammah under, used for the vowel ö /œ, øː/. | |||
ـࣺ | Ḍammah under, used for the vowel y /ʏ, yː/. | |||
ـْ | Sukūn, used for a consonant not followed by a vowel. | |||
ـّ | Shaddah, used for a geminate consonant (mainly in loanwords). | |||
ـً | Tanwīn fatḥah (-an). | |||
ـٍ | Tanwīn kasrah (-in). | |||
ـٌ | Tanwīn ḍammah (-un). |
Prosody
Stress
In native words, stress is most often on the first syllable unless the word begins in an unstressed prefix. Loanwords may be stressed on any syllable.
Stress is not normally indicated in writing.
Intonation
Phonotactics
Morphophonology
Word-final devoicing
The following changes affect voiced stops, fricatives, and affricates when they occur word-finally:
- b /b/, bj /d͡ʒ/: devoiced to /p, t͡ʃ/ after nasals; otherwise devoiced and fricatized to /f, ʃ/.
- d /d/, g /ɡ/ (non-palatal environment), gj /d͡ʒ/: devoiced to /t, k, t͡ʃ/ after consonants; devoiced and fricatized to /θ, x, ʃ/ after vowels.
- dj /d͡z/ (after nasal): devoiced to /t͡s/.
- dj /z/ (not after nasal): devoiced to /s/.
- g /j/ (palatal environment): devoiced and fricatized to /ʃ/.
- z /z/, zj /ʒ/, v /v/: devoiced to /s, ʃ, f/.
Loanwords may not undergo fricatization - e.g. kitab /kɪˈtaːp/ "book". Some speakers may avoid this irregularity by completely replacing the final consonant with its unvoiced counterpart - e.g. ketap /kəˈtaːp/ (nativized form of kitab).
Palatalization
All consonants except for w, j, and v can be palatalized by adding j after the consonant. This specific form of palatalization is known as iotation. The originally labiovelar consonants hv, kv, and gv are iotated to hj, kj, and gj respectively.
It is rare for vowels to occur in productively iotating environments, but when that happens, the results are generally as follows (though individual lexemes may behave differently):
- a + j → ä
- ä, e + j → ei
- å, o, ou + j → oi
- u, ue + j → y
- eu, y + j → ey
- i, ei, oi, ie, ye unaffected
There is another form of palatalization that affects the consonants c, k, and g as well as the clusters sk and zg. These are palatalized before front vowels (ä, e, i, ö, y, ei, ey, eu, ie, ye) to /t͡s, t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ- ~ -j-, ʃ, ʒ/ respectively. Additionally, g is palatalized to /-j- ~ -ʃ/ after orthographic i (which therefore excludes the digraph ie and includes the digraphs ei, oi, ai, and ui as well as unstressed i /ə/). Unstressed e /ə/ does not cause palatalization.
The palatalization of (s)k and (z)g can be blocked by adding h after the consonant/cluster (i.e. (s)kh, (z)gh). This only occurs in loanwords. Some common words and morphemes do not indicate the lack of palatalization - e.g. kitab /kɪˈtaːp/ "book", -logie /lɔˈgiː/ "-logy". Many of these have nativized forms that may be preferred by some speakers - e.g. ketap /kəˈtaːp/, -logjie /lɔˈd͡ʒiː/.
Addition of -t-
These changes occur in the past stem of class 1 weak verbs (where -d- becomes -t- after obstruents) and the second person singular past indicative of strong verbs (which has the ending -t). Before applying these changes to class 1 weak verbs, remove the -j- of the present stem.
- p, b + t → ft
- nt, nd + t → nt
- t, d, z, ts + t → st
- k, nk, g, ng + t → ht. This leads to the following changes to the preceding vowels (N represents a dropped nasal):
- u + ht → åht
- i + ht → äht
- ou, uN + ht → uht
- ei, iN + ht → iht
- unstressed e /ə/ + ht → aht
Vowel shortening
When the addition of a consonantal suffix causes an originally open syllable preceded by a long vowel to become closed, vowel length is usually preserved. This is indicated with an acute accent or, in the case of ä, å, and ö, by replacing them with ea, oa, and eo respectively. However, the vowel is shortened (unless it has a circumflex or is followed by h) in the following circumstances:
- When the following consonant is iotated (-j-) - e.g. skul-en /ˈskuːl-n̩/ "to have to" + -je → skulje /ˈskʊʎə/
- When the vowel is followed by three or more consonants - e.g. gute /ˈɡuːtə/ "Goths" + -ske → gutske /ˈɡʊt.skə/ "Gothic"
Compound words
Compound words are head-final (like in German). Note that this differs from noun phrases, which are generally head-initial. The modifying noun(s) undergo the following changes (in this order) before adding onto the head noun:
- If the noun ends in an iotated consonant, the iotation is removed.
- If the noun now ends in a -b or -d that would be fricativized, replace it with its fricative counterpart (f and þ respectively). Other voiced consonants are devoiced as usual, but this is not indicated in writing.
- If the noun ends in a schwa, it is dropped.
In some compounds, the modifying noun occurs in the genitive, in which case the above changes do not apply.
In compound words, the vowel length in each component is independent from the other component words. For example, under normal rules, the -u- in Guþþyde "Gothede" (< Gud "God" + þyde "slave") would be expected to be pronounced short due to being followed by two orthographic consonants. However, since it is followed by a single consonant in Guþ-, it is in fact pronounced long.
Historical phonology
Gothic to Old Gothedish
- Nasalization of geminate voiced plosives.
- C + j > geminate palatalized consonant
- Unstressed vowel shortening reduction.
Old Gothedish to Middle Gothedish
- Further vowel reduction.
Middle Gothedish to Modern Gothedish
- Diphthongization of long high vowels.
- Palatalization of velars before (and sometimes after) front vowels.
- Vowel lengthening in stressed, unchecked syllables and shortening in checked syllables.
- Vowel simplifications.
- Partial loss of unstressed vowels.
- Hardening of voiced fricatives.
- Labiovelars > Labials (except /w/).
- Analogical changes.
Morphology
Cases
Gothedish has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive. The genitive can be further declined as an adjective to agree with the noun it modifies/replaces, in which case final post-vocalic -s becomes -z- and genitives ending in -e add -z-. In formal language outside of poetry, personal pronouns generally use the declined genitive in all cases, while nouns use the invariant genitive unless there is no other indicator of case.
e.g. mag "boy": mages "boyʼs", mage "boysʼ" (undeclined genitive) + -es → magezes "boyʼs / boysʼ (nom. m. sg.)"
- Isses ist magezes. "This is a boy's." ≈ Isses ist þas mages. "This is that of a boy."
Nouns
Nouns may be either strong or weak.
Strong nouns
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | -(e) | -(e) | -e | -es | |
Plural | Masc./fem. | -es | -es | -em | -e |
Neuter | -e | -e |
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Weak nouns
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masc./fem. | -e | -en | -en | -es |
Neuter | -e | -e | |||
Plural | Masc./fem. | -es | -es | -em | -en |
Neuter | -en | -en |
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Adjectives
Like nouns, adjectives may be strong or weak. Most adjectives have both forms. The strong forms are used attributively (happy people) and predicatively (they are happy), while the weak forms are used nominally (the happy). Adjectives that only have one form use that form in all usages.
Adjectives have a special unmarked gender that can be used when the gender is unknown/unspecified/unimportant. It is more commonly used in informal language, and is proscribed when referring to an entity with known gender.
Strong adjectives
The gender-unmarked form is identical to the neuter in the plural. However, the masculine plural is used instead when referring to human beings, except in very formal language.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | -es | -en | -em | -es |
Neuter | -et | -et | |||
Unmarked | - | - | |||
Feminine | -e | -e | -es | ||
Plural | Masculine | -e | -es | -em | -es |
Neut./unm. | -e | -e | |||
Feminine | -es | -es |
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | skånjes | skånjen | skånjem | skånjes |
Neuter | skånjet | skånjet | |||
Unmarked | skånj | skånj | |||
Feminine | skånje | skånje | skånjes | ||
Plural | Masculine | skånje | skånjes | skånjem | skånjes |
Neut./unm. | skånje | skånje | |||
Feminine | skånjes | skånjes |
Weak adjectives
Declined identically to weak nouns. The gender-unmarked form is identical to the neuter in both the singular and plural. Except in very formal language, the masculine/feminine form is used in place of the unmarked (in both singular and plural) when referring to a human being.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masc./fem. | skånje | skånjen | skånjen | skånjes |
Neuter/unm. | skånje | skånje | |||
Plural | Masc./fem. | skånjes | skånjes | skånjem | skånjen |
Neuter/unm. | skånjen | skånjen |
Pronouns and determiners
Personal pronouns
Person and number | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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1st | Singular | ik | mik | mis | mein | |
Dual1 | wit | unks | unks | unker | ||
Plural | weis | uns | uns | unser | ||
2nd | Singular | Informal2 | þou | þuk | þus | þein |
Formal2 | jou | eyk | eys | eyer | ||
Dual1 | jut | inkvs | inkvs | inkver | ||
Plural | Informal2 | jous | eys | eys | eyer | |
Formal2 | jous | izzues | izzues | izzuer | ||
3rd | Singular | Masculine | sa | hin | himm | his |
Neuter | hit | hit | ||||
Unmarked | þa | þa | ||||
Feminine | si | si | his | |||
Plural | Masculine | þä | þans | þäm | þis | |
Neut./unm. | þo | þo | ||||
Feminine | þos | þos | ||||
Middle | sei | sik | sis | sein |
Notes:
1 In formal language, dual pronouns are used to refer to two people. They are rare in informal language and are considered archaic in most dialects (similar to English "thou").
2 Gothedish has a T-V distinction in second person pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns
Gothedish has the reflexive pronoun silbe "self", which can optionally be combined with the stems of personal pronouns to form personal relexive pronouns (as shown in the below table).
Person and number | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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1st | Singular | misilbe | misilben | misilben | misilbes | |
Dual | unksilbes | unksilbes | unksilbem | unksilben | ||
Plural | unsilbes | unsilbes | unsilbem | unsilben | ||
2nd | Singular | Informal | þusilbe | þusilben | þusilben | þusilbes |
Formal | eysilbe | eysilben | eysilben | eysilbes | ||
Dual | inkvsilbes | inkvsilbes | inkvsilbem | inkvsilben | ||
Plural | Informal | eysilbes | eysilbes | eysilbem | eysilben | |
Formal | izzusilbes | izzusilbes | izzusilbem | izzusilben | ||
3rd | Singular | Masc./fem. | sisilbe | sisilben | sisilben | sisilbes |
Neuter/unm. | sisilbe | sisilbe | ||||
Plural | Masc./fem. | sisilbes | sisilbes | sisilbem | sisilben | |
Neuter/unm. | sisilben | sisilben |
Demonstratives
Demonstratives can be used independently as pronouns, or postnominally as determiners. There are three demonstratives in Gothedish: near (or proximal), middle (or medial), and far (or distal).
The near demonstrative is used for objects near to the speaker. It is declined as a regular strong adjective with the stem iss-.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | isses | issen | issem | isses |
Neuter | isset | isset | |||
Unmarked | iss | iss | |||
Feminine | isse | isse | isses | ||
Plural | Masculine | isse | isses | issem | isses |
Neut./unm. | isse | isse | |||
Feminine | isses | isses |
The middle demonstrative is used for objects near to the listener. It is also used as a generic demonstrative without reference to distance. It is declined irregularly. Note that the plural forms are identical to the corresponding 3rd person personal pronouns.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | þas | þan | þamm | þis |
Neuter | þat | þat | |||
Unmarked | þa | þa | |||
Feminine | þo | þo | þis | ||
Plural | Masculine | þä | þans | þäm | þis |
Neut./unm. | þo | þo | |||
Feminine | þos | þos |
The far demonstrative is used for objects that are far from both the speaker and listener. It declines as a regular strong adjective with the stem jän-.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | jänes | jänen | jänem | jänes |
Neuter | jänet | jänet | |||
Unmarked | jän | jän | |||
Feminine | jäne | jäne | jänes | ||
Plural | Masculine | jäne | jänes | jänem | jänes |
Neut./unm. | jäne | jäne | |||
Feminine | jänes | jänes |
Articles
The definite article occurs before a noun to show that the noun is definite. It always unstressed, and is declined as below:
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | þes | þen | þem | þes |
Neuter | þet | þet | |||
Unmarked | þe | þe | |||
Feminine | þe | þe | þes | ||
Plural | Masculine | þe | þes | þem | þes |
Neut./unm. | þe | þe | |||
Feminine | þes | þes |
There is no indefinite article.
Interrogative pronouns
The interrogative pronoun hva "what, who" is declined as the middle demonstrative.
Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Genitive | ||
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Singular | Masculine | hvas | hvan | hvamm | hvis |
Neuter | hvat | hvat | |||
Unmarked | hva | hva | |||
Feminine | hvo | hvo | hvis | ||
Plural | Masculine | hvä | hvans | hväm | hvis |
Neut./unm. | hvo | hvo | |||
Feminine | hvos | hvos |
The interrogative pronouns/determiners hvaþer "which (of two)" and hvarj "which (of many)" are declined as regular strong adjectives.
Numbers
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. Null "zero" declines as a masculine strong noun. Än "one" declines as a strong adjective. Twa "two" and þrie "three" decline irregularly as below:
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Numbers from 4-999 that do not end in 1-3 have a dative in -em and genitive in -e and do not otherwise decline. Þousendj "thousand" and higher numbers decline as feminine strong nouns.
Ordinal numbers are declined as weak adjectives (except for anþer "second", which is always strong).
Verbs
Gothedish verbs fall in three main categories: strong verbs, weak verbs, and preterite-present verbs. The conjugation of regular verbs follows the table below.
Infinitive | -(e)n1 | |||||||
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Present participle | -(e)nd | |||||||
Past participle (strong) | PP-(e)n | |||||||
Past participle (weak) | -d | |||||||
Present | Past (strong) | Past (weak) | Imperative | |||||
Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | |||
1S | -e | -e | S– | P-je | -de | -dje | -e | |
2S | -(e)s | -es | S-t | P-jes | -des | -djes | – | |
3S | -(e)þ | -e | S– | P-je | -de | -dje | -eþ | |
1P | -(e)m | -em | P-(e)m | P-jem | -dem | -djem | -em | |
2P | -(e)ts | -ets | P-(e)ts | P-jets | -dets | -djets | -ets | |
3P | -(e)n | -en | P-(e)n | P-jen | -den | -djen | -en |
Notes:
1 -(e)- indicates a schwa that is dropped in vowel-final verbs.
2 Preterite-present verbs conjugate as a strong past in the present, and as a weak past in the past. The plural present has the same stem as the infinitive.
Strong verbs
Strong verbs form their past tense and past participle by vowel change (ablaut). There are seven classes of strong verbs, depending on how the stem changes.
Class | Subclass | Present | Past | Past participle | |
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Singular | Plural/subj. | ||||
1 | regular | -ei-/-i-/-i[ä]-1 | -ä- | -i[ä]- | -i[ä]- |
u-stem | -ey- | -eu- | -y- | -y- | |
2 | regular | -y- | -å- | -u[å]- | -u[å]- |
3 | regular | -i[ä]- | -a- | -u[å]- | -u[å]- |
4 | regular | -i[ä]- | -a- | -e- | -u[å]- |
5 | regular | -i[ä]- | -a- | -e- | -i[ä]- |
u-stem | -y- | -å- | -eu- | -y- | |
6 | regular | -a- | -o- | -a- | |
7 | regular | (varies) | -ä(Ce)-2 | (same as present) |
Notes:
1 In strong verbs, expected -i- and -u- are replaced with -ä- and -å- respectively whenever they occur before h, r, or hv. This is represented as -i[ä]- and -u[å]- respectively.
2 Class 7 strong verbs have reduplication in the past tense. The exact formation of the past tense depends on the verb, but it generally involves a reduplication of the initial consonant followed by schwa - e.g. släsep "slept" (past of slepen "to sleep"), säse "sowed" (past of sän "to sow"). There are a few irregular strong verbs:
- Class 2: glouken, glåk, glukje, gluken "to lock" - irregular present stem vowel
- Class 4: truden, trad, tredje, truden "to tread" - irregular present stem vowel
- Class 5: bidjen, bad, bedje, biden "to request, pray" - irregular iotation in present stem
- Class 5: iten, et, etje, iten "to eat" - irregular past singular stem
- Class 5: frähnen, frah, frehje, frähen "to question" - irregular -n- in present stem
- Class 6: fraþjen, froþ, froþje, fraþen "to understand" - irregular iotation in present stem
- Similar verbs: hahjen "to raise"; hlahjen "to laugh"; graþjen "to count"; skapjen "to create"; skaþjen "to injure"; wahsjen "to grow"
- Class 6: standen, stoþ, stoþje, staþen "to stand" - irregular -n- and voicing in present stem
- Unclassified: wisen "to be"; gangen "to go" - these are technically strong verbs, but they are treated separately due to their high degree of irregularity (see suppletive verbs below).
All verbs derived from a prefixed irregular verb are irregular themselves.
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Weak verbs
Weak verbs form their past tense and past participle with a dental suffix. There are two classes of weak verbs.
Class 1 weak verbs have an iotated present stem. In the past tense, -d- is devoiced to -t- after obstruents, which are fricatized (see morphophonology for more information).
In class 2 weak verbs, the past -d- does not affect the preceding consonant and is only devoiced if preceded by a devoiced consonant. Vowel length is preserved.
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There is one irregular weak verb (along with its derivatives): bringen "to bring" (past stem: braht-).
Infinitive | bringen | |||||
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Present participle | bringend | |||||
Past participle | braht | |||||
Present | Past | Imperative | ||||
Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | |||
1S | bringe | bringe | brahte | brahtje | bringe | |
2S | bringes | bringes | brahtes | brahtjes | bring | |
3S | bringeþ | bringe | brahte | brahtje | bringeþ | |
1P | bringem | bringem | brahtem | brahtjem | bringem | |
2P | bringets | bringets | brahtets | brahtjets | bringets | |
3P | bringen | bringen | brahten | brahtjen | bringen |
Preterite-present verbs
Preterite-present verbs are special in that their present tense conjugates as a strong past. In the past tense, they take a dental suffix and conjugate as weak verbs.
Infinitive | witen | |||||
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Present participle | witend | |||||
Past participle | wist | |||||
Present | Past | Imperative | ||||
Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | |||
1S | wät | witje | wiste | wistje | wite | |
2S | wäst | witjes | wistes | wistjes | wit | |
3S | wät | witje | wiste | wistje | witeþ | |
1P | witem | witjem | wistem | wistjem | witem | |
2P | witets | witjets | wistets | wistjets | witets | |
3P | witen | witjen | wisten | wistjen | witen |
Preterite-present verbs are a closed class of mostly modal verbs. They are listed with their principal parts in the table below:
Infinitive | 1S present indicative |
Past participle |
Meaning | Notes |
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witen | wät | wist | to know (that) | Witen is used in the sense of knowing a piece of information, while lisen is used for knowledge of people, places, things, or subject matters. |
lisen | läs | list | to know; to be familiar (with) | |
kunnen | kann | kund | to know (how to); to be able (to) | Kunnen means "to be able to" in the sense of having the prerequisite knowledge or capacity, while gemoten means "to be able to" in the sense of having favourable circumstances. |
gemoten | gemot | gemost | to be able (to) | |
þårben | þarb | þårft | to need (to); to have to | Þårben is used for requirements due to need, while skulen is used for requirements due to external factors (rules, laws, commands, expectations, etc). Ägen is similar in meaning to skulen but more emphatic. |
skulen | skal | skuld | to have to; to be required (to) | |
ägen | äg | äht | to have to; to be obligated (to); to owe | |
magen | mag | maht | will | Forms future tense. |
dårsen | dars | dårst | to try (to) | |
gedårsen | gedars | gedårst | to dare (to) | |
dugen | dag | dåht | to succeed (in) | |
munen | man | mund | to think; to believe | |
gemunen | geman | gemund | to remember (to) | |
fremunen | freman | fremund | to forget (to) | |
bemunen | beman | bemund | to remind (to) | |
unnen | ann | und | to allow (to) | |
frunnen | frann | frund | to forbid (from) | |
benåhen | benah | benåht | to be allowed (to) | |
genåhen | genah | genåht | to suffice; to be enough | |
ogen | og | oht | to fear |
Suppletive verbs
In addition to the irregular strong and weak verbs mentioned above, there are two highly irregular verbs that are generally treated as their own class (even though they are technically strong). These are wisen "to be" and gangen "to go".
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Principal parts
- Strong verbs: infinitive, 1S past indicative, 1S past subjunctive, past participle
- Weak verbs: infinitive, past participle
- Preterite-present verbs: infinitive, 1S present indicative, past participle
- The verb gangen "to go" and derived verbs: infinitive, 1S past indicative, past participle
- The verb wisen "to be" and derived verbs: infinitive, 1S present indicative, 1S present subjunctive, 1S past indicative, 1S past subjunctive, past participle
Non-finite forms and derived nouns/adjectives
- Infinitive
- Present participle: Acts as an adjective, equivalent to English -ing. When nominalized, can function as an agent noun - e.g. gangende "one who goes/is going; goer".
- Past participle: Acts as an adjective. Passive for transitive verbs, and active for intransitive verbs. When nominalized, can function as a patient noun for transitive verbs - e.g. itene "that which is eaten; food". Nominalized intransitive past participles form perfect agent nouns - e.g. gangene "one who has gone".
- Agent noun: Formed by replacing -n of infinitive with -rj. Similar in meaning to nominalized present participle, but refers to a more permanent state - e.g. bakerj "baker (i.e. someone whose profession is baking)" vs bakende "one who bakes/is baking (i.e. someone who sometimes bakes or who is currently baking, but who may not be a baker by profession)".
Syntax
Constituent order
Gothedish has a relatively free constituent word order, although there are preferred word orders depending on the clause type.
Main clauses
Word order is generally V2, although it may be V1 when the verb's subject is a dropped pronoun. The preverbal position can be occupied by any constituent. If the subject is present and not in the preverbal position, it occurs immediately after the verb. Non-finite verbs can either occur before or after the direct object. They tend to occur clause-finally (like German) in simpler sentences and immediately after the verb (like Swedish) in more complex sentences. Adverbs most often occur before the direct object.
- e.g. Hund warþ in Kanada gebåren. (dog was in Canada born) "A dog was born in Canada."
- Gebåren warþ hund in Kanada. (born was dog in Canada) "A dog was born in Canada."
- Ebenþ warþ hund in Kanada gebåren. (yesterday was dog in Canada born) "A dog was born yesterday in Canada."
- Hund warþ gebåren in house míkjelem broþeres meines juhses. (dog was born in house large brother.GEN mine.GEN younger.GEN) "A dog was born in the big house of my younger brother."
Relative clauses
Relative clauses are generally verb-final. However, if the clause has complex arguments, the verb is usually moved to the beginning of the clause (preceded by the subject if applicable).
Adverbial clauses
Adverbial clauses ('if', 'until', etc) follow the same word order rules as main clauses.
Negation
The general negation particle is ne "not". It precedes the word it negates.
Some words combine with a preceding negative particle.
- ne + wisen, im, sie, was, wesje, wisen "to be" → nisen, nim, nesie, nas, nesje, nisen "to not be"
- ne + wäht "(some)thing" → näht "nothing"
- ne + än "one" → nän "none"
- ne + wiljen, wild "to want" → niljen, nild "to not want"
- ne + witen, wät, wist "to know" → niten, nät, nist "to not know"
- ne + wärþen, warþ, wårþje, wårþen "to become" → närþen, narþ, nårþje, nårþen "to not become"
- etc
A sentence/clause can be negated by negating the verb, or by placing niss (< earlier nistj < nist ei "[it] is not that") at the beginning of the clause.
Questions
Noun phrase
Verb phrase
Tenses, aspects, moods
- Simple present: present indicative - e.g. Ik sähve þuk. "I see you."
- Subjunctive: present subjunctive - e.g. Jabe ik sähve þuk, afgange. "If I see you, I will leave."
- Simple past: past indicative - e.g. Ik sahv þuk. "I saw you."
- Subjunctive: past subjunctive - e.g. Jabe ik sehje þuk, afingje. "If I saw you, I would leave."
- Jussive/hortative: present subjunctive - e.g. Afgange. "I should leave."
- Imperative: imperative - e.g. Afgang! "Leave!"
- Negative: ne + present subjunctive - e.g. Ne afganges! "Don't leave!"
- Present/past continuous: present/past of wisen "to be" + present participle (agrees with subject) - e.g. Im afgangendes. "I am leaving."
- Present/past perfect:
- Intransitive verbs of motion/change of state: present/past of wisen "to be" + past participle (agrees with subject) - e.g. Im afgangenes. "I have left."
- Other verbs: present/past of haben "to have" + past participle (agrees with direct object) - e.g. Habe þuk sähvenes. "I have seen you."
- Future: present of magen + infinitive - e.g. Ik mag þuk sähven. "I will see you."
- The future is often left unmarked if clear from context - e.g. Gistredagi sähve ik þuk. "I [will] see you tomorrow."
- Present conditional: There are two ways of forming the conditional tenses. The II forms can also be used as a polite way to express wishes.
- I: past subjunctive - e.g. Jabe kvemjes, ik sehje þuk. "If you came, I would see you."
- II: present subjunctive of magen + infinitive - e.g. Ik magje þuk sähven. "I would see you. / I would like to see you."
- Past conditional:
- I: past subjunctive of perfect auxiliary (wisen/haben) + past participle (agrees with subject/direct object) - e.g. Jabe hadjes kvumen, ik hadje þuk sähvenes. "If you had come, I would have seen you."
- II: past subjunctive of magen + infinitive - e.g. Ik mahtje þuk sähven. "I would have seen you. / I would have liked to see you."
Voice
- Active: Basic form - e.g. Ik sähve þuk. "I see you."
- Middle: Use object pronouns for first and second persons, and the middle pronoun for third person - e.g. Þou sähves þuk. "You are visible."
- Passive: There are two kinds of passive.
- General passive: appropriate form of wisen "to be" + past participle (agrees with subject) - e.g. Þou wast sähvenes. "You were seen."
- Inchoative passive (refers to beginning of state): appropriate form of wärþen "to become" + past participle (agrees with subject) - e.g. Þou warst sähvenes. "You were sighted."
- Reflexive: Use reflexive pronouns - e.g. Ik sähve (mi)silben. "I see myself."
- Reciprocal: Use the reciprocal pronoun hvarjander "each other" in the appropriate case - e.g. Jous sähvets hvarjander. "You see each other."
Sentence phrase
Example texts
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 1)
Latin: Alle manskes wärþen gebårene freie jah ibene in wärde jah rähtem. Fraþje jah miþwist sind behibde, jah skulen hvarjandere in ahmen broþerskepes handelen.
Perso-Arabic: ال منسکس ورثن گبورن فری یاه ایبن ان ورد یاه رهتم۔ فرس یاه مثوست سند بهبد، یاه سکولن فژندر ان اهمن بروثرسکپس هندلن۔
Old Gothic: 𐌰𐌻𐌻𐌰 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐍃𐌺𐌰𐍃 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐌰𐌽 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌽𐌰 𐍆𐍂𐌴𐌹𐌰 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌹𐌱𐌽𐌰 𐌹𐌽 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌳𐌰 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍄𐌼˙ 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌸𐌲𐌰 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐌼𐌹𐌸𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄 𐍃𐌹𐌽𐌳 𐌱𐌰𐌷𐌹𐌱𐌳𐌰. 𐌾𐌰𐌷 𐍃𐌺𐌿𐌻𐌽 𐍈𐌰𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍂𐌰 𐌹𐌽 𐌰𐌷𐌼𐌽 𐌱𐍂𐍉𐌸𐍂𐍃𐌺𐌰𐍀𐌰𐍃 𐌷𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌻𐌽˙
New Gothic: Aλλă manskăs yaipфv găbānpvă fpeiă gah ībnă iv yaipdă gah paihtm. Fpaфgă gah miфyist sivd băhibdă, gah skn̄lv ɵapgavdră iv ahmv brw̄фpskăpăs handλv.
Cyrillic: Аллэ манскэс вѧрѳн гэбѡрнэ фрейэ ях и́бнэ ин вѧрдэ ях рѧхтм. Фраѳӭ ях миѳвист синд бэхибдэ, ях ску́лн хваряндрэ ин ахмн бро́ѳрскэпэс хандлн.
Cyrillic 2.0: Алле манскес вӓрҫен гебåрене фреје јах ибене ин вӓрде јах рӓхтем. Фраҫье јах миҫвист синд бехибде, јах скулен хварьандере ин ахмен броҫерскепес ханделен.
IPA: /ˈɐlə ˈmɐnskəs ˈwærθn̩ gəˈbɔːrnə ˈfrɛɪ̯ə jaː ˈiːbnə ɪn ˈwærdə jaː ˈrɛːtm̩ || ˈfrɐsə jaː ˈmɪθwɪst sɪnt bəˈhɪbdə | jaː ˈskuːln̩ ˈfɐʒɐndrə ɪn ˈaːmn̩ ˈbroːθr̩ˌskəpəs ˈhɐndln̩/
Gloss: All-M.NOM.PL human_being-NOM.PL become.PRS-3PL engender.PP-M.NOM.PL free-M.NOM.PL and equal-M.PL.NOM in worth-DAT and right-DAT.PL. Reason.ACC and conscience.ACC be.PRS.3PL bestow.PP-M.NOM.PL, and should.PRS-3PL each_other-DAT in spirit-DAT brotherhood-GEN handle-INF.
Literal translation: All human beings become born free and equal in worth and rights. With reason and conscience they are bestowed, and they should to one another in the spirit of brotherhood behave.
Translation: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.