Gothedish

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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 byShariifka
Early forms
Gothic
  • Old Gothedish
    • Middle Gothedish

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

Consonant phonemes of Standard Gothedish
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

Vowel phonemes of Standard Gothedish
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)

Letter Name IPA Alternative
forms1
A a a [aː] á; â
Ä ä ä brädet [ɛː brɛːdət] ea; êa
Å å å brädet [ɔː brɛːdət] oa; ôa
B b be [beː] –
C c ce [t͡seː] –
D d de [deː] –
E e e [eː] é; ê
F f eff [ɛf] –
G g ge [d͡ʒeː] –
Gv gv gviss [bɪs] –
H h ha [haː] –
Letter Name IPA Alternative
forms
Hv hv hvär [fɛːr] –
I i i [iː] í; î
J j jott [jɔt] –
K k ka [kaː] –
Kv kv kvärne [pærnə] –
L l ell [ɛl] –
M m emm [ɛm] –
N n enn [ɛn] –
O o o [oː] ó; ô
Ö ö ö [øː] eo; êo
P p pe [peː] –
Letter Name IPA Alternative
forms
(Q q) ku [kuː] –
R r err [ɛr] –
S s ess [ɛs] –
T t te [teː] –
Þ þ þyþ [θyːθ] –
U u u [uː] ú; û
V v vau [vaʊ̯] –
W w we [weː] –
(X x) eks [ɛks] –
Y y y/ypsilon [yː]/[ʏpsɪlɔn] ý; ŷ
Z z zete [zeːtə] –

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)

Letter Name IPA
Alþgutske Miþgutske Neygutske Neygutske Lateinske
𐌰 == A a avs ans [ɐns]
𐌱 == B b baipkă bärke [bærkə]
𐌲 == Γ r rībă gibe [d͡ʒiːbə]
𐌳 == D d dār dag [daːx]
𐌴 == E e āiɵ ähv [ɛːf]
𐌵 == U u uaipvă kvärne [pærnə]
𐌶 == Z z ēzăk ezek [eːzək]
𐌷 == Һ h hārλ hagel [haːgl̩]
𐌸 == Ψ ф фīnф þyþ [θyːθ]
𐌹 == I i eis eis [ɛɪ̯s]
𐌺 == K k knsmă kusme [kʊzmə]
𐌻 == Λ λ λār lag [laːx]
𐌼 == M m mavvă manne [mɐnə]
Letter Name IPA
Alþgutske Miþgutske Neygutske Neygutske Lateinske
𐌽 == N v vānф nåþ [nɔːθ]
𐌾 == G g gēp jer [jeːr]
𐌿 == Ո n onp our [ɔʊ̯r]
𐍀 == П ր րaipфă pärþe [pærθə]
𐍁 == Ч ɥ ɥiss gviss [bɪs]
𐍂 == R p pāidă räde [rɛːdə]
𐍃 == S s saniλ soil [sœʏ̯l]
𐍄 == T t tein tey [tœʏ̯]
𐍅 == Y y yivgă winje [wɪɲə]
𐍆 == F f fāih fäh [fɛː]
𐍇 == X x ivɥ ingv [ɪmp]
𐍈 == Θ ɵ ɵāip hvär [fɛːr]
𐍉 == Ω w w̄фλ oþel [oːθl̩]
Accented characters

These occur in the New Gothic (Neygutske) script and optionally in the Middle Gothic (Miþgutske) script.

Character Name IPA
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)

Character Name IPA
Arabske Lateinske
ا الف ällif [ˈælif]
ب بی be [beː]
پ پی pe [peː]
ت تی te [teː]
ث ثی þe [θeː]
ج جیم gim [d͡ʒiːm]
چ چیم kim [t͡ʃiːm]
ڃ ڃیم tjim [t͡siːm]
ح حا ḥa [ħɑː, hɑː]
خ خا cha [xɑː]
د دال däl [dɛːl]
ذ ذال ðäl [ðɛːl]
Character Name IPA
Arabske Lateinske
ر ری re [reː]
ز زی ze [zeː]
ۯ ۯی zje [ʒeː]
س سین sin [siːn]
ش شین sjin [ʃiːn]
ص صاد ṣad [s(ˤ)ɑːθ]
ض ضاد ḍad [d(ˤ)ɑːθ, ð(ˤ)ɑːθ]
ط طا ṭa [t(ˤ)ɑː]
ظ ظا ẓa [ð(ˤ)ɑː]
ع عین qhain [(ʕ)aɪ̯n]
غ غین ghain [ɣaɪ̯n]
ف فی fe [feː]
Character Name IPA
Arabske Lateinske
ڤ ڤی ve [veː]
ق قاف qaf [qɑːf, kɑːf]
ک کاف käf [kɛːf]
گ گاف gäf [ɡɛːf]
ل لام läm [lɛːm]
ڷ ڷام ljäm [ʎɛːm]
م میم mim [miːm]
ن نون nun [nuːn]
ݧ ݧون njun [ɲuːn]
و واو wau [waʊ̯]
ه هی he [heː]
ی یی je [jeː]
Diacritics and non-alphabetical symbols
Symbol Name Remarks
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 ufertän (fatḥe) [ˈuːfr̩ˌtɛːn] Literally "overtwig", used for the vowel a /ɐ, aː/.
ـِ undertän (kasre) [ˈʊndr̩ˌtɛːn] Literally "undertwig", used for the vowel i /ɪ, iː/.
ـُ uferhranke (ḍamme) [ˈuːfr̩ˌr̥ɐŋkə] Literally "overtendril", used for the vowel u /ʊ, uː/.
ـٰ uferhrunge [ˈuːfr̩ˌr̥ʊŋə] Literally "overstaff", used for the vowel ä /æ, ɛː/.
ـٖ underhrunge [ˈʊndr̩ˌr̥ʊŋə] Literally "understaff"', used for the vowel e /ɛ, eː/.
ـٛ uferhlän [ˈuːfr̩ˌɬɛːn] Literally "overhill", used for the vowel å /ɒ, ɔː/.
ـࣷ ufergilþe [ˈuːfr̩ˌd͡ʒɪlθə] Literally "oversickle", used for the vowel o /ɔ, oː/.
ـࣹ undergilþe [ˈʊndr̩ˌd͡ʒɪlθə] Literally "undersickle", used for the vowel ö /œ, øː/.
ـࣺ underhranke [ˈʊndr̩ˌr̥ɐŋkə] Literally "undertendril", used for the vowel y /ʏ, yː/.
ـْ gehaben (sukun) [gəˈhaːbn̩] Literally "withholding", used for a consonant not followed by a vowel.
ـّ starkjen (tasjdid) [ˈstɐrt͡ʃn̩] Literally "strengthening", used for a geminate or pseudo-geminite consonant (mainly in loanwords and at morpheme boundaries).
ـً Tanwīn fatḥah (-an or -en).
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:

  1. If the noun ends in an iotated consonant, the iotation is removed.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

Strong noun declension
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular -(e) -(e) -e -es
Plural Masc./fem. -es -es -em -e
Neuter -e -e
Example of masculine strong noun: hläb "bread"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular hläb hläb hläbe hläbes
Plural hläbes hläbes hläbem hläbe
Example of neuter weak noun: bråd "crumb"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular bråd bråd bråde brådes
Plural bråde bråde brådem bråde

Weak nouns

Weak noun declension
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular Masc./fem. -e -en -en -es
Neuter -e -e
Plural Masc./fem. -es -es -em -en
Neuter -en -en
Example of feminine weak noun: kvine "woman"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular kvine kvinen kvinen kvines
Plural kvines kvines kvinem kvinen
Example of neuter weak noun: härte "heart"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Singular härte härte härten härtes
Plural härten härten härtem härten

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.

Strong adjective declension
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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
Example of strong adjective: skånj "beautiful"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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.

Example of weak adjective: skånj "beautiful"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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

Gothedish personal pronouns
Person and number Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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).

Gothedish reflexive pronouns
Person and number Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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-.

Gothedish near demonstrative
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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.

Gothedish middle demonstrative
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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-.

Gothedish far demonstrative
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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:

Gothedish definite article
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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.

Declension of interrogative pronoun hva "what, who"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
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

# Cardinal Ordinal
0 null nulde
1 än frume
2 twa twade/anþer
3 þrie þridje
4 fidduer fidduerde
5 fimf fimfte
6 sähs sähste
7 siben sibende
8 aht ahtede
9 nyn nynde
10 tähn tähnde
11 älb älfte
12 twálb twalfte
13 þrietähn þrietähnde
14 fidduertähn fidduertähnde
15 fimftähn fimftähnde
16 sähstähn sähstähnde
17 sibentähn sibentähnde
18 ahtähn ahtähnde
19 nýntähn nýntähnde
20 twätig twätigde
# Cardinal Ordinal
21 twätig jah än twätigj jah frume
30 þreitig þreitigde
40 fidduertig fidduertigde
50 fimftig fimftigde
60 sähstig sähstigde
70 sibentig sibentigde
80 ahtig ahtigde
90 nýntig nýntigde
100 tähntig tähntigde
110 älftig älftigde
120 twalftig twalftigde
130 þrietähntig þrietähntigde
200 twahunde twahunte
210 twahunde tähn twahunde tähnde
300 þriehunde þriehunte
1,000 þousendj þousente
2,000 twos þousendjes twosþousente
106 miljon miljónde
2 × 106 twos miljones twosmiljónde
109 miljard miljarde
2 × 106 twos miljardes twosmiljarde
1012 biljon biljónde

. Null "zero" declines as a masculine strong noun. Än "one" declines as a strong adjective. Twa "two" and þrie "three" decline irregularly as below:

Declension of twa "two"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Plural Masculine twä twans twäm twangj
Neut./unm. twa twa
Feminine twos twos
Declension of þrie "three"
Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive
Plural Masc./fem. þreis þrins þrim þringj
Neut./unm. þrie þrie

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.

Gothedish verb conjugation
(– = present stem; S– = singular past stem; P– = plural past stem; PP– = past participle stem)
Infinitive -(e)n1
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.

Stem vowels of strong verbs by class
Class Subclass Present Past Past participle
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.

Example of regular strong verb: drinken "to drink" (class 3)
Infinitive drinken
Present participle drinkend
Past participle drunken
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S drinke drinke drank drunkje drinke
2S drinkes drinkes draht drunkjes drink
3S drinkeþ drinke drank drunkje drinkeþ
1P drinkem drinkem drunkem drunkjem drinkem
2P drinkets drinkets drunkets drunkjets drinkets
3P drinken drinken drunken drunkjen drinken
Example of irregular strong verb: standen "to stand" (class 6)
Infinitive standen
Present participle standend
Past participle staþen
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S stande stande stoþ stoþje stande
2S standes standes stost stoþjes stand
3S standeþ stande stoþ stoþje standeþ
1P standem standem stoþem stoþjem standem
2P standets standets stoþets stoþjets standets
3P standen standen stoþen stoþen standen

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.

Example of class 1 weak verb: þankjen "to think"
Infinitive þankjen
Present participle þankjend
Past participle þaht
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S þankje þankje þahte þahtje þankje
2S þankjes þankjes þahtes þahtjes þankj
3S þankjeþ þankje þahte þahtje þankjeþ
1P þankjem þankjem þahtem þahtjem þankjem
2P þankjets þankjets þahtets þahtjets þankjets
3P þankjen þankjen þahten þahtjen þankjen
Example of class 2 weak verb: skamen "to shame"
Infinitive skamen
Present participle skamend
Past participle skámd
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S skame skame skámde skámdje skame
2S skames skames skámdes skámdjes skam
3S skameþ skame skámde skámdje skameþ
1P skamem skamem skámdem skámdjem skamem
2P skamets skamets skámdets skámdjets skamets
3P skamen skamen skámden skámdjen skamen

There is one irregular weak verb (along with its derivatives): bringen "to bring" (past stem: braht-).

Conjugation of bringen "to bring"
Infinitive bringen
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.

Example of preterite-present verb: witen "to know"
Infinitive witen
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:

List of preterite-present verbs
Infinitive 1S present
indicative		 Past
participle		 Meaning Notes
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".

Conjugation of wisen "to be"
Infinitive wisen
Present participle wisend
Past participle wisen
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S im sie was wesje wise
2S is sies wast wesjes wis
3S ist sie was wesje wiseþ
1P seim siem wesem wesjem wisem
2P seits siets wesets wesjets wisets
3P sein sien wesen wesjen wisen
Conjugation of gangen "to go"
Infinitive gangen
Present participle gangend
Past participle gangen
Present Past Imperative
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
1S gange gange ingje ingje gange
2S ganges ganges ingjes ingjes gang
3S gangeþ gange ingje ingje gangeþ
1P gangem gangem ingjem ingjem gangem
2P gangets gangets ingjets ingjets gangets
3P gangen gangen ingjen ingjen gangen

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.

Other resources

Swadesh list

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