Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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|| <center>[p,pʰ]<br />''[[Contionary:perðra|perðra]]''<br />‘chance’</center>  
|| <center>[p,pʰ]<br />''[[Contionary:perðra|perðra]]''<br />‘chance’</center>  
|| <center>[r]<br />''[[Contionary:rǣða|rǣða]]''<br />‘wheel’</center>  
|| <center>[r]<br />''[[Contionary:rǣða|rǣða]]''<br />‘wheel’</center>  
|| <center>[s]<br />''[[Contionary:sōgil|sōgil]]''<br />‘sun’</center>  
|| <center>[s]<br />''[[Contionary:sōgila|sōgila]]''<br />‘sun’</center>  
|| <center>[ʃ]<br />''[[Contionary:šuge|šuge]]''<br />‘color’</center>  
|| <center>[ʃ]<br />''[[Contionary:šuge|šuge]]''<br />‘color’</center>  
|| <center>[t,tʰ]<br />''[[Contionary:tījus|tījus]]''<br />‘Teu’</center>  
|| <center>[t,tʰ]<br />''[[Contionary:tījus|tījus]]''<br />‘Teu’</center>  

Revision as of 13:41, 8 April 2019


Valthungian
Grējutungiška Rasta,
Sō Grējuga Tunga
Pronunciation[/ˈgrai̯.juˌtuŋ.giʃ.kɑ ˈrɑs.tɑ,
sau̯ ˈgrai̯.ju.ɡɑ ˈtuŋ.gɑ/]
Created byBenJamin P. Johnson,

additionally creator of:

Date2010
Language codes
ISO 639-3qgt
BRCLgrey

Valthungian is an East Germanic language descended from a language that was probably mutually intelligible with Gothic, though much of its corpus cannot have been inherited from the language of Wulfila. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Valthungian did consider themselves Goths (or Gutþiudōs), and that their language was mutually intelligible with other dialects of Gothic. The Valthungian relationship to “Classical Gothic” can be thought of as analogous to the relationship between Modern High German and Old High German – that is, not a direct lineage, but the modern languages are descended from neighboring dialects spoken by people who would likewise have considered themselves to be “Gutisks,” in the case of Valthungian, or “Diotisk” in the case of German.

While Valthungian shares many of the areal changes common to North and West Germanic languages, it is also marked by distinctive changes in palatalization, which, while similar to those of Old English, are most likely influenced by contact with Romance and Slavic languages. Modern Valthungian can be traced back to Middle Valthungian (spoken from around 1200 to 1600) and Old Valthungian (800 - 1200) and ultimately to Griutungi, which would like have been thought of as a dialect of Gothic (400 - 800).

The name “Valthungian” comes from the name Walðungas meaning “Forest-dweller,” likely related to the Thervingians (idem), though the Valthungian people refer to themselves as Grējutungišk, which is probably from an earlier Griutuggs (the name of an Ostrogothic tribe living along the northern shore of the Black Sea), but which underwent some semantic reanalysis over the generations and came to mean ‘the grey-tongued ones’. In turn, they call their language Grējutungiška Rasta ‘Grey-tonguish Language’ or just Sō Grējuga Tunga ‘the Grey Tongue’.

Writing System

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Here I give the traditional Valthungian letters followed by the Romanization I use for them in the second row. The Romanization is used throughout this article.

Gutish-a.png
Gutish-ae.png
Gutish-b.png
Gutish-g.png
Gutish-gh.png
Gutish-d.png
Gutish-dh.png
Gutish-e.png
a
ǣ
b
g
ǧ
d
ð
e
[ɑ]
aska
‘ash’
[e̞ː]
ǣjus
‘horse’
[b]
berka
‘birch’
[ɡ]
giva
‘gift’
[ʤ]
ǧus
‘creature’
[d]
daǧ
‘day’
[ð]
ǣði
‘mother’
[e̞]
erða
‘earth’
Gutish-zh.png
Gutish-h.png
Gutish-th.png
Gutish-i.png
Gutish-j.png
Gutish-k.png
Gutish-l.png
Gutish-m.png
ž
h
þ
i
j
k
l
m
[ʒ]
akuže
‘axe’
[h]
hagla
‘hail’
[θ]
þornus
‘thorn’
[i]
igil
‘hedgehog’
[j]
jēr
‘year’
[k,kʰ]
kune
‘family’
[l]
lagus
‘lake’
[m]
matna
‘person’
Gutish-n.png
Gutish-o.png
Gutish-p.png
Gutish-r.png
Gutish-s.png
Gutish-sh.png
Gutish-t.png
Gutish-ch.png
n
o
p
r
s
š
t
č
[n]
nǭþs
‘need’
[o̞]
orte
‘garden’
[p,pʰ]
perðra
‘chance’
[r]
rǣða
‘wheel’
[s]
sōgila
‘sun’
[ʃ]
šuge
‘color’
[t,tʰ]
tījus
‘Teu’
[ʧ]
čusins
‘choice’
Gutish-u.png
Gutish-v.png
Gutish-f.png
Gutish-w.png
Gutish-oe.png
Gutish-y.png
Gutish-oa.png
u
v
f
w
œ
y
ǭ
[u]
uvil
‘bad’
[v]
ivra
‘boar’
[f]
fǣjo
‘cattle’
[w]
wynia
‘joy’
[ø̞]
œrča
‘farmer’
[y]
ynča
‘ounce’
[o̞ː]
ǭsus
‘ox’

Non-Alphabetic Variants

Gutish-aa.png
Gutish-ee.png
Gutish-ii.png
Gutish-oo.png
Gutish-uu.png
Gutish-oeoe.png
Gutish-yy.png
ā
ē
ī
ō
ū
œ̄
ȳ
[ɑː]
āde
‘egg’
[ai̯]
ēls
‘eel’
[iː]
īs
‘ice’
[au̯]
ōðla
‘inheritance’
[uː]
ūrus
‘aurochs’
[ø̞ː]
auge
‘island’
[yː]
ȳftigi
‘timeliness’

Though the seven long vowels of the Non-Alphabetic Variants have individual names, they are not considered to be part of the standard alphabet or alphabetical order. Instead, each long vowel is considered alphabetically to be the equivalent of its doubled short counterpart. That is, ‹ā› is equivalent to ‹aa›, ‹ē› to ‹ee›, ‹ī› to ‹ii›, and so on. (The long vowels ‹ǣ› and ‹ǭ› are included in the standard alphabetical order, and do not have short forms, though they are written with macrons in their Romanized forms.)

(NB: The Valthungian alphabet, while mainly latin- and cyrillic-based, contains several characters which are not readily representable using the standard Unicode characters. The forms presented in this wiki are a Romanization of the letters shown in the table above.)

Orthography

The orthography of Valthungian is quite regular to its phonology; indeed, there are very few exceptions:

  1. The letter ‹n› is used before ‹g› or ‹k› to indicate the velar nasal [ŋ]. Specifically, ‹ng› is [ŋg] and ‹nk› is [ŋk]. (E.g. drinkna [driŋk.na] ‘to drink’.)
  2. In combinations where ‹ng› is followed by another nasal consonant, [g] is elided in speech: ‹ngm› is [ŋm] and ‹ngn› is [ŋn]. (E.g. gangna [gaŋ.na] ‘to go’; not **[gaŋg.na].) In rapid speech this may also occur to the other nasal-stop combinations ‹mbn›, ‹mbm›, ‹ndm›, and ‹ndn›; sometimes the stop may also become glottal.
  3. The combination ‹rju› is realized as [rɛu̯] (rather than the expected [rju]). (E.g. frjusna [frɛu̯s.na] ‘to freeze’.)
  4. The diphthong ‹eu› is realized as [ɛu̯] (rather than the expected [e̞u̯]). (E.g. sneugna [snɛu̯g.na] ‘to snow’.)
  5. The diphthong ‹œu› is realized as [œy̑] (rather than the expected [ø̞u̯]).
  6. For some speakers, word-final ‹þs› may be realized as [t̪s].
  7. For some speakers, medial ‹tl› (usually derived from earlier /ll/) may be realized as [dɮ].

Stress is indicated in the standard orthography with an acute accent only if:

  1. The stress is not on the first syllable, and
  2. the stressed syllable is a short vowel. (Long vowels cannot be unstressed, though they may sometimes take secondary stress.)

For example, fergúne ‘mountain’, but garǣts ‘correct’.

Ligatures & Liaisons

When two like vowels of equal value come together, the words may form a ligature. This is most common with the articles ( + a-, + u-, etc.) and particles (e.g + i-).

  • Articles
    • Mandatory:
      • sā, hwā, twā + a-, ā- → s’ā-, hw’ā-, tw’ā-
        • sā aplass’āplas, ‘the apple’
        • twā aðnatw’āðna ‘two seasons’
      • sō, þō, hō + u-, ō- → s’ō-, þ’ō-, h’ō-
        • sō uréčas’ōréča, ‘the persuit’
        • sō ōss’ōs, ‘the ewe’
      • þǣ, twǣ + e-, ǣ- → þ’ǣ-, tw’ǣ-
        • þǣ ǣjusþ’ǣjus ‘the horses’
        • twǣ elistw’ǣlis ‘two others’
      • nī, þrī, hī + i-, ī- → n’ī-, þr’ī-, h’ī-
        • nī istn’īst, ‘isn’t’
        • hī īsranh’īsran ‘this iron’
    • Optional:
      • sō, þō + V- → sw’V-, þw’V-
        • sō akuže, sw’akuže ‘the axe’
        • þō ī, þw’ī ‘those which’

Phonology

Vowels

Short Vowels Long Vowels Diphthongs
Front Back Front Back Front Back
Closed i · y
[i · y]
u
[u]
ī · ȳ
[iː · yː]
ū
[uː]
Closed-to-
Mid e · œ
[e̞ · ø̞]
o
[o̞]
ǣ · œ̄
[e̞ː · ø̞ː]
ǭ
[o̞ː]
Mid-to- œu
[œy̑]
eu
[ɛu̯]
Open a
[ɑ]
ā
[ɑː]
Open-to- ē
[ai̯]
ō, au
[au̯]

Consonants

(Pardon the compactified consonant table. I know it doesn't quite all line up “properly,” but it does make more sense this way as regards the Valthungian language. If in doubt, rely on the transcription and not the row or column.)

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Dorsal
Plosive p · b
[p~pʰ · b]
t · d
[t̪~t̪ʰ · d̪]
č · ǧ
[ʧ · ʤ]
k · g
[k~kʰ · g]
Nasal · m
[m]
· n
[n̪]
· n1
[ŋ]
Fricative f · v
[f · v]
ð · þ
[ð · θ]
s ·
[s]
š · ž
[ʃ · ʒ]
h ·
[h]
Approximant · w
[w]
· l
[l̪]
· r
[r~ɾ]
· j
[j]

1Before ‹g› or ‹k›.

[r]-Assimilation

This is a persistent rule that does not have much effect on declensions within the language, but does have some effect on the development of certain words. This rule is described in the Rules chapter of this document in Assimilation of [ɾ]. Specifically, /r/ is deleted when immediately followed by /ž/. For example, the possessive adjective inkur ‘your’, from earlier igqar /inkwar/ has the genitive plural form inkuža from earlier igqaraizō /inkwarɛ̄zō/ rather than the otherwise expected **inkurža. Similarly, marzjan ‘to offend’ and baurza /bɔrza/ ‘perch, bass’ → mežin, boža.

Voicing Alternation

This rule is inherited from Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Valthungian. (A similar v/f alternation rule exists in English, for example in singular knife and plural knives, or the noun strife and the verb strive.) The Gothic version of this rule caused alternation between ‹f› or ‹þ›, used only at the end of a word or before an unvoiced consonant, and ‹b› or ‹d›, used elsewhere, e.g. giban, ‘to give’, gaf, ‘gave’. There are three main realizations of this rule in Valthungian:

  • v → f
  • ð → þ } at the end of a word, or before an unvoiced consonant.
  • ž → s

The implications of this rule for Valthungian are:

  • ‹f› or ‹þ› occur before ‹s› in the nominative singular of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, e.g. þlǣfs ‘loaf of bread’, but genitive þlǣvis.
  • ‹f› or ‹þ› occur when word-final in the accusative of masculine or some feminine strong nouns, and the nominative and accusative of neuter strong nouns, e.g. blōþ ‘blood’, but genitive blōðis.
  • ‹f› occurs when word-final or before ‹t› in the preterit singular and the second person imperative singular of strong verbs, e.g. gaf, gaft, ‘gave’, but infinitive givna.
  • ‹þ› also occurs when word-final in the preterit singular and imperative, but is assimilated to ‹s› before ‹t› in the second person preterit (see Coronal Consonant Assimilation below), e.g. biǧin ‘to bid’ has the first- and third-person preterit baþ but second-person bast.
  • The implications for ‹s› and ‹ž› can be a little trickier, because this split was not uniform in Gothic, and intervocalic /s/ was not later voiced (as it was in many other Germanic languages, leveling out this particular conundrum), so many words retain ‹s› throughout the paradigm. These are noted in the lexicon.

Please note that because this rule is not persistent, there are several words which later developed an intervocalic ‹f› or ‹þ› from earlier ‹h› which is not affected by this rule.

Palatalization

Palatalization is another historic rule that is no longer persistent in Valthungian, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Valthungian. There are actually several types of palatalization that occur in Valthungian, but they can all be boiled down into the following rules:

  • Masculine and feminine nouns whose roots end in ‹d› or ‹g› become palatalized before ‹s› in the nominative singular of a-, i-, and u-stems (but not feminine ō-stems). E.g. Gothic dags ‘day’, gards ‘yard’ become daǧ, garǧ. This type of palatalization only occurs when there was a /dz/ or /gz/ present in the language at some point historically (from Gothic /ds/ or /gs/).
  • A much more common form of palatalization, however, is that which occurs whenever the ending of a noun, verb, or adjective begins with ‹j›, e.g. strong masculine ja-stem nouns or adjectives or class 1 weak verbs. In these cases, the following occurs:
    • d or g + j → ǧ
    • t or k + j → č
    • s or h + j → š
    • z + j → ž (Actually, all instances of ‹z› eventually became ‹ž›, but that’s not applicable to this section.)

Palatalization of the latter type often goes hand in hand with Umlaut, below.

[b]/[v] Alternation

A less common alternation is that of ‹b› and ‹v›. This occurs in the same environment as the second type of palatalization (above), but instead of a true palatalization, instead there is a shift of ‹v› to ‹b›; or, more accurately, some paradigms without an original ‹j› are able to shift from ‹b› to ‹v› when intervocalic, but those with ‹j› are blocked from spirantizing.

For example, the adjective drœ̄vis ‘muddy’ (from Gothic drōbeis) has the dative singular form drœ̄bia (from drōbja).

Umlaut

Umlaut is another of those sound laws that no longer happens actively in the language, but it has become indicative of specific tenses or cases in the language.

  • The accusative singular of nouns with palatalization are not umlauted. All other forms of nouns with palatalization are umlauted.
  • The past subjunctive of verbs is umlauted (except for the 3rd person singular in formal speech). (First person singular is palatalized and umlauted.)
  • Most class 1 weak verbs and strong verbs ending in –jan in Gothic have umlaut in the present and imperative. These verbs all end with –in in Valthungian.

Umlaut in Valthungian initiates the following changes in the stressed vowel of a word:

  • a → e - satjan ‘to set’ → sečin
  • ā → ǣ - hlahjan ‘to laugh’ → þlǣn
  • ǭ (Got. ‹áu›) → œ̄ - hausjan ‘to hear’ → hœ̄šin
  • o (Got. ‹aú›) → œ - þaursjan ‘to thirst’ → þœršin
  • ō → œu - hwōtjan ‘to threaten’ → hwœučin
  • u → y - hugjan ‘to think’ → hyǧin
  • ū → ȳ - hrūkjan ‘to crow’ → þrȳčin

NB: The word “Umlaut” can refer to several different types of vowel change in Germanic languages – i/j-umlaut, u/w-umlaut, and a-umlaut most commonly – but only one type is present in Valthungian: Umlaut here is used to refer specifically to i/j-umlaut, also known as i-umlaut, or front umlaut.

Coronal Consonant Assimilation

This rule has a formidable name, but is actually common to all Germanic languages. This rule states that whenever a coronal consonant (namely, d, t, or þ) is directly followed by ‹t› or ‹st›, the coronal consonant becomes s. This accounts for the English word best, from earlier betst, from *batest. This applies mainly to second person preterit strong verbs, e.g. ǧutna ‘to pour’ and biǧin ‘to bid’ have a second person preterit of gǭst ‘you poured’ and bast ‘you bade’, rather than the otherwise expected **gǭtt and **baþt.

Syncope of Unstressed Non-High Middle Vowel

...um, working on it. I'll get back to you on this one...

Blocking of Metathetical Unpacking

Another formidable name, but what this means is that at various times historically, sound changes caused unstressed /a/ to disappear before sonorants (/l/, /r/, /m/, or /n/), turning them into syllabics. This happened at least once before the Gothic era, giving rise to words like bagms and aþn, and again before Valthungian, most notably collapsing the infinitive -an to -n. Later on, syllabics were “unpacked;” that is, they regained the /a/ that had been lost, but it now appeared after the sonorant instead of before it. For example, brōþar ‘brother’ became brōðra via an intermediate */brōðr̩/. However, there are a few instances where this unpacking didn’t happen because the ‹a› before the sonorant could not be deleted; if it were, the word would have been unpronounceable. This metathesis (which, in reality, is not really metathesis, but that’s what I’m calling it for now) is also blocked after any non-intervocalic voiced continuant; that is, V[v/ð]S shifts as expected (e.g. widan > wiðn̩ > wiðna), but VC[v/ð]S does not (e.g. haldan > halðan, not **halðna).

The practicality of this rule as it applies to modern Valthungian is that:

  • Dative plural a-stem nouns whose roots end in ‹–m› have the ending of ‹–am› rather than ‹–ma›, e.g. worms ‘worm’ has the dative plural of wormam rather than **wormma.
  • Masculine accusative plural strong a-stem nouns ending in ‹–n› have the ending of ‹–ans› rather than ‹–nas›, e.g. ǭns ‘oven’ has the accusative plural of ǭnans rather than **ǭnnas.
  • Infinitives of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs whose roots end with ‹lð›, ‹lv›, ‹rð›, or ‹rv› have ‹–an› instead of ‹–na›, e.g. Gothic þaurban becomes þorvan rather than the otherwise expected **þorvna.
  • The third person plural indicative of strong verbs and weak class 3 verbs end in -anþ rather than **naþ.

Assimilation of [r] and [s]

Historically, this is a sound change that occurred in the transition from Proto-Germanic to Gothic and is no longer persistent, but it has specific reflexes that affect Valthungian paradigms.

The change initially applies to "light"-syllable nouns with stems ending in ‹-s› or ‹-r› in the masculine and feminine classes that take a final ‹-z› in the nominative singular. E.g. PGmc. *weraz, *drusiz → (Mora Loss: Short Unstressed Vowel Deletion) → *werz, *drusz → (Final Obstruent Devoicing) → wers, druss → (r/s-Assimilation) → Gothic waír /wer/, drus.

Later, beginning around the time of Middle Valthungian, this change was expanded analogously to other nouns and adjectives which had "heavy" syllables, and eventually the rule emerged that nouns and adjectives ending in ‹-r› and ‹-s› do not take an (additional) ‹-s› in the nominative singular, though they otherwise follow the paradigm of their particular stem. (E.g. bērsbēr ‘boar’, stiursčur ‘steer’. One notable example of this phenomenon is the Germanic tersaz (mentula) which became tairs in Gothic, but was then reanalyzed as an exception to the original r-rule (instead of the s-rule that it actually is), and eventually it became ter in Valthungian. It remains, however, an unkind word.)

Affix Anaptyxix

When a prefix ends in the same letter as the root, /a/ is inserted to break up the resulting geminate. /a/ may also be added to avoid awkward consonant clusters. Some of the most frequent are:

  • af+f: Gothic affilhanafafílþna ‘to hide away’
  • fer+r: Gothic fairrinnanferarítnan ‘to attain’
  • un+n: Gothic unnutansunanútans ‘unused; useless’

However, the prefix us- becomes ut-: Gothic ussandjanutsenǧin ‘to send out’


Pronouns

Personal Pronouns

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
1sg ik mīn mis mik I, my, (to) me, me
2sg þū þīn þis þik thou, thy, (to) thee, thee
3sg.masc is is itma in he, his, (to) him, him
3sg.neu it it it, its, (to) it, it
3sg.fem ižas iža ī, īja she, her, (to) her, her
1du wit unkar unkis unk we two, our, (to) us, us
2du jut inkur inkus ink you/ye two, your, (to) you, you
1pl wīs unsar unsis uns we all, our, (to) us, us
2pl jūs ižur ižus ižus you/ye all, your, (to) you, you
3pl.masc īs iža im ins they, their, (to) them, them
3pl.neu ī, īja ī, īja
3pl.fem ījas ījas

Indefinite Pronouns

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
inter.masc hwas hwis hwatma hwan who, whose, to whom, whom
inter.neu hwā hwat what, &c
inter.fem hwō hwižas hwiža hwō who, &c
gen. sist is itma sist one, one’s, &c
neg. nima hun nimis hun nimin hun nimna hun noöne, noöne’s, &c
refl. - sīn sis sik himself, herself, itself, &c

Numbers

Declinable Numerals

Singular (‘one’)

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. ǣns ǣnis ǣnatma ǣnan
neu. ǣn(at) ǣn(at)
fem. ǣna ǣnažas ǣna ǣna

Dual (‘two, both’)

Numeral Distributive (short) Distributive (long)
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. twǣ twǣǧa twǣm twans bǣža bǣm bans beǧiþs beǧiðiža beǧiðum beǧiðnas
neu. twā twā beǧiða beǧiða
fem. twōs twōs beǧis beǧis beǧiðas beǧiðas

Trial (‘three, all three’)

Numeral Distributive
Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. þrīs þrīja þrim þrins þrǣ þrǣža þrǣm þrans
neu. þrī þrī þrā þrā
fem. þrīs þrins þreǧis þreǧis

Undeclinable Numerals

# 1# 2# #0 #00 #000 #000
0 (nǣns) tǣjun, tǣn twǣtiǧis -tiǧis tēhund þūsunde -ljǭn
1 (ǣns) ǣnlif twǣtiǧis ǣns tǣjun ǣn hund ǣna þūsunde miljǭn
2 (twǣ) twalif twǣtiǧi twǣ twǣtiǧis twā hunda twōs þūsunǧis biljǭn
3 (þrīs) þrītǣn twǣtiǧi þrīs þrīstiǧis þrī hunda þrīs þūsunǧis þriljǭn
4 fiður, fiðra fiðratǣn twǣtiǧi fiður fiðratiǧis fiður hunda fiður þūsunǧis friljǭn
5 fim fimtǣn twǣtiǧi fim fimtiǧis fim hunda fim þūsunǧis fimfiljǭn
6 sǣs sǣstǣn twǣtiǧi sǣs sǣstiǧis sǣs hunda sǣs þūsunǧis sǣsiljǭn
7 sivun, sivna sivnatǣn twǣtiǧi sivun sivnatiǧis sivun hunda sivun þūsunǧis sivniljǭn
8 āta ātatǣn twǣtiǧis āta ātatiǧis āta hunda āta þūsunǧis ātatiljǭn
9 njun njuntǣn twǣtiǧi njun njuntiǧis njun hunda njun þūsunǧis njuniljǭn

The numbers in Valthungian – as in most languages – have gone through more phonological change than other words, and as a result, there are some irregularities. Four numbers have two forms (some of which may be optional). There is also an innovated trial distributive (‘all three’), probably by assimilation from the dual (‘both’). The number ‘one’, usually alternating with the indefinite article in most languages, is used merely for counting purposes, as an indefinite article is not used in Valthungian.

The number ‘four’ is fiður, where we would normally expect **fidur through regular sound change (specifically, the change of /d/ to /ð/ would normally be blocked by the following /w/ in fidwōr). There is also a further lenited form of fiðra, which is optional when it stands alone, but required in compounds. (Gothic also had two versions of ‘four’: fidwōr and a compound form fidur.)

The number ‘seven’ has the expected form of sivun, but also a lenited form of sivna, again, required in compounds but otherwise optional. ‘Eight’ is āta, but may optionally be lenited to āt. (This is a newer innovation, and is not considered to be correct in writing.) Finally ‘ten’ is tǣjun or lenited tǣn, the latter being used exclusively in the “teen” numbers, the former being preferred elsewhere, though still optional.

For compounding numbers, Gothic separated each of the number’s components with the word jah (‘and’, now ), but Valthungian has dispensed with this and now uses i – believed to be a shortened form of – only before the last component. For numbers ending with –tiǧis, a further contraction has become standard, and it is shortened to –tiǧi, e.g. þrīstiǧi fim ‘thirty-five’. Hund becomes hundi and hunda is also contracted to hund’i, þūsunde to þūsund’i, and þūsunǧis to þūsunǧi. (Note the lack of apostrophe in -tiǧi, hundi, and þūsunǧi.) No -i- is added before numbers beginning with a vowel, i.e. ǣn- and āta.

Number terms higher than ‘thousand’ are ostensibly borrowed from Latin, though they contain their own Germanic innovations, e.g. þriljǭn ‘trillion’, fiðriljǭn ‘quadrillion’, fimfiljǭn ‘quintillion’, instead of the expected **triljǭn, **kwaðriljǭn, and **kwintiljǭn.

Another note concerning the higher numbers: Valthungian follows the short scale for higher numbers (whereas most European countries currently use the long scale); that is, each new number term is one thousand times larger than the previous term (whereas in the long scale, each new term is one million times larger). This is further confused by the now-standard European “hybrid” model where intermediate terms in the long scale are applied to the “thousands” with the suffix ‘-ard’. The following table is applicable to most modern standards:

N⁰ Numerals Valthungian Short Hybrid Long Metric
10³ 1,000 þūsunde thousand kilo
10⁶ 1,000,000 miljǭn million Mega
10⁹ 1,000,000,000 biljǭn billion milliard thousand million Giga
10¹² 1,000,000,000,000 þriljǭn trillion billion billion Tera
10¹⁵ 1,000,000,000,000,000 fiðriljǭn quadrillion billiard thousand billion Peta
10¹⁸ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 fimfiljǭn quintillion trillion trillion Exa
10²¹ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sǣsiljǭn sextillion trilliard thousand trillion Zetta
10²⁴ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 sivniljǭn septillion quadrillion quadrillion Yotta
10²⁷ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 ātatiljǭn octillion quadrilliard thousand quadrillion -
10³⁰ 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 njuniljǭn nonillion quintillion quintillion -

Ordinal Numbers

Ordinal numbers are usually formed by adding a dental suffix to the end of a number, though there is some suppletion for the first and second ordinals, and the third is irregular (just as is the case in English).

In Proto-Germanic and Gothic, all of the ordinals except for first and second used only the weak declension, but all ordinals now use both strong and weak declensions according to standard rules.

  Ordinal
1 frumist (frumista), frums (fruma) first
2 anðra (anðra) second
3 þrīǧis (þrīǧa) third
4 fiðraþs (fiðraða) fourth
5 fimft (fimfta) fifth
6 sǣst (sǣsta) sixth
7 sivunþs (sivunþa) seventh
8 ātuþs (ātuða) eighth
9 njunþs (njunþa) ninth
10 tǣjunþs (tǣjunþa), tǣnþs (tǣnþa) tenth
11 ǣnlift (ǣnlifta) eleventh
12 twālift (twālifta) twelfth
13 þrījatǣnþs (þrījatǣnþa) thirteenth
20 twǣtiǧist (twǣtiǧista) twentieth
100 hundaþs (hundaða) hundredth
1,000 þūsundiþs (þūsundiða) thousandth
1,000,000 miljǭnþs (miljǭnþa) millionth

Alternative Numbers

The Gothic number system, modeled after the Greek system, which used the letters of the alphabet instead of separate unique characters, continued to be used well into the middle ages (Middle Valthungian), and certain taboo numbers came to be called by their character representation rather than their numeric form. Primarily among these numbers was '13', which was written in Gothic as ·ig·. This also occurred with the numbers '113' (rig), '213' (sig), '313' (tig), '413' (wig), and '513' (fig). (This was not mirrored in the higher numbers of the hundreds, because most of those combinations would have been unpronounceable.)

The number '19' is also sometimes called by the same formulation.

Certain slang terms have also developed out of this system, in reverse, as it were. For example, a 'road' or 'highway' is sometimes referred to as a '413' (fiðrahunda þrījatǣn or fiðra-þrītǣn), written wig (the accusative singular of wiǧ ('road').

A much more recent slang term that has evolved from this system is the use of the number '843' to represent the (unpronounceable) letter combination ·omg·.

Articles & Determiners

Valthungian has two definite articles, and his, both of which are equivalent to ‘the,’ but may also be translated as ‘that’ and ‘this’, respectively. Where there is a lack of clear proximity-based dichotomy, is usually preferred.

There is no indefinite article in Valthungian.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc.sg þis þatma þan his his hitma hin
neu.sg þat þat hit hit
fem.sg þižas þiža þō hīja hižas hiža hī, hīja
masc.pl þǣ þiža þǣm þans hīs hiža him hins
neu.pl þō þō hī, hīja hī, hīja
fem.pl þōs þōs hījas hījas

Nouns

Noun classes differ by suffix vowel class and by gender. They may also differ by glides (/j/ or /w/) suffixed to the stem and/or the presence of infixive /n/. The main classes are those stems in /a/ or /ō/, in /i/, in /u/, or in /n/ (as described below: See A Note on Strong and Weak Nouns). There is also a very small class in /r/ having to do with familial relations. Some former noun classes in Gothic (such as consontant-stem and nd-stem nouns) have been regularized in Valthungian through paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated into other classes.

Every noun in Valthungian (and many of the older Germanic languages, as well as modern German and Icelandic) has eight possible forms. These are the singular and plural forms of the nominative (those nouns which comprise the subject of the sentence), genitive (those used to indicate possession or relation), dative (the indirect object), and accusative (the direct object).

Masculine and feminine strong nouns usually take an ending of –s for the nominative singular, while neuter nouns take no ending. The genitive is almost universally indicated by –is (this is equivalent to the “ ’s ” of the English possessive). The dative usually takes –a. The accusative usually does not take any ending.

In the plural, Masculine and feminine nouns usually take –as as an ending; neuter takes –a. The genitive plural also takes –a. The dative plural takes –am, but in many cases this ending undergoes a process of metathesis, rendering it –ma. Finally, the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is usually –ans, but again may metathesize to –nas; neuter accusative plurals generally take –a.

Most of the actual declensions of nouns are fairly standard – much more standardized, in fact, than Gothic – however, the various phonological rules governing the language create a great deal of variation (See Phonology). It is important to be familiar with the rules set forth in the Phonology section of this document in order to fully understand some of the otherwise unexpected variants that emerge.

A Note on Strong and Weak Nouns

In most Germanic languages, nouns, verbs, and adjectives tend to be broken into categories considered “strong” and “weak.” In nouns and adjectives, “weak” means that the words cling to their determiner endings inherited from Proto-Indo-European, which usually have an /n/ inserted between the root and the ending. For the purposes of this text, I will dispense with the traditional strong and weak categories as relates to nouns and simply relate the various categories into which nouns can be classified, based on their inherited Proto-Germanic endings (which include the /n/ infix where applicable). Since these endings can be irregular and each class must be learned by rote anyway, there is no need in the context of the Valthungian language to add this additional arbitrary distinction.

Verbs

Strong Verbs

Strong Verbs: Class I (ī – ǣ – i – i)

Class 1 Strong Verb: grǣpna ‘grī’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
grǣpna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik grǣpa grǣpik ik grǣpa grǣpik
2sg. þū grǣpis grǣpistu þū grǣpas grǣpastu
3sg.m. is grǣpiþ grǣpiðis is grǣpa grǣpis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī grǣpiþ grǣpisi sī grǣpa grǣpasi
grǣpnaþs 3sg.n. it grǣpiþ grǣpiðit it grǣpa grǣpit
1du. wit grǣpma grǣpant wit grǣpam grǣpant
1pl. wīs grǣpma grǣpmas wīs grǣpam grǣpams
2du. ǧut grǣpiþ grǣpist ǧut grǣpaþ grǣpast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs grǣpiþ grǣpiþs jūs grǣpaþ grǣpaþs
{{{5}}}pnas 3pl.m. īs grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs īs grǣpan grǣpans
3pl.f. ižas grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs ižas grǣpan grǣpans
3pl.n. iža grǣpnaþ grǣpnaþs iža grǣpan grǣpans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik grip gripik ik {{{5}}}pia {{{5}}}pik
grǣp 2sg. þū grift griftu þū {{{5}}}pis {{{5}}}pistu
grǣpaða 3sg.m. is grip gripis is {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pis
3sg.f. sī grip gripsi sī {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pisi
3sg.n. it grip gripit it {{{4}}}pe {{{4}}}pit
grǣpma 1du. wit {{{4}}}pum {{{4}}}punt wit {{{5}}}pim {{{5}}}pint
1pl. wīs {{{4}}}pum {{{4}}}pums wīs {{{5}}}pim {{{5}}}pims
grǣpiþ 2du. ǧut {{{4}}}puþ {{{4}}}pust ǧut {{{5}}}piþ {{{5}}}pist
2pl. jūs {{{4}}}puþ {{{4}}}puþs jūs {{{5}}}piþ {{{5}}}piþs
grǣpnaþa 3pl.m. īs {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns īs {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins
3pl.f. ižas {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns ižas {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins
3pl.n. iža {{{4}}}pun {{{4}}}puns iža {{{5}}}pin {{{5}}}pins

Strong Verbs: Class II (ju – ǭ – u – u)

Because of the shift of the vowel from iu to ju, when a class II verb begins with a consonant that is subject to palatalization, some unusual patterns may emerge as a result.

Those class II verbs which are descended from ProtoGermanic *-euwaną have a slightly different paradigm, as the medial /w/ undergoes Verschärfung in East Germanic to /ngw/, and the result, with the exception of the past singular, is remarkably similar to class III.

Strong Verbs: Class III (i – a – u – u)

Class III strong verbs are those verbs with /i/ (historically /e/) as the root vowel which is followed by a sonorant (r, l, m, n) and an obstruent (p, t, k, b, d, g, f, þ, s, h), or, rarely, two obstruents (e.g. /hs/, /gd/). Ablaut causes the second principle part to shift to /a/, and the third and fourth to /u/.

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 3 Strong Verb: bergna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
bergna   Present
1sg. berga berga
Present Participle 2sg. bergis bergas
bergnaþs 3sg. bergiþ berga
1pl. bergma bergam
Past Participle 2pl. bergiþ bergaþ
borgnas 3pl. bergnaþ bergan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. barg bœrǧa
berg 2sg. barft bœrgis
bergaða 3sg. barg borge
bergma 1pl. borgum bœrgim
bergiþ 2pl. borguþ bœrgiþ
bergnaþa 3pl. borgun bœrgin

Strong Verbs: Class IV (i – a – ē – u)

Class 4 Strong Verb: kwimna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kwimna   Present
1sg. kwima kwima
Present Participle 2sg. kwimis kwimas
kwimnaþs 3sg. kwimiþ kwima
1pl. kwimam kwimam
Past Participle 2pl. kwimiþ kwimaþ
kūmnas 3pl. kwimnaþ kwiman
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kwam kwēmia
kwim 2sg. kwamt kwēmis
kwimaða 3sg. kwam kwēme
kwimam 1pl. kwēmum kwēmim
kwimiþ 2pl. kwēmuþ kwēmiþ
kwimnaþa 3pl. kwēmun kwēmin

In verbs where /r/ is the sonorant in question, the paradigm shifts to /e/ in the first principle part and /o/ in the third (due to the East Germanic Reflex of First Umlaut).

Class 4 Strong Verb: berna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
berna   Present
1sg. bera bera
Present Participle 2sg. beris beras
bernaþs 3sg. beriþ bera
1pl. berma beram
Past Participle 2pl. beriþ beraþ
bornas 3pl. bernaþ beran
  Past
Imperative 1sg. bar bēria
ber 2sg. bart bēris
beraða 3sg. bar bēre
berma 1pl. bērum bērim
beriþ 2pl. bēruþ bēriþ
bernaþa 3pl. bērun bērin

Strong Verbs: Class V (i – a – ē – i)

Class 5 Strong Verb: kwiðna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kwiðna   Present
1sg. kwiða kwiða
Present Participle 2sg. kwiðis kwiðas
kwiðnaþs 3sg. kwiðiþ kwiða
1pl. kwiðma kwiðam
Past Participle 2pl. kwiðiþ kwiðaþ
kwiðnas 3pl. kwiðnaþ kwiðan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kwaþ kwēþia
kwiþ 2sg. kwast kwēðis
kwiðaða 3sg. kwaþ kwēðe
kwiðam 1pl. kwēðum kwēðim
kwiðiþ 2pl. kwēðuþ kwēðiþ
kwiðnaþa 3pl. kwēðun kwēðin

Strong Verbs: Class VI (a – ō – ō – a)

Class 6 Strong Verb: dragna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dragna   Present
1sg. draga draga
Present Participle 2sg. dragis dragas
dragnaþs 3sg. dragiþ draga
1pl. dragma dragam
Past Participle 2pl. dragiþ dragaþ
dragnas 3pl. dragnaþ dragan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. drōg drœuǧa
drag 2sg. drōft drœugis
dragaða 3sg. drōg drœuge
dragma 1pl. drōgum drœugim
dragiþ 2pl. drōguþ drœugiþ
dragnaþa 3pl. drōgun drœugin

Strong Verbs: Class VII (reduplication)

Class 7 Strong Verb: hǣtna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
hǣtna   Present
1sg. hǣta hǣta
Present Participle 2sg. hǣtis hǣtas
hǣtnaþs 3sg. hǣtiþ hǣta
1pl. hǣtma hǣtam
Past Participle 2pl. hǣtiþ hǣtaþ
hǣtnas 3pl. hǣtnaþ hǣtan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. hehǣt hehǣča
hǣt 2sg. hehǣst hehǣtis
hǣtaða 3sg. hehǣt hehǣte
hǣtma 1pl. hehǣtum hehǣtim
hǣtiþ 2pl. hehǣtuþ hehǣtiþ
hǣtnaþa 3pl. hehǣtun hehǣtin
Class 7 Strong Verb: lētna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lētna   Present
1sg. lēta lēta
Present Participle 2sg. lētis lētas
lētnaþs 3sg. lētiþ lēta
1pl. lētma lētam
Past Participle 2pl. lētiþ lētaþ
lētnas 3pl. lētnaþ lētan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lelōt lelœuča
lēt 2sg. lelōst lelœutis
lētaða 3sg. lelōt lelōte
lētma 1pl. lelōtum lelœutim
lētiþ 2pl. lelōtuþ lelœutiþ
lētnaþa 3pl. lelōtun lelœutin

Weak Verbs

Weak Verbs: Class Ia (-janą)

Class 1 Weak Verb: leǧin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
leǧin   Present
1sg. leǧa leǧa
Present Participle 2sg. leǧis leǧis
leǧinþs 3sg. leǧiþ leǧa
1pl. leǧim leǧim
Past Participle 2pl. leǧiþ leǧiþ
lagiþs 3pl. leǧinþ leǧin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lagiða lagiǧa
legi 2sg. lagiðas lagiðis
leǧiða 3sg. lagiða lagiðe
lagim 1pl. lagiðum lagiðim
lagiþ 2pl. lagiðuþ lagiðiþ
laginþa 3pl. lagiðun lagiðin

Weak Verbs: Class Ib (-ijaną)

Class 1 Weak Verb: blenčin
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
blenčin   Present
1sg. blenča blenča
Present Participle 2sg. blenkis blenčis
blenčinþs 3sg. blenkiþ blenča
1pl. blenčim blenčim
Past Participle 2pl. blenkiþ blenčiþ
blankiþs 3pl. blenčinþ blenčin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. blankiða blankiǧa
blenki 2sg. blankiðas blankiðis
blenčiða 3sg. blankiða blankiðe
blenčim 1pl. blankiðum blankiðim
blenčiþ 2pl. blankiðuþ blankiðiþ
blenčinþa 3pl. blankiðun blankiðin

Weak Verbs: Class II (-ōną)

Class 2 Weak Verb: fiškan
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
fiškan   Present
1sg. fiška fiška
Present Participle 2sg. fiškas fiškas
fiškanþs 3sg. fiškaþ fiška
1pl. fiškam fiškam
Past Participle 2pl. fiškaþ fiškaþ
fiškaþs 3pl. fiškanþ fiškan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. fiškaða fiškaǧa
fiška 2sg. fiškaðas fiškaðis
fiškaða 3sg. fiškaða fiškaðe
fiškam 1pl. fiškaðum fiškaðim
fiškaþ 2pl. fiškaðuþ fiškaðiþ
fiškanþa 3pl. fiškaðun fiškaðin

Weak Verbs: Class III (-āną)

Class 3 Weak Verb: ǧukna
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǧukna   Present
1sg. ǧuka ǧuka
Present Participle 2sg. ǧukas ǧukas
ǧuknaþs 3sg. ǧukaþ ǧuka
1pl. ǧukma ǧukam
Past Participle 2pl. ǧukaþ ǧukaþ
ǧukaþs 3pl. ǧuknaþ ǧukan
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǧukaða ǧukaǧa
ǧuka 2sg. ǧukaðas ǧukaðis
ǧukaða 3sg. ǧukaða ǧukaðe
ǧukma 1pl. ǧukaðum ǧukaðim
ǧukaþ 2pl. ǧukaðuþ ǧukaðiþ
ǧuknaþa 3pl. ǧukaðun ǧukaðin

Weak Verbs: Class IV (-naną)

Weak Verbs: Class V (-ną)

Preterit-Present Verbs

Preterit-Present Verb: ǣgna ‘to have’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ǣgna   Present
1sg. ǣþ ǣǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ǣft ǣgis
ǣgnaþs 3sg. ǣþ ǣge
1pl. ǣgum ǣgim
Past Participle 2pl. ǣguþ ǣgiþ
ǣft 3pl. ǣgun ǣgin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ǣfta ǣfča
ǣg 2sg. ǣftas ǣftis
ǣgaða 3sg. ǣfta ǣfte
ǣgum 1pl. ǣftum ǣftim
ǣguþ 2pl. ǣftuþ ǣftiþ
ǣgnaþa 3pl. ǣftun ǣftin
Preterit-Present Verb: dorsna ‘to dare’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dorsna   Present
1sg. dars dœrša
Present Participle 2sg. darst dœrsis
dorsnaþs 3sg. dars dorse
1pl. dorsum dœrsim
Past Participle 2pl. dorsuþ dœrsiþ
dorst 3pl. dorsun dœrsin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dorsta dœrsča
dors 2sg. dorstas dœrstis
dorsaða 3sg. dorsta dorste
dorsum 1pl. dorstum dœrstim
dorsuþ 2pl. dorstuþ dœrstiþ
dorsanþa 3pl. dorstun dœrstin
Preterit-Present Verb: dugna ‘to be beneficial’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
dugna   Present
1sg. dǭg dyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. dǭft dygis
dugnaþs 3sg. dǭg duge
1pl. dugum dygim
Past Participle 2pl. duguþ dygiþ
dǭts 3pl. dugun dygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. dǭta dœ̄ča
dǭg 2sg. dǭtas dœ̄tis
dǭgaða 3sg. dǭta dǭte
dugum 1pl. dǭtum dœ̄tim
duguþ 2pl. dǭtuþ dœ̄tiþ
dugunþa 3pl. dǭtun dœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: kutnan ‘to know how, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
kutnan   Present
1sg. kan kynia
Present Participle 2sg. kant kytnis
kutnaþs 3sg. kan kutne
1pl. kutnum kytnim
Past Participle 2pl. kutnuþ kytniþ
kunþs 3pl. kutnun kytnin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. kunþa kynþia
kan 2sg. kunþas kynþis
kanaða 3sg. kunþa kunþe
kutnum 1pl. kunþum kynþim
kutnuþ 2pl. kunþuþ kynþiþ
kutnunþa 3pl. kunþun kynþin
Preterit-Present Verb: lisna ‘to learn’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
lisna   Present
1sg. lǣs liša
Present Participle 2sg. lǣst lisis
lisnaþs 3sg. lǣs lise
1pl. lisum lisim
Past Participle 2pl. lisuþ lisiþ
list 3pl. lisun lisin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. lista lisča
lǣs 2sg. listas listis
lǣsaða 3sg. lista liste
lisum 1pl. listum listim
lisuþ 2pl. listuþ listiþ
lisunþa 3pl. listun listin
Preterit-Present Verb: magna ‘to be capable, can’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
magna   Present
1sg. mag meǧa
Present Participle 2sg. māt megis
magnaþs 3sg. mag mage
1pl. magum megim
Past Participle 2pl. maguþ megiþ
māts 3pl. magun megin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. māta mǣča
mag 2sg. mātas mǣtis
magaða 3sg. māta māte
magum 1pl. mātum mǣtim
maguþ 2pl. mātuþ mǣtiþ
magunþa 3pl. mātun mǣtin
Preterit-Present Verb: mōtna ‘to be allowed’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
mōtna   Present
1sg. mōt mœuča
Present Participle 2sg. mōst mœutis
mōtnaþs 3sg. mōt mōte
1pl. mōtum mœutim
Past Participle 2pl. mōtuþ mœutiþ
mōst 3pl. mōtun mœutin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. mōsta mœusča
mōt 2sg. mōstas mœustis
mōtaða 3sg. mōsta mōste
mōtum 1pl. mōstum mœustim
mōtuþ 2pl. mōstuþ mœustiþ
mōtunþa 3pl. mōstun mœustin
Preterit-Present Verb: munan ‘to remember’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
munan   Present
1sg. man mynia
Present Participle 2sg. mant mynis
munanþs 3sg. man mune
1pl. munum mynim
Past Participle 2pl. munuþ myniþ
munǧ 3pl. munun mynin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. munda mynǧa
man 2sg. mundas myndi
manaða 3sg. munda munde
munum 1pl. mundum myndim
munuþ 2pl. munduþ myndiþ
mununþa 3pl. mundun myndin
Preterit-Present Verb: nugna ‘to suffice’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
nugna   Present
1sg. nyǧa
Present Participle 2sg. nāt nygis
nugnaþs 3sg. nuge
1pl. nugum nygim
Past Participle 2pl. nuguþ nygiþ
nǭts 3pl. nugun nygin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. nǭta nœ̄ča
2sg. nǭtas nœ̄tis
naguða 3sg. nǭta nōte
nugum 1pl. nǭtum nœ̄tim
nuguþ 2pl. nǭtuþ nœ̄tiþ
nugunþa 3pl. nǭtun nœ̄tin
Preterit-Present Verb: ōgna ‘to fear’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
ōgna   Present
1sg. ōg œuǧa
Present Participle 2sg. ōft œugis
ōgnaþs 3sg. ōg ōge
1pl. ōgum œugim
Past Participle 2pl. ōguþ œugiþ
ōft 3pl. ōgun œugin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. ōfta œufča
ōg 2sg. ōftas œufti
ōgaða 3sg. ōfta ōfte
ōgum 1pl. ōftum œuftim
ōguþ 2pl. ōftuþ œuftiþ
ōgunþa 3pl. ōftun œuftin
Preterit-Present Verb: skulna ‘should’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
skulna   Present
1sg. skal skylia
Present Participle 2sg. skalt skylis
skulnaþs 3sg. skal skule
1pl. skulum skylim
Past Participle 2pl. skuluþ skyliþ
skulǧ 3pl. skulun skylin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. skulða skylǧa
skal 2sg. skulðas skylðis
skalaða 3sg. skulða skulðe
skulum 1pl. skulðum skylðim
skuluþ 2pl. skulðuþ skylðiþ
skulunþa 3pl. skulðun skylðin
Preterit-Present Verb: vitna ‘to know’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vitna   Present
1sg. vǣt viča
Present Participle 2sg. vǣst vitis
vitnaþs 3sg. vǣt vite
1pl. vitum vitim
Past Participle 2pl. vituþ vitiþ
vist 3pl. vitun vitin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vista visča
vǣt 2sg. vistas vistis
vǣtaða 3sg. vista viste
vitum 1pl. vistum vistim
vituþ 2pl. vistuþ vistiþ
vitunþa 3pl. vistun vistin
Preterit-Present Verb: þorvan ‘to need’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
þorvan   Present
1sg. þarf þœrfia
Present Participle 2sg. þarft þœrvis
þorvanþs 3sg. þarf þorve
1pl. þorvum þœrvim
Past Participle 2pl. þorvuþ þœrviþ
þorft 3pl. þorvun þœrvin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. þorfta þœrfča
þarf 2sg. þorftas þœrftis
þarvaða 3sg. þorfta þorfte
þorvum 1pl. þorftum þœrftim
þorvuþ 2pl. þorftuþ þœrftiþ
þorvunþa 3pl. þorftun þœrftin

Finally, wilin is not actually a preterit-present verb, but a subjunctive-present verb. However, it seems to fit best here amongst its other quasi-anomalous quasi-auxiliary brethren.

Preterit-Present Verb: vilin ‘to want’
Infinitive   Indicative Subjunctive
vilin   Present
1sg. vilia vilia
Present Participle 2sg. vilis vilis
vilinþs 3sg. viliþ vile
1pl. vilim vilim
Past Participle 2pl. viliþ viliþ
viliþs 3pl. vilinþ vilin
  Past
Imperative 1sg. vilða vilǧa
vili 2sg. vilðas vilðis
viliða 3sg. vilða vilðe
vilim 1pl. vilðum vilðim
viliþ 2pl. vilðuþ vilðiþ
vilinþa 3pl. vilðun vilðin

Anomalous Verbs

Dōn is sometimes categorized as a Class VII strong verb, though it does not follow the same reduplication or ablaut patterns of other verbs in this class. Some Germanic philologists also argue that the ancestor of Proto-Germanic dōną actually gave rise to the /d/-reduplication in the past tense of weak and preterit-present verbs.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): dōn ‘to do’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
dōn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik dōm dōmik ik dōga dōgik
2sg. þū dōst dōstu þū dōgas dōgastu
3sg.m. is dōþ dōðis is dōga dōgis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī dōþ dōsi sī dōga dōgasi
dōnþs 3sg.n. it dōþ dōðit it dōga dōgit
1du. wit dōm dōnt wit dōgam dōgant
1pl. wīs dōm dōms wīs dōgam dōgams
2du. ǧut dōþ dōst ǧut dōgaþ dōgast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs dōþ dōþs jūs dōgaþ dōgaþs
dōns 3pl.m. īs dōnþ dōnþs īs dōgan dōgans
3pl.f. ižas dōnþ dōnþs ižas dōgan dōgans
3pl.n. iža dōnþ dōnþs iža dōgan dōgans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik diða diðik ik dēða dēðik
dō, dē 2sg. þū diðas diðastu, distu þū dēðis dēðistu
dōða 3sg.m. is diða diðis is dēðe dēðis
3sg.f. sī diða diðasi sī dēðe dēðisi
3sg.n. it diða diðit it dēðe dēðit
dōm 1du. wit dēðum dēðunt wit dēðim dēðint
1pl. wīs dēðum dēðums wīs dēðim dēðims
dōþ 2du. ǧut dēðuþ dēðust ǧut dēðiþ dēðist
2pl. jūs dēðuþ dēðuþs jūs dēðiþ dēðiþs
dōnþa 3pl.m. īs dēðun dēðuns īs dēðin dēðins
3pl.f. ižas dēðun dēðuns ižas dēðin dēðins
3pl.n. iža dēðun dēðuns iža dēðin dēðins

The present indicative tense of gǣn/gangna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. The past tenses show suppletion, and have been replaced by īǧ- from Proto-Germanic *ijj-, the same source as Old English ēode, and ultimately related to the Latin verb ire.

Class 7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): gangna, gǣn ‘to go’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
gangna, gǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik ganga, ik gēm gangik, gǣmik ik ganga gangik
2sg. þū gangis, þū gǣs gangistu, gǣstu þū gangas gangastu
3sg.m. is gangiþ, is gǣþ gangiðis, gǣðis is ganga gangis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī gangiþ, sī gǣþ gangisi, gǣsi sī ganga gangasi
gangnaþs, gǣnþs 3sg.n. it gangiþ, it gǣþ gangiðit, gǣðit it ganga gangit
1du. wit gangma, wit gǣm gangant, gǣnt wit gangam gangant
1pl. wīs gangma, wīs gǣm gangmas, gǣms wīs gangam gangams
2du. ǧut gangiþ, ǧut gǣþ gangist, gǣst ǧut gangaþ gangast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs gangiþ, jūs gǣþ gangiþs, gǣþs jūs gangaþ gangaþs
gangnas, gǣns 3pl.m. īs gangnaþ gangnaþs īs gangan gangans
3pl.f. ižas gangnaþ gangnaþs ižas gangan gangans
3pl.n. iža gangnaþ gangnaþs iža gangan gangans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik īǧa īǧik ik īǧa īǧik
gang, gǣ 2sg. þū īǧis īǧistu þū īǧis īǧistu
gangaða, gǣða 3sg.m. is īǧa īǧis is īǧe īǧis
3sg.f. s·īǧa īǧisi s·īǧe īǧisi
3sg.n. it īǧa īǧit it īǧe īǧit
gangma, gǣm 1du. wit īǧim īǧint wit īǧim īǧint
1pl. wīs īǧim īǧims wīs īǧim īǧims
gangiþ, gǣþ 2du. ǧut īǧiþ īǧist ǧut īǧiþ īǧist
2pl. jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs jūs īǧiþ īǧiþs
gangnaþa, gǣnþa 3pl.m. īs īǧin īǧins īs īǧin īǧins
3pl.f. ižas īǧin īǧins ižas īǧin īǧins
3pl.n. iža īǧin īǧins iža īǧin īǧins

The present indicative tense of stǣn/standna has two forms – a short and a long form – as did the non-finite forms (the infinitive and the participles) as well as most of the imperatives. Though it acts like a Class VI verb in how it ablauts in the past, there is also a parallel form with reduplication, indicating Class VII.


Class 6/7 Strong Verb (Anomalous): standna, stǣn ‘to stand’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
standna, stǣn   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik standa, ik stǣm standik, stǣmik ik standa standik
2sg. þū standis, þū stǣs standistu, stǣstu þū standas standastu
3sg.m. is standiþ, is stǣþ standiðis, stǣðis is standa standis
Present Participle 3sg.f. sī standiþ, sī stǣþ standisi, stǣsi sī standa standasi
standnaþs, stǣnþs 3sg.n. it standiþ, it stǣþ standiðit, stǣðit it standa standit
1du. wit standma, wit stǣm standant, stǣnt wit standam standant
1pl. wīs standma, wīs stǣm standmas, stǣms wīs standam standams
2du. ǧut standiþ, ǧut stǣþ standist, stǣst ǧut standaþ standast
Past Participle 2pl. jūs standiþ, jūs stǣþ standiþs, stǣþs jūs standaþ standaþs
standnas, stǣns 3pl.m. īs standnaþ standnaþs īs standan standans
3pl.f. ižas standnaþ standnaþs ižas standan standans
3pl.n. iža standnaþ standnaþs iža standan standans
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðik ik stœuða stœuðik
stand, stǣ 2sg. þū (ste)stōst (ste)stōstu þū stœuðis stœuðistu
standaða, stǣða 3sg.m. is (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðis is stōðe stōðis
3sg.f. sī (ste)stōþ (ste)stōsi sī stōðe stōðisi
3sg.n. it (ste)stōþ (ste)stōðit it stōðe stōðit
standma, stǣm 1du. wit (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðunt wit stœuðim stœuðint
1pl. wīs (ste)stōðum (ste)stōðums wīs stœuðim stœuðims
standiþ, stǣþ 2du. ǧut (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðust ǧut stœuðiþ stœuðist
2pl. jūs (ste)stōðuþ (ste)stōðuþs jūs stœuðiþ stœuðiþs
standnaþa, stǣnþa 3pl.m. īs (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns īs stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.f. ižas (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns ižas stœuðin stœuðins
3pl.n. iža (ste)stōðun (ste)stōðuns iža stœuðin stœuðins

Wisna is easily the most heavily suppleted of the Germanic verbs. Aside from the obvious wis- stem, which is completely missing from the present tenses, the present shows two other stems, i- and . The imperative also has an anomalous ī as an alternative for the second person singular, though it is unrelated to the i- stem of the present, and may actually come from Latin ī, imperative form of ire (‘to go’).

Class 5 Strong Verb (Anomalous): wisna ‘to be’
Infinitive   Standard Inverse Standard Inverse
wisna   Present Indicative Present Subjunctive
1sg. ik im imik ik siža sižik
2sg. þū is istu þū sižis sižistu
3sg.m. is ist istis is siža sižis
Present Participle 3sg.f. s·īst isi sī siža sižisi
wisnaþs 3sg.n. it ist istit it siža sižit
1du. wit sižum, wit sīm sižunt, sīnt wit sižim sižint
1pl. wīs sižum, wīs sīm sižums, sīms wīs sižim sižims
2du. ǧut sižuþ, ǧut sīþ sižust, sīst ǧut sižiþ sižist
Past Participle 2pl. jūs sižuþ, jūs sīþ sižuþs, sīþs jūs sižiþ sižiþs
wisnas 3pl.m. īs sinþ sinþs īs sižin sižins
3pl.f. ižas sinþ sinþs ižas sižin sižins
3pl.n. iža sinþ sinþs iža sižin sižins
  Past Indicative Past Subjunctive
Imperative 1sg. ik was wažik, wežik ik wēša wēšik
wis, ī, sī 2sg. þū wast wastu þū wēsis wēsisu
wisaða, imda 3sg.m. is was wažis, wežis is wēse wēsis
3sg.f. sī was wasi, wesi sī wēse wēsisi
3sg.n. it was wažit, wežit it wēse wēsit
sižum, sīm 1du. wit wēsum wēsunt wit wēsim wēsint
1pl. wīs wēsum wēsums wīs wēsim wēsims
sižuþ, sīþ 2du. ǧut wēsuþ wēsust ǧut wēsiþ wēsist
2pl. jūs wēsuþ wēsuþs jūs wēsiþ wēsiþs
sinþa 3pl.m. īs wēsun wēsuns īs wēsin wēsins
3pl.f. ižas wēsun wēsuns ižas wēsin wēsins
3pl.n. iža wēsun wēsuns iža wēsin wēsins

Compound Tenses

Forming the Perfect

In Gothic, there was no explicit perfect or perfective aspect in verbs. In order to express the perfect, sometimes the prefix ga- was added to verbs. Latin had a dedicated perfect inflection in verbs.

In later Germanic and Romance languages, the perfect was formed by combining an auxiliary verb (usually ‘have’ or ‘be’) with a participle. In languages which make the distinction (such as French, German, and Italian), ‘have’ is used with most transitive verbs, while ‘be’ is reserved for intransitive verbs dealing with change of state or motion. Valthungian maintains a similar transitive/intransitive distinction as the aforementioned languages, but the distinction is much broader (purely transitive/intransitive, rather than the various rules, exceptions, and sub-rules that govern “être/sein/essere” verbs), and the difference in the realization of the two types is much more extreme.

Intransitive verbs are formed in the Romance style by creating a compound of the verb wisna and the past participle. (The participle is an adjective, and must be declined to agree with the subject.)

  • īst lēkare worðna.
    • ‘She has become a doctor.’
  • Is was hǣma gangnas.
    • ‘He had gone home.’

Transitive verbs are formed in the Gothic manner, though the ga- prefix from Gothic has since been grammaticalized and stands on its own as an adverb which is usually placed clause-finally.

  • S·ītmit gaf gā.
    • ‘She had given it to him.’
  • Ik þik sǣja gā.
    • ‘I have seen you.’

Forming the Future

The future is formed by using the auxiliary genǧin ‘to go’ followed by an infinitive (not unlike future compound constructions with go in multiple European languages).

  • Ik genǧa þō hord lūkna.
    • ‘I will lock the door.’
  • Ik nī gangiða nījo þō livran af hǣða hun ligna.
    • ‘I was never going to read that book anyway.’

Forming the Passive

Gothic transitive verbs had a passive form, but this has disappeared from Valthungian. Instead, the passive may be formed using a variety of auxiliary verbs determined by the volition of the agent and the subject (patient). By their very nature, passives need not specify an agent, but an agent can be indicated using the genitive (as we would use ‘by’ in English).

  Patient:
Deliberate
Patient:
Unintentional / Inanimate
Agent:
Deliberate
gečin ‘to cause to get’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
gitna ‘to get’
þiǧin ‘to receive’
Agent:
Unintentional / Inanimate
þiǧin ‘to receive’
lenǧin ‘to cause to succeed’
 
skīčin ‘to cause to happen’
skeǧin ‘to cause to happen’
werðan ‘to become’

Agent/Patient Deliberate: This tends to refer to things that happen as a result of mutual agreement

  • Ik gatiða forðat work fergilðiþs.
    • ‘I was paid for the work.’
  • Þǣ ankýmbiðas langiðun þis borðaþjugis ganōguða.
    • ‘The diners were served by the waiter.’

Agent Deliberate / Patient Unintentional: These auxiliaries are used mainly when the agent is a person and the patient is either an object or a person who is unaware of the agent’s intention or an unwilling participant in the action.

  • Ik gat þis weris slaguns.
    • ‘I was hit by the man.’
  • Sā wagnas þagiða þiža mœuǧis fariþs.
    • ‘The car was driven by the girl.’

Agent Unintentional / Patient Deliberate: This usually refers to agents (usually inanimate) that are being used by a patient for a specific purpose.

  • Ik þagiða þižas fœ̄ðinis nutriškiþs.
    • ‘I was nourished by the food.’
  • Þū langiðas (þiža intǣkninis) toðíža miðéndina tuguns.
    • ‘You were led to that conclusion (by the evidence).’

Agent/Patient Unintentional or Inanimate: This final group is possibly the most common, and refers to inanimate agent and patient, or when the agent or patient is an unwilling participant in the action. It may refer especially to natural phenomena, e.g. ‘blown down by wind’ or ‘rained on’.

  • Ik skīkiða þis þljuðis angǣsiþs.
    • ‘I was startled by the noise.’
  • Þǣ lǭvas skagiðun þižas rynins afbórna.
    • ‘The leaves were carried away by the stream.’

Adjectives