Valthungian: Difference between revisions

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|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cza ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:red">s_</span>''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>is''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>a''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:red">s</span>''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>as''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>a''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span><span style="color:red">am</span> ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span><span style="color:red">ans</span>''' || ‘''shoulder''’
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cza ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:red">s_</span>''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>is''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>a''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:red">s</span>''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>as''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span>a''' ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span><span style="color:red">am</span> ||align="center"| am'''<span style="color:blue">ž</span><span style="color:red">ans</span>''' || ‘''shoulder''’
|-
|-
|colspan=8| (description) ||
|colspan=8| ''z/s alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl.'' ||
|-
|-
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cba ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:red">bs</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>is''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:red">b</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>as''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''planet''’
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cba ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:red">bs</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>is''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:red">b</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>as''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| hwer'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''planet''’
|-
|-
|colspan=8| (description) ||
|colspan=8| ''b/v alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl. b doesn't change to f b/c of approximant.'' ||
|-
|-
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cfa ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:red">fs</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>is''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:red">f</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>as''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''wolf''’
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cfa ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:red">fs</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>is''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:red">f</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>as''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span>a''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| wul'''<span style="color:blue">v</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''wolf''’
|-
|-
|colspan=8| (description) ||
|colspan=8| ''f/v alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl.'' ||
|-
|-
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cda ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:red">ǧ</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>is''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>a''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:red">d</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>as''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>a''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''beard''’
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.Cda ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:red">ǧ</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>is''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>a''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:red">d</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>as''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span>a''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span><span style="color:red">am</span>''' ||align="center"| bar'''<span style="color:blue">ð</span><span style="color:red">an</span>s''' || ‘''beard''’
|-
|-
|colspan=8| (description) ||
|colspan=8| ''palatalization of d in the nominative. no metathesis in dat/acc pl. d doesn't change to þ in acc sg because of approx.'' ||
|-
|-
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.ga ||align="center"| da'''<span style="color:red">ǧ</span>'''  ||align="center"| dag'''is''' ||align="center"| dag'''a''' ||align="center"| dag ||align="center"| dag'''as''' ||align="center"| dag'''a''' ||align="center"| dag'''ma''' ||align="center"| dag'''nas''' || ‘''day''’
|align="right" rowspan=2 valign="top"| '''n.st.m.a.ga ||align="center"| da'''<span style="color:red">ǧ</span>'''  ||align="center"| dag'''is''' ||align="center"| dag'''a''' ||align="center"| dag ||align="center"| dag'''as''' ||align="center"| dag'''a''' ||align="center"| dag'''ma''' ||align="center"| dag'''nas''' || ‘''day''’

Revision as of 02:14, 13 November 2016


Gutish 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 Wulfilas. It is likely, however, that the speakers of the ancestor of Gutish did consider themselves Goths, as reflected in its name. (It is likely similar in development to Modern High German – Deutsch – which is not directly descended from Old High German, but rather a similar dialect spoken by a group who also considered themselves “Diutisk.”) While it shares many of the areal changes of the Northwest 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 Slavic languages.

Writing System

Alphabet & Pronunciation

Gutish-a.png
Gutish-ae.png
Gutish-b.png
Gutish-g.png
Gutish-gh.png
Gutish-d.png
Gutish-dh.png
Gutish-e.png
[ɑ]
aska
‘ash’
[e̞ː]
ǣjus
‘horse’
[b]
berkna
‘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
[ʐ]
akuža
‘axe’
[h]
haglas
‘hail’
[θ]
þornus
‘thorn’
[i]
igil
‘hedgehog’
[j]
jēr
‘year’
[k]
kune
‘family’
[l]
lagus
‘lake’
[m]
matna
‘man’
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]
nǭþs
‘need’
[o̞]
orte
‘garden’
[p]
perðra
‘chance’
[r]
rǣða
‘wheel’
[s]
sōgil
‘sun’
[ʃ]
šug
‘family’
[t]
tījus
‘Teu’
[ʧ]
čusins
‘chioce’
Gutish-u.png
Gutish-v.png
Gutish-f.png
Gutish-w.png
Gutish-oe.png
Gutish-y.png
Gutish-oa.png
[u]
uvils
‘bad’
[v]
ivras
‘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
[ɑː]
āde
‘egg’
[iː]
ēls
‘eel’
[ai̯]
īs
‘ice’
[uː]
ōðlas
‘inheritance’
[au̯]
ūrus
‘aurochs’
[ø̞ː]
œ̄ja
‘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. This becomes complicated by the fact that all long vowels except for ‹ā› are raised, though it’s not actually any different than what happens to the letter names in English. (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 Gutish 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 Gutish is quite regular to its phonology; indeed, there are very few exceptions – four, in fact:

  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].)
  3. The diphthong ‹eu› is realized as [ɛu̯] (rather than the expected [e̞u̯]). (E.g. sneugna [snɛu̯g.na] ‘to snow’.)
  4. The diphthong ‹øu› is realized as [œy̑] (rather than the expected [ø̞u̯]).

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’

Alternative Writing Systems

Cursive

Coming soon...

Romanization

Gutish-a.png
a
[ɑ]
Gutish-aa.png
ā
[ɑː]
Gutish-a-acute.png
á
['a]
Gutish-ae.png
ǣ
[eː]
Gutish-b.png
b
[b]
Gutish-ch.png
č
[ʧ]
Gutish-d.png
d
[d]
Gutish-dh.png
ð
[ð]
Gutish-e.png
e
[e̞]
Gutish-ee.png
ē
[iː]
Gutish-e-acute.png
é
['e̞]
Gutish-f.png
f
[f]
Gutish-g.png
g
[ɡ]
Gutish-gh.png
ǧ
[ʤ]
Gutish-h.png
h
[h]
Gutish-i.png
i
[i]
Gutish-ii.png
ī
[ai̯]
Gutish-i-acute.png
í
['i]
Gutish-j.png
j
[j]
Gutish-k.png
k
[k]
Gutish-l.png
l
[l]
Gutish-m.png
m
[m]
Gutish-n.png
n
[n]
Gutish-o.png
o
[o̞]
Gutish-oo.png
ō
[uː]
Gutish-o-acute.png
ó
['o̞]
Gutish-oa.png
ǭ
[o̞ː]
Gutish-oe.png
œ
[ø̞]
Gutish-oeoe.png
œ̄
[ø̞ː]
Gutish-oe-acute.png
œ́
['ø̞]
Gutish-p.png
p
[p]
Gutish-r.png
r
[ɾ]
Gutish-s.png
s
[s]
Gutish-sh.png
š
[ʃ]
Gutish-t.png
t
[t]
Gutish-u.png
u
[u]
Gutish-uu.png
ū
[au̯]
Gutish-u-acute.png
ú
['u]
Gutish-v.png
v
[v]
Gutish-w.png
w
[w]
Gutish-y.png
y
[y]
Gutish-yy.png
ȳ
[yː]
Gutish-y-acute.png
ý
['y]
Gutish-zh.png
ž
[ʐ]
Gutish-th.png
þ
[θ]

Transcriptional Alphabet for Intermediate Language Changes

Phonetic transliteration is not used regularly in Gutish, but is used frequently when discussing issues of historical linguistic significance to the language. This is a merger of the Latin Transliteration (above) and phonetic notation (IPA), aimed to be more precise than transliteration but less cumbersome than IPA. Characters with standard values continue to be written with the Latin transliteration (above), but others may have slightly different values. For the purposes of historical comparison, a standardized character set is used for Proto-Germanic, Gothic, and Gutish. All three alphabets are used throughout this work; those using this phonetic transcription are enclosed in slashes (/); Latin transliteration is generally italicized.

Gothic
Gothic Translit-eration
IPA
Transcription
Gutish Translit-eration
Gutish
Gothic-a.png
a
ɑ
a
a
Gutish-a.png
ā
ɑː
ā
ā
Gutish-aa.png
Gothic-a.pngGothic-j.png
aj
ɑi̯
ai
ī
Gutish-ii.png
Gothic-a.pngGothic-w.png
aw
ɑu̯
au
ū
Gutish-uu.png
Gothic-b.png
b
b
b
b
Gutish-b.png
β
β
ʧ
č
č
Gutish-ch.png
Gothic-d.png
d
d
d
d
Gutish-d.png
ð
ð
ð
Gutish-dh.png
Gothic-a.pngGothic-i.png
ɛ~e̞
e
e
Gutish-e.png
ai
ɛː
ɛ̄
ɛu̯
eu
eu
Gutish-e.pngGutish-u.png
Gothic-e.png
ē
ē
ǣ
Gutish-ae.png
Gothic-f.png
f
f
f
f
Gutish-f.png
Gothic-g.png
g
g
g
g
Gutish-g.png
ɣ
ɣ
Gothic-h.png
h
h
h
h
Gutish-h.png
Gothic-hw.png
ƕ
hʷ~ʍ
hw
hw
Gutish-h.pngGutish-w.png
Gothic-i.png
i
ɪ~i
i
i
Gutish-i.png
Gothic-e.pngGothic-i.png
ei
ī
ē
Gutish-ee.png
Gothic-j.png
j
j
j
j
Gutish-j.png
Gothic-k.png
k
k
k
k
Gutish-k.png
Gothic-q.png
q
kʷ~kw
kw
kw
Gutish-k.pngGutish-w.png
Gothic-l.png
l
l
l
l
Gutish-l.png
Gothic-m.png
m
m
m
m
Gutish-m.png
Gothic-n.png
n
n
n
n
Gutish-n.png
Gothic-g.pngGothic-g.png
gg
ŋg
ng
ng
Gutish-n.pngGutish-g.png
ŋm
ngm
ngm
Gutish-n.pngGutish-g.pngGutish-m.png
ŋn
ngn
ngn
Gutish-n.pngGutish-g.pngGutish-n.png
Gothic-g.pngGothic-k.png
gk
ŋk
nk
nk
Gutish-n.pngGutish-k.png
Gothic-g.pngGothic-q.png
gq
ŋkw~ŋkʷ
nkw
nkw
Gutish-n.pngGutish-k.pngGutish-w.png
Gothic-a.pngGothic-u.png
ɔ~o̞
o
o
Gutish-o.png
au
ɔː
ɔ̄
Gothic-o.png
ō
ō
ǭ
Gutish-oa.png
œ
œ1
œː
œ̄1
ø̞
ø
œ
Gutish-oe.png
ø̞ː
ø̄
œ̄
Gutish-oeoe.png
œy̑
œy
œu
Gutish-oe.pngGutish-u.png
Gothic-p.png
p
p
p
p
Gutish-p.png
Gothic-r.png
r
ɾ~r
r
r
Gutish-r.png
ɾ̩~r̩
Gothic-s.png
s
s
s
s
Gutish-s.png
ʃ
š
š
Gutish-sh.png
Gothic-t.png
t
t
t
t
Gutish-t.png
Gothic-th.png
þ
θ
þ
þ
Gutish-th.png
Gothic-u.png
u
u
u
u
Gutish-u.png
ū
ū
ō
Gutish-oo.png
v
v
v
Gutish-v.png
Gothic-w.png
w
w
w
w
Gutish-w.png
ɯ~ʏ
υ2
y
y
y
Gutish-y.png
ȳ
ȳ
Gutish-yy.png
Gothic-z.png
z
z
z
ʐ
ž
ž
Gutish-zh.png

1 /œ/ and /œ̄/ represent an intermediate stage in the development of the Gutish language which occurs in the phonemic inventory of neither Gothic nor Gutish.

2 When it appears as a vowel, 𐍅 was used in Gothic to transliterate the Greek letter υ, and did not occur otherwise in the phonemic inventory of Gothic.

Phonology

There is a lot that happens in Gutish when words encounter other words or receive certain inflectional endings. Generally this has to do with the letter ending a root.

Roots ending in ‹d› or ‹g›, for instance, become palatalized before ‹s›. E.g. the nominative form of dag ‘day’ is daǧ rather than the otherwise expected **dags. Furthermore, ‹d› becomes spirantized between two vowels, so some roots may have as many as three forms for one declension. E.g. bard ‘beard’ has the nominative form barǧ, dative barða, and accusative bard. More of this will be discussed in the chapters on declension of Nouns and Adjectives and the conjugation of Verbs, but some basics will be laid out here.

[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 ‘our’, from earlier inkwar has the genitive plural form inkuža from earlier inkwarɛ̄zō rather than the otherwise expected **inkurža.

Voicing Alternation

This rule is inherited from Gothic or perhaps even Proto-Germanic. The rule is not persistent, but the variation in forms still affects the inflections of nouns, verbs, and adjectives in Gutish. (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, and ‹b› or ‹d›, used elsewhere, e.g. giban, ‘to give’, gaf, ‘gave’. There are three main realizations of this rule in Gutish:

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

The implications of this rule for Gutish 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).
  • The implications for ‹s› and ‹ž› can be a little trickier, because this split was not uniform in Gothic times, so many words retain ‹s› throughout the paradigm. These are noted in the lexicon and must be learned by rote.

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 Gutish, but has wide-ranging implications for inflections in Gutish. There are actually several types of palatalization that occur in Gutish, 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’ becomes daǧ. 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› (and so do all other instances of ‹z›, but that’s not applicable to this section.)

[b]/[v] Alternation

A less common alternation is that of ‹b› and ‹v›. This occurs specifically in inflections where some endings begin with ‹j› while others do not; for instance, the strong masculine ija-stem ending of nouns and adjectives. In this paradigm, the nominative, genitive, and accusative of the singular all have ‹v› from earlier ‹b› (because it is intervocalic), but the rest of the paradigm has ‹b›, because it was historically followed by ‹j›, which prevents the intervocalic shift. For example, the adjective drœ̄vis ‘muddy’ has the dative singular form drœ̄bia.

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.

  • Accusative singular 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 Gutish.

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

  • ‹a› → ‹e›
  • ‹ā› → ‹ǣ›
  • ‹ǭ› → ‹œ̄›
  • ‹o› → ‹œ›
  • ‹ō› → ‹œ̄›
  • ‹u› → ‹y›
  • ‹ū› → ‹ȳ›

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

NB for Linguists: The asymmetrical nature of the umlaut is the result of a later change to the long vowels. See Umlaut in the Rules at the end of this document.

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’ has a past of gǭst ‘you poured’, rather than the expected **gǭtt.

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 historically a sound change caused ‹a› to disappear before a sonorant (‹l›, ‹r›, ‹m›, or ‹n›), turning them into syllabics, and merging them with other pre-existing syllabics from Gothic. 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. Metathesis 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 Gutish is that:

  • Dative plural 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 and feminine accusative plural strong 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.

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 Gutish 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 Gutish, 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.

Phonemic Inventory

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 is itma 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 iža im ī, īja they, their, (to) them, them
3pl.fem ījas iža im ījas they, their, (to) them, them

Relative Pronouns

There are two types of relative pronouns in Gutish, and although they are used interchangeably, I present them here in two separate tables: The first (more common) forms are with the Gothic clitic particle ei- having separated from the pronouns (see Clitic Separation), and the second, more “traditional” forms where the clitic is still attached to the word.

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc. Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
sg.masc is ī þis ī þatm’ī þan ī iži þiži þetmi þeni
sg.neu þat ī þis ī þatm’ī þat ī þī, þeti þiži þetmi þī, þeti
sg.fem sō ī, sw’ī þižas ī þiž’ī þō ī, þw’ī þižaži þiži þī
pl.masc īs ī, þǣ ī þiž’ī þǣm ī þans ī iži þiži þǣmi þenǧi
pl.neu þō ī, þw’ī þiž’ī þǣm ī þō ī, þw’ī þœ̄gi þiži þǣmi þœ̄gi
pl.fem þōs ī þiž’ī þǣm ī þōs ī þœ̄ži þiži þǣmi þœ̄ži

Indefinite Pronouns

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
inter.masc hwas hwis hwatma hwan who, whose, to whom, whom
inter.neu hwā hwis hwatma hwat what, &c, plural.
inter.fem hwižas hwiža who, &c, plural.
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

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

Dual

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. twǣ twǣǧa twǣm twans
neu. twā twǣǧa twǣm twā
fem. tōs twǣǧa twǣm tōs

Dual Distributive (short form)

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. bǣža bǣm bans
neu. bǣža bǣm
fem. bījas bǣža bǣm bījas

Dual Distributive (long form)

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. bījaþs bīðiža bīðum bīðans
neu. bījaþ bīðiža bīðum bījaþ
fem. bīðas bīðiža bīðum bīðas

Trial

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. þrīs þrīja þrim þrins
neu. þrī þrīja þrim þrī
fem. þrīs þrīja þrim þrins

Trial Distributive

Nom. Gen. Dat. Acc.
masc. þrǣ þrǣža þrǣm þrans
neu. þrā þrǣža þrǣm þrā
fem. þrījas þrǣža þrǣm þrījas

Undeclinable Numerals

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

The numbers in Gutish – 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 Gutish.

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.

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: Gutish 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 Gutish Short Hybrid Long Metric
10³ 1,000 þūsunǧa thousand thousand thousand kilo
10⁶ 1,000,000 miljǭn million million 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. As with the cardinal numbers, there are two acceptable forms for ‘fourth’, ‘seventh’, and ‘tenth,’ following the same lenition as the cardinals, though there is only one form of ‘eighth’. An alternate form of ‘third’, þrīǧas is sometimes used, but it is not always considered correct.

1 frumist, frums first
2 anðras second
3 þriǧas, þrīǧas third
4 fiðraþs fourth
5 fimft fifth
6 sǣst sixth
7 sivunǧ seventh
8 ātuǧ eighth
9 njunǧ ninth
10 tǣjunǧ, tǣnǧ tenth
11 ǣnlift eleventh
12 twālift twelfth
13 þrītǣnǧ thirteenth
20 twǣtiǧist twentieth
100 hundaþs hundredth
1,000 þūsunǧiþs thousandth
1,000,000 miljǭnǧ millionth

Articles & Determiners

Gutish 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 Gutish.

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

Nouns

A Note on Strong and Weak Nouns

In most Germanic languages, nouns (as well as verbs and adjectives) tend to be broken into categories con-sidered “strong” and “weak.” In nouns and adjectives, “weak” means that the words cling to their determiner endings inherited from 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 the 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 Gutish language to add this additional arbitrary distinction.

Noun classes differ by stem vowel 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 above). There are also a few minor classes in consonantal stems (a.k.a. Ø-stem), in /r/ (a very small class having to do with familial relations), and in /nd/ (based on the nominalization of the present participle). These minor classes will be discussed here, but for the learner who is new to Germanic languages, these should be treated as irregular declensions and learned by rote. Many of these have also been regularized in Gutish through the process of paradigmatic levelling, and their declensions have been assimilated by analogy into other classes.

Every noun in Gutish (and most Germanic languages) 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 (exceptions are noted in the paradigms). Finally the accusative plural of masculine and feminine nouns is –ans, but again may metathesize to –nas; neuter 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. It is im-portant 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.

In order to give more context to the evolution of these rules and the variations that emerge, the original Proto-Germanic and Gothic forms are also examined.

a- and ō-stem

By far the most common type of noun in all of the Germanic languages, a- and ō-stems become the basis of several sub-classes of nouns. Masculine and neuter nouns took a-stem (from Proto-Indo-European o-), while feminine nouns took ō (from PIE ā-).

Strong a-stem (masculine)

This is the most common type of noun class in Gutish as well as in most Germanic languages. As such, it is also the most varied in terms of declension.

Proto-Germanic Masculine a-stem Paradigm

Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Dat.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Pl. Gen.Pl. Dat.Pl. Acc.Pl.
slǣpaz slǣpis slǣpai slǣpą slǣpōz slǣpǫ̂ slǣpamaz slǣpanz

Gothic Masculine a-stem Paradigm

Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Dat.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Pl. Gen.Pl. Dat.Pl. Acc.Pl.
slēps slēpis slēpa slēp slēpōs slēpē slēpam slēpans

Gutish Masculine a-stem Paradigm

The most basic class of Gutish nouns (noted in the lexicon as n.st.m.a - “noun, strong, masculine, a-stem”) also has the most variation depending on the last sounds of the syllable before the ending is added. [under construction... brb]

Nom.Sg. Gen.Sg. Dat.Sg. Acc.Sg. Nom.Pl. Gen.Pl. Dat.Pl. Acc.Pl.
n.st.m.a slēps slēpis slēpa slēp slēpas slēpa slēpma slēpnas sleep
This is the default declension of the a-stem paradigm. Note the metathesis of the endings on the dative and accusative plural.
n.st.m.a.syl akras akris akra akra akras akra akram akrans field
Syllabics...
n.st.m.a.Vba/fa þlǣfs þlǣvis þlǣva þlǣf þlǣvas þlǣva þlǣvma þlǣvnas bread
v/f alternation after a vowel
n.st.m.a.Vda/þa ǭþs ǭðis ǭða ǭþ ǭðas ǭða ǭðma ǭðnas fortune
ð/þ alternation after a vowel
n.st.m.a.Vza s_ žis ža s žas ža žma žnas spear
z/s alternation after a vowel
n.st.m.a.Cza ams_ amžis amža ams amžas amža amžam amžans shoulder
z/s alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl.
n.st.m.a.Cba hwerbs hwervis hwerva hwerb hwervas hwerva hwervam hwervans planet
b/v alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl. b doesn't change to f b/c of approximant.
n.st.m.a.Cfa wulfs wulvis wulva wulf wulvas wulva wulvam wulvans wolf
f/v alternation after a consonant - no metathesis in dat & acc pl.
n.st.m.a.Cda barǧ barðis barða bard barðas barða barðam barðans beard
palatalization of d in the nominative. no metathesis in dat/acc pl. d doesn't change to þ in acc sg because of approx.
n.st.m.a.ga daǧ dagis daga dag dagas daga dagma dagnas day
(description)
n.st.m.a.ra wer_ weris wera wer weras wera werma wernas man
(description)
n.st.m.a.sa waps_ wapsis wapsa waps wapsas wapsa wapsma wapsnas wasp
(description)
n.st.m.a.ska fiš_ fišis fiša fiš fišas fiša fišma fišnas fish
(description)
n.st.m.a.sta ast_ astis asta ast astas asta astma astnas branch
(description)
n.st.m.a.ma worms wormis worma worm wormas worma wormam wormnas worm
(description)
n.st.m.a.na ǭns ǭnis ǭna ǭn ǭnas ǭna ǭnma ǭnans oven
(description)
n.st.m.a.mba lam_s lambis lamba lam_ lambas lamba lambam lambans lamb
(description)
n.st.m.a.nda frīnǧ frīndis frīnda frīnd frīndas frīnda frīndam frīndans friend
(description)

Verbs

Adjectives