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Gothic/Old

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Phonology

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Neuter Nouns

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Neuter Nouns
Singular Plural
Nominative -zero -a
Accusative -zero -a
Genitive -is -e
Dative -a -am


Neuter Article
Singular Plural
Nominative thata tho
Accusative thata tho
Genitive this thize
Dative thamma thaim

Feminine Nouns

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Feminine Nouns
Singular Plural
Nominative -a -os
Accusative -a -os
Genitive -os -o
Dative -ai -om


Feminine article
Singular Plural
Nominative so thos
Accusative tho thos
Genitive thizo thizos
Dative thizai thaim

Examples

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Masculine A-Stems
  • aiths: oath
  • asts: twig
  • bagms: tree (cf. German Baum, English "beam" (of wood))
  • laufs: leaf (Gothic au frequently = English ea)
  • maithms: gift
  • stains: stone (ai=o)
  • winds: wind
Neuter A-Stems

Feminine A=Stems (so is the fem. definite article)

Weak Declensions

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Weak nouns decline differently than strong nouns (hence the different name) and sometimes are more simple.

Weak Masculine
Singular Plural
Nominative -a -ans
Accusative -an -ans
Genitive -ins -ane
Dative -in -am


Weak Neuter
Singular Plural
Nominative -o -ona
Accusative -o -ona
Genitive -ins -ane
Dative -in -am

Examples

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Masculine Weak
  • sa atta: the father
  • sa bloma: the flower (cf. "bloom")
  • sa brunna: the well (in Old English this word became burna "stream", and is

    still used in river names ending in -bourn

    )
  • sa fula: the foal
  • sa galga: the cross (cf. "gallows")
  • sa garda: the yard, the fold
  • sa Guta: the Goth
  • sa Austraguta: the Ostrogoth
  • sa hana: the rooster (cf. "hen", which comes from the feminine of this noun, which originally meant "the singer")
  • sa magula: the little boy
  • sa matha: the worm
  • sa mena: the moon
  • sa milhma: the cloud
  • sa skuggwa: the mirror
  • sa sparwa: the sparrow
  • sa sunna: the sun
  • sa unhultha: the demon
Neuter Weak
  • thata augadauro: the window
  • thata auso: the ear
  • thata barnilo: the little child
  • thata hairto: the heart
  • thata kaurno: the (single) grain
  • thata sigljo: the seal (cf. Latin sigillum)
  • thata thairko: the hole

But the Weak declensions are not all the same there exists a few irregulars. First the masculine irregulars:

Irregular
Singular Plural
Nominative manna mans
Accusative mannan mans/manans
Genitive mans manne
Dative mann mannam


Irregular
Singular Plural
Nominative namo namna
Accusative namo namna
Genitive namins namne
Dative namin namnam

NEXT TO COME: FEMININE WEAK NOUNS, NEUTER AND FEMININE STRONG A-STEM VOCABULARY ALSO.

Links

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Gothic language on the web