A Gothic Grammar, with selections for reading and a glossary

by Wilhelm Braune

Note 2. The s (z) of the nom. sg. is dropt (1) after s (ss, z): drus, m., gen. drusis, fall; swês, gen. swêsis, adj., one's own; laus, lausis, loose; us-stass, f., gen. usstassais, resurrection; (2) after r immediately preceded by a short vowel: waír, waíris, man; baúr, sun; kaisar, Cæsar; anþar, other; unsar, our; but s remains unchanged after a long syllabl: akrs, field; hôrs, whoremonger; skeirs, clear; swêrs, honord; gáurs, sorrowful. An exception is the onse occurring nom. stiur, steer, calf. Cp. Brgm., I, 516; II, 531; Wrede, 'Ostg.', 177 et seq.—At a later stage of development, especially in East-Gothic, the loss of the nominativ-s occurs more extensivly. So alredy in the Documents (Neap. Doc.: Gudilub, Ufitahari); cp. Wrede, loc. cit.

Note 3. z and s interchange in the prt. of slêpan; saíslêp; Mt. VIII, 24. Lu. VIII, 23. I. Thess. IV, 14; saízlêp; Jo. XI, 11. I. Cor. XV, 6; —in the neuters in -is (gen. agisis and gen. hatizis); s. 94, n. 5.

Note 4. The z (s. c, abuv) of the prep. us is in compounds assimilated to a following r (cp. [§ 24], n. 2); e. g., urruns, a running out; urreisan, to (a)rise; urrûmnan (beside usrûmnan, in Codex B, II. Cor. VI, 11), to expand; onse ur for the prep. us: ur riqiza; II. Cor. IV, 6.—us remains unchanged before other sounds in cpds.; as, usagjan, to frighten; usbeidan, to abide, expect (cp. [§ 56], n. 2). z for s before a vowel appears only in uzôn (prt. of *usanan, to expire); Mk. XV, 37. 39; and in uzêtin (dat. of *usêta, manger); Lu. II, 7. 12. 16.

Note 5. When us is affixt to a word beginning with st, only one s is sumtimes writn: ustaig (prt. of us-steigan); Mk. III, 13; ustôþ; Lu. VIII, 55. X, 25; ustandiþ (prt. and prs. of us-standan); Mk. X, 34; ustassai (nom. usstass); Lu. XIV, 14.—Cp. twistandans (in B = twis-standans in A); II. Cor. II, 13; diskritnan (for dis-skritnan); Mt. XXVII, 51; there is no analogon for sp.

APPENDIX.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE CONSONANTS.

§ [79]. The Gothic soft spirants, b, d, z, finally and before the s of the nom. (cp. [§§ 56]. [74]. 78) ar changed into the corresponding hard sounds, f, þ, s, while the fourth soft spirant, medial g, remains unchanged when final ([§ 66]; [§ 65], n. 2).

Note 1. Also the final b, d, z hav sumtimes remaind unchanged, i. e. z rarely ([§ 78], n. 1), but b and d especially often in certain parts where also other forms show a later stage of development. Cp. [§ 56], n. 1; [§ 74], n. 1, and Zs. fda., 25, 226 et seq.

Note 2. Interchange between f and b, þ and d, h and g, s and z, which had taken place in proethnic Germanic according to definit laws and is better preservd in other Germanic languages ('Grammatical Change'; s. ahd. gr., [§ 100] et seq.), occurs in Gothic only in derivativ words; cp. g-h, [§ 66], n. 1; d-þ, [§ 74], n. 3; (z—s, [§ 78], n. 3); and traces of it ar seen in the inflection of the verbs þarf ([§ 56], n. 3), áih ([§ 203], n. 1).

§ [80]. Gemination of the Gothic liquids and nasals, l, m, n, r, is frequent; also ss and a few instances of kk ([§ 58], n. 1), tt ([§ 69], n. 1), þþ ([§ 71], n. 1), dd ([§ 73], n. 1); —the more frequent exampls of gg ([§§ 67]. [68]) ar in part of another kind.