Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of maps
- List of contributors
- Notes on numbering and cross-referencing
- List of abbreviations
- Preface
- Preface to the first edition
- 1 Language in ancient Europe: an introduction
- 2 Attic Greek
- 3 Greek dialects
- 4 Latin
- 5 Sabellian languages
- 6 Venetic
- 7 Etruscan
- 8 Continental Celtic
- 9 Gothic
- 10 Ancient Nordic
- Appendix 1 Indo-European
- Appendix 2 Full tables of contents from The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages, and from the other volumes in the paperback series
- Index of general subjects
- Index of grammar and linguistics
- Index of languages
- Index of named linguistic laws and principles
9 - Gothic
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 September 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of maps
- List of contributors
- Notes on numbering and cross-referencing
- List of abbreviations
- Preface
- Preface to the first edition
- 1 Language in ancient Europe: an introduction
- 2 Attic Greek
- 3 Greek dialects
- 4 Latin
- 5 Sabellian languages
- 6 Venetic
- 7 Etruscan
- 8 Continental Celtic
- 9 Gothic
- 10 Ancient Nordic
- Appendix 1 Indo-European
- Appendix 2 Full tables of contents from The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages, and from the other volumes in the paperback series
- Index of general subjects
- Index of grammar and linguistics
- Index of languages
- Index of named linguistic laws and principles
Summary
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXTS
Gothic, mainly known from a Bible translation of the fourth century AD, is the only Germanic language that has come down to us from antiquity in a reasonably complete state of preservation. Lacking direct descendants itself, it is closely related to the early medieval dialects ancestral to Modern English, German, Dutch, and the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese). The family tree of the Germanic languages can be drawn as follows:
As can be seen from this figure, Gothic is the sole representative of the East Germanic branch of the family. The more numerous North and West Germanic languages are much later: Old English and Old High German are first substantially attested in the eighth century, while Old Saxon and Old Low Franconian date from the ninth and tenth centuries, respectively. The remaining “Old” Germanic languages – Old Frisian and the early Scandinavian dialects – are essentially languages of the High Middle Ages, contemporary with Middle English and Middle High German. It is thus not surprising that Gothic presents a significantly more conservative appearance than its Germanic sister dialects. The only comparably archaic remains of an early Germanic language are the Early Northwest Germanic inscriptions of the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, mostly from Denmark and written in the indigenous runic alphabet (see Ch. 10). These, however, are only tantalizing fragments, often deliberately obscure and topheavy with personal names.
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- The Ancient Languages of Europe , pp. 189 - 214Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
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