Crimean Gothic Grammar

Ene Gutiske Gramatich

 


Nominal Morphology

Nouns in Crimean Gothic have three genders (masculine, neuter and feminine), four cases (nominative, accusative, genitive and dative) and two numbers (singular and plural)

Gender

In modern Crimean Gothic, gender is quite arbitrary and must be learned separately for each word. As in French, German or Breton, there is no gender-specific ending at the nominative.

For animate being, gender is almost always related to sex, but for profession which were traditionally devoted to men, in which case the masculine form is used, whatever the actual sex of the considered person. Thus pocher (writer, scribe) is masculine even when a woman is spoken about.

For small animals or inanimate objects, gender is totally arbitrary. Thus fų (the fox) is feminine, while fuchel (the bird) is masculine. Don't even think about finding out a reason for that. It is buried in the depth of Indo-european history.

Case

Crimean Gothic is quite archaic, as it has retained much of its old declensions. Only vocative was lost, even if there was a great deal of mergers. The end result would look quite complex for the basic english (or french) speaker but is relatively simple in regard of Wulfilan Gothic or modern slavic tongues.

Gothic has basicaly three declension paterns:



•strong masculine and neuter
•strong feminine
•weak nouns



These categories are divided into a small number of subcategories, according to gender or some phonetic particularities.

 

Strong nouns

Masculine type 1a tach : day

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	tach	taches
accusative	tach	tachen
genitive	taches	tache
dative	tache	tachem

Masculine type 1b lef : bread

In this group, one find a number of word ending with a voiceless consonant which becomes voiced when followed by a vowel.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lef	leves
accusative	lef	leven
genitive	leves	leve
dative	leve	levem

 
Masculine type 1c herd : herder

These words insert a /j/ between the radical and the case ending. They are the remnants of older -ja and i stems and are slowly being eliminated

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	herd	herdjes
accusative	herd	herdjen
genitive	herdjes	herdje
dative	herdje	herdjem

femine type 1a give : gift

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	give	gives
accusative	give	gives
genitive	gives	give
dative	give	givem

feminine type 1b mų : young girl

 

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mų	mųjes
accusative	mųje	mųjes
genitive	mųjes	mųje
dative	mųje	mųjem

feminine 2 qen : wife, woman

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	qen	qenes
accusative	qen	qenen
genitive	qenes	qene
dative	qene	qenem

Neuter type 1a wųrd : word

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	wųrd	wųrde
accusative	wųrd	wųrde
genitive	wųrdes	wųrde
dative	wųrde	wųrdem

Neuter type1b witež : law

 

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	witež	witede
accusative	witež	witede
genitive	witedes	witede
dative	witede	witedem

Neuter type 2 har : army

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	har	harje
accusative	har	harje
genitive	harjes	harje
dative	harje	harjem

Weak nouns

weak masculine & feminine mene :moon

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mene	menen
accusative	menen	menen
genitive	menen	menene
dative	menen	menem

neuter herte : heart

 

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	herte	hertene
accusative	herte	hertene
genitive	herten	hertene
dative	herten	hertem

 Irregular forms

Kinship words in -er

In this category falls a small number of nouns, mostly kinship terms. These words are generally declined like strong nouns in colloquial usage. They are swister (sister), prožer (brother) and tųzer (daughter)

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	swister	swistrjes
accusative	swister	swistren
genitive	swisters	swistre
dative	swister	swistrem

Adjectival Morphology

Crimean Gothic has retained the Germanic double declension. The so called weak declension, which is similar to the nominal weak declension, is used whenever the adjective is preceded by the definite article. In all other cases, the strong declension is used. It must also be noted that a number of specific adjective and notably the irregular comparatives, have only the weak declension.


Adjectives of the strong declension plind : blind

	masculine	neuter	feminine
Nominative	plind	plindet	plinde
accusative	plinden	plindet	plinde
genitive	plindes	plindes	plinderes
Dative	plindem	plindem	plinde
Nominative	plinde	plinde	plindes
Accusative	plinden	plinde	plindes
Genitive	plinder	plinder	plindere
Dative	plindem	plindem	plindem

Adjectives of the weak declension

	masculine	neuter	feminine
Nominative	plinde	plinde	plinde
accusative	plinden	plinde	plinden
genitive	plinden	plinden	plinden
Dative	plinden	plinden	plinden
Nominative	plinden	plindene	plinden
Accusative	plinden	plindene	plinden
Genitive	plinden	plinden	plindene
Dative	plindem	plindem	plindem

Irregular forms

The following adjectives have only the weak form



•silve : self (and its compounds)
•sam : same
•ivne : even
•eneche : unique
•Ordinal numbers after žrie
•Present participles
•frume : first of two



Comparative and superlative

The comparative is formed by putting mes before the considered adjective. The complement is introduced by the particle žų (Fųjl ist mes schųne žų frųjenenes tųzer : Fųjl is more beautiful than the lord's daughter)

The superlative is formed by putting mest before the considered adjective. The complement is introduced by the preposition af +dative (Fųjl ist mest schųne af mųjemem hemeses : Fųjl is the most beautiful of the girls of the village)

Irregular forms

a few adjectives have specific archaic comparative and superlative :

•gož (good) : comp patere, super. patest
•uvel (bad) : comp wersere
•michel : comp mere, super mest
•litel : comp minere, super minest


The articles



Crimean Gothic has two distinct articles :definite and indefinite articles. They are used roughly in the same way as in French. The definite article is not used, however with all(all).

 

The definite article

Crimean Gothic has two kinds of definite articles : independent and postponed.



•The independent article is used whenever an adjective is present. It is always put before the nominal group : žo schųne mų (the beautiful girl)
•The postponed article is used in every other case. It is added to the noun and accentually integrated into it. : mųjo ist schųne (the girl is beautiful). When this article is added to a noun ending with a consonant, this consonant is dropped. : in harjem was is (he was in the army).

The independent article

	masculine	neuter	feminine
Nominative	že	žet	žo
accusative	žen	žet	žo
genitive	žis	žis	žires
Dative	žem	žem	žire
Nominative	že	žo	žos
Accusative	žen	žo	žos
Genitive	žir	žir	žire
Dative	žem	žem	žem

The post-poned article

	masculine	neuter	feminine
Nominative	-a	-et	-o
accusative	-en	-et	-o
genitive	-es	-es	-eres
Dative	-em	-em	-ere
Nominative	-e	-e	-es
Accusative	-en	-e	-es
Genitive	-er	-er	-ere
Dative	-em	-em	-em

The undefined article

Crimean Gothic has an undefined article much similar in use to French un. At the contrary of English, this article is also used at the plural enes mųjes sindsch in acherem (girls are in the field).

	masculine	neuter	feminine
Nominative	en	enet	ene
accusative	enen	enet	ene
genitive	enes	enes	eneres
Dative	enem	enem	enere
Nominative	ene	ene	enes
Accusative	enen	ene	enes
Genitive	ener	ener	enere
Dative	enem	enem	enem

Personnal pronouns

 

	first person	second person	reflexive
nominative	ich	žu	-
accusative	mich	žich	sich
genitive	min	žin	sin
dative	mis	žis	sis
dual nominative	wit	ut	-
accusative	unkes	inqes	sich
genitive	unker	inqer	sin
dative	unkes	inqes	sis
Plural nominative	wis	us	-
accusative	uns	iwes	sich
genitive	unser	iwer	sin
dative	uns	iwes	sis

Formal second person

The dual second person pronoun ut is currently used when speaking to superiors and stranger. It is, however, never used when speaking to God.

Ut frijet žo mųje har : you (formal) love this girl


third personn pronouns

	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative	is	it	si
accusative	in	it	je
genitive	is	is	ires
dative	im	im	ire
Plural nominative	is	je	ies
accusative	in	je	jes
genitive	ir	ir	ire
dative	im	im	im

 

Demonstrative

Crimean Gothic does form its demonstratives by using the independent article žo, že, žet, put before the nominal group, and the particles :

har : close distance

žar : intermediate distance

enar : far away

ich ansewe žen hundsch-har : I look at this dog

is wilje liechen mež žiremųje-žar : he wants to marry that girl there

is farež tu krejnere : he goes to the borderland.

Relative

At the contrary of most modern Germanic tongues, Crimean Gothic did not develop a true relative pronoun. It does use the particle že. This particle is invariable in gender, number and case. Oblique cases can be rendered by the following means:

by putting the corresponding preposition at the end of the relative clause : Ich saw devo že is tu pųre in gųr for mež: I saw the maid with whom he went in town yesterday.

by putting a pronoun at the right case at the end of the relative clause : žar ist mana že ich enen wachen kųpede žem : that is the man to whom I bought a car.

In case of ambiguity - or for emphasis -, a supletive pronoun is put before the relative to precise it:
mųjo ie že is friež : the woman he loves

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