Gothic language
From Textus Receptus
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| + | '''Gothic''' is an [[extinct language|extinct]] [[Germanic language]] that was spoken by the [[Goths]]. It is known primarily from the [[Codex Argenteus]], a 6th century copy of a 4th century Bible translation, and is the only [[East Germanic languages|East Germanic language]] with a sizable corpus. All others, including [[Burgundian language (Germanic)|Burgundian]] and [[Vandalic language|Vandalic]], are known, if at all, only from proper names that survived in historical accounts, and from loan-words in other languages like [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[French language|French]]. | ||
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| + | As a Germanic language, Gothic is a part of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language]] family. It is the Germanic language with the earliest attestation but has no modern descendants. The oldest documents in Gothic date back to the 4th century. The language was in decline by the mid-6th century, due in part to the military defeat of the Goths at the hands of the [[Franks]], the elimination of the Goths in Italy, and geographic isolation (in Spain the Gothic language lost its last and probably already declining function as a church language when the Visigoths converted to Catholicism in 589)<sup>[]</sup>. The language survived as a domestic language in the [[Iberian peninsula]] (modern [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]]) as late as the 8th century, and [[Franks|Frankish]] author [[Walafrid Strabo]] wrote that it was still spoken in the lower [[Danube]] area and in isolated mountain regions in [[Crimea]] in the early 9th century (see [[Crimean Gothic language|Crimean Gothic]]). Gothic-seeming terms found in later (post-9th century) manuscripts may not belong to the same language. | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_language Wikipedia Article on Gothic language] | * [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_language Wikipedia Article on Gothic language] | ||
Revision as of 04:56, 17 September 2010
Gothic is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths. It is known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th century copy of a 4th century Bible translation, and is the only East Germanic language with a sizable corpus. All others, including Burgundian and Vandalic, are known, if at all, only from proper names that survived in historical accounts, and from loan-words in other languages like Spanish and French.
As a Germanic language, Gothic is a part of the Indo-European language family. It is the Germanic language with the earliest attestation but has no modern descendants. The oldest documents in Gothic date back to the 4th century. The language was in decline by the mid-6th century, due in part to the military defeat of the Goths at the hands of the Franks, the elimination of the Goths in Italy, and geographic isolation (in Spain the Gothic language lost its last and probably already declining function as a church language when the Visigoths converted to Catholicism in 589)[]. The language survived as a domestic language in the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) as late as the 8th century, and Frankish author Walafrid Strabo wrote that it was still spoken in the lower Danube area and in isolated mountain regions in Crimea in the early 9th century (see Crimean Gothic). Gothic-seeming terms found in later (post-9th century) manuscripts may not belong to the same language.
