Re: Frå Gutasaga [gothic-l]/Gutnisk - text sample.

[thomas.gahm at TELIA.COM]

Keth,

I would just like to make some small corrections about the gutnish 
text that is the beginning of the so called ´Guta Saga´. One of the 
reasons for considering Old Gutnish a language of its own and not 
just a scandinavian dialect is that it has some writing traditions 
and spellings that are particularly gutnish and that is not used in 
the other scandinavian languages. In Gutnish only ´þ´ are used, not 
´ð´ as in icelandic. The letter ´c´ are used instead of ´k´ except 
infront of ´i´, ´e´and ´y´. I would also like to mention that two 
different letters were used for ´r´. Not displayed below. The reason 
was probably two different sounds also seen in runic writings (two 
different ´r´ sounds exist still today). One of these ´r´ is probably 
what was ´z´ or ´s´ in Gothic and Proto-Germanic. Normally the letter 
´i´ were used in stead of ´j´. Note also that accents used in 
Icelandic indicating long vowels did not normally exist in 
Gutnish.    

The correct text as seen in the original ´Guta Saga´:

´Gutland hitti fyrsti maþr þan sum þieluar hit. Þa war Gutland so 
eluist at þet daghum sanc oc natum war uppi. En þann maþr quam fyrsti 
eldi a land oc siþan sanc þet aldri. Þissi Þieluar Hafþi ann sun sum 
hit Hafþi, en Hafþa cuna hit Huita Stierna. Þaun tu bygþu fyrsti a 
Gutlandi. Fyrstu nat sum þaun saman suafu þa droymdi henni draumbr, 
so sum þrir ormar warin slungnir saman i barmi hennar oc þitti henni 
sum þair scriþin yr barmi hennar. Þinna draum segþi han firi Hafþa, 
bonda sinum. Hann riaþ draum þinna so:
                    "Alt ir baugum bundit
                    Bo land al þitta warþa
                    Oc faum þria syni aiga"

Þaim gaf hann namn allum o fyþum: 
                    "Guti al Gutland aigha
                    Graipr al annar haita
                    Oc Gunfiaun þriþi"

Þair sciptu siþan Gutlandi i þria þriþiunga, so at Graipr, þann 
elzti, laut norþasta þriþiung oc Guti miþal þriþiung, en Gunfiaun 
þann yngsti, laut sunnarsta.´   

best regards,
Tomas

--- In gothic-l at y..., keth at o... wrote:
> The following sample of a Gutnish text have I typed up from
> a book by Arne Torp: "Nordisk språk i nordisk og germansk
> perspektiv." Novus forlag, Oslo 1998, isbn 82-7099-298-4,
> 123 pages. It has been written as a textbook for studies
> in the Nordic languages at the University of Oslo, and Torp
> is a well known teacher there, who has Nordic linguistics as
> his specialty. The below sample is printed in his book on
> page 44-45. The nice thing about this Gutnish text sample,
> is that below it he has printed another sample of the same
> text, but now normalized (or translated if you like) to
> Icelandic. In that way it is possible to compare the two
> languages word for word. I will send the Icelandicized
> text in a mail that follows upon this one.
> 
> 
> Frå Gutasaga (handskrift ca. 1350)
> ----------------------------------
> Gutland hitti fyrsti maðr þann sum þjelvar hit. Þá var Gutland sá 
elvist at þet
> dagum sank ok nátum var uppi. En þann maðr kvam fyrsti eldi á land, 
ok síðan
> sank þet aldri. Þissi Þjelvar hafði ann sun sum hít Hafði. En Hafða 
kuna hít
> Hvítastjerna; þaun tú byggðu fyrsti á Gutlandi. Fyrstu nát sum þaun 
saman
> sváfu, þá droymdi henni draumbr, só sum þrír ormar várin slungnir 
saman í
> barmi hennar, ok þýtti henni sum þair skriðin ýr barmi hennar. 
Þinna draum
> segði hán firi Hafða, bónda sínum; hann rjað draum þinna só: "Allt 
ir baugum
> bundit; bóland al þitta varða, ok fáum þría syni aiga." Þaim gaf 
hann namn
> allum ófýdum: "Guti al Gutland aiga, Graipr al annar haita ok 
Gunfjaun þriði."
> Þair skiptu síðan Gutlandi í þría þriðjunga só at Graipr, þann 
elzti, laut
> norðasta
> þriðjung ok Goti miðalþriðjung, en Gunfjaun, þann yngsti, laut 
sunnarsta.
> .........'.........'.........'.........'.........'.........'........
.'.........'


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