gothic numbers

[llama_nom]

See pages 115-118 of Joseph Wright's 'Grammar of the Gothic 
Language' [ 
http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/goth_wright_about.html#i
mages ].  As the Germanic Lexicon Project seems to be having to 
computer problems at the moment you might have to be patient.  If it 
doesn't load, keep checking back: I'm sure they'll get it fixed soon.

Till then:

1. áin(ata)
2. twa
3. thrija

The first three numbers behave like other Gothic adjectives and 
change their forms depending on the gender and case of the noun.  
Those above are neuter forms (neuter nominative = neuter accusative) 
such as might be used in counting in the abstract.  The suffic -ata 
is optional when the adjective is attributive ("an itchy mantis") 
but never used when the adjective is predicative ("a mantis is 
itchy").  Below are some made-up examples of masculine nominative 
and accusative forms in action.  Word order SOV (Subject, Object, 
Verb).

áins skalks áinana wulf bigitith
one servant finds one wolf

áins wulfs áinana skalk bigitith
one wolf finds one servant

threis thiudans maithm giband
three kings give a gift

áins thiudans twans stáinans gibith
one king gives two stones

twái thiudans thrins fulgans giband
two kings give three birds

4. fidwor
5. fimf
6. saíhs
7. sibun
8. ahtáu
9. niun
10. taíhun
11. áinlif
12. twalif
13. NOT RECORDED
14. fidwortaíhun
15. fimftaíhun

These numbers don't change their form when they are used directly 
before the noun.  Otherwise, they take the ending -e in the genitive 
case, and -im in the dative.  If you haven't got to "dative" 
and "genitive" in the lessons, don't worry, I'm sure it's explained 
somewhere.  If not, you can always ask.

20. twái tigjus
30. threis tigjus
40. fidwor tigjus
50. fimf tigjus
60 saíhs tigjus

The numbers 20-60 make use of the plural noun 'tigjus'.  This is the 
nominative.  The accusative is 'tiguns'.  It takes the same case 
endings as nouns in the u-stem declension (category), but only 
occurs in the plural.  The numbers 'twái' and 'threis' here are 
masculine because they agree with the noun 'tigjus'.  The noun which 
is being counted takes a case ending called the "genitive plural", 
e.g. fimf tiguns jere "for fifty years" (literally "fifty of years").

70. sibuntehund
80. ahtáutehund
90. niuntehund
100. taíhuntehund (occurs once), taíhuntaíhund (occurs 3 times)

As in Old English, the higher decades are formed in a different 
way.  Grammatically they are treated as singular nouns.  Units are 
added with the word 'jah' "and", e.g. ahtáutehund jah fidwor "eighty 
and four" = 84.

200. twa hunda
300. thrija hunda

etc.  'hunda' is a neuter plural.  It takes the case endings of a 
neuter a-stem.

1000. thúsundi
2000. twos thúsundjos
3000. threis thúsundjos

The word for "thousand" is a feminine jo-stem noun.  These are the 
feminine nominative forms of 2 and 3.

20 000. twái tigjus thúsundjo

Literally "two tens of thousands".  As with other nouns, the word 
for "thousand" takes the genitive plural when multiplied by numbers 
from 20 upwards.

The numbers are often written using letters according to their 
position in the Gothic alphabet:

a 1, b 2, g 3, d 4, e 5, q 6, z 7, h 8, th 9, i 10

k 20, l 30, etc.

.id. = fidwortaíhun = 14

Llama Nom





------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> 
Know an art & music fan? Make a donation in their honor this holiday season!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/.6dcNC/.VHMAA/Zx0JAA/wWMplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~-> 

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>. 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/