Gothic compared to other Germanic languages

[David Kiltz]

On 17.12.2005, at 02:48, mike r wrote:

> Someone told me that Gothic is the hardest Germanic
> language to learn

Gothic is rich in forms. That means, there is a bit to learn. At the  
same time, the original state of things in Germanic are clearly  
visible. Declensions and verbal paradigms aren't 'blurred' due to  
sound change. Also, Gothic has the advantage of being passed down in  
a coherent way (writing, homogenous corpus). Gothic is certainly an  
ideal language to learn, if you wish to familiarize yourself with  
germanic languages. Is it the most difficult ? Mmmhh... that's not  
something you can answer in any 'absolute' way, I think. Depends on  
your background. If you've never learned a germanic language but e.g.  
'classical' languages like Latin and Greek, Gothic may not be that  
difficult, as it's rather regular etc. However, if you know German or  
English, the older stages of that languages may be easier. Still, I  
think Old HIgh German is rather complex because of its many variants  
and the way it's been transmitted. Also, if you look at actual Old  
Norse texts (not the normalised ones), they're not exactly easy to read.
It's true, however, the more you know, the clearer and easier things  
become.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all !

David Kiltz



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