History of the Gothic Language

[Tim Caldwell]

Hi all,

I've got a few questions:

Is the gothic language archaic only because it's attested earlier 
than other germanic languages, or could there be other reasons as 
well? If texts written in other contemporary germanic languages from 
western Germany and Scandinavia were to be discovered, would we 
expect the languages they were written in to be just as archaic?

Secondly, is it known which other ancient germanic languages gothic 
is most closely related to, or shared the closest contact with?

And finally, does Gothic contain traces of contact with non-germanic 
languages - maybe West Iranian or Turkic or something?

Cheers,
Tim



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