[gothic-l] "hi-" pronoun

[M.]

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Hails Daweid jah aljai,

Thanks for the corrections. I had neglected the importance of the trend
toward paradigmatic unity and its possible reciprocative (or disseminative)
flow of effect. I apologize also, since I know that this is an old topic
already fairly resolved, but recent investigations on my part into Germanic
had piqued my interest in Gothic phonology and reconstruction--as regards
this word particularly.

An interesting question is the possibility of analog to the neuter
instrumental form of the simple interrogative, viz. _hve'_ (thus _h(ij)e_?),
but this is not, I think, attested in any other Germanic language nor would
it seem needful. We do see this form already in the simple th-
demonstratives, e.g. _the'_ (in _ni the haldis_, _bi-the_, etc.) cf. OIc.
_thvi_, OE _thy_, the usage of which by Wulfila's time was likely not
considered constructive and was restricted to the particular formulaic
constructions in which it had been preserved. Th- demonstrative pronoun also
exhibits the old locative _thei_. Of course these archaic forms were more
than sufficient for any range of demonstration (at least, insofar as the
translation of greek texts is concerned), as was the entire extant
demonstrative paradigm. Note that Gothic shows no proximal demonstrative
invention as in West- and North-Germanic.

ainfalthiba,
Matthaius

> Presumably if it had been common we'd have seen a lot more of it in
> Wulfila!  I imagine that the paradigm would have been much closer to other
> Gothic pronominal paradigms, which show a strong unity, and of course there
> would be no locative or instrumental:
>
> N. he hita hi
> A. hina hita hija
> G. his his hizos
> D. himma himma hizai
>
> N. heis hija hijos
> A. hins hija hijos
> G. hize hize hizo
> D. him him him
>
> Remember that a non-stressed final -o > -a in Gothic.
>
> He might have been his, after the model of is 'he'.



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