[gothic-l] Gaut/Gapt

[keth at ONLINE.NO]

Hails Brian,

You wrote:
>Hails,
>        I don't think it has been mentioned before, but the
>combination 'pt' does not occur in native Gothic words.  In a search
>of Wulfila's Luke, John, Timothy and the Skeireins, the cluster only
>occurred once in the phrase: "alja in Saraipta Seidonais du qinon
>widuwon." - "except only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a
>woman who was a widow."  - Luke 4:26.
>In words where one would perhaps expect "pt", we actually get "ft",
>e.g. ga-skafts, creation; from ga-skapjan, to create.
>Bearing this in mind, I believe that the probability is that Gapt was
>originally a misreading of some earlier document that has been
>perpetuated by later copyists.  This situation is not at all unknown -
> the name Boadicea has amost completely supplanted the original
>correct spelling of Boudicca.  Is it possible that Jordanes took some
>of his information for the Getica from a lost Gothic text written in
>Wulfila's alphabet?  This might explain the confusion between the
>Gothic "u" and "p".
>Cheers,
>Brian Beck

When I look at the Latin text of the Getica, as it has come down
to us, there are several instances of the use of the Latin character
"p" in words and names that Jordanes reports as being parts of the
Gothic language.

In particular, what I have in mind are the words "gepanta" (="slow")
and the name "Gepidae". The latter occurs at least 15 times in the
Getica. And since the Getica has been preserved in 12 different
medieval mansuscripts, the evidence for a "p" is quite large.
Another example of a Gothic "p" is in the PN "Aspar" (Getica §239).
Also "Hilperic" (§231) Also "Lampeto" and "Marpesia" (§49, 50).
Since these names are repeated in several paragraphs, I think a
random scribal error is unlikely. Further Medopa §65; Respa §107;
I find many examples.


Personally, I have no problem replacing "p" with "f".
You see the same thing on Old Norse, where the "p" (or "f")
wasn't pronounced like we do it today. In fact, today it
is described as a labio-dental sound. But in Viking times
one thinks of it as much more of a bi-labial sound.
(Old Norse "eptir/eftir" -> mod. Norwegian "efter".)


"b" is another candidate that is close to "p".
Cf. German "die Gabe", "geben"; Old Norse "gefa", "gipt".
(ON gift, gifta = gipt, gipta etc.; they are only variations
of spelling)


At the end of your message you wrote:
>Is it possible that Jordanes took some
>of his information for the Getica from a lost Gothic text written in
>Wulfila's alphabet?  This might explain the confusion between the
>Gothic "u" and "p".

That thought also occurred to me. But I rejected it as
too hypothetical. There are things that speak against a
one-to-one graphemic mapping between Wulfilas Gothic, and Jordanes
transcription of Gothic names into Latin. But of course, it
*can have been "Gaut". But when people quote Jordanes as if
he actually *wrote* "Gaut" in §79, then that I find dishonest.
But the "au" is apparently not impossible in Gothic, since
Jordanes himself writes "Gautigoth" with "au" in Getica §22.
An example of a word close to gaft is gafeteins = clothing.

Best regards
Keth



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