How similar are Gothic and Old English?

[d.faltin at HISPEED.CH]

Hi, 

 considering that the gap of nearly 500 years between Anglo-Saxon and Gothic, I would argue that the two languages by say AD 400 would have been still pretty close and mutually intelligible. I have Lehmann's Gothic Etymology and I am surprised that almost every Gothic word has a very close and often nearly identical pendent in Old High German. So here too, the predecessor of Old High German compared to Gothic in AD 400 would in my view have been very close indeed. By 400 the  difference would have been like that of two mutually intelligible dialects. 
 

 Cheers,
 Dirk
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