The Sounds and Phonemes of Wulfila s Gothic 1st Edition by James W Marchand ISBN 9027924325 9789027924322

The Sounds and Phonemes of Wulfila’s Gothic by James W. Marchand is a foundational linguistic study that analyzes the phonemic structure of the Gothic language, primarily as preserved in the 4th-century Bible translation attributed to Bishop Wulfila (or Ulfilas). In this work, Marchand seeks to reconstruct the sound system of Gothic with the rigor of structural phonology, aiming to establish a clear inventory of phonemes based on the available textual evidence. The introduction sets the stage by explaining why Gothic holds such a unique place in Germanic studies: it is not only the earliest substantial written form of a Germanic language, but it also provides insight into Proto-Germanic phonology and morphology before the later dialectal developments of languages like Old High German, Old English, or Old Norse. Marchand draws on four primary sources of evidence to establish his phonemic system: first, loanwords and proper names that show how Gothic words were borrowed into or rendered from other languages; second, orthographic irregularities and deviations from expected spellings in the manuscripts that may point to underlying phonological patterns; third, systemic and internal linguistic structures such as morphological alternations and syntactic behavior; and fourth, comparative data from other ancient Indo-European languages. The work is divided into detailed chapters dealing with consonants, vowels, stress patterns, and morphophonemic processes, all while situating Gothic within the broader context of Indo-European linguistics. Marchand also includes a postscript to reflect developments in the field and correct minor issues in the original 1955 dissertation. Overall, this book remains a meticulous and influential contribution to historical linguistics, especially for scholars interested in the Germanic language family, early Christian texts, and the development of phonemic theory.