Ulfilas' Gothic, as well as that of the Skeireins and various other manuscripts, was written using an alphabet that was most likely invented by Ulfilas for his translation. Some scholars (e.g. Braune) claim that it was derived from the Greek alphabet only, while others maintain that there are some Gothic letters of Runic or Latin origin. The Wistra Gutisk alphabet is the same as Ulfilas' except for the addition of Ðð Öö Ææ, and replacement of macron for acute to signify pronunciation.
The Wistra-Gutisk alphabet closely resembles the Greek uncial alphabet of the fourth century AD, as did its Gothic predecessor. Where the Greek uncials proved insufficient for rendering some of the sounds, Roman or runic letters were borrowed. These alphabetic characters are also used to represent numerals. Rather than work with the Gothic alphabet itself, scholars generally work with a transliteration using the Roman alphabet, augmented with two additional characters and with the acute accent mark. The following chart lists the transliterated letters, their corresponding numerical values, and a rough guide to pronunciation.
This chart only comprises the uncial alphabet. The complete alphabet follows the chart. The letter names are recorded in a 9th century manuscript of Alcuin (Codex Vindobonensis 795). Most of them seem to be Gothic forms of names also appearing in the rune poems. The names are given in their attested forms followed by the reconstructed Gothic forms and their meanings.
Letter
|
Meaning |
Number
|
Pronunciation
|
Environment and Notes
|
a
Ahsa
|
aza < ans "god" æsir or asks "ash"
|
1
ains
|
[a], o as in 'cot'
[ā], a as in 'father'
|
|
b
Bairka
|
bercna < *bairka "birch"
|
2
twa
|
[v], v as in 'have'
[b], b as in 'bob'
|
medially after vowel or diphthong
otherwise
|
g
Giba
|
geuua < giba "gift" |
3
þrija
|
[ŋ], n as in 'sing'
[x], ch as in 'Bach'
[ḡ], g as in North Ger. 'sagen'
|
before k, g, q
finally, or before s, t
otherwise
|
d
Dags
|
daaz < dags "day" |
4
fidwor
|
[d], d as in 'did'
|
|
e
Eiƕs
|
eyz < aiƕs "horse" or eivs "yew" |
5
fimf
|
[e], e as in 'bed'
|
|
q *
Qairna
|
quetra < *qairþra (?) or quairna "millstone" |
6
saihs
|
[kw], qu as in 'queen'
|
usually represented with 'kw'
|
z
Ezek
|
ezec < ezek |
7
sibun
|
[z], z as in 'buzz' |
|
h
Hagls
|
haal < *hagal or *hagls "hail" |
8
ahtau
|
[h], h as in 'hello'
[x], ch as in 'Bach'
|
initially and finally
commonly between vowels
|
þ
Þaurnus
|
hyth < þiuþ "good" or þaurnus "thorn" |
9
niun
|
[þ], th as in 'with'
|
|
i
Eis
|
iiz < *eis "ice" |
10
taihun
|
[i], i as in 'with' |
|
k
Kónja
|
chozma < *kusma or kōnja "pine sap" |
20
twai tigjus
|
[k], k as in 'kick' |
|
l
Lagus
|
laaz < *lagus "sea, lake" |
30
þreis tigjus
|
[l], l as in 'lazy' |
|
m
Manna
|
manna < manna "man" |
40
fidwor tigjus
|
[m], m as in 'mouth' |
|
n
Nauþs
|
noicz < nauþs "need" |
50
fimf tigjus
|
[n], n as in 'nose' |
|
j
Jer
|
gaar < jēr "year" |
60
saihs tigjus
|
[j], y as in 'you' |
|
u
Úrus
|
uraz < *ūrus "aurochs" |
70
sibuntehund
|
[u], o as in 'do it'
|
see the pronunciation page details
|
p
Pairþa
|
pertra < *pairþa |
80
ahtautehund
|
[p], p as in 'pin' |
|
Ϟ (Crtl+Alt990)**
|
|
90
niuntehund
|
|
|
r
Raida
|
reda < *raida "wagon" |
100
taihun-taihund
|
|
|
s
Sójil
|
sugil < sauïl or sōjil "sun" |
200 |
[s], s as in 'hiss' |
|
t
Tius
|
tyz < *tius "the god Týr" |
300 |
[t], t as in 'tin' |
|
w
Wunjo
|
uuinne < vinja "field, pasture" or vinna "pain" |
400 |
[u], oo as in 'boot'
[w], w as in 'with'
|
between consonants, finally after consonant
otherwise
|
f
Faihu
|
fe < faihu "cattle, wealth" |
500 |
[f], f as in 'fife' |
|
x
Iggus
|
enguz < *iggus or *iggvs "the god Yngvi" |
600 |
[k], k as in 'kick' |
|
Ƕ ƕ (Ctrl+Alt0405)
Ƕair
|
uuaer < *ƕair "kettle" |
700 |
[W], as in Scots when |
|
o
Óþal
|
utal < *ōþal "ancestral land" |
800 |
[ō], o as in 'phone' |
|
Ϡ (Crtl+Alt992)**
|
|
900 |
|
|
* Used typically for numerical representation, but it is not uncommon as a letter and is found in the WG alphabet representing the sound [kw].
** Used only for numerical representation and is not a character of the alphabet proper.
Complete Alphabet
The modern Wistra-Gutisk alphabet consists of 28 letters:
Aa Bb Gg Dd Ee Qq Zz Hh Þþ Ii Kk Ll Mm Nn Jj Uu Pp Rr Ss Tt Ww Ff Xx Ƕƕ Oo Ðð Öö Ææ
It is based upon a Latin alphabet with diacritics, in addition it includes the character eth Ðð and the runic letter thorn Þþ. Öö and Ææ are considered letters in their own right and not a ligature or diacritical version of their respective letters. On the other hand, the letters a, i, u, and o have a diacritical version each represented with the accent mark located above the letter. These glyphs are not considered to be part of the alphabet.
The Alphabet Song
Ahsa Bairka Giba Dags
Eihws Qairna Ezek Hagls
Þaurnus Eis Kónja Lagus
Manna Nauþs Jer Úrus
Pairþa Raida Sójil Tius
Wunjo Faihu Iggus Hwair
Óþal Eðu Örn jah Æsks
Þó ist runos
Ek fraþja þáim waila
The last two lines say:
Those are [the] runes
I know them well
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