A sociolinguistically informed solution to an old historical problem: the Gothic genitive plural

Abstract

The Gothic gen. pl. in -ē has no clear etymological source, and its origin has been a matter of controversy for well over a century. This paper proposes a new solution to that problem that makes use of what modern linguists have learned about variation and change in speech communities. It will also be necessary to consider the origin of the Germanic weak past tense suffix, the etymology of ‘did’, and a largely unrecognized Auslautgesetz.

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