ax; riqis, darkness; sigqan, to sink, prt. sagq.
§ 61. Gothic h in Greek words stands for the ruf breathing (as, Haíbraius, Ἑβραῖος; Hêrôdês, Ἡρώδης), but the ruf breathing is often disregarded (as, ôsanna, ὡσαννά). Accordingly, Goth. initial h had the value of a mere breathing. Medially and finally it may stil hav had the value of a fricativ sound (HG. ch). Cp. the assimilations (§ 62, n. 3) and breaking (§ 62, n. 1). Also initially before consonants, (hl, hn, hr (ƕ)), the h had probably retaind a stronger sound.
Note 1. Latin writers render Gothic h by their h (as, Hildibald, Hildericus); but they also omit it; as, Ariamirus, eils = hails in the epigram (s. § 21, n. 1), Zs. fda. 1, 379; cp. Dietrich, p. 77.
Note 2. Labialized h (hw) has a special sign in Gothic: ƕ (§§ 63. 64).
Note 3. In foren names h is sumtimes interposed medially between vowels; as, Iôhannês, Ιωάννης; Abraham, Ἀβραάμ. Cp. Es. Tegnér, Tidskr. for filol. N. R. 7, 304 et seq.
§ 62. Exampls for h: (a) initially: haúrn, horn; hana, cock; haírtô, hart; hails, hole, sound; hund, hundred; hafjan, to heav; – initial combinations: hlaifs, bred; hliuma, m., hearing; hlifan, to steal; hlûtrs, pure; hlahjan, to laf; hnaiws, low; hrains, clean; hrôpjan, to call; hrôt, n., roof. – (b) medially: faíhu, muney; taíhun, ten; teihan, to show; tiuhan, to pul; saíhs, six; nahts, night; liuhtjan, to light; filhan, to conceal; swaíhra, 'socer'. – (c) finally: jah, and; -uh, and (cp. § 24, n. 2); falh (prt. of filhan); taúh (prt. of tiuhan), etc.
Note 1. Before h (as before r) i is broken to aí, u to aú; cp. §§ 20. 24.
Note 2. Dropping of n before h, which made the preceding vowel long: fâhan (< fanhan), þûhta (< þunhta), etc.; cp. § 50, n. 1; § 5, b; § 15, b.
Note 3. Final h in -uh (or -h; § 24, n. 2), jah, nih, may be assimilated to the initial sound of a following word. But rarely in the gospels (cod. argent.) and in codex B, and only before particls or prns. beginning with þ; frequently, however, also before other consonants, in codex A and Skeir; as, wasuþþan (= wasuh-þan, but it was); Mk. I, 6; sumaiþþan (= sumaih-þan, but sum); Mt. XXVI, 67; sijaiþþan (= sijaih-þan, but it shall be); Mt. V, 37; jaþþê (= jah-þê, and if); niþþan (= nih-þan, and not); – before other consonants in A: jalliban (= jah liban, and liv); II. Cor. I, 8; jaggatraua (= jah gatraua, and I trust); Rom. XIV, 14; jaddu (= jah du, and to); II. Cor. II, 16; jabbrusts (= jah brusts); II. Cor. VII, 15; nukkant (= nuh kant, knowest thou now?); I. Cor. VII, 16; exceptionally also in the codex argent., but only in Lu.: janni (= jah ni); Lu. VII, 32; nissijai (= nih sijai); Lu. XX, 16.
Note 4. Final h is sumtimes dropt (in consequence of having lost its sharp sound? But cp. Beitr., XV, 277): ƕarjô (for ƕarjôh); Mk. XV, 6; ƕammê (for ƕammêh); Gal. V, 3; ƕarjanô (for ƕarjanôh); Skeir. 43; oftener inu (in A) for inuh, without; the h of consonant-combinations is dropt in hiuma; Lu. VI, 17. VIII, 4 (elsewhere hiuhma, multitude); drausnôs; Skeir. 50 (beside drauhsna, crum); als (for alhs); Mk. XV, 38, etc. All these cases ar probably due to the copyists, and most of them hav therefore been amended by the editors. Cp. Bernhardt, Vulfila, LIII et seq. – Also superfluous h occurs: snauh (for snau); I. Thess. II, 16; here, however, it is perhaps the enclitic -h (= -uh, § 24, n. 2).
Note 5. In derivativ words h occurs in certain cases beside k (s. § 58, n. 2) and g (§ 66, n. 1).
§ 63. The sound of ƕ is peculiar to the Gothic, and has no equivalent in Gr. The Gothic sign (whose alfabetic position is that of the Greek ψ) is uzually exprest by hv (hw), because all the corresponding words of the remaining Germanic languages (at least initially) hav hw (hu, hv); as, Goth. ƕeits = OHG. hwîz, OS. OE. hwît, ON. hvîtr, white. But there ar reasons which justify the assumption that the Goth. ƕ was a simpl consonant. Fonetically, it may be regarded as a labialized h (or a voiceless w = NE. wh? Grundr., I, 411). It is therefore recommendabl to represent the simpl Gothic sign by the unitary ligature ƕ. Cp. Zs. fdph., 12, 481 et seq.; Beitr., 12, 218 et seq.
Note. ƕ and hw ar not identical in Gothic. This is proved by the fact that in composition the final h and the following initial w ar not exprest by ƕ, but by hw: þaírhwakandans, keeping wach (thruout); Lu. II, 8; ubuhwôpida (= uf-uh-wôpida; ufwôpida < uf-wôpjan), and he cried out; Lu. XVIII, 38. – The simpl sound of ƕ is also evident from the fact that the verb saíƕan is inflected like the verbal stems ending in a singl consonant (§ 34, n. 1), and that in reduplication ƕ is treated like a singl consonant (ƕaíƕôp, § 178). Cp. Holtzmann, altd. gr. I, 25, together with § 41, n. 1, abuv.
§ 64. Exampls of ƕ: initially: ƕas, who; ƕaírnei, f., skul; ƕaírban, to walk about; ƕeila, time; ƕôpan, to boast; ƕeits, white; ƕaiteis, wheat; – medially: aƕa,
