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In:From Carving Runestones to Digitizing Skaldic Poetry: Studies in Germanic philology and historical linguistics
Edited by David Bolter, Erin Noelliste, Christopher D. Sapp and Lane Sorensen
[Studies in Germanic Linguistics 11] 2026
► pp. 293–311

Chapter 17
Gothic derivations

Predictability and productivity

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Abstract
This paper investigates Gothic productivity via nominalizations of both weak and strong verbs. Productivity is defined as “the possibility to coin new complex words according to the word formation rules of a given language” (Plag 1999: 6). While considering productivity in this light, the current paper studies these nominalizations according to their predictability in terms of form (i.e., reproducibility of word-formations) and whether there are or were cognates in other Germanic languages. Following the two metrics above, the paper finds that Gothic weak verbal abstracts were likely productive forms in comparison to strong verbal abstracts, which were likely unproductive forms.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Gothic weak verbs
  • 3.Gothic strong verbs
  • 4.Gothic deverbal nouns
    • 4.1Deverbal nouns from weak verbs
    • 4.2Deverbal nouns from strong verbs
  • 5.Productivity
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
References (31)
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