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Rating: 
Summary: Great book on Gothic Tongue
Review: The best book I've seen on Gothic. Layman friendly. These folks also sell Asatru rituals in West Goth and Old English.
This is the only book on Gothic I know of that is aimed at normal people and not PHds. This book belongs in the library of every student of the Old Ways. Wyatt Kaldenberg
Rating: 
Summary: Bennett, on the Gothic Language
Review: This 190 page hardcover edition is a fine supplement to the classical works by Wright and Streitberg. Professor Bennett (born in 1907, and long associated with Notre Dame) is eminently qualified for such a work. The work nicely intergrates Gothic within its Indo-European framework, displaying and commenting upon the relationships. As an expert (i.e. Bennett) within the disapline of general Indo-European linguistics, the reader will note a healty dosage of modern linguistic terms and concepts. The book is laid out into 28 chapters, each covering some aspect of the language (grammar, phonetics, historical aspects etc.) and each has some concluding exercises. [No answers are provided in a supplementary work (apparently), the user seeks out the answer in the work]. It is thus a book useful for classroom purposes. It has a fine 42 page Gothic-English dictionary, and a good bibliography. It also has a proper (though brief) index. The various languages used in the text are clearly transliterated, and the type and layout is clutter-free. One objection I have is that he does not show his precise transliteration scheme for the IE (or PIE) words or for the Greek words, it appears that he is assuming that the instructor and student are familiar with his (or a standard?) scheme. As an expert with the Germanic languages he displays his adeptness here, perhaps too much so, as he seems to focus a bit heavily upon the Germanic/Latin angle as opposed to the German/IE/Greek aspects. But this may be just my bias. The hardcover edition has 3 facsimiles of Gothic MSS, one of which is very unreadable (none on glossy paper). Bennett gives some room for discussion about the surviving texts. The hardbound edition is well made, it is smyth-sewn, no statements are made regarding the quality of the paper, but it feels acid-free. All-in-all, a fine work, highly recommended for all students of this fine ancient language, and important for Biblical scholars as well who desire (or need) to access an early text of the NT. This grammar can get you up and running.
Rating:
Summary: Bennett, on the Gothic Language
Review: This 190 page hardcover edition is a fine supplement to the classical works by Wright and Streitberg. Professor Bennett (born in 1907, and long associated with Notre Dame)is eminently qualified for such a work. The work nicely intergrates Gothic within its Indo-European framework, displaying and commenting upon the relationships. As an expert within the disapline of general Indo-European linguistics, the reader will note a healty dosage of modern linguistic terms and concepts. The book is laid out into 28 chapters, each covering some aspect of the language (grammar, phonetics, historical aspects etc.)and each has some concluding exercises. [No answers are provided in a supplementary work (apparently), the user seeks out the answer in the work]. It is thus a book useful for classroom purposes. It has a fine 42 page Gothic-English dictionary, and a good bibliography. It also has a proper (though brief) index. The various languages used in the text are clearly transliterated, and the type and layout is clutter-free. One objection I have is that he does not show his precise transliteration scheme for the IE (or PIE) words or for the Greek words, it appears that he is assuming that the instructor and student are familiar with his (or a standard?) scheme. As an expert with the Germanic languages he displays his adeptness here, perhaps too much so, as he seems to focus a bit heavily upon the Germanic/Latin angle as opposed to the German/IE/Greek aspects. But this may be just my bias. The hardcover edition has 3 facsimiles of Gothic MSS, one of which is very unreadable (none on glossy paper). Bennett gives some room for discussion about the surviving texts. The hardbound edition is well made, it is smyth-sewn, no statements are made regarding the quality of the paper, but it feels acid-free. All-in-all, a fine work, highly recommended for all students of this fine ancient language, and important for Biblical scholars as well who desire (or need) to access an early text of the NT. This grammar can get you up and running. A good book well worth $32.00.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most exciting languages I've picked up
Review: This is a highly praise worthy book. A good knowledge of Old English is helpful when tackling Gothic but not completely necessary since the book covers most of what you need to know. It's too bad no one speaks Gothic, or any east Germanic dialct anymore it would be interesting to see how the language modernized.
Rating:
Summary: The easiest introduction I have seen.
Review: While most Gothic language introductions and grammars assume a very thorough knowledge of Germanic comparative linguistics, this one actually defines most of the technical terms it uses. Has a good explanation of the rules and even some exercises (no answers, though). Seems adequate for classroom or self- study. Texts in Gothic are used from the very beginning (some original, some from ancient sources). Above all, the way the rules are presented and the choice of readings make this book a FUN learning experience.
Rating:
Summary: The easiest introduction I have seen.
Review: While most Gothic language introductions and grammars assume a very thorough knowledge of Germanic comparative linguistics, this one actually defines most of the technical terms it uses. Has a good explanation of the rules and even some exercises (no answers, though). Seems adequate for classroom or self- study. Texts in Gothic are used from the very beginning (some original, some from ancient sources). Above all, the way the rules are presented and the choice of readings make this book a FUN learning experience.
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