(b) Medially and finally f occurs in but a small number of Gothic words; as, hlifan, to steal; hafjan, to heav; hiufan, to lament; lôfa, m., palm of the hand; ufar, over; afar, after. Before consonants: luftus, air; hamfs, maimd; tweifls, dout; wulfs, wolf; – (final) fimf, five; hôf (prt. of hafjan); þarf, I need (inf. þaúrban).
Note 1. Finally and before the s of the nom., f occurs very often for medial b; s. § 56.
Note 2. Medial f before t (n) stands for b (§ 56, n. 4), before t also for p (§ 51, n. 2).
Note 3. ff is not found.
§ 54. b corresponds to Gr. β, for which it stands in foren words; e. g., barbarus, βάρβαρος; Iakôb, Ἰακώβ. The pronunciation of the Gr. β was that of a labial soft spirant [nearly = E. v]. In like manner Goth. b has the value of a soft (voiced) labiolabial spirant medially after vowels, while initially and medially after consonants it denotes a soft stop (= E. b).
Note 1. Gothic b between vowels in Latin foren words stands for Lt. v, but after m for b: Silbanus, Silvanus; Naúbaímbaír, November; (ana)kumbjan, cumbere.
Note 2. In Gothic names Latin writers employ Lt. b for Gothic b initially and after a consonant (as, Amala-berga, Hildi-bald, Albila), but medially between vowels Lt. v is uzed (as, Liuva, Erelieva); cp. Dietrich, p. 71; Beitr., 1, 148 et seq.; Wrede, 'Ostg.', 169; Zs. fda., 36, 275.
§ 55. Exampls of b:
(a) initially: baíran, to bear; beitan, to bite; brikan, to break; brûkjan, to uze; blêsan, to blow; biudan, to offer; blôma, flower; brôþar, brother; bôka, letter; bnauan, to rub.
(b) medially: liuba (w. m. adj.), dear; galaubjan, to believ; graban, to dig; sibja, relationship; arbi, inheritance; kalbô, hefer; —haubiþ, hed; hlaibis (gen. of hlaifs), bred; sibun, seven; haban, to hav; skaban, to shave; (bi-)leiban, to remain; liban, to liv; biraubôn, to rob; salbôn, to salv, anoint.
Note. bb occurs in foren words only; as, sabbatus.
§ 56. b after consonants (l, m, r) remains finally, before the s of the nom., and before the t of the 2nd pers. sg. prt.; postvocalic b becums f. This means that postvocalic b was a soft spirant (§ 54) which, finally, changed into the corresponding hard spirant, while postconsonantal b, medially and finally, had the value of a stop. Hense giban, to giv, 1st and 3d pers. sg. prt.: gaf, 2nd. pers. gaft, 2nd sg. imper.: gif; hlaifs, bred, acc. hlaif, nom. pl. hlaibôs; – but lamb, lam; dumbs, dum; swaírban, to wipe, prt. swarb.
Note 1. Our texts contain a few exceptions to the rule of final f for medial b after vowels, but the preponderant number of exampls prove the validity of the rule which is fonetically founded and has a striking analogon in the OS. geƀan – gaf; lioƀo – liof (but lamb). The exceptional cases with final b (21 in all) occur only in definit parts of the texts (7 in Lu., 5 in the epistls to the Thess., 4 in Jo., 3 in Skeir., in all the other texts only onse each in Mk. and Eph.). Therefore the anomalous bs may be referd to the writers of the respectiv parts, who either from purely orthografic considerations put the medial bs also finally, or in order to express a later pronunciation as it existed at their time, according to which voiced sounds occurd also finally. The latter supposition is founded on the fact that in the Arezzo document (of the 6th century) the spelling Gudilub occurs. – Cp. also the remarks on the interchange of d and þ in § 74, n. 1.
The exceptions in the verb ar rare, only grôb (Lu. VI, 48) and gadôb (Skeir. 42); – the forms with f occur in gaf, gaft, gif (very often); onse each: grôf (inf. graban), swaif (inf. sweiban), bilaif (inf. bileiban), skauf (inf. skiuban). Accordingly, we may safely write draif (prt. of dreiban, to drive).
Of nouns only hlaifs is often found: nom. hlaifs (12 times, onse hlaibs), acc. hlaif (19 times, hlaib seven times); —twalif, twelv (12 times, twalib 3 times); accordingly, also *ainlif (dat. ainlibim).
Furthermore the following nominativs must be regarded as normal forms: *stafs, element (only stabim occurs); *laufs, leaf (only galaubamma 3 times, filugalaubis, galubaim), *gadôfs, becuming (onse gadôf, 4 times gadôb), *liufs, dear (only forms with more than one syllabl occur: liubai, liuba, liubana, etc.). Lastly, also *þiufs (= OS. thiof), thief, tho the nom. accidentally occurs (4 times) as þiubs, beside þiubôs (twice), þiubê.
Note 2. Subject to the abuv rule ar also the preps. of and uf, the f of which becums medial by enclisis and is changed into b before the following vowel; ab-u, ub-uh. In composition, however, f remains: af-êtja, voracious eater; uf-aiþeis, under oath. (Cp. us in § 78, n. 4).
Note 3. An apparent exception is þarf, I want (for þarb), pl. þaúrbum; but þarf has real f (§ 53) and must be kept apart from the pl. with b (s. ahd. gr., § 101). b stands correctly in the adj. gaþaúrbs. Cp. § 79, n. 2.
Note 4. f before t in derivativ words stands for b elsewhere (§ 81): gifts, f., gift (< giban, onse fragibtim; Lu. I, 27), þaúrfts,