Note 1. Latin writers express the Gothic ai predominantly by ai, ei: Dagalaiphus, Gaina, Radagaisus, Gisaleicus (cp. Dietrich, 'Ausspr.'), eils in a Lt. epigram (Zs. fda., 1, 379). On the Bukarest rune-ring (cp. § 221, n. 3) stands hailag (Paul's 'Grundriss', I, 411). – Concerning the difthongal pronunciation of the Gothic ai, cp. especially Wrede, 'Wand.', 95 et seq.; about monofthongization in East Goth., s. Wrede, 'Ostg.', 165.
Note 2. ai and aj interchange in wai, woe!; wai-dêdja, evil-doer, and waja-mêrjan, to blasfeme; in aiws, time, and ajukdûþs, eternity.
§ 22. Many scholars hold that also the ai in the reduplicating ablaut vs. (§ 182) saian and waian is difthongal. This ai, however, stands etymologically for Gothic ê, and its OHG. equivalent is â (not ei): OHG. sâen, wâen (cp. ahd. gr., § 359, n. 3.) The difthong ai before a vowel would becum aj; hense, *sajan, *wajan. Here ai perhaps has the sound of long æ, i. e. open e representing close e (ê) when followd by a vowel; thus, saian, waian, for sêan, wêan.
Note 1. Before the i of the 3d pers. sg. prs. a j is often found: saijiþ (Mk. IV, 14), saijiþ (II. Cor. IX, 6 in A, for saiiþ in B; Gal. VI, 7. 8. in A, for saiiþ in B). Before a the j occurs but onse: saijands (Mk. IV, 14). Cp. Beitr. 11, 75 et seq.
Note 2. Here belongs also the isolated faian (Rom. IX, 19, in prs. faianda); but the prs. to the prt. laílôun is lauan rather than laian. Cp. Beitr. 11, 56.
Note 3. Also the ai in armaiô, alms (Bezzenb. Beitr. 7, 210; Beitr. 11, 74), is likely to belong here. – Concerning the fonetic values of the ais discust here, cp. especially Beitr. 11, 51 et seq.; Brgm., I, pp. 126. 127; Wrede, 'Wand.' 99, who, beside Holtzmann, is inclined to assume a long sound for these ais; Noreen, 'Urg. Lautlehre', p. 35 et seq.
§ 23. That the Goth. ai may be both short and long (like a in E. at, fare) is evident from its regular occurrence in Greek words. As a rule, ai = ε in aikklêsjô, ἐκκλησία; Aileisabaiþ, Ἐλισάβεθ; Baiailzaibul, Βεελζεβούλ; Gainnêsaraiþ, Γεννησαρέτ, etc.; likewise = αι (i. e. long æ): Idumaia, Ἰδουμαία; Haíbraius, Ἑβραῖος; hairaísis, αἵρεσις, etc.
Note. Gothic ai for Greek η is exceptional; e. g., Hairodiadins, gen. to Ἡρωδίας (Mk. VI, 17); Neikaúdaimus (Skeir. 52); Νικόδημος (for Nikaúdêmus elsewhere.)
au
Also Goth. au (like ai) stands for historically and fonetically different sounds.
§ 24. I. The short vowel aú. —au in Gothic denotes a short open o-sound. In this case grammarians put an accute accent over the u (aú) in order to keep it apart from the difthong au. Goth. aú corresponds to o or u in OHG. and in the other Germanic languages.
The aú, before h and r in Gothic words, has in every instance developt from a short u which, when immediately followd by these sounds, was 'broken' to short ŏ. E. g.
waúrms, wurm; haúrn, horn; baúrgs (OHG. burg), city; waúrd, word; waúrpum, prt. pl. of waírpan, to throw (cp. § 32); saúhts (OHG. suht), sickness; daúhtar, daughter; aúhsa, ox; taúhum, prt. pl. of tiuhan, to pul; baúhta, prt. of bugjan, to buy.
Note 1. aú before other sounds is entirely exceptional and sumwhat doutful. Thus, in auftô, perhaps (onse also ufto; Mt. XXVII, 64), bisauljan, to sully; bisaulnan, to becum sullied. Holtzmann (altd. gr., p. 14) regards also ufbauljan (II. Tim. III, 4) as belonging to this class.
Note 2. The change of short u into aú before h is without exception. An apparent exception is the enclitic -uh, and, the u of which must be referd to a secondary development; it is never found after a short accented vowel, nor after a long vowel or difthong; e. g., sa-h, ni-h, þai-h, wiljáu-h, ƕarjanô-h; u occurs after consonants, and in polysyllabic words in which a final short a before the u was elided; as, ƕaz-uh, þammuh (= þamma uh), qiþuh (= qiþa uh). Sum, however, assume -ûh (cp. Beitr. 18, 299). – Other us before h ar all long: þûhta (cp. § 15). – There ar a few cases of u before r in unaccented syllabls (§ 13, n. 1), namely in the foren words spaikulâtur and paúrpura (beside paúrpaúra), purpl; so, also, in the Gothic fidur- (§ 141, n. 1) which, however, stands perhaps for fidûr- (cp. IF. 4, 334). – The prefix ur- (in urreisan, urruns, etc.) does not belong here; it is a late form for us the s of which was assimilated to a following r (§ 78, n. 4).
Note 3. Not every au before h and r has developt from u, but may also be the difthong au; as, háuhs, high; táuh, prt. of tiuhan (but pl. taúhum, § 31); gáurs, sorry (cp. OHG. gôrag, wreched, and Goth. gaunôn, to mourn).
Note 4. The au for u in the endings of the u-declension may be aú, but also áu which would be due to confusion caused by analogy. Beitr., 18, 280. – Cp. also uftô for auftô, § 24, n. 1.
Note 5. As a rule, the Greek ο is represented by aú; e. g., apaustaulus, ἀπόστολος; alabalstraun, ἀλάβαστρον; Barþaulaumaius, Βαρθολομαῖος; Pauntius, Πόντιος; aú = υ in Saúr, Σύρος; paúrpaúra, πορφύρα. – Goth. aú = o in the East Gothic name Thorisa. (Wrede, 'Ostg.', 76. 165).
§ 25. II. The old difthong au [= ou in E. house]. Every au not broken from u (before h, r; s. § 24 and note 3) is a difthong; it corresponds