Sintesi e perifrasi nel verbo gotico

Gothic is the only Germanic language in which synthetic passive forms are still extant. It is often claimed, however, that these seem to be in the initial stages of being replaced by periphrastic strategies involving the use of the auxiliaries wisan "to be" and wairthan "to become". The present study aims to show that Gothic synthetic and periphrastic passive forms are not functionally competing but rather in complementary distribution. The synthetic passive should therefore be considered as fully vital in Gothic.