What language, now extinct, was spoken by the Goths, the tribe that invaded the Roman Empire?

The Goths, a powerful Germanic people who played a significant role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire, spoke a language known as Gothic. This ancient tongue is a member of the East Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, distinguishing it from the North Germanic languages (like Old Norse, which evolved into modern Scandinavian languages) and West Germanic languages (like Old English, Old High German, and Old Saxon). Though it is now extinct, Gothic is notably the only East Germanic language with a substantial surviving corpus of texts.

The most important surviving example of the Gothic language is the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century manuscript containing a large part of a 4th-century Bible translation. This translation is traditionally attributed to Bishop Wulfila (or Ulfilas), who adapted the Greek alphabet to create a unique Gothic script. Wulfila's mission was to convert the Goths to Arian Christianity, and providing them with a Bible in their own language was a crucial step in this process. This effort not only spread Christianity among the Goths but also preserved their language in written form for centuries.

While the Goths themselves continued to interact with and eventually settle within the former Roman territories, their language gradually faded away. The decline of Gothic was influenced by several factors, including the increasing dominance of Latin and Greek in the regions where Goths settled, intermarriage with other groups, and the eventual political and cultural assimilation of the Gothic peoples. By the 9th century, Gothic was largely replaced by other languages, and it eventually became completely extinct.

Today, Gothic remains a valuable subject for linguists and historians, offering unique insights into the development of Germanic languages and the cultural history of early medieval Europe. Its study helps us understand the linguistic landscape of a pivotal era and provides a rare window into the speech of a people who fundamentally reshaped the course of European history.