Proto-Indo-Iranian language
Proto-Indo-Iranian or Proto-Indo-Iranic[1] is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian/Indo-Iranic branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium BCE, and are often connected with the Sintashta culture of the Eurasian Steppe and the early Andronovo archaeological horizon.
| Proto-Indo-Iranian | |
|---|---|
| PIIr | |
| Reconstruction of | Indo-Iranian languages |
| Region | Eurasian Steppe |
| Era | late 3rd m. BCE |
Reconstructed ancestor | |
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
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Proto-Indo-Iranian was a satem language, likely removed less than a millennium from its ancestor, the late Proto-Indo-European language, and in turn removed less than a millennium from the Vedic Sanskrit of the Rigveda, its descendant. It is the ancestor of the Indo-Aryan languages, the Iranian languages, and the Nuristani languages.
Descriptive phonology
| Labial | Coronal | Palatal | Velar | Laryngeal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| dental/alveolar | post-alveolar | first | second | |||||
| Plosive | voiceless | *p | *t | *ć | *č | *k | ||
| voiced | *b | *d | *ȷ́ | *ǰ | *g | |||
| aspirated | *bʰ | *dʰ | *ȷ́ʰ | *ǰʰ | *gʰ | |||
| Fricative |
voiceless |
*s | *š | *H | ||||
| voiced | (*z) | (*ž) | ||||||
| Nasal | *m | *n | ||||||
| Liquid | (*l) | *r *r̥ | ||||||
| Semivowel | *y | *w | ||||||
| High | *i *ī | *u *ū |
|---|---|---|
| Low | *a *ā | |
In addition to the vowels, *H, and *r̥ could function as the syllabic core.
Two palatal series
Proto-Indo-Iranian is hypothesized to have contained two series of stops or affricates in the palatal to postalveolar region.[2] The phonetic nature of this contrast is not clear, and hence they are usually referred to as the primary or first series (*ć *ȷ́ *ȷ́ʰ, continuing Proto-Indo-European palatovelar *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ) and the second or secondary series (*č *ǰ *ǰʰ, continuing Proto-Indo-European plain and labialized velars, *k, *g, *gʰ and *kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ, in palatalizing contexts). The following table shows the most common reflexes of the two series (Proto-Iranian is the hypothetical ancestor to the Iranian languages, including Avestan and Old Persian):[3][4]
| PII | Sanskrit | Proto-Iranian | Avestan | Old Persian | Nuristani |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ć | ś ([ɕ]) | *ts | s | θ | ċ ([ts]) / š |
| *ȷ́ | j ([ɟ]) | *dz | z | d | j ([dz]) / z |
| *ȷ́ʰ | h ([ɦ]) | ||||
| *č | c ([c]) | *č | č | č | č |
| *ǰ | j ([ɟ]) | *ǰ | ǰ | ǰ | ǰ / ž |
| *ǰʰ | h ([ɦ]) |
Laryngeal
Proto-Indo-European is usually hypothesized to have had three to four laryngeal consonants, each of which could occur in either syllabic or non-syllabic positions. In Proto-Indo-Iranian, the laryngeals merged as one phoneme /*H/. Beekes suggests that some instances of this /*H/ survived into Rigvedic Sanskrit and Avestan as unwritten glottal stops as evidenced by metrics.[5]
Accent
Like Proto-Indo-European and Vedic Sanskrit (and also Avestan, though it was not written down[6]), Proto-Indo-Iranian had a pitch accent system similar to present-day Japanese, conventionally indicated by an acute accent over the accented vowel.
Historical phonology
The most distinctive phonological change separating Proto-Indo-Iranian from Proto-Indo-European is the collapse of the ablauting vowels *e, *o, *a into a single vowel, Proto-Indo-Iranian *a (but see Brugmann's law). Grassmann's law, Bartholomae's law, and the Ruki sound law were also complete in Proto-Indo-Iranian.
A fuller list of some of the hypothesized sound changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Indo-Iranian follows:
- The Satem shift, consisting of two sets of related changes. The PIE palatals *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ are fronted or affricated, eventually resulting in PII *ć, *ȷ́, *ȷ́ʰ, while the PIE labiovelars *kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ merge with the velars *k *g *gʰ.[7]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ḱm̥tóm | *ćatám | śatám | satəm | centum | 'hundred' |
| *ǵónu | *ȷ́ā́nu | jā́nu | zānu | genū | 'knee' |
| *ǵʰimós | *ȷ́ʰimás | himá | ziiā̊ | hiems | 'winter' / 'snow' |
| *kʷós | *kás | kás | ka | quis | 'who?, what?' |
| *gʷṓws | *gā́wš | gaus | gao | bōs | 'cow' |
| *gʷʰormós | *gʰarmás | gharmás | garəma | formus | 'warmth, heat' |
- The PIE liquids *l *r *l̥ *r̥ merge as *r *r̥.[8]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ḱléwos | *ćráwas | śrávas | srauua | clueō | 'fame, honour, word' |
| *wĺ̥kʷos | *wŕ̥kas | vŕ̥kas | vəhrka | lupus | 'wolf' |
- The PIE syllabic nasals *m̥ *n̥ merge with *a.[8]
| PIE | pre-PII | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *déḱm̥ | *dáĉm̥ | *dáća | dáśa | dasā | decem | 'ten' |
| *gʷm̥tós | *gm̥tás | *gatás | gatá | gata | ventus | 'come, gone' |
| *n̥bʰrós | *n̥bʰrás | *abʰrás | abhrá | aβra | imber | 'rain, cloud' |
- Bartholomae's law: an aspirate immediately followed by a voiceless consonant becomes voiced stop + voiced aspirate. In addition, dʰ + t > dᶻdʰ.[9]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ubʰtós | *ubdʰás | sámubdha | ubdaēna | 'woven' / 'made of woven material' |
| *wr̥dʰtós | *wr̥dᶻdʰás | vr̥ddʰá | vərəzda | 'grown, mature' |
| *dʰéwgʰti | *dáwgdʰi | dógdhi | *daogdi | 'to milk' |
- The Ruki rule: *s is retracted to *š when immediately following a liquid (*r *r̥ *l *l̥), a high vowel (*i *u), a PIE velar (*ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ *k *g *gʰ *kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ) or the syllabic laryngeal *H̥.[10] Its allophone *z likewise becomes *ž.[8]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *wisós | *wišás | víṣas | viša | vīrus | 'poison, venom' |
| *ḱeHs- | *ćH̥šam | aśiṣam | sīšā | 'teach!' | |
| *ǵéwseti | *ȷ́áwšati | jóṣati | zaošō | gustus | 'to like, taste' |
| *kʷsép- | *kšáp- | kṣáp- | xšap- | 'darkness' | |
| *plúsis | *plúšiš | plúṣi | *fruši | pūlex | 'flea, noxious insect' |
| *nisdós | *niždás | nīḷá/nīḍá | *nižda | nīdus | 'nest' |
- Before a dental occlusive, *ĉ becomes *š and *ĵ becomes *ž. *ĵʰ also becomes *ž, with aspiration of the occlusive.[11]
| PIE | pre-PII | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *h₁oḱtṓ | *Haĉtā́ | *Haštā́ | aṣṭá | ašta | octō | 'eight' |
| *dr̥ḱtós | *dr̥ĉtás | *dr̥štás | dr̥ṣṭá | dərəšta | 'seen, visible, apparent' | |
| *mr̥ǵt- | *mr̥ĵd- | *mr̥žd- | mr̥ḷ-/mr̥ḍ- | mərəžd- | 'to forgive, pardon' | |
| *uǵʰtós | *uĵdʰás | *uždʰás | ūḍhá | *užda | vector | 'carried' |
- The sequence *ĉš was simplified to *šš.[12]
| PIE | pre-PII | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *h₂éḱs- | *Háĉšas | *Háššas | ákṣa | aša | axis | 'axle, shoulder' |
- The "second palatalization" or "law of palatals": *k *g *gʰ develop palatal allophones *č *ǰ *ǰʰ before the front vowels *i, *e.[9] through an intermediate *kʲ *gʲ *gʲʰ.
| PIE | pre-PII | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *-kʷe | *-kʲa | *-ča | -ca | -ča | -que | 'and' |
| *gʷih₃wós | *gʲiHwás | *ǰiHwás | jīvás | juuō | vīvus | 'alive, living' |
| *gʷʰénti | *gʲʰánti | *ǰʰánti | hánti | jaiṇti | -fendit | 'slays' |
- Brugmann's law: *o in an open syllable lengthens to *ō.[13]
| PIE | pre-PII | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *deh₃tórm̥ | *daHtā́rm̥ | *daHtā́ram | dātā́ram | dātārəm | datōrem | 'giver' (accusative singular) |
- The vowels *e *o merge with *a. Similarly, *ē, *ō merge with *ā. This has the effect of giving full phonemic status to the second palatal series *č *ǰ *ǰʰ.
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *dédeh₃ti | *dádaHti | dádāti | dadāiti | dat | 'to give' |
| *h₃dónts | *Hdánts | dant | dantan | dēns | 'tooth' |
| *bʰréh₂tēr | *bʰráHtā | bhrā́tr̥ | brātar | frāter | 'brother' |
| *wṓkʷs | *wā́kš | vā́k | vāxš | vōx | 'voice' |
- In certain positions, laryngeals were vocalized to *i. This preceded the second palatalization.[14][15]
- Following a consonant, and preceding a consonant cluster
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ph₂tréy | *pitráy | pitré | piθrē | patrī | 'father' (dative singular) |
- Following a consonant and word-final
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *-medʰh₂ | *-madʰHi | -mahi | -maidī/-maiδi | (1st person plural middle ending) |
- The Indo-European laryngeals all merged into one phoneme *H, which may have been a glottal stop. This was probably contemporary with the merging of *e and *o with *a.[16]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | Latin | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *ph₂tḗr | *pHtā́ | pitā́ | ptā | pater | 'father' |
- According to Lubotsky's Law, *H disappeared when followed by a voiced nonaspirated stop and another consonant:[17]
| PIE | PII | Sanskrit | Avestan | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *bʰéh₂geti | *bʰáǰati | bhájati | bažat̰ | 'to divide, distribute' |
Subsequent sound changes
Among the sound changes from Proto-Indo-Iranian to Indo-Aryan is the loss of the voiced sibilant *z; among those to Proto-Iranian is the de-aspiration of the PIE voiced aspirates.
| PIE | OInd/VS | Av | PIE | OInd/VS | Av | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *p | > | p | p | *ph̥₂tḗr "father" | pitā́ "father" | pitar- "father" |
| *b | > | b | b | *bél- "strong" | bálam "strength" | — |
| *bʰ | > | bh | b | *bʰréh₂tēr "brother" | bhrā́tār- "brother" | brātar- "brother |
| *t | > | t | t | *tuHóm "thou" | tuvám "thou" | tvəm "thou" |
| *d | > | d | d | *dóru "wood" | dā́ru "wood" | dāru- "wood" |
| *dʰ | > | dh | d | *dʰoHnéh₂- "grain" | dhānā́- "grain" | dāna- "grain" |
| *ḱ | > | ś | s | *déḱm̥ "ten" | dáśa "ten" | dasa "ten" |
| *ǵ | > | j | z | *ǵónu "knee" | jā́nu "knee" | zānu- "knee" |
| *ǵʰ | > | h | z | *ǵʰimós "cold" | himá- "cold, frost" | zəmaka- "winterstorm" |
| *k | > | k ~ c | x ~ č | *kruh₂rós "bloody" | krūrá- "bloody" | xrūra- "bloody" |
| *téket "may he run" | — | tačat̰ "may he run" | ||||
| *g | > | g ~ j | g ~ ǰ | *h₂éuges- "strength" | ójas- "strength" | aoǰah "strength" |
| *h₂ugrós "strong" | ugrá- "strong" | ugra- "strong" | ||||
| *gʰ | > | gh ~ h | g ~ ǰ | *dl̥Hgʰós "long" | dīrghá- "long" | darəga- "long" |
| *dleHgʰistos "longest" | drā́ghiṣṭha | draǰišta- "longest" | ||||
| *kʷ | > | k ~ c | k ~ č | *kʷós "who" | káḥ "who" | kō "who" |
| *kʷe "and" | ca "and" | ́ča "and" | ||||
| *gʷ | > | g ~ j | g ~ ǰ | *gʷou- "cow" | gav- "cow" | gau- "cow" |
| *gʷih₃wós "alive" | jīvá- "alive" | OPer: ǰīva- "living" | ||||
| *gʷʰ | > | gh ~ h | g ~ ǰ | *gʷʰnénti "strike" (pl.) | ghnánti "strike" (pl.) | — |
| *gʷʰénti "strikes" | hánti "strikes" | ǰainti "strikes" | ||||
| *s | > | s | s ~ h | *septm̥ "seven" | saptá "seven" | hapta "seven" |
| *h₁ésti "is" | ásti "is" | asti "is" | ||||
| *y | > | y | y | *yugóm "yoke" | yugam "yoke" | yuga- "yoke" |
| *w | > | v | v | *wéǵʰeti "drives, rides" | váhati "drives" | vazaiti "travels" |
| *m | > | m | m | *méh₂tēr "mother" | mātár- "mother" | mātar- "mother" |
| *n | > | n | n | *nós "us" | nas "us" | nō "us" |
| *l | > | l ~ r | r | *kʷeleti "moves" | carati "moves" | caraiti "moves" |
| *r | > | r | r | *bʰréh₂tēr "brother" | bhrā́tār- "brother" | brātar- "brother |
| *n̥ | > | a | a | *n̥- "un-" | a- "un-" | a- "un-" |
| *m̥ | > | a | a | *ḱm̥tóm "hundred" | śatám "hundred" | satəm "hundred" |
| *l̥ | > | r̥ | ərər | *wĺ̥kʷos "wolf" | vŕ̥ka- "wolf" | vəhrka- "wolf" |
| *r̥ | > | r̥ | ərər | *ḱŕ̥d- "heart" | hŕ̥d- "heart" | zərəd- "heart" |
| *i | > | i | i | *linékʷti "leaves" | riṇákti "leaves" | irinaxti "releases" |
| *e | > | a | a | *déḱm̥ "ten" | dáśa "ten" | dasa "ten" |
| *ē | > | ā | ā | *h₂nḗr "man" | nā "man" | nā "man" |
| *a | > | a | a | *h₂éǵeti "drives" | ájati "drives" | azaiti "drives" |
| *ā | > | ā | ā | *méh₂tēr "mother" | mātā́ "mother" | mātar- "mother" |
| *o | > | a ~ ā | a ~ ā | *ǵómbʰos "tooth, peg" | jā́mbha- "tooth, tusk" | — |
| *ǵónu "knee" | jānu "knee" | zānu- "knee" | ||||
| *ō | > | ā | ā | *dʰoHnéh₂- "grain" | dhānā́- "grain" | dāna- "grain" |
| *u | > | u | u | *yugóm "yoke" | yugám "yoke" | yuga- "yoke" |
| *ū | > | ū | ū | *mū́s "mouse" | mū́ṣ- "mouse" | NPer mūs "mouse" |
| *h₁ | > | ∅ | ∅ | *h₁ésti "is" | ásti "is" | asti "is" |
| *h₂ | > | ∅ | ∅ | *h₂ŕ̥tḱos "bear" | ŕ̥kṣa- "bear" | arəša- "bear" |
| *h₃ | > | ∅ | ∅ | *h₃ókʷs(i) "eye" | ákṣi "eye" | aši "eye" |
| *h₄ | > | ∅ | ∅ | *h₄órǵʰis "testicle" | — | ərəzi- "testicle" |
| Proto-Indo-Iranian | Old Iranian (Av, OP) | Vedic Sanskrit |
|---|---|---|
| *Háćwas "horse" | Av aspa, OP asa | áśva |
| *bʰaHgás "portion, share" | Av bāga | bhāgá |
| *bʰráHtā "brother" | Av, OP brātar | bhrā́tr̥ |
| *bʰúHmiš "earth, land" | OP būmiš | bhū́mi- |
| *mártyas "mortal, man" | Av maṣ̌iia, OP martiya | mártya |
| *mā́Has "moon" | Av mā̊, OP māha | mā́s |
| *wásr̥ "spring" | Av vaŋhar | vásara "morning" |
| *Hr̥tás "truth" | Av aṣ̌a, OP arta | r̥tá |
| *dʰráwgʰas "lie" | Av draoγa, OP drauga | drógha "using malicious words" |
| *sáwmas "pressed (juice)" | Av haoma | sóma- |
See also
- Substratum in the Vedic language
References
- Peter Bellwood; Immanuel Ness (10 November 2014). The Global Prehistory of Human Migration. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-97059-1.
- Burrow, pp. 78-79
- Ramat, Anna Giacalone (1998). The Indo-European Languages (illustrated ed.). London ; New York: Routledge. p. 134. ISBN 0-415-06449-X.
- Cardona, George; Dhanesh Jain (2003). The Indo-Aryan Languages. London ; New York: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 0-7007-1130-9.
- Beekes (1988), p. 50
- Beekes, p. 55
- Burrow, pp. 74-75
- Fortson, p. 182
- Fortson, p. 181
- F. B. J. Kuiper. 1976. "Old East Iranian dialects." Indo-Iranian Journal 18, p. 242.
- Burrow, p. 91
- Burrow, pp. 92-94
- Fortson, p. 183
- Beekes, pp. 85-86
- Lubotsky, p. 53
- get ref
- Beekes, pp. 88-89
- "Indo-Iranian Languages." Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Ed. J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. pp. 305.
Bibliography
- Beekes, Robert Stephen Paul (1988). A Grammar of Gatha-Avestan. Leiden; New York: Brill. ISBN 90-04-08332-4.
- Burrow, T. (1973). The Sanskrit Language (third ed.). London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-04819-6.
- Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction (illustrated ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-0316-7.
- Lubotsky, A. M. (1988). The System of Nominal Accentuation in Sanskrit and Proto-Indo-European. Leiden; New York: Brill. ISBN 90-04-08835-0.
- Alexander Lubotsky, "The Indo-Iranian substratum" in Early Contacts between Uralic and Indo-European, ed. Carpelan et al., Helsinki (2001).
- Asko Parpola, 'The formation of the Aryan branch of Indo-European', in Blench and Spriggs (eds), Archaeology and Language III, London and New York (1999).