Several decades ago, it was believed that the kinship of languages indicates the obligatory blood relationship of peoples, while the Aryan race and the corresponding languages \u200b\u200bdid not attract too much public attention. Some time passed, and in the works of Oppert sounded the idea that the Aryan languages exist, but there is no such race in principle. What is it about?
General information
Today, some believe that Aryan is a word that can describe something linguistic, while not having a special connection with the ethnic. All such dialects supposedly have a single root, but the peoples who speak them are not related by blood. At the same time, it is recognized that at first one certain race had to appear, which began to use it. It is she who probably uses such languages to this day. Who could it be? Linguists, philologists, historians have been looking for an answer to this question.
Before the separation, the Aryans, that is, the peoples who used languages from the Indo-European family, were probably shepherds, led a nomadic lifestyle, thereforespread over large areas. Gradually the number of people increased, the nationality included different tribes. The Aryan dialect came to others and changed during the merger. Research by archaeologists and anthropologists suggests that at least two of the four European Neolithic races are not related to the Aryans. If we analyze the remaining two, we can assume that the Aryans were the so-called short-headed, who lived in central European areas.
Types and forms
If you ask a linguist what languages are currently in the Indo-European group, he will mention nine main families. These are Hindus and Greeks, Slavic and Lithuanian people, as well as those living in Armenia, Italy. The Celts, Teutons, Letts belong to the same group. Previously, there were many more families. Over the centuries, they have completely disappeared. The Thracians are among such disappeared. No less illustrative examples are the Dacians, the Phrygians. Relations between some families are closer, so they can be grouped into blocks. This combination allows you to get six main categories out of nine: Indo-Iranian, Lithuanian-Slavic, Celtic-Italic. In addition to them, Hellenes, Armenians, Teutons are distinguished.
Analysis of the features of Sanskrit, Zenda showed an amazing similarity of these two dialects. The results of the research work made it possible to assume the presence of some generating, common for these dialects, language. In science, it was designated Indo-Iranian. Subsequent studies on the Slavs proved the proximity of Lithuanian dialects and languagesSlavic peoples. At the same time, the abundance of the common language of the Lithuanians and the Teutonic dialect is recognized. The study of classical philological works made it possible to determine that previously there were only two types of literature related to the Aryan dialect. It has been suggested that the two main languages for the classics (Latin, Greek) were related, literally fraternal languages, between which there are many connections. Such calculations have now found opposition in the form of a belief in a closer relationship between the Celts and Italians. But the language inherent in the Greek people from the Indo-European family, according to linguists of our days, is closer to that spoken by Armenians, as well as to Indo-Iranian.
Terms and definitions
To understand which languages belong to Indo-European, it is necessary to remember the peoples who lived in the area occupied by India and Iran in ancient times. In those days, people in these lands called themselves "Arya", and it was from this word that the name "Aryan" was formed. The Indo-Iranian group is a specific branch, which is inherent in the correspondence of the vocabulary, the grammar system to Iranian dialects, Indo-Aryan. For these languages, the constancy of the ratio of sounds is characteristic. The Vedas, the Avesta, the cuneiform script of the ancient Persians prove the similarity of the dialects that are today included in the Indo-European group. The Indo-Iranian language, which became the progenitor of the later ones, eventually split into two branches: Iranian, Indian. Thus, new proto-languages appeared. They are the foundation of those individual languages that will later become known to us.
Based on information about the peoples who speakIndo-European languages, tried to form a unified idea of the cultural state of the Indo-Iranian people. This was first taken up by Spiegel, who was known as the leading Iranist of his time. He formulated a list of terms characteristic of Indo-Iranian dialects. Mostly they are used to refer to divine beings, images from mythology, as well as military activities. The closeness of the languages that form this group is so unique that the original theory has almost never been criticized.
A lot, a little
To understand which languages belong to the Indo-Iranian family in the Indo-European family, one should turn to the eastern lands. The Indo-European tree of languages is a unique, huge formation, and the Indo-Iranian is just one of its many branches. It is customary to divide into Iranian, Indo-Aryan sub-branches. In total, the Indo-Iranian group is currently the language block used for communication by approximately 850 million people. Among all the groups that make up the Indo-European tree, it is rightfully considered the most numerous.
The Indian dialects used today are New Indian languages. They are used in the central Indian regions, in the north of the country. They are common among Pakistanis and Nepalese, they are used for explanation by Bangladeshis, the inhabitants of the Maldives, Sri Lanka. Modern linguists recognize the complexity of the current linguistic situation in such powers. The Indian south is occupied by people who speak different varieties of Indo-Aryan, herewith might and main they use dialects assigned to the Dravidian group. New Indian dialects include Hindi, Urdu. The first is used by the Hindus, the second is used by the Pakistanis and the inhabitants of some parts of India. Hindi writing is based on the Devanagari system, but for adherents of Urdu, Arabic characters and rules are the basis for writing.
Different and not so good
Modern linguists know well which languages of the Indo-European group are close to each other. In particular, considering Hindi, Urdu, they note a surprising similarity. Literary variants of adverbs are similar to each other almost like two drops of water. The key difference is the chosen form for writing words. By analyzing the spoken forms of the language, Hindustani is evaluated. The dialect used by Muslims is almost indistinguishable from that spoken by Hindus.
Bhili, Bengali, Nepali and many others are included in the same group of languages. New Indian languages included in the same family include Romani. It can be found not only within the territories where the Indo-Aryan dialect is used, but also beyond its borders. Our country will not be an exception.
Historical context
The Indo-European family of languages belongs to the ancient groups that unite a huge number of people. The literary language forms characteristic of the Indian people are distinguished by a rich historical past. It is known that the most ancient version of writing is Vedic, the language of the Vedas. It was on it, as historians for certain know, that the sacredsongs, spells were fixed. It was used to record religious hymns. Linguists value knowledge of the Rigveda, that is, the Veda of hymns, highly. This collection was first created around the end of the second millennium before the beginning of the current era.
The Vedic dialect was eventually replaced by Sanskrit. This language has two main forms. The epic was used to create the Ramayana. The same form of language was used by the authors of the Mahabharata. Both poems are famous throughout the world because of their enormous size. The same Sanskrit was used to fix classical literature. Creations are mostly voluminous. They have a wide variety of genres. Surprisingly, even brilliantly performed works. The language of the Vedas, Sanskrit in total, is an ancient Indian dialect. Sanskrit grammar was first recorded in the fourth century before the beginning of the current era, the author of the collection is Panini. To this day, this creation is a model for any description in the field of linguistics.
Times and places
Indo-European languages include not only new and ancient languages. Between them on the time scale are the Middle Indian. There are a lot of such adverbs. They are called prakrits. The word is derived from the term "natural", written in Sanskrit. Around the end of the 18th century, European explorers appreciated and marveled at the qualities of Sanskrit, a strict and very beautiful language. At the same time, for the first time, they noticed how much it has in common with European dialects. In many respects, it was these observations that became the basis for further research.linguistics. In this field of science, a new direction has appeared, dedicated to the comparison of different languages and the analysis of their changes and mutual relations, taking into account the historical context.
Iranian languages
Indo-European languages and Aryan peoples are also an Iranian language group. Among all other groups included in the family, the Iranian ones are the most numerous in number. Such dialects nowadays can be heard not only in Iran, but also on the territory of Afghanistan, as well as performed by the Turks, Iraqis, Pakistanis, Indians. Iranian languages are spoken by some peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asian residents. The Iranian group unites not only a huge number of living options for communication, but also an abundance of already exhausted, extinct ones. There are those with writing, but there are those whose carriers have never been able to write. To reconstruct such adverbs, modern linguists and philologists use indirect evidence. Of particular interest to scientists, however, are the literary languages, and primarily the one that was used to fix the Avesta, a collection of sacred texts of the Zoroastrians, on solid material. Modern scholars know this dialect as Avestan.
From among the languages that did not know writing, Scythian is curious. It was spoken in the lands adjacent to the Black Sea from the north, it was also used by people who lived in the modern South Ukrainian lands. Scythian was previously used by Caucasian residents. It is believed that the language died out about one and a half millennia ago. As some scholars believe, linguistic heritage can be seen inresidents of North Ossetia.
Among the peoples belonging to the Indo-European family of languages, the Iranians deserve attention. The ancient Iranians are Scythians and Sarmatians. These peoples lived in the neighborhood of the Slavic tribes, regularly contacted with their representatives. The result was an abundance of borrowing. Among them are the words familiar to us - a hut, an ax. From the Aryan languages, trousers and boots came to us as words. The fact that the Iranians lived in the lands close to the Black Sea is indicated by toponyms. In particular, it was they who came up with the names Don, Danube. From here came the names Dniester, Dnipro.
Similarities and differences
Linguist Schmidt, studying the ancient Aryan languages and the peculiarities of the connections of dialects, came to the conclusion that there are hundreds of common words between Indo-Iranian and Greek. If we compare Latin with Greek, we can find 32 similar words. Such partially are words associated with the designation of vegetation, representatives of the animal world, as well as general terms from the subject of civilization. It makes sense to assume that they came to both of these languages from somewhere else. If you pay attention to the connections of languages, you will also have to admit that such specific features as increment, doubling, aorist are the distinctive features of Indo-Iranian, Greek. These same ways of speaking have their own unique non-final moods. The six divine names known to the Greeks are well explained in Sanskrit, but only three have similarities with the words used in Latin.
Analysis of dialects related to the Indo-European family of languages, peoples and features of their life, recorded inthese dialects, allows you to note the curious features, similarities and differences. For example, the terms that denoted objects, phenomena associated with the life of shepherds, farmers in the period when such a direction was just developing, are quite similar in Latin and the Greek language. But the terminology associated with military affairs is fundamentally different in these languages. The words used by the Greeks often coincide with Sanskrit, while the Latin ones are as close as possible to those used by the Celts. Certain conclusions about the connections of languages follow from the analysis of numerals. In ancient times, the Aryans knew only a score within a hundred. The term for a thousand is the same in the Greeks, in Sanskrit, but is different in Latin. Latin, the language of the Celts, has a similar word to describe a thousand. In this aspect, there is a similarity between the Germanic languages and the one used by the Lithuanians.
What does that mean?
Based on these facts, we can assume that Greek and Latin were divided long ago. Similarly, the separation of Latin and Lithuanian happened early. At the same time, Latin and the language of the Celts were separated relatively recently. Also, at a fairly late date, Indo-Iranian, Greek separated. Not so long ago, apparently, there was a separation of Lithuanians, Germanic peoples.
History and travels
To correctly assess what the Aryan group of languages is, it makes sense to turn to history, which allows us to understand at what point the Indo-Iranian groups lived in the modern Russian south. Presumably, the split into separate branches happened in 5-4millennia before the beginning of the current era. In those days, the ancestors of the B alts and Slavs probably lived next door to the Indo-Iranian peoples. At the end of the fourth or beginning of the third millennium BC, the Indo-Iranian tribes moved to the eastern lands, passing through the northern regions near the Black Sea. The Kuban lands were replenished with the Maikop culture, the Novosvobodninsk component appeared, which modern historians also associate with the Indo-Iranian peoples. This is probably where the kurgan culture comes from. From the north, the peoples coexisted with the B alts, who in previous centuries were much more widespread than they are today. This fact is confirmed by the fact that the word "Moscow" also has the etymology of the B alts.
In the second millennium BC, the Aryans erected log cabins in the steppe areas up to the Altai territories. Some believe that they were distributed even further east. In the southern lands they spread to Afghanistan. In these places, at that time, the spread of the Andronovo Aryan language and the culture corresponding to it was observed. At present, scientists know that Arkaim and Sintashta were the centers of the Andronovo culture. The culture is associated with the Indo-Aryan people, although some argue that it is due to the influence of the proto-Iranians. The latest hypotheses suggest considering the Andronovites as the third Aryan branch. Presumably, such a nation had its own, radically different language. This branch had features of both Iranian dialects and similarities with Indo-Aryan dialects.
Grammar progression
Researchers who have devoted themselves to the peculiarities of the development of the Aryan group of languages have found that for this type of dialect, one of the oldest changes in morphology was what made it possible to stand out from the Celts and Italians. A passive voice appeared, new options for designating the future. Formed new grammatical ways of reflecting the past perfect. Modern linguists, philologists, analyzing information about these features of grammar, suggest that the Celto-Italic variants of speaking stood out from the general group at a time when other Aryan variants of conversation were still the same. The unity of the Celtic, Italian is not as obvious as the Slavic, Lithuanian, Indo-Iranian. This is due to a more ancient origin.
In the study of the Aryan languages, it was possible to determine a much less deep commonality between the Celtic and the Teutonic language than the Celts and Latin. Mostly similarities are characteristic of words associated with the phenomena of civilization. At the same time, a minimum of common was revealed in morphology. It is assumed that this speaks of superiority in the field of politics, of the proximity of geographical zones, while not indicating primitive unity.
Teutonic, Slavs and Lithuanians
The Aryan languages used by these peoples have a deep similarity. It is relatively complete, since it covers both words reflecting civilizational phenomena and grammatical features. The Slavs, the Teutons finally divided, apparently not so long ago. The languages of these peoples are characterized by similarities in the terminology describing metallurgy, butweapons, maritime affairs - these are areas in which different words are used. If we compare the similarities of the Slavs, Lithuanians, Teutons, we can see deep mutual relations, and the most obvious way to demonstrate is to replace the original character “bh” with “m” in a number of cases at the end of a word. A similar variant of change is not characteristic of any other dialect of the same group.
At the same time, 16 words known to linguists and philologists, in which "k" is replaced by "s", speak about the similarity of the Indo-Iranian, Slavic-Lithuanian languages belonging to the Aryan languages. Such a substitution is not characteristic of the language of the Teutons. In Iranian there is a word "bhaga", adopted to describe the supreme divine essence. It was also used by the Phrygians, Slavs. Nothing of the kind could be found in the languages of the Greeks, Latin. Accordingly, we can confidently speak of a single family of Slavic-Lithuanian, Iranian, Teutonic dialects. At the same time, they admit that the language of the Greeks strove for Italian, Iranian in its various aspects.
