The Airyan Languages

Michael Hoshang Momeni

The early Homo sapiens had already developed multiple primitive oral communication tools before migrating out of Africa. These oral tools evolved into consistent proto-languages for transfer of information within clans, then expanded for communication with members of other clans. Proto-languages advanced by acquiring words for common objects and routine actions (verbs). Many of these languages did not continue and were absorbed, or replaced with language from other tribes, or dominating communities.

The Airyan language is the ancestral language of the Celtic, Italic, Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Airyan (Iranian), and Indo-Aryan, Albanian, Armenian, Greek, and Tocharian languages.

The principal languages developed during the last 10,000 years in the North Africa, the Arabian Plateau, Iranian Plateau, and Eurasia are Proto-Afro-Asian and the Airya languages. Several other languages, including Sumerian and Elamite languages, had developed in the Southern Iran and Pakistan-India. The Dravidian language is spoken in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The Dravidian family is not related to either the Afro-Asian or the Airya languages. In the older literature, the Airyan families of languages are called proto-Indo-European languages.

Afro-Asiatic languages

The predominant members of this family of languages are Chadic, Cushitic, Egyptian, Omotic and Semitic. The family also includes the following ancient languages: Ancient Egyptian, Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, and Old. The Hebrew language, Arabic language, and Aramaic language had evolved from a common proto-Afro-Asian language.

The earliest written evidence of an Afro-Asiatic language is an Ancient Egyptian inscription dated to about 5,400 years ago. Afro-Asian language evolved approximately 9,500 years ago.

The language of Airya, the Airyan Language

The common ancestor of Airyan (Iranian), European, and Indo-Aryan languages is the Proto-Airya language. A consistent tool for oral communication emerged in the East-central region of Zagros Mountains by 8,000 BCE. About 4,700 BCE, the method for oral communication had developed into a coherent language with sufficient vocabulary among Airya farmers and herders. The climate adversely changed after 4,700 BCE; this change was responsible for forcing migration of the Airya tribes out of their core region into the northern and eastern regions of the Iranian Plateau, Europe, and Central Asia.

The migrants' language once separated from the core Airya population diverged into separate local dialects. It acquired special vocabulary to suite the new physical and social conditions. The Airyan people, the Iranic people, are diverse ethno-linguistic branch of homo-sapiens.

Parsi is one of the many dialects of the Airyan language. At present time, Parsi is the standard dialect of Airyan language in Iran.

The oldest recorded documents for Airyan languages are Vedic Sanskrit (ancient Indo-Airya), Older and Younger Avestan, and Old Parsi. Airya languages were spoken by Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatian Andeans. The speakers inhabited Eurasia, north of the Black Sea present-day Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, and Romania. The Tocharian people lived in the Tarim Basin and spoke an early Airyan branch of the language. At the beginning of written history, the entire steppe population west of Dzungaria spoke Airyan (Iranian languages). The name of rivers Don, Dnieper, Danube originated from Airyan (Iranian) language.

Ancient Documents of Airya Language

Old Parsi was one of the dialects of the Airyan language. Presently modern Parsi is the standard dialect of Airyan language in Iran.

Avesta is the oldest preserved collections of Airya sacred literature of the Zoroastrian religion from about 1250 - 1000 BCE periods. The Airya language in Avesta is preserved in two dialects, it originated from different tribes inhabiting different regions of Airyana. The Old Avestan of the Gathas is similar to the Indian Vedas. The Young Avestan, from 10th to 6th centuries BCE, shows a significant change from the older language. The Old Avestan language was no longer understood by about 6the century BCE.

The oldest Avestan and oldest Sanskrit are very similar. The text in one language can be translated into the other by applying few phonological changes. The Avestan alphabet was modeled on the Pahlavi script, which in turn was derived from Aramaic.

Old Parsi language is preserved by inscriptions of the Achaemenid kings at the ancient sites of Naqs-i-Rastam, Murghab, Susa, Hamadan, Behistun, and Elvend, and in Armenia and Western Egypt. The inscriptions are recorded usually in two scripts, cuneiform, and Aramaic. Old Parsi did not evolve directly from the Avestan dialect.

Old Parsi had a long history of development. It evolved in the same region where Airya had emerged. Because of the proximity, the Old Parsi was affected by the Median dialect. It was influenced by Elamites and Aramaic languages. In addition, it had acquired additional vocabulary by interaction with both Assyrian and Babylonians.

Figure 1: A tablet inscribed in Old Parsi.

Image courtesy of University Of Chicago

The written Old Parsi language was used for practical recordings. The text in Figure 1 was inscribed on a damaged clay tablet about 500 BCE. The tablet was recovered from archaeological excavations in the Persepolis. It is an administrative record of the transaction at five villages near Persepolis.

The Modern Airyan languages

The three branches of modern Airyan languages are European, Indo-Airyan (Indo-Aryan), Iranian, and Nuristani. The Airyan languages spoken in Airyana are classified into Western and Eastern groups:

· The Western Airyan family includes Parthian (Arsacid Pahlavi) and Middle Parsi.

· The Eastern Airyan family includes Bactrian, Sogdian, Khwarezmians, Saka (Scythian), and Old Ossetic (Scythe-Sarmatian).

Saka branch of Airyan language originated from tribes who had migrated north-northeasterly toward the southern regions of the Caspian Sea and Central Asia. The Scythian tribes dominated from the Central Asia, regions north of Caspian Sea, through Eastern regions of Germany. Figure 2 shows the extent of the Scythian domain.

Figure 2: Airyan regions of Parthia and Scythia

Middle Parsi (Pahlavi) was the official language of the Sasanian dynasty in Iran (Fig. 3). The script used for Middle Parsi changed significantly during the Sasanian period. Middle Parsi, Parthian, and Sogdian were also used as literary languages by the Manichaean, whose survived records are in written in Latin and Chinese. Manichaean texts were written in a script closely akin to the Syriac script.

Figure 3: Sasanian Empire

As of 2008, there were an estimated 150–200 million native speakers of Airyan languages. Ethnologue estimates there are 86 Airyan (Iranian) languages; the largest amongst them are Parsi, Pashto, Kurdish, and Balochi. The Airyana people at the present day include Azeris, Balochs, Kurds, Gilaks, Lurs, Mazanderanis,Ossetians, Pashtuns, Pamiris, Iranians, Tajiks, Talysh people, Wakhis and Yaghnobi.

The Median, Parthian, and Kurdish belong to the Northwest Airyan branch of Airya language (Fig. 3). Median is classified as Northwestern Old Airyan branch. Parthian dialect was the Northwestern branch from the Middle Airyan Period. Kurdish is a Neo-Airyan language from the Northwestern Branch of the languages.

The Balochi language belongs to Western Airyan languages. The original homeland of the Balochi tribes was southeast of the Caspian region. The tribes migrated over several centuries starting during the late Sasanian period.

Comparison of sentence structure, one phrase, between selected Airya languages:

Comparison of sentence structure, one phrase, between selected Airya languages:

English: My name is Darius.

German: Mein Name ist Darius.

Parsi: نام من داریوش است

نام : nam, من : man (my), داریوش : Darius, است : ast (is)

Urdu: میرا نام دارا ہے.

میرا : miera , نام : nam, دارا : Dara, ہے : ye (is)

Polish: Nazywam się Dariusz.

Spanish: Mi nombre es Darío.

French: Mon nom est Darius.

Irish : Is é mo ainm Darius.

Norwegian: Mitt navn er Darius.

Latin: Placuit Dario, et est nomen meum.

The following comparison shows the similarity between major Airyan languages:

English Latin Sanskrit Avestan Modern Parsi

mother māter mātár mātar madar

father pater pitár pitar pedar

daughter futír duhitár dugədar duxtar or Dokhtar

horse equus áśvaḥ aspa asb

Cow bōs gáuḥ gāuš gahv

Dog canis śvan spā sag