All Topics  
Eastern Iranian languages

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Eastern Iranian languages
 
 
  Topics Eastern Iranian languages Topic Home

The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages
Iranian languages

The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian languages. These languages are mainly spoken by the Iranian Peoples....
 emerging in Middle Iranian times (from ca. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language
Avestan language

Avestan is a Eastern Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrianism Avesta. Iranian languages are part of the hypothetical Indo-Iranian languages Language group....
 is classified as early Eastern Iranian.

They are divided into a Northeastern and a Southeastern branch. In spite of this separation, Eastern Iranian remained a single dialect continuum subject to common innovation.

As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian dialects, Middle Eastern Iranian preserves word-final syllables.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Eastern Iranian languages'
Start a new discussion about 'Eastern Iranian languages'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages
Iranian languages

The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian languages. These languages are mainly spoken by the Iranian Peoples....
 emerging in Middle Iranian times (from ca. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language
Avestan language

Avestan is a Eastern Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrianism Avesta. Iranian languages are part of the hypothetical Indo-Iranian languages Language group....
 is classified as early Eastern Iranian.

They are divided into a Northeastern and a Southeastern branch. In spite of this separation, Eastern Iranian remained a single dialect continuum subject to common innovation.

As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian dialects, Middle Eastern Iranian preserves word-final syllables. Eastern Iranian is thought to have separated from Western Iranian in the course of the later 2nd millennium BC, and was possibly located at the Yaz culture
Yaz culture

The Yaz culture is an early Iron Age culture of Bactria and Margiana . It has been regarded as a likely archaeological reflection of early East Iranian culture as described in the Avesta....
.

The largest living Eastern Iranian language is Pashto
Pashto language

Pashto , also known as Afghani, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Pashto belongs to the East Iranian languages branch of the Indo-Iranian languages language family....
 with some 40 million speakers, a major language of Afghanistan
Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country that is located approximately in the center of Asia....
 and western Pakistan
Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and People's Republic of China in th...
.

Northeastern

The Northeastern group has only two living members in two widely separated areas, the Yaghnobi language
Yaghnobi language

The Yaghnobi language is a living Eastern Iranian languages language . Yaghnobi is spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people....
 of Tajikistan
Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east....
 (descended from Sogdian) and the Ossetic language
Ossetic language

Ossetian , also sometimes called Ossete, is an Eastern Iranian languages language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus Caucasus Mountains....
 of the Caucasus
Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region located between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. It is home to Europe's highest mountain ....
 (descended from Scytho-Sarmatian). These are remnants of a vast ethno-linguistic continuum that stretched over most of the steppes of Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
 in the 1st millennium BC. The Avestan language
Avestan language

Avestan is a Eastern Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrianism Avesta. Iranian languages are part of the hypothetical Indo-Iranian languages Language group....
 itself, the oldest attestation of the Iranian branch, is a member of the group. With Greek presence in Central Asia, some of the easternmost of these languages were recorded in their Middle Iranian stage (hence the "Eastern" classification), while almost no records of the Scytho-Sarmatian continuum stretching from Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a large Eurasian country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the List of countries by area as well as the world's largest landlocked country, it has a territory of 2,727,300 km? ....
 west across the Pontic steppe to Ukraine
Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
 have survived.

  • Avestan
    Avestan language

    Avestan is a Eastern Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrianism Avesta. Iranian languages are part of the hypothetical Indo-Iranian languages Language group....
    , ca. 1300 BC - 7th c. BC (classification uncertain)
  • Bactrian
    Bactrian language

    The Bactrian language is an extinct Eastern Iranian language which was spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria. Linguistically, it is classified as belonging to the Middle Iranian languages of the Northeastern Iranian languages branch....
    , ca. 4th c. BC - 9th c. AD
  • Khwarezmian
    Khwarezmian language

    Khwarezmian, also known as Khwarazmian or Chorasmian, is the name of an extinct northeastern Iranian language closely related to Sogdian....
     ca. 4th c. BC - 13th c. AD
  • Sogdian
    Sogdian language

    The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language that was spoken in Sogdiana , located in modern day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan .Sogdian is one of the most important Middle Iranian languages, along with Middle Persian and Parthian....
    , from ca. the 4th c. BC.
    • Yaghnobi
      Yaghnobi language

      The Yaghnobi language is a living Eastern Iranian languages language . Yaghnobi is spoken in the upper valley of the Yaghnob River in the Zarafshan area of Tajikistan by the Yaghnobi people....
  • Scythian
    Scythian languages

    The Scythian languages form a North Eastern branch of the Iranian languages and comprise the distinctive languagesspoken by the Scythian tribes of nomadic pastoralists in Scythia between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD....
    • Eastern (Scytho-Khotanese)
      • Khotanese
        Saka language

        Sakan is a name of two extinct Iranian languages which were spoken in Xinjiang, China. They are identified with the cities of Khotan and Tumxuk, namely Khotanese language and Tumshuqese language....
        , ca. 5th c. AD - 10th c. AD
      • Tumshuqese
        Saka language

        Sakan is a name of two extinct Iranian languages which were spoken in Xinjiang, China. They are identified with the cities of Khotan and Tumxuk, namely Khotanese language and Tumshuqese language....
         (formerly Maralbashi), 7th c. AD
    • Western (Scytho-Sarmatian), from ca. the 8th c. BC
      • Ossetian
        Ossetic language

        Ossetian , also sometimes called Ossete, is an Eastern Iranian languages language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus Caucasus Mountains....
         (dialects: Iron, Digor
        Digor (dialect)

        Digorian is a dialect of the Ossetian language. The other is Iron , which is more widely-spoken.The differences between the two are large enough to call them two languages?and that is done in some sources like the recently published Digor-Russian dictionary by Fedar Takazov ....
        , Jassic
        Jassic

        Jassic can refer to:* Jassic people* Jassic language...
        )


Southeastern

The Southeastern group includes some twelve languages and dialects spoken by many people in South-Central Asia
Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
. Each subfamily in this list contains subgroups and individual languages.

  • Pamir languages
    Pamir languages

    The Pamir languages are a subgroup of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by Pamiri people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries....
    • Shughni Group
      • Shughni
        Shughni language

        Shughni is one of the Pamir languages of the Southeastern Iranian languages. Its distribution is in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan....
      • Roshani - Khufi
      • Bartangi - Oroshori - Sarikoli
    • Yazgulami
    • Munji and Yidgha
    • Sanglechi and Ishkashimi
      Ishkashimi language

      The Ishkashimi language is one of the Pamir languages of the Southeastern Iranian languages. Its distribution is in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan....
    • Wakhi
      Wakhi language

      Wakhi is an Indo-European language in the sub-branch of Southeastern Iranian languages and is intimately related to other Pamir languages and Pashto language....
       (with Saka influence)


  • Pashto language
    Pashto language

    Pashto , also known as Afghani, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Pashto belongs to the East Iranian languages branch of the Indo-Iranian languages language family....
    • Northern Pashto
    • Southern Pashto
    • Central Pashto


  • Ormuri-Parachi
    • Ormuri language
      Ormuri language

      Ormuri is an East Iranian language spoken in the city of Kaniguram in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It may also be spoken by a few people in Baraki Barak in Logar province, Afghanistan....
    • Parachi language


See also

  • List of Iranian languages
    List of Iranian languages

    The Iranian languages include some 84 languages and dialects spoken by about many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the List of Indo-Iranian languages....
  • Western Iranian languages
    Western Iranian languages

    The Western Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, attested from the time of Old Persian .The two sub-branches are:*Northwestern Iranian languages...
  • Dari (Eastern Persian), which despite the name is dialect of a Western Iranian language


External links