| Old Persian | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Ancient Iran | |
| Language extinction: | Evolved into Middle Persian | |
| Language family: | Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Old Persian | |
| Writing system: | Old Persian Cuneiform | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | peo | |
| ISO 639-3: | peo | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. According to some definitions an extinct language is a Language which no longer has any speakers, whereas a dead language is a language which is no longer spoken Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect List of language familiesA language family is a group of Languages related by descent from a common ancestor called the Proto-language of that family The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. A writing system is a type of Symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in Language. Old Persian cuneiform is the primary script used in Old Persian writings ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages ISO 639 -3 (ISO 639-32007 is an international standard for Language codes The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages In Computing, Unicode is an Industry standard allowing Computers to consistently represent and manipulate text expressed in most of the world's | ||
| History of the Persian language |
| Proto-Iranian (ca. Proto-Iranian, is the reconstructed Proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family 1500 BCE) Southwestern Iranian languages |
| Old Persian (c. The Western Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, attested from the time of Old Persian (6th century BC The Old Persian language is one of the two attested Old Iranian languages (besides Avestan) 525 BCE - 300 BCE) |
| Middle Persian (c. Old Persian cuneiform is the primary script used in Old Persian writings Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect 300 BCE-800 CE) Pahlavi script • Manichaean script • Avestan script |
| Modern Persian (from 800) |
The Old Persian language is one of the two attested Old Iranian languages (besides Avestan). Manichaean script is a sibling of an early form of Pahlavi script, and like Pahlavi is a development from Imperial Aramaic, the official language and script of the The Avestan alphabet is a writing system developed during the Sassanid era (226-651 in Iran to render the Avestan language. The Perso-Arabic script is a Writing system that is based on the Arabic alphabet. The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets, seals of the Achaemenid era (c. Small tablets made out of clay were used from 5500 BC Tărtăria tablets and later from 4th millennium BC onwards as a writing medium in Sumerian A seal can mean a wax seal bearing an impressed figure or an embossed figure in paper with the purpose of authenticating a document but the term can also mean any device for The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of 600 BC to 300 BC). Examples of Old Persian have been found in present-day Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt[1] the most important attestation by far being the contents of the Behistun inscription (dated to 525 BC). For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. The Behistun Inscription (also Bisitun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's
Contents |
Classification
Old Persian is an Old Iranian language, a member of the Southwestern Iranian language group. The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. The Western Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, attested from the time of Old Persian (6th century BC As an Iranian language, Old Persian is a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian.
Avestan, the only other attested Old Iranian language, does not belong to the same geographic division as Old Persian and is typologically distinct. Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Linguistic Typology is an international Peer-reviewed journal in the field of Linguistic typology, founded in 1997
Language evolution
Old Persian subsequently evolved into Middle Persian, which is in turn the nominal ancestor of New Persian. Middle Persian is the Middle Iranian language/ethnolect of Southwestern Iran that during Sassanid times (224-654 CE became a Prestige dialect
By the 4th. century, the late Achaemenid period, the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III differ enough from the language of Darius's inscriptions to be called a "pre-Middle Persian," or "post-Old Persian. Artaxerxes II Mnemon ( Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçrā, Ἀρταξέρξης (ca Artaxerxes III of Persia ( Ca 425 BC &ndash 338 BC ( Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 transliterated as Artaxšaçrā) was the Great "[2]
Substrates
Old Persian "presumably"[2] has a Median language substrate. The Median language (also Medean or Medic) is the language of the Iranian Medes. In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language The Median element is readily identifiable because it did not share in the developments that were peculiar to Old Persian. Median forms "are found only in personal or geographical names [. . . ] and some are typically from religious vocabulary and so could in principle also be influenced by Avestan. " "Sometimes, both Median and Old Persian forms are found, which gave Old Persian a somewhat confusing and inconsistent look: 'horse,' for instance, is [attested in Old Persian as] both asa (OPers. ) and aspa (Med. ). " [2]
Script
Old Persian was written from left to right the syllabic Old Persian cuneiform script. Old Persian cuneiform is the primary script used in Old Persian writings Old Persian cuneiform is the primary script used in Old Persian writings The Old Persian cuneiform contains 36 signs representing vowels and consonants, 8 logograms, and 3 signs which can be combined to represent any numeral, although only a few numbers are actually attested in the inscriptions. In Phonetics, a vowel is a Sound in spoken Language, such as English ah! or oh!, pronounced with an open Vocal tract In Articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a Speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the upper Vocal tract, the upper vocal A logogram, or logograph, is a Grapheme which represents a word or a Morpheme (a meaningful unit of language
Phonology
The following phonemes are expressed in the Old Persian script:
Vowels
- Long: /aː/ /iː/ /uː/
- Short: /a/ /i/ /u/
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p /p/ | b /b/ | t /t/ | d /d/ | c /c/ | j /ɟ/ | k /k/ | g /g/ | ||
| Nasal | m /m/ | n /n/ | ||||||||
| Fricative | f /f/ | θ /θ/ | ç /ç/ | x /x/ | h /h/ | |||||
| Sibilant | s /s/ | z /z/ | š /ʃ/ | |||||||
| Rhotic | r /r/ | |||||||||
| Approximant | v /ʋ/ | l /l/ | y /j/ | |||||||
Grammar
Nouns
Old Persian stems:
- a-stems (-a, -am, -ā)
- i-stems (-iš, iy)
- u- (and au-) stems (-uš, -uv)
- consonantal stems (n, r, h)
| -a | -am | -ā | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| Nominative | -a | -ā | -ā, -āha | -am | -ā | -ā | -ā | -ā | -ā |
| Vocative | -ā | -ā | -ā | -am | -ā | -ā | -ā | -ā | -ā |
| Accusative | -am | -ā | -ā | -am | -ā | -ā | -ām | -ā | -ā |
| Instrumental | -ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -āyā | -ābiyā | -ābiš |
| Dative | -ahyā, -ahya | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -ahyā, -ahya | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -āyā | -ābiyā | -ābiš |
| Ablative | -ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -āyā | -ābiyā | -ābiš |
| Genitive | -ahyā, -ahya | -āyā | -ānām | -ahyā, -ahya | -āyā | -ānām | -āyā | -āyā | -ānām |
| Locative | -aiy | -āyā | -aišuvā | -aiy | -āyā | -aišuvā | -āyā | -āyā | -āšuvā |
| -iš | -iy | -uš | -uv | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | Singular | Dual | Plural | |
| Nominative | -iš | -īy | -iya | -iy | -in | -īn | -uš | -ūv | -uva | -uv | -un | -ūn |
| Vocative | -i | -īy | -iya | -iy | -in | -īn | -u | -ūv | -uva | -uv | -un | -ūn |
| Accusative | -im | -īy | -iš | -iy | -in | -īn | -um | -ūv | -ūn | -uv | -un | -ūn |
| Instrumental | -auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš |
| Dative | -aiš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -aiš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auš | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš | -auš | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš |
| Ablative | -auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš |
| Genitive | -aiš | -īyā | -īnām | -aiš | -īyā | -īnām | -auš | -ūvā | -ūnām | -auš | -ūvā | -ūnām |
| Locative | -auv | -īyā | -išuvā | -auv | -īyā | -išuvā | -āvā | -ūvā | -ušuvā | -āvā | -ūvā | -ušuvā |
Adjectives are declinable in similar way. Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips ( bilabial articulation or with the lower lip and the upper teeth ( labiodental articulation In Linguistics, a dental consonant or dental is a Consonant that is articulated with the tongue against the upper teeth such as /t/ /d/ /n/ and Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior Alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets Palatal consonants are Consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the Hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth Glottal consonants are Consonants articulated with the Glottis. A stop, plosive, or occlusive is a Consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the Vocal tract. A nasal consonant (also called nasal stop or nasal continuant) is produced with a lowered velum in the mouth allowing air to escape freely through the Fricatives are Consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together A sibilant is a type of Fricative or Affricate Consonant, made by directing a jet of air through a narrow channel in the Vocal tract towards Rhotic consonants, or "R"-like sounds are non-lateral Liquid consonants This class of sounds is difficult to characterise phonetically though most of them share Approximants are speech sounds ( Phonemes) that could be regarded as intermediate between Vowels and typical Consonants In the articulation of approximants
Verbs
Voices
Active, Middle (them. pres. -aiy-, -ataiy-), Passive (-ya-).
In Old Persian were used mostly the forms of first and third persons. Only Dual form used was ajīvatam 'both lived'.
| Athematic | Thematic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 'be' | 'bring' | ||
| Sg. | 1. pers. | ahmiy | barāmiy |
| 3. pers. | astiy | baratiy | |
| Pl. | 1. pers. | ahmahiy | barāmahiy |
| 3. pers. | hatiy | baratiy | |
| Athematic | Thematic | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 'do, make' | 'be, become' | ||
| Sg. | 1. pers. | akunavam | abavam |
| 3. pers. | akunauš | abava | |
| Pl. | 1. pers. | akumā | abavāmā |
| 3. pers. | akunava | abava | |
| Active | Middle |
|---|---|
| -nt- | -amna- |
| -ta- |
| -tanaiy |
Lexicon
| Proto-Indo-Iranian | Old Persian | Middle Persian | Modern Persian | meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *açva | aspa | asp | asp | horse |
| *kāma | kāma | kām | kām | desire |
| *daiva | daiva | div | div | devil |
| drayah | drayā | daryā | sea | |
| dasta | dast | dast | hand | |
| *bhāgī | bāji | bāj | bāj | tribute |
| *bhrātr- | brātar | brādar | barādar | brother |
| *bhūmī | būmi | būm | būm | region, land |
| *martya | martya | mard | mard | man |
| *māsa | māha | māh | māh | moon, month |
| *vāsara | vāhara | Bahār | bahār | spring |
| stūnā | stūn | sotūn | column (related to stand) | |
| šiyāta | šād | šād | happy | |
| *arta | arta | ard | ord | truth |
| *draugh- | drauga | drōgh | dorōgh | lie (maybe legendary related to drought) |
See also
- Iranian languages
- Old Persian cuneiform script
- Iranian Languages vocabulary comparison table
References and Bibliography
- ^ Roland G. Proto-Indo-Iranian, is the reconstructed Proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Aśvaḥ (a Sanskrit word for a Horse) is one of the significant animals finding references in several Hindu scriptures. Daeva ( daēuua, daāua, daēva) is the Avestan language term for a particular sort of supernatural entity with disagreeable characteristics Sanskrit bhaga is a term for "lord patron" but also for "wealth prosperity" Asha ( aša) or arta is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine Asha ( aša) or arta is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. Old Persian cuneiform is the primary script used in Old Persian writings Kent, Old Persian, 1953 [1]
- ^ a b c Skjærvø, Prods Oktor (2005), An Introduction to Old Persian (2nd ed. ), Cambridge: Harvard, <http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/OldPersian/opcomplete.pdf>
- Brandenstein, Wilhelm (1964), Handbuch des Altpersischen, Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz
- Hinz, Walther (1966), Altpersischer Wortschatz, Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus
- Kent, Roland G. (1953), Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon, New Haven: American Oriental Society
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1996), “Iranian languages”, Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 7, Cosa Mesa: Mazda: 238-245
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (1989), “Altpersisch”, in R. Schmitt, Compendium linguarum Iranicarum, Wiesbaden: Reichert: 56–85
- Tolman, Herbert Cushing (1908), Ancient Persian Lexicon and the Texts of the Achaemenidan Inscriptions Transliterated and Translated with Special Reference to Their Recent Re-examination, New York/Cincinnati: American Book Company
Further reading
- Skjærvø, Prods Oktor (2005), An Introduction to Old Persian (2nd ed. ), Cambridge: Harvard, <http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~iranian/OldPersian/opcomplete.pdf>
- Peterson, Joseph H. (2006), Old Persian Texts, Herndon, VA: avesta. org, <http://www.avesta.org/op/op.htm>
- Windfuhr, Gernot L. (1995), “Cases in Iranian languages and dialects”, Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 5, Cosa Mesa: Mazda, pp. 25-37
- Stolper, Matthew W. & Jan Tavernier (1995), “From the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project, 1: An Old Persian Administrative Tablet from the Persepolis Fortification”, Arta, vol. 2007:1, Paris: Achemenet. com
- University Of Chicago (2007, June 22). Everyday Text Shows That Old Persian Was Probably More Commonly Used Than Previously Thought. [2][3]
--
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic