Towards Proto-Persian

Towards Proto-Persian PDF Author: Daniel A. Rees
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9780549741305
Category : Dari language
Languages : en
Pages : 422

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Book Description
The intent of the present course of inquiry is to examine historical Persian phonology in light of advances in Optimality Theory (OT) as applied to language change and variation, and in doing so to present a historical reconstruction of Proto-Modern-Persian (henceforth Proto-Persian). The phonemic inventories and synchronic phonological processes observed in the modern dialects of Persian bear witness to a number of changes accounted for within the framework of OT. Taking into account previous literature on pre-Modern Persian diachronic change, colloquial speech from various speakers of the three principal Modern Persian dialects of Iranian, Dari and Tajik, is analyzed and a comparative reconstruction is generated, positing proto-forms as predecessors to attested phonemes based on patterns of predictability in the data. OT unifies the phonological account of both variation and change by tying all processes to the physiological notions of ease of articulation and parsing, bolstering the claim that sound change at the lexical level is based on gesture economy at the articulatory level. As a direct result of this reconstruction, it is quantifiably demonstrated that the Afghan dialect of Persian, Dari, is not only the most conservative of the three major dialects, but it is merely a slightly modified version of what will be labeled Proto-Persian.

Towards Proto-Persian

Towards Proto-Persian PDF Author: Daniel A. Rees
Publisher: ProQuest
ISBN: 9780549741305
Category : Dari language
Languages : en
Pages : 422

Get Book Here

Book Description
The intent of the present course of inquiry is to examine historical Persian phonology in light of advances in Optimality Theory (OT) as applied to language change and variation, and in doing so to present a historical reconstruction of Proto-Modern-Persian (henceforth Proto-Persian). The phonemic inventories and synchronic phonological processes observed in the modern dialects of Persian bear witness to a number of changes accounted for within the framework of OT. Taking into account previous literature on pre-Modern Persian diachronic change, colloquial speech from various speakers of the three principal Modern Persian dialects of Iranian, Dari and Tajik, is analyzed and a comparative reconstruction is generated, positing proto-forms as predecessors to attested phonemes based on patterns of predictability in the data. OT unifies the phonological account of both variation and change by tying all processes to the physiological notions of ease of articulation and parsing, bolstering the claim that sound change at the lexical level is based on gesture economy at the articulatory level. As a direct result of this reconstruction, it is quantifiably demonstrated that the Afghan dialect of Persian, Dari, is not only the most conservative of the three major dialects, but it is merely a slightly modified version of what will be labeled Proto-Persian.

Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics

Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics PDF Author: Jared Klein
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110542439
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1026

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Book Description
This book presents the most comprehensive coverage of the field of Indo-European Linguistics in a century, focusing on the entire Indo-European family and treating each major branch and most minor languages. The collaborative work of 120 scholars from 22 countries, Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics combines the exhaustive coverage of an encyclopedia with the in-depth treatment of individual monographic studies.

Toward Proto-Nostratic

Toward Proto-Nostratic PDF Author: Allan R. Bomhard
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027235198
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
This book represents the culmination of the author's work to date – it incorporates and updates previous articles and adds much new material. This book is not – nor was it ever intended to be – a comparative grammar of either the Indo-European or the Afroasiatic language families. It is, rather, a comparison of Proto-Indo-European with Proto-Afroasiatic. While this is not the first attempt to demonstrate that Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Afroasiatic are genetically related, it is the first to use the radical revision of the Proto-Indo-European consonantal system proposed by Thomas V. Gamkrelidze, Paul J. Hopper, and Vjaceslav V. Ivanov. Moreover, unlike previous endeavors, this is the first to make extensive use of data from the non-Semitic branches of Afroasiatic. The assumptions underlying this investigation of the possibility of the common genetic origin of Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Afroasiatic differ considerably from the assumptions made in other works on "Nostratic"; the methodological approach followed in this monograph has been one of rigorous adherence to the time-honored principles of comparative reconstruction.

A History of the Tajiks

A History of the Tajiks PDF Author: Richard Foltz
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1788316517
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
In this comprehensive and up to date history, from prehistoric proto-Indo-Iranian times to the post-Soviet period, Richard Foltz traces the complex linguistic, cultural and political history of the Tajiks, a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group from the modern-day Central Asian states of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan. In eight chapters, the author explores the revitalisation of Persian culture under the Samanid Empire in the Tajik heartlands of historical Khorasan and Transoxiana; analyses the evolution of the politics of Tajik identity; and traces the history of the ethnic Tajik diaspora today.

The Avestan Vowels

The Avestan Vowels PDF Author: Michiel Arnoud Cor de Vaan
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9789042010659
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 754

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Book Description
For the first time, the vowels of Avestan are studied comprehensively on the synchronic and diachronic level. All vowel changes which have occurred after the Proto-Iranian stage are discussed, and they are placed in a relative chronology. The phonological system of Avestan at various stages of its development is reconstructed, and the relationship between Old Avestan and Young Avestan is reviewed. Also, many philological details are discussed. This volume is of interest for Indo-Iranian philology, for Indo-European linguistics and for Iranian linguistics.

The Oxford Handbook of Persian Linguistics

The Oxford Handbook of Persian Linguistics PDF Author: Anousha Sedighi
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0191056413
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 609

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Book Description
This handbook offers a comprehensive overview of the field of Persian linguistics, discusses its development, and captures critical accounts of cutting edge research within its major subfields, as well as outlining current debates and suggesting productive lines of future research. Leading scholars in the major subfields of Persian linguistics examine a range of topics split into six thematic parts. Following a detailed introduction from the editors, the volume begins by placing Persian in its historical and typological context in Part I. Chapters in Part II examine topics relating to phonetics and phonology, while Part III looks at approaches to and features of Persian syntax. The fourth part of the volume explores morphology and lexicography, as well as the work of the Academy of Persian Language and Literature. Part V, language and people, covers topics such as language contact and teaching Persian as a foreign language, while the final part examines psycho- neuro-, and computational linguistics. The volume will be an essential resource for all scholars with an interest in Persian language and linguistics.

The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World

The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World PDF Author: J. P. Mallory
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0199287910
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 756

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Book Description
The authors introduce Proto-Indo-European describing its construction and revealing the people who spoke it between 5,500 and 8,000 years ago. Using archaeological evidence and natural history they reconstruct the lives, passions, culture, society and mythology of the Proto-Indo-Europeans.

The Iranian Languages

The Iranian Languages PDF Author: Gernot Windfuhr
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113579703X
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 962

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Book Description
The Iranian languages form the major eastern branch of the Indo-European group of languages, itself part of the larger Indo-Iranian family. Estimated to have between 150 and 200 million native speakers, the Iranian languages constitute one of the world’s major language families. This comprehensive volume offers a detailed overview of the principle languages which make up this group: Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian. The Iranian Languages is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapters by the editor present a general overview and a detailed discussion of the linguistic typology of Iranian. The individual chapters which follow are written by leading experts in the field. These provide the reader with concise, non-technical descriptions of a range of Iranian languages. Each chapter follows the same pattern and sequence of topics, taking the reader through the significant features not only of phonology and morphology but also of syntax; from phrase level to complex sentences and pragmatics. Ample examples on all levels are provided with detailed annotation for the non-specialist reader. In addition, each chapter covers lexis, sociolinguistic and typological issues, and concludes with annotated sample texts. This unique resource is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will also be of interest to researchers or anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development. Gernot Windfuhr is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan; he has published widely on Persian and Iranian languages and linguistics and related languages, as well as on other aspects of Iranian culture including Persian literature and Pre-Islamic Iranian religions.

The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas

The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas PDF Author: Roger D. Woodard
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521684943
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Book Description
A convenient, portable paperback derived from the acclaimed Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages.

Elam and Persia

Elam and Persia PDF Author: Javier Álvarez-Mon
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 1575066122
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 512

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Book Description
The late 7th and 6th centuries B.C. were a period of tremendous upheaval and change in ancient western Asia, marked by the destruction of the Assyrian Empire, the rise and collapse of the Neo-Babylonian state, and the stunning ascent of what was to become the Achaemenid Persian Empire, the largest polity the world had yet seen. Of the major cultural entities involved in these far-reaching events, Elam has long remained the least understood. The essays contained in this book are part of a continuing reassessment of the nature and significance of Elam in the early 1st millennium B.C., with a focus on the relationship between “Elamite” culture of the Neo-Elamite period and the emerging “Persian” culture in southwestern Iran in the 7th and 6th centuries B.C. The conception of this volume goes back to the 2003 meeting of the American Schools of Oriental Research that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where two sessions were dedicated to the rich cultural heritage of ancient Iran. It was also the first time that Iranian archaeology was represented at ASOR since the Iranian Revolution. This volume contains 14 contributions by leading scholars in the discipline, organized into 3 sections: archaeology, texts, and images (art history). The volume is richly illustrated with more than 200 drawings and photographs.