Scythian languages
Information about Scythian languages
| Scythian | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Scythia | |
| Language extinction: | mostly extinct by AD 1000, remnants evolved into Ossetic | |
| Language family: | }} | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | ine | |
| ISO 639-3: | xsc | |
The Scythian languages form a North Eastern branch of the Iranian language family and comprise the distinctive languages[1] spoken by the Scythian (Sarmatian and Saka) tribes of nomadic pastoralists in Scythia (Central Asia, Pontic-Caspian steppe) between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD. Up to the 4th century AD we have only a few words from any of these languages[2], substantial evidence of Sogdian and Saka dating from a later period.
The Scythian languages may have formed a dialect continuum:
- Scytho-Sarmatian languages were spoken by people originally of Iranian stock[3] from the 8th and 7th century BC onwards in the area of the Ukraine, Southern Russia and Kazakhstan. Modern Ossetic survives as a continuation of the language family possibly represented by Scytho-Sarmatian inscriptions, although the Scytho-Sarmatian language family "does not simply represent the same [Ossetic] language" at an earlier date.[4]
- Saka language or Scytho-Khotanese in the east: spoken in the Kingdom of Khotan (located in present-day Xinjiang, China), and including the Khotanese of Khotan and Tumshuqese of Tumshuq. Scholars classify these languages as part of the North-Eastern branch of Iranian languages.[5]
History
The approximate distribution of Eastern Iranian languages in 100 BC appears in orange.
The Scythians migrated from Central Asia toward Eastern Europe, occupying today's Southern Russia and Ukraine and the Carpathian Basin and parts of Moldova and Dobruja. They disappeared from history after the Hunnish invasion of Europe in the 5th century AD, and Turkic (Avar, Bulgar, Batsange, etc.) and Slavic peoples probably assimilated most people speaking Scythian. However, in the Caucasus, a dialect belonging to the Scythian-Sarmatian linguistic continuum remains in use today, namely Ossetic.Classification
The vast majority of Scythological scholars agree that the Scythian-Sarmatian languages (and Ossetic) belong to the North Eastern branch of the Iranian language family — like the once widespread but now extinct Sogdian language. This Iranian hypothesis relies principally on the fact that the Greek inscriptions of the Northern Black Sea Coast contain several hundreds of Sarmatian names showing a close affinity to the Ossetic language. [6]
Minority views, often fuelled by ethnic nationalism, have proposed affiliation with Turkic [7], Ugric or Proto-Slavic. [8] A more moderate proposal by Boris Rybakov suggests a Proto-Slavic substrate. [9]Divisions
Historians normally divide the Scytho-Sarmatian group chronologically rather than geographically:- Scythian (ca. 800 - 300 BC), mainly evidenced in Classical Greek authors
- Sarmatian (ca. 300 BC - AD 400), mainly evidenced in Hellenistic and Roman inscriptions
- Alanic (ca. AD 400 - 1000), mainly evidenced in Byzantine Greek authors
The Scytho-Khotanese group sub-divides into:Sources of the Scythian language
Inscriptions
Some scholars ascribe certain inscribed objects found in the Carpathian Basin and in Central Asia to the Scythians, but the interpretation of these inscriptions remains disputed (given that nobody has definitively identified the alphabet or translated the content).
An inscription from Saqqez written in the Hieroglyphic Hittite script may represent Scythian: [11]
Transliteration: pa-tì-na-sa-nà tà-pá wa-s₆-na-m₅ XL was-was-ki XXX ár-s-tí-m₅ ś₃-kar-kar (HA) har-s₆-ta₅ LUGAL | par-tì-ta₅-wa₅ ki-ś₃-a₄-á KUR-u-pa-ti QU-wa-a₅ | i₅-pa-ś₂-a-m₂ Transcription: patinasana tapa. vasnam: 40 vasaka 30 arzatam šikar. UTA harsta XŠAYAL. | Partitava xšaya DAHYUupati xva|ipašyam Translation: "Delivered dish. Value: 40 calves 30 silver šiqlu. And it was presented to the king. | King Partitavas, the masters of the land property."
King Partitava equates to the Scythian king called Prototyēs in Herodotus (1.103) and known as Par-ta-tu-a in the Assyrian sources.
The Issyk inscription, found in a Scythian kurgan dating approximately to the 4th century BC, remains undeciphered, but some authorities assume that it represents Scythian.Personal names
The primary sources for Scythian words remain the Scythian toponyms, tribal names, and numerous personal names in the ancient Greek texts and in the Greek inscriptions found in the Greek colonies on the Northern Black Sea Coast. These names suggest that the Scythian-Sarmatian language had close similarities to modern Ossetian.
Some scholars believe that many toponyms and hydronyms of the Russian and Ukrainian steppe have Scythian links. For example, Vasmer associates the name of the river Don with an assumed/reconstructed unattested Scythian word *dānu "water, river", and with Ossetic don and Avestan dānu-. [12] The river names Don, Dnieper, and Dniester may also belong with the same word-group. [13]Herodotus' Scythian etymologies
The Greek historian Herodotus provides another source of Scythian; he reports that the Scythians called the Amazons Oiorpata, and explains the name as a compound of oior, meaning "man", and pata, meaning "to kill" (Hist. 4,110).- Most scholars associate oior "man" with Avestan vīra- "man, hero", Sanskrit vīra-, PIE *u̯iHro-. Various explanations account for pata "kill":
- Avestan paiti- "lord", Sanskrit pati-, PIE *poti- (i.e. "man-ruler");[14]
- Ossetic maryn "kill", Sanskrit mārayati, PIE *mer- "die" (confusion of Greek Μ and Π);[15]
- Ossetic fædyn "cleave", Sanskrit pātayati "fell", PIE *peth₂- "fall".[16]
- Alternatively, Herodotus has got it all wrong; one scholar suggests Iranian aiwa- "one" + warah- "breast",[17] the Amazons having a single breast according to ancient folk-lore as reflected in Greek folk-etymology: a- (privative) + mazos, "without breast".
Elsewhere Herodotus explains the name of the mythical one-eyed tribe Arimaspoi as a compound of the Scythian words arima, meaning "one", and spu, meaning "eye" (Hist. 4,27).- Some scholars connect arima "one" with Ossetic ærmæst "only", Avestic airime "quiet", Greek erēmos "empty", PIE *h₁(e)rh₁mo-?, and spu "eye" with Avestic spas- "foretell", Sanskrit spaś-, PIE *speḱ- "see".[18]
- However, Iranian usually expresses "one" and "eye" with words like aiwa- and čašman- (Ossetic īw and cæst).
- Other scholars reject Herodotus' etymology and derive the ethnonym Arimaspoi from Iranian aspa- "horse" instead.[19]
- Or the first part of the name may reflect something like Iranian arjat- "rich", cf. Arəjatāspa (later Arjasp, a nomad king in Zoroastrian mythology;.[20]
Herodotus' Scythian theonyms
Herodotus also gives a list of Scythian theonyms (Hist. 4.59):- Tabiti = Hestia. Perhaps related to Sanskrit Tapatī, a heroine in the Mahābhārata, literally "the burning (one)".[21]
- Papaios = Zeus. Either "father" (Herodotus) or "protector", Avestan, Sanskrit pā- "protect", PIE *peh₃-.[22]
- Api = Gaia. Either "mother"[23] or "water", Avestan, Sanskrit āp-, PIE Hep-[24]
- Goitosyros or Oitosyros = Apollo. Perhaps Avestan gaēθa- "animal" + sūra- "rich".[25]
- Argimpasa or Artimpasa = Aphrodite Urania. To Ossetic art "fire", Avestan āθra-.[26]
- Thagimasadas = Poseidon.
Alanic
The Alanic language as spoken by the Alans from about the 5th to the 11th centuries AD formed a dialect directly descended from the earlier Scytho-Sarmatian languages, and forming in its turn the ancestor of the Ossetic language. Byzantine Greek authors recorded only a few fragments of this language.[27]Notes
1. ^ "The languages of the eastern group, moreover, cannot have been themselves mutually intelligible. The main known languages of this group are Chorasmian, Sogdian and Saka. Less well-known are Old Ossetic (Scytho-Sarmatian) and Bactrian, but from what is known it would seem likely that these languages were equally distinctive" - Encyclopedia Britannica 15th edition - Macropedia on Languages of the World
2. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica 15th edition - Macropedia on Languages of the World, "The Iranian Languages"
3. ^ Scythian, member of a normadic people originally of Iranian stock who migrated from Central Asia to southern Russia in the 8th and 7th centuries BC - Encyclopedia Britannica 15th edition - Micropaedia on "Scythian"
4. ^ The languages of the Scytho-Sarmatian inscription may represent dialects of a language family of which Modern Ossetic is a continuation, but does not simply represent the same language at an earlier time - Encyclopedia Britannica 15th edition - Macropedia on Languages of the World
5. ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger (ed.), Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, Reichert, 1989.
6. ^ Compare L. Zgusta, Die griechischen Personennamen griechischer Städte der nördlichen Schwarzmeerküste [The Greek personal names of the Greek cities of the northern Black Sea coast], 1955.
7. ^ Zakiev, Mirfatykh Z. 1995. Ethnic roots of the Tatar people. A chapter from "Tatars: problems of the history and language", Kazan, 1995.
8. ^ S.V. Rjabčikov, Drevnie texty slavjan i adygov [Ancient texts of the Slavs and the Adyghe], Krasnodar 1998; Skifo-sarmatskie istoki slavjanskoj kul’tury: Materialy Južnorossijskoj fol’klorno-ėtnografičeskoj ekspedicii [Scytho-Sarmatian sources of Slavic culture: Materials of the South-Russian folkloric-ethnographic expedition], Krasnodar 2002; see also the homepage of Rjabčikov on the Slavonic Antiquity.
9. ^ B.A. Rybakov, Gerodotova Skifija. Istoriko-geografičeskij analiz [Herodotian Scythia:a historical-geographic analysis], Moscow 1979.
10. ^ E.g. Harmatta 1970.
11. ^ Text and translation in J. Harmatta, "Herodotus, historian of the Cimmerians and the Scythians", in: Hérodote et les peuples non grecs, Vandœuvres-Genève 1990, pp. 115-130.
12. ^ M. Vasmer, Untersuchungen über die ältesten Wohnsitze der Slaven. Die Iranier in Südrußland, Leipzig 1923, 74.
13. ^ P. Kretschmer, "Zum Balkan-Skythischen", Glotta 24 (1935), 1-56, here: 7ff.
14. ^ Vasmer, Die Iranier in Südrußland, 1923, 15.
15. ^ V.I. Abaev, Osetinskij jazyk i fol’klor, Moscow / Leningrad 1949, vol. 1, 172, 176, 188.
16. ^ L. Zgusta, "Skythisch οἰόρπατα «ἀνδροκτόνοι»", Annali dell’Istituto Universario Orientale di Napoli 1 (1959) pp. 151-156.
17. ^ Hinge, Glotta 81 (2005) 94-98.
18. ^ J. Marquart, Untersuchungen zur Geschichte von Eran, Göttingen 1905, 90-92; Vasmer, Die Iranier in Südrußland, 1923, 12; H.H. Schaeder, Iranica. I: Das Auge des Königs, Berlin 1934, 16-19.
19. ^ W. Tomaschek, "Kritik der ältesten Nachrichten über den skythischen Norden", Sitzungsberichte der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 116 (1888), 715-780, here: 761; K. Müllenhoff, Deutsche Altertumskunde, Berlin 1893, vol. 3, 305-306; R. Grousset, L’empire des steppes, Paris 1941, 37 n. 3; I. Lebedensky, Les Scythes. La civilisation des steppes (VIIe-IIIe siècles av. J.-C.), Paris 2001, 93.
20. ^ Hinge, Glotta 81 (2005) 89-94.
21. ^ W. Brandenstein, "Die Abstammungssagen der Skythen", Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 52 (1953) 183-211, here: 191; Ė.A. Grantovskij & D.S. Raevskij, "Ob iranojazyčnom i «indoarijskom» naselenii Severnogo Pričernomor’ja v antičnuju ėpochu", in: Ėtnogenez narodov Balkan i Severnogo Pričernomor’ja. Lingvistika, istorija, archeologija, Moscow 1984, 47-66, here: 53-55; G. Dumézil, Romans de Scythie et d’alentour, Paris 1978, 125-145; Dumézil offers a different interpretation in La courtisane et les seigneurs colorés. Esquisses de mythologie, Paris 1983, 124-125.
22. ^ Vasmer, Die Iranier in Südrußland, 1923, 15; L. Zgusta, "Zwei skythische Götternamen", Archiv orientální 21 (1953), pp. 270-271; Grantovskij and Raevskij, in: Ėtnogenez narodov Balkan i Severnogo Pričernomor’ja, 1984, 54.
23. ^ L. Zgusta, "Zwei skythische Götternamen", Archiv orientální 21 (1953), pp. 270-271.
24. ^ Vasmer, Die Iranier in Südrußland, 1923, 11; Brandenstein, Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes 52 (1953) 190-191; Grantovskij and Raevskij, in: Ėtnogenez narodov Balkan i Severnogo Pričernomor’ja, 1984, 54.
25. ^ Vasmer, Die Iranier in Südrußland, 1923, 13; other interpretations in Dumézil, La courtisane et les seigneurs colorés, 1983, 121-122; Grantovskij and Raevskij, in: Ėtnogenez narodov Balkan i Severnogo Pričernomor’ja, 1984, 54-55.
26. ^ Dumézil, La courtisane et les seigneurs colorés, 1983.
27. ^ Ladislav Zgusta, "The old Ossetic Inscription from the River Zelenčuk" (Veröffentlichungen der Iranischen Kommission = Sitzungsberichte der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Philosophisch-historische Klasse 486) Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1987. ISBN 3-7001-0994-6 in Kim, op.cit., 54.
Literature
- Harmatta, J.: Studies in the History and Language of the Sarmatians, Szeged 1970.
- Zgusta, L.: Die griechischen Personennamen griechischer Städte der nördlichen Schwarzmeerküste. Die ethnischen Verhältnisse, namentlich das Verhältnis der Skythen und Sarmaten, im Lichte der Namenforschung, Prague 1955.
Links
- Scythian language A brief overview of the Scythian and Ossetian languages (in Spanish)
- Herodot zur skythischen Sprache About Herodotus' Scythian etymologies (in German)
- The Slavonic Antiquity: Scythians, Sarmatians, Meotians and Slavs A collection of idiosyncratic articles by Sergei V. Rjabchikov on the decipherment of the Scythian/Sarmatian language and script.
- Rjabchikov, S.V., 2005. "On Scythian, Sarmatian and Meotian Records about Thunderstorm". AnthroGlobe Journal, 2005.
- Rjabchikov, S.V., 2001. "The Scythian and Sarmatian Sources of the Russian Mythology and Fairy-Tales". AnthroGlobe Journal, 2001.
Iranian languagesOld - Western: Median · Old Persian
- Eastern: Avestan† · Old Scythian · Old Sogdian
Middle Modern - Western: Alviri (Vidri) · Ashtiani · Old Azari† · Baluchi · Bashkardi · Central Iran · Persian Dari · Dari (Zoroastrian) · Gilaki · Gorani · Harzani · Judeo-Persian · Kurdish Kurmanji · Laki · Luri · Bakhtiari Lori · Mazandarani · Ormuri · Sangsari · Parachi · New Persian · Sorani (Kurdish) · Tajik · Taleshi · Tat · Tati · Vafsi · Zazaki
- Eastern: Bartangi · Hindukush Group · Ishkashmi · Karakoram Group · Khufi · Munji · Oroshori · New Ossetic · Parachi · Pashto · Roshani (Roshni) · Sanglechi · Sarikoli · Shughni · Wakhi · Vanji† · Waziri · Yaghnobi · Yidgha · Yazgulami · Zebaki
Legend: † Extinct language (no surviving native speakers and no spoken descendant)Scythia (Greek Σκυθία Skuthia) was the area in Eurasia inhabited by the Scythians, from the 8th century BC to the 2nd century AD.
..... Click the link for more information.An extinct language is a language which no longer has any native speakers, in contrast to a dead language, which is a language which has stopped changing in grammar, vocabulary, and the complete meaning of a sentence.
..... Click the link for more information.Ossetic or Ossetian (Ossetic: Ирон æвзаг, Iron ævzhag or Иронау, Ironau
..... Click the link for more information.A language family is a group of languages related by descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language. As with biological families, the evidence of relationship is observable shared characteristics.
..... Click the link for more information.ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. It consists of 136 two-letter codes used to identify the world's major languages. These codes are a useful international shorthand for indicating languages.
..... Click the link for more information.ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. The three-letter codes given for each language in this part of the standard are referred to as "Alpha-3" codes. There are 464 language codes in the list.
..... Click the link for more information.ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. It extends the ISO 639-2 alpha-3 codes with an aim to cover all known natural languages. The standard was published by ISO on 5 February 2007[1].
..... Click the link for more information.Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family. With the Indo-Aryan languages they form the Indo-Iranian languages group. Avestan and Old Persian are the oldest recorded Iranian languages.
..... Click the link for more information.Scythians (/'sɪθɪən/, also /'sɪğɪən/) or Scyths (/'sɪθs/
..... Click the link for more information.Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae were a people originally of Iranian stock.[1] Mentioned by classical authors, they migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around 5th century B.C.
..... Click the link for more information.Sakas were the Scythians who lived in the eastern part of Central Asia. They are considered to be of north-eastern Iranian people by modern scholars.[1][2][3]
..... Click the link for more information.Eurasian nomads are a large group of peoples of the Euro-Asian Steppe. This generic title encompasses the ethnic groups inhabiting the steppes of Central Asia, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe.
..... Click the link for more information.Scythia (Greek Σκυθία Skuthia) was the area in Eurasia inhabited by the Scythians, from the 8th century BC to the 2nd century AD.
..... Click the link for more information.Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist, no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics.
..... Click the link for more information.Pontic-Caspian steppe summarizes the vast steppelands stretching from north of the Black Sea as far as the east of the Caspian Sea, from central Ukraine across the Southern and Volga Federal Districts of Russia to western Kazakhstan, forming part of the larger Eurasian steppe,
..... Click the link for more information.The 8th century BC started the first day of 800 BC and ended the last day of 701 BC.Overview
The 8th century BC was a period of great changes in civilizations. In Egypt, the 23rd and 24th dynasties led to rule from Nubia in the 25 Dynasty.
..... Click the link for more information.The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in Anno Domini, the year of our Lord.Overview
The Western Roman Empire is ruled by a succession of weak emperors, and true power falls increasingly into the hands of powerful generals.
..... Click the link for more information.A dialect continuum is a range of dialects spoken across a large geographical area, differing only slightly between areas that are geographically close, and gradually decreasing in mutual intelligibility as the distances become greater.
..... Click the link for more information.Anthem
Ще не вмерла України ні слава, ні воля
..... Click the link for more information.Southern Federal District (Russian: Ю́жный федера́льный о́круг; tr.
..... Click the link for more information.Anthem
My Kazakhstan
Capital Astana
Largest city Almaty
Official languages Kazakh (state language), Russian
..... Click the link for more information.Ossetic or Ossetian (Ossetic: Ирон æвзаг, Iron ævzhag or Иронау, Ironau
..... Click the link for more information.Saka is an extinct Iranian language which was spoken in Xinjiang, China. There are two known dialects, identified with the cities of Khotan and Tumxuk. Many Prakrit terms were borrowed from the Khotan dialect of Saka into the Tocharian languages.
..... Click the link for more information.The Kingdom of Khotan is an ancient Buddhist kingdom that was located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim basin. (The area lies in present day Xinjiang, China).
..... Click the link for more information.شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى
Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni
Chinese:
..... Click the link for more information.Hotan (, Chinese: 和田; Pinyin: Hétián, formerly: Simplified Chinese: 和阗
..... Click the link for more information.Tumxuk (Chinese: 图木舒克, Pinyin: Túmùshūkè; ; also known as Tumushuk, Tumshuq, etc.)[1] is a sub-prefecture-level city in the northern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China, it is located in western
..... Click the link for more information.Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. Though various definitions of its exact composition exist, no one definition is universally accepted. Despite this uncertainty in defining borders, it does have some important overall characteristics.
..... Click the link for more information.This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since September 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.Anthem
Hymn of the Russian Federation
Capital
(and largest city) Moscow
..... Click the link for more information.
- Argimpasa or Artimpasa = Aphrodite Urania. To Ossetic art "fire", Avestan āθra-.[26]
- Goitosyros or Oitosyros = Apollo. Perhaps Avestan gaēθa- "animal" + sūra- "rich".[25]
- Api = Gaia. Either "mother"[23] or "water", Avestan, Sanskrit āp-, PIE Hep-[24]
- Papaios = Zeus. Either "father" (Herodotus) or "protector", Avestan, Sanskrit pā- "protect", PIE *peh₃-.[22]
- Tabiti = Hestia. Perhaps related to Sanskrit Tapatī, a heroine in the Mahābhārata, literally "the burning (one)".[21]
- Or the first part of the name may reflect something like Iranian arjat- "rich", cf. Arəjatāspa (later Arjasp, a nomad king in Zoroastrian mythology;.[20]
- Some scholars connect arima "one" with Ossetic ærmæst "only", Avestic airime "quiet", Greek erēmos "empty", PIE *h₁(e)rh₁mo-?, and spu "eye" with Avestic spas- "foretell", Sanskrit spaś-, PIE *speḱ- "see".[18]
- Alternatively, Herodotus has got it all wrong; one scholar suggests Iranian aiwa- "one" + warah- "breast",[17] the Amazons having a single breast according to ancient folk-lore as reflected in Greek folk-etymology: a- (privative) + mazos, "without breast".
- Ossetic fædyn "cleave", Sanskrit pātayati "fell", PIE *peth₂- "fall".[16]
- Ossetic maryn "kill", Sanskrit mārayati, PIE *mer- "die" (confusion of Greek Μ and Π);[15]
- Saka language or Scytho-Khotanese in the east: spoken in the Kingdom of Khotan (located in present-day Xinjiang, China), and including the Khotanese of Khotan and Tumshuqese of Tumshuq. Scholars classify these languages as part of the North-Eastern branch of Iranian languages.[5]
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