Print Page | Close Window

Why is it called, "Indo"-European?

Printed From: History Community ~ All Empires
Category: Scholarly Pursuits
Forum Name: Linguistics
Forum Discription: Discuss linguistics: the study of languages
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=252
Printed Date: 23-Apr-2024 at 19:48
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com


Topic: Why is it called, "Indo"-European?
Posted By: Dari
Subject: Why is it called, "Indo"-European?
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 02:23
Where does that part of the lingustic traits derive it's name from? Where's the Indo in Indo-European langauges?

-------------


Dari is a pimp master



Replies:
Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 02:34
Geographic spread, they range from Europe to India, but do not necessarily include all languages from Europe/India or everything inbetween.

Most language families have similar geographical range names - Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo, Afro-Asatic, Austroasatic (meaning South Asian), and so on.


-------------
Arrrgh!!"


Posted By: Dari
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 02:50
Oh. Is there any other reason that a geo-sociological explanation?

-------------


Dari is a pimp master


Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 03:01
Originaly, no as far as i'm aware.
The name was coined shortly after the idea of a large language super-family linking the (then) studied classical languages of Greek, Latin, Persian and Sanskrit, back in the 1700s.
Though i think it nearly had a different, more classical sounding name, most people back then were obsessed with classical studies to the degree that people schooled in England knew more about ancient Rome than medival England, so all things classical were seriously 'in', indeed, the obsession with classical studies is what allowed people to make the connection between the languages in the first place IIRC.

In German it was traditionaly called 'Indo-Germanic', but not anymore AFAIK, no idea why they called it that.


-------------
Arrrgh!!"


Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 06:16

You don't actually live in Vatican City do you? ? ?



-------------


Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 06:23
No, i just work there.

-------------
Arrrgh!!"


Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 12:44

Originally posted by Cywr

No, i just work there.

Are you a priest?!



-------------


Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 18:24
Yeah, but i'm thinking of applying for an opening as a Mullah in Iran, i hear the pay is better, i hope my qualifications are in order, they don't have choir boys over there though



Do i really need to put a 'j/k' tag here, and edit one in to my earlier post too?


-------------
Arrrgh!!"


Posted By: Zagros
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 18:45
lololol

-------------


Posted By: Cyrus Shahmiri
Date Posted: 21-Aug-2004 at 21:59
It is interesting to know that one of the Greatest Mullahs, author of several Islamic books which are taught in hauzah (the religious seat of learning in Shiite circles), was Fakhroleslam (the honor of Islam), he was an Assyrian who was born in a church in the city of "Church Kandi" in north west Iran, in youth he went to Vatican City and spent a long part of his life there, he had received the title of saint in Vatican but he came back Iran and became a muslim and then a Mullah and mullahs gave the title of Fakhroleslam to him!


-------------


Posted By: YusakuJon3
Date Posted: 22-Aug-2004 at 08:10
Well, there are relationships between Islam, Christianity and Judaism.  Most muslims regard Allah ('God') as the same as Yahweh, the God of Abraham, and thus of the Jews and Christians.  Their type of monotheism is basically the same (God makes a convenant with a chosen people, speaks directly through a prophet to lead them to His kingdom, and orders them to follow only His commandments).  That might account for how quckly the conversion could be made in these cases.

   (But, not being a practicing Christian myself, I have no knowledge of any of this.  Only the historical record concerning how the Roman and Greek churches influenced their associated nations.)

   Speaking of the "Indo-" question, it seems to be generally acknowledged that the "Aryans" of Persian-Indian history were of the IE linguistic group.  Though the theory that they originated from Anatolia (modern Turkey) is being challenged, the theory has them making a migration around the northern steppes above the Black Sea and then descending onto the Iranian plateau and, thus, upon the Indian subcontinent.


-------------
"There you go again!"

-- President Ronald W. Reagan (directed towards reporters at a White House press conference, mid-1980s)


Posted By: Sharrukin
Date Posted: 25-Aug-2004 at 00:02

They certainly didn't have to originate in Anatolia for them to migrate to Iran and India.  The Zend Avesta, originally written in an early form of Iranian, makes reference to an original homeland of the Aryans, (Airyas in Avestan) as Airyanem Vaejah, the "abode of the Aryans" locate along the ancient course of the Oxus (modern, Amu Darya), roughly about the region of the classical Iranian-speaking country of Chorasmia.  In addition to the Airyas, the Avesta made reference to Sairimas and Turas located west and east of the ancient Airyas, respectively.  The Sairimas are seen as the classical Sarmatians, and so were also Iranians.  The Turas (or Tiuryas) are seen as eastern Iranian nomads, perhaps the Sakas.  In either case, although all would be considered Indo-Iranians, only those sedentrary populations located south of the Aral Sea were considered "Aryans". 

The name was certainly used amongst the Medes and Persians.  Herodotus relates that the original name of the Medes was the "Arians".  Darius wrote that he was an "Aryan, of Aryan seed", and even referred to the Persian language as "Aryan".  The languages or dialects of the Iranians of Iran were apparently referred to as collectively "Aryan".  King Kanishka of the Kushans referred to the language of the Bactrians as "Aryan". 

Now, the region said by the Zend Avesta to be the original "abode of the Aryans" coincides with the appearance from Kazakhstan of a central Asian culture known as the Andronovo Culture (c. 1400 BC) and which locally is known as the Tazagabyab Culture.  It seems no coincidence that the region possessed by the Bronze Age Andronovo Culture was in historical times the abode of Iranic speaking tribes such as the Sarmatians, Issedonians, Massagetians, and Sakas, as well as south of the Aral Sea by the Chorasmians, Sogdians, and Bactrians.

We can still go further back.  The origin of the Andronovo Culture was in the Yamnaya Cultural Complex (c. 3600-2200 BC) of the Pontic-Caspian stepee.  The latter was the last phase of the Kurgan tradition, begun about 4500 BC and perhaps the original culture of the IE's.  We can then perhaps see in the eastern portion of the Yamnaya Culture the origin of the proto-Indo-Iranian speakers. and the proto-Aryans in particular. 

While some will view the Aryans as a myth, just from ancient Iranian sources do we find that the name does take on a cultural and linguistic identity.  Aryans were an Indo-Iranic speaking sedentary (non-nomadic) population.



Posted By: hansioux
Date Posted: 25-Aug-2004 at 21:32
By the way, the IE group doesn't just stop from Europe to India.  In fact lots of languages in Central Asian, East-turkistan (a.k.a. xingjing, china), mongolia even Korea claims that they are related to the IE group.


Posted By: Sharrukin
Date Posted: 25-Aug-2004 at 21:47
Well, the only groups in the Xinjiang region which are recognized as being IE were the ancient and extinct Saka and Tocharian languages.  Thus far there is no proof that IE was spoken in Mongolia or Korea. 


Posted By: hansioux
Date Posted: 26-Aug-2004 at 16:36

Tocharian isn't really ancient (well, by Chinese standards).  Though extinct, it is closely tied to several nomadic languages in both mongolia and East-turkistan.  For one, the Uyghur people, the main native East-turkistanian, lived in East-Turkistan since before Tang dynasty.



Posted By: Sharrukin
Date Posted: 30-Aug-2004 at 01:58

Tocharian may very well be ancient.  It possesses certain archaic characteristics (language relics) which had since been dropped in other IE languages.  Being related to western IE languages, its location in the Far East was unexpected.  If the Kunlun Mts. were already known as such by the Chinese as far back as about 1000 BC, when the king of Chou went west to visit the Queen of the West, than Tocharian was already present, since "Kunlun" comes from the Tocharian word klyom, meaning "heavenly". 

As for the Uyghurs, they essentially migrated into Xinjiang by AD 840 and linguistically supplanted Tocharian in favor of their Turkic language.  There is the suggestion that at a more ancient period of time, the Uyghurs, being a light-skinned Europoid population, perhaps spoke an IE language, and there is some archaeological evidence to suggest that the culture of the most anciently known region of their habitation probably came from the west.  The only thing that is lacking is proof that they oiginally spoke an IE language. 



Posted By: hansioux
Date Posted: 30-Aug-2004 at 05:59

Actually, Uyghur is not one race of people who migrated to its current location.  The word Uyghur itself means United.  The origin of Uyghur can be traced back to the race ¨f (Ti), records of them go back to Chou dynasty.  In fact this is the race that invaded Chou and started the Eastern Chou dynasty.  The race is called Til or Tingling (Which means River in the Til's language).  In Han dynasty they established °ª¨® (GaoChe).  After the fall of GaoChe, the rest of the two tribes combined and call themselves Uyghur (Unite).  During the ¦è¬ð³Ö (Xi Tujue, Western Koturks) rule,  Uyghur and several other tribe allied against Chula Qaghan to stop the opression.  Uyghur is the strongest of the tribes and the rest was assimilated.

Also, I am not sure if ±X±[ (Kunlun) comes from the word klyom.  It is far more likely to come from the word Qurum (Khurum or Kurum) which means cloud or Smoke.

Tocharian is widely used in the 5th century.  Whether it was used before, I don't know.  Please tell me, I'd like to know.



Posted By: Rava
Date Posted: 30-Aug-2004 at 08:28

In this context what about Var/Uar tribes. Simokatta placed them on the banks of Til River ie. Black River in Tjurks language. Gumilev translated Uar as river or water in these languages. You say that Til means some ethnos. Isn't it all the same? Til/Tinling = Var/Uar tribe?



Posted By: mauk4678
Date Posted: 30-Aug-2004 at 08:36

Originally posted by Cyrus Shahmiri

, he had received the title of saint in Vatican but he came back Iran and became a muslim and then a Mullah and mullahs gave the title of Fakhroleslam to him!

 

Don't you have to be dead five years before the process of sainthood can begin??



-------------


Posted By: Sharrukin
Date Posted: 31-Aug-2004 at 08:56
Also, I am not sure if ±X±[ (Kunlun) comes from the word klyom.  It is far more likely to come from the word Qurum (Khurum or Kurum) which means cloud or Smoke.

According to Zhang Qiang, the Yuezhi "originated" in the region between the Qilian Mts and Dunhuang.  Now the name "Qilian" is used in ancient Chinese sources to refer to various mountain ranges including the Kunlun Mts.  The name Qilian, itself can be traced to the Tocharian word klyom

Tocharian is widely used in the 5th century.  Whether it was used before, I don't know.  Please tell me, I'd like to know.

We do have manuscripts dating as far back as the 3rd century AD.  In classical western geographies we have the name Tocharian in various different forms as placenames in "Serica", (i.e. in Xinjiang) in the 2nd century AD.  The name is that of a people which subjugated Bactria by about 130 BC.  The beginning of this migration can be put in Kansu by about 165 BC.  Between Kansu and Bactria were various oasis cities whose populations were Europoid.  The earliest of these Europoid "Xinjiang mummies", that of the "Lady of Loulan" is dated to about 2000 BC.  Western Xinjiang formed a distinct linguistic bloc comprised of at least three Tocharian languages, including Tocharian A, Tocharian B, and Krorianic (from Kroraina, the Tocharian name of Loulan). 



Posted By: Cywr
Date Posted: 31-Aug-2004 at 09:52
Don't you have to be dead five years before the process of sainthood can begin??


Not anymore appaerntly, unless the whole Mother Theresa thing has changed.


-------------
Arrrgh!!"


Posted By: medenaywe
Date Posted: 09-Mar-2016 at 13:28
Yes, why not African or Asia European?


Posted By: Arthur-Robin
Date Posted: 09-Mar-2016 at 21:50

Yes the IndoEuro language family basically ranges/extends geographically from India to N/W Europe.

Chronologically the (Proto) Indo European homeland is not for certain located, suggestions has included Sinkiang, Danube, above the Caucasus, etc.
Indian and Hittite (and Greek) are among the oldest extant/recorded members of the family.
Some historians give evidence that the Danubian culture was home of Indo-European, others considered Battle Axe culture the first Indo-Europeans in Europe.
I previously thought Indian/Indus was the oldest IE branch but now looks like might be Hittite or unrecorded common ancestor in Danubian area, or Kassite??. Sumerian is probably the oldest prior to the oldest proto-Indo-European.

(P)IEs may be either Kittim, Dodanim, or Tiras in Genesis 10. See my thread/topic on the Japhethites.

Some suggest that Aryana-Vaejo homeland of Aryans in Indo-Iranian myth was in Arran area (Azerbiajan).

Alot of the words and names in the different branches of IE (incl German/Norse, Celt, Latin, Hellenic, Illyrian/Albanian, Hittite, Armenian, Iranian, Scythian, Indian, Tocharian) are very similar/close.

Dyaus(Pitar) (Indian)
Zeus (pater) (Roman)
Tiwaz/Tyr (Germanic/Norse)

*If* DyausPitar/ZeusPater = Ziusudra = Japheth/Diphath = Djehewty/Thoth, then Dilmun may be linked with "AryanaVaejo". Dilmun candidates include somewhere in Armenia, Danube, Indus.

In Iranian i remember reading that the Sayrima/Salm were "east then west" and Tur was "west then east".
Indian seems older than Iranian.

I state that however many things i am wrong/dumb about don't mean i am all wrong/dumb about everything nor that others are all right about everything.



Posted By: J.A.W.
Date Posted: 13-Mar-2016 at 00:40
~80 years ago H. Himmler sent SS expeditions ( yeah, like in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' - but not fictional)
out to find evidence of the ancient Ayran roots of Germany, right up through the Himalayas..

Dunno where his research data materials/findings are now.. 


-------------
Be Modest In Thyself..


Posted By: medenaywe
Date Posted: 13-Mar-2016 at 01:50
In Hitler's time India&Pakistan were the same!What about the ancient times?What was the area that covers territory now known as"Ancient India"?Was it called like that in the time of Alexander!?!Or name was his assignment: Holly war old religion would have been reestablished.Real goals :To stop Porus,ancient Assad person,people to migrate out of there!Was this migration cause of religious goals or climate change done?Duno.


Posted By: PakistaniShield
Date Posted: 05-Mar-2018 at 18:21
I agree that Indo-European is an outdated term; especially the given. The only justification behind it is the fact that the two most major areas of this family are the Indian subcontinent and Europe.

But in my view since the historic homeland for this famly's origin is along the modern Russian steppes, the Crimean peninsula and the Anatolian platue, the name "Eurasian" would make more sense because these regions are the meeting point of Europe and Asia.

-------------
http://pakhub.info">


Posted By: PakistaniShield
Date Posted: 05-Mar-2018 at 18:24
"India" is a Greek word referring to the land of the Indus. It never referred to the territory today going by the same name. If you look at the map, the Indus is not located in India.


-------------
http://pakhub.info">



Print Page | Close Window

Bulletin Board Software by Web Wiz Forums® version 9.56a - http://www.webwizforums.com
Copyright ©2001-2009 Web Wiz - http://www.webwizguide.com