Bactrian language
| Bactrian | |
|---|---|
| Αριαο | |
| Pronunciation | [arjaː] |
| Native to | Bactria |
| Region | Central Asia |
| Era | 300 BC – 1000 AD[2] |
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xbc |
xbc | |
| Glottolog | bact1239 |
Bactrian (Bactrian: Αριαο, romanized: ariao,
Name
It was long thought that
Bactrian, which was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the
Under Kushan rule, Bactria became known as Tukhara or Tokhara, and later as
Classification
Bactrian is a part of the
History
Bactrian became the lingua franca of the Kushan Empire and the region of Bactria, replacing the Greek language. Bactrian was used by successive rulers in Bactria, until the arrival of the Umayyad Caliphate.
Historical development
Following the conquest of Bactria by
The Kushan Empire initially retained the
In the 3rd century, the Kushan territories west of the
From the mid-4th century, Bactria and northwestern India gradually fell under the control the
Writing system
Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian. Although ambiguities remain, some of the disadvantages were overcome by using
Records
The Bactrian language is known from inscriptions, coins, seals, manuscripts, and other documents.
Sites at which Bactrian language inscriptions have been found are (in north–south order)
Over 150 legal documents, accounts, letters and Buddhist texts have surfaced since the 1990s,[16] the largest collection of which is the Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents.[17] These have greatly increased the detail in which Bactrian is currently known.[16]
Phonology
The phonology of Bactrian is not known with certainty, owing to the limitations of the native scripts.
Consonants
| Type | Labial | Dental or alveolar |
Palatal or postalveolar |
Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | labialized | ||||||
Stops
|
Voiceless | p | t | k | |||
| Voiced | b(?) | d | ɡ | ||||
Affricates
|
Voiceless | t͡s | |||||
| Voiced | d͡z | ||||||
Fricatives
|
Voiceless | f | θ(?); s | ʃ | x | xʷ | h |
| Voiced | v | ð(?); z | ʒ(?) | ɣ | |||
| Nasals | m | n | |||||
Approximants
|
l | j | w | ||||
| Rhotic | r | ||||||
A major difficulty in determining Bactrian phonology is that affricates and voiced stops were not consistently distinguished from the corresponding fricatives in the Greek script.
- Proto-Iranian *b, *d, *g have generally become spirants, as in most other Eastern Iranian languages. A distinctive feature of Bactrian, shared within the Iranian languages with Munji, Yidgha and Pashto, is the development of Proto-Iranian *d > *ð further to /l/, which may have been areal in nature.[7] Original *d remains only in a few consonant clusters, e.g. *bandaka > βανδαγο 'servant', *dugdā > λογδο 'daughter'. The clusters /lr/ and /rl/ appear in earlier Bactrian, but revert to /dr/, /rd/ later, e.g. *drauga > λρωγο (4th to 5th century) > δδρωρο (7th to 8th century) 'lie, falsehood'.[19]
- Proto-Iranian *p, *t, *č, *k have become voiced between vowels, and after a nasal consonant or *r.
- Inside a word, the digraphs ββ, δδ for original voiceless *p, *t can be found, which probably represent [b], [d]. The former is attested only in a single word, αββο 'water'. Manichaean Bactrian appears to only have had /v/ in native vocabulary. According to Gholami, instances of single δ may indicate a fricative pronunciation, [ð].[20]
- γ appears to stand for both the stop [ɡ] and the fricative [ɣ], but it is unclear if a contrast existed, and which instances are which. Evidence from the Manichaean script suggests that γ from *k may have been /ɡ/ and γ from *g may have been /ɣ/. According to Greek orthographic practices, γγ represents [ŋɡ].[21]
- σ may continue both Proto-Iranian *c > *s and *č, and the Manichaean script confirms that it represents two phonemes, likely /s/ and /ts/.[22]
- ζ may continue similarly on one hand Proto-Iranian *dz > *z, and on the other *ǰ and *č, and it represents at least /z/ and /dz/. This distinction is again confirmed by the Manichaean script. Also a third counterpart of ζ is found in Manichaean Bactrian, possibly representing /ʒ/.
The status of θ is unclear; it only appears in the word ιθαο 'thus, also', which may be a loanword from another Iranian language. In most positions Proto-Iranian *θ becomes /h/ (written υ), or is lost, e.g. *puθra- > πουρο 'son'.[23] The cluster *θw, however, appears to become /lf/, e.g. *wikāθwan > οιγαλφο 'witness'.[24]
ϸ continues, in addition to Proto-Iranian *š, also Proto-Iranian *s in the clusters *sr, *str, *rst. In several cases, however, Proto-Iranian *š becomes /h/ or is lost; the distribution is unclear. E.g. *snušā > ασνωυο 'daughter-in-law', *aštā > αταο 'eight', *xšāθriya > χαρο 'ruler', *pašman- > παμανο 'wool'.
Vowels
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.[25]The Greek script does not consistently represent vowel length. Fewer vowel contrasts yet are found in the Manichaean script, but short /a/ and long /aː/ are distinguished in it, suggesting that Bactrian generally retains the Proto-Iranian vowel length contrast.
It is not clear if ο might represent short [o] in addition to [u], and if any contrast existed. Short [o] may have occurred at least as a reflex of *a followed by a lost *u in the next syllable, e.g. *madu > μολο 'wine', *pasu > ποσο 'sheep'. Short [e] is also rare. By contrast, long /eː/, /oː/ are well established as reflexes of Proto-Iranian diphthongs and certain vowel-semivowel sequences: η < *ai, *aya, *iya; ω < *au, *awa.
An epenthetic vowel [ə] (written α) is inserted before word-initial consonant clusters.
Original word-final vowels and word-initial vowels in open syllables were generally lost. A word-final ο is normally written, but this was probably silent, and it is appended even after retained word-final vowels: e.g. *aštā > αταο 'eight', likely pronounced /ataː/.
The Proto-Iranian syllabic rhotic *r̥ is lost in Bactrian, and is reflected as ορ adjacent to labial consonants, ιρ elsewhere; this agrees with the development in the western Iranian languages Parthian and Middle Persian.
Orthography
| Greek Letter | IPA | Greek Letter | IPA | Greek Letter | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| α | a, aː | η | eː | ρ | r |
| α/ο | ə | θ | θ | σ | s, t͡s |
| β | v | ι | i, j | τ | t |
| β/ββ | b | κ | k | υ | h |
| γ | ɣ, ɡ | λ | l | φ | f |
| δ | ð | μ | m | χ | x |
| δ/δδ | d | ν | n | χο | xʷ |
| ε | e | ο | o, u, w | ω | oː |
| ζ | z, ʒ, d͡z | π | p | ϸ | ʃ |
Examples
-
Surkh Kotal inscription in Bactrian, National Museum of Afghanistan
See also
Notes
- ^ Davary (1982). Illustrations (PDF). p. Fig.93.
- the Linguist List
- ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- ^ Sims-Williams, N. "Bactrian Language". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
- ^ Gershevitch 1983, p. 1250
- ^ Henning (1960), p. 47. Bactrian thus "occupies an intermediary position between Pashto and Yidgha-Munji on the one hand, Sogdian, Choresmian, and Parthian on the other: it is thus in its natural and rightful place in Bactria".
- ^ a b Novák, Ľubomir (2014). "Question of (re)classification of Eastern Iranian languages". Linguistica Brunensia: 77–87.
- ^ Waghmar, Burzine K. (2001) 'Bactrian History and Language: An Overview.' Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 64. pp. 45.
- ^ Harry Falk (2001), "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Silk Road Art and Archaeology 7: 121–36.p. 133.
- ISBN 9231028464. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
- ISBN 9780080877754.
- Tamgha symbol on his coins CNG Coins.
- ISBN 9004114424.
- ^ CNG Coins
- ^ Chisholm 1911.
- ^ a b Sims-Williams, Nicholas (March 2002). "New Documents in Ancient Bactrian Reveal Afghanistan's Past" (PDF). IIAS Newsletter (27). International Institute for Asian Studies: 12–13.
- JSTOR 43307651.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0272-8.
- ^ Gholami 2010, pp. 18–19.
- ^ Gholami 2010, p. 10.
- ^ Gholami 2010, pp. 11–12.
- ^ Gholami 2010, p. 12.
- ^ Gholami 2010, p. 13.
- ^ Gholami 2010, p. 25.
- ^ This coin is in the collection of the British Museum. For equivalent coin, see CNG Coins
References
- Falk (2001): "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Harry Falk. Silk Road Art and Archaeology VII, pp. 121–136.
- Henning (1960): "The Bactrian Inscription." W. B. Henning. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 23, No. 1. (1960), pp. 47–55.
- Gershevitch, Ilya (1983), "Bactrian Literature", in Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.), Cambridge History of Iran, vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, pp. 1250–1258, ISBN 0-511-46773-7.
- Gholami, Saloumeh (2010), Selected Features of Bactrian Grammar (PhD thesis), University of Göttingen, S2CID 247020656
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1989), "Bactrian Language", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 3, New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, pp. 344–349.
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1989), "Bactrian", in Schmitt, Rüdiger (ed.), Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, Wiesbaden: Reichert, pp. 230–235.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Tochi Valley". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1997), New Findings in Ancient Afghanistan: the Bactrian documents discovered from the Northern Hindu-Kush, [lecture transcript], Tokyo: Department of Linguistics, University of Tokyo, archived from the original on 2007-06-10
External links
- Bactrian language at britannica.com
