Old Persian
Old Persian | |
---|---|
𐎠𐎼𐎹 Ariya | |
Region | Ancient Iran |
Era | Evolved into Middle Persian by c. 300 BCE |
Indo-European
| |
Old Persian cuneiform | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | peo |
ISO 639-3 | peo |
peo | |
Glottolog | oldp1254 |
Old Persian is one of two directly attested
Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions,
2007 research into the vast
Origin and overview
As a written language, Old Persian is attested in royal Achaemenid inscriptions. It is an Iranian language and as such a member of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. The oldest known text written in Old Persian is from the Behistun Inscriptions.[9] Old Persian is one of the oldest Indo-European languages which are attested in original texts.[10]
The oldest date of use of Old Persian as a spoken language is not precisely known. According to certain historical assumptions about the early history and origin of ancient Persians in
Classification
Old Persian belongs to the
Language evolution
By the 4th century BCE, the late Achaemenid period, the inscriptions of Artaxerxes II and Artaxerxes III differ enough from the language of Darius' inscriptions to be called a "pre-Middle Persian," or "post-Old Persian."[14] Old Persian subsequently evolved into Middle Persian, which is in turn the ancestor of New Persian.
Professor Gilbert Lazard, a famous Iranologist and the author of the book Persian Grammar, states:[15]
The language known as New Persian, which usually is called at this period (early Islamic times) by the name of Parsi-Dari, can be classified linguistically as a continuation of Middle Persian, the official religious and literary language of Sassanian Iran, itself a continuation of Old Persian, the language of the Achaemenids. Unlike the other languages and dialects, ancient and modern, of the Iranian group such as
Farsand is differentiated by dialectical features, still easily recognizable from the dialect prevailing in north-western and eastern Iran.
Substrates
Old Persian "presumably"
Script
Old Persian texts were written from left to right in the syllabic Old Persian cuneiform script and had 36 phonetic characters and 8
The origin of the Old Persian cuneiform script and the identification of the date and process of introduction are a matter of discussion among Iranian scholars with no general agreement having been reached. The factors making the consensus difficult are, among others, the difficult passage
King Darius says: By the grace of Ahuramazda this is the inscription which I have made. Besides, it was in Aryan ("ariyâ") script, and it was composed on clay tablets and on parchment. Besides, a sculptured figure of myself I made.
— Behistun Inscription (IV lines 88–92)[21]
Also, the analysis of certain Old Persian inscriptions are "supposed or claimed" to predate Darius the Great. Although it is true that the oldest attested Old Persian inscriptions are found on the Behistun monument from Darius, the creation of this "new type of writing" seems, according to Schmitt, "to have begun already under Cyrus the Great".[9]
The script shows a few changes in the shape of characters during the period it was used. This can be seen as a standardization of the heights of wedges, which in the beginning (i.e. in
Phonology
The following phonemes are expressed in the Old Persian script:
Front | Back | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Close | i | iː | u | uː |
Open | a | aː |
Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n
|
||||||||
Plosive
|
p | b | t |
d
|
k | ɡ | ||||
Fricative
|
f | θ | x | h | ||||||
Affricate
|
t͡s | t͡ʃ | d͡ʒ | |||||||
Sibilant
|
s | z | ʃ | |||||||
Rhotic | r
|
|||||||||
Approximant
|
l
|
j | w |
Notes: Lycian 𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Kizzaprñna ~ 𐊈𐊆𐊖𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 Zisaprñna for (genuine) Old Persian *Ciçafarnā (besides the Median form *Ciθrafarnah) = Tissaphernes suggests /t͡s/ as the pronunciation of ç (compare [1] and Kloekhorst 2008, p. 125 in [2] for this example, who, however, mistakenly writes Çiçafarnā, which contradicts the etymology [PIIr. *Čitra-swarnas-] and the Middle Persian form Čehrfar [ç gives Middle Persian s]).[original research?]
The phoneme /l/ does not occur in native Iranian vocabulary, only in borrowings from Akkadian (a new /l/ develops in Middle Persian from Old Persian /rd/ and the change of /rθ/ to /hl/). The phoneme /r/ can also form a syllable peak; both the way Persian names with syllabic /r/ (such as Brdiya) are rendered in Elamite and its further development in Middle Persian suggest that before the syllabic /r/, an epenthetic vowel [i] had developed already in the Old Persian period, which later became [u] after labials. For example, Old Persian Vᵃ-rᵃ-kᵃ-a-nᵃ /wr̩kaːna/ is rendered in Elamite as Mirkānu-,[23] rendering transcriptions such as V(a)rakāna, Varkāna or even Vurkāna questionable and making Vrkāna or Virkāna much more realistic (and equally for vrka- "wolf", Brdiya and other Old Persian words and names with syllabic /r/).
While v usually became /v/ in Middle Persian, it became /b/ word-initially in New Persian, except before [u] (including the epenthetic vowel mentioned above), where it became /ɡ/. This suggests that it was really pronounced as [w].
Grammar
Grammatical numbers
Old Persian has 3 types of grammatical number: singular, dual and plural.
Grammatical genders
Old Persian has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine and neuter. In contrast,
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 | |||||||
Accusative | -am | -ām | |||||||
Instrumental/ Ablative |
-ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -ā | -aibiyā | -aibiš | -āyā | -ābiyā | -ābiš |
Dative | -ahyā, -ahya | -ahyā, -ahya | |||||||
Genitive | -āyā | -ānām | -āyā | -ānām | -āyā | -ānām | |||
Locative | -aiy | -aišuvā | -aiy | -aišuvā | -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 | -u | ||||||||||
Accusative | -im | -iš | -um | -ūn | ||||||||
Instrumental/ Ablative |
-auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auš | -ībiyā | -ībiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš | -auv | -ūbiyā | -ūbiš |
Dative | -aiš | -aiš | -auš | -auš | ||||||||
Genitive | -īyā | -īnām | -īyā | -īnām | -ūvā | -ūnām | -ūvā | -ūnām | ||||
Locative | -auv | -išuvā | -auv | -išuvā | -āvā | -ušuvā | -āvā | -ušuvā |
Adjectives are declined in a similar way.
Verbs
Voices
Active, Middle (them. pres. -aiy-, -ataiy-), Passive (-ya-).
Mostly the forms of first and third persons are attested. The only preserved Dual form is 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-Iranian | Old Persian | Middle Persian | Modern Persian | meaning |
---|---|---|---|---|
*Háhurah mazdáH | Auramazdā (𐎠𐎢𐎼𐎶𐏀𐎭𐎠) | Ohrmazd 𐭠𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭬𐭦𐭣 | Hormazd هرمزد | Ahura Mazda (supreme God) |
*Hácwah | asa (𐎠𐎿) | asp | asb اسب / asp اسپ | horse |
*káHmah | kāma (𐎣𐎠𐎶) | kām | kâm کام | desire |
*daywáh | daiva (𐎭𐎡𐎺) |
dēw | div دیو | devil |
*jráyah | drayah (𐎭𐎼𐎹) | drayā | daryâ دریا | sea |
*jástah | dasta (𐎭𐎿𐎫) | dast 𐭩𐭣𐭤 | dast دست | hand |
*bāǰíš | bājiš (𐎲𐎠𐎩𐎡𐏁) | bāj | bâj باج / bâž باژ | toll |
*bráHtā | brātā (𐎲𐎼𐎠𐎫𐎠) | brād(ar) | barâdar برادر | brother |
*búHmiš | būmiš (𐏏) | būm 𐭡𐭥𐭬 | bum بوم | region, land |
*mártyah | martya (𐎶𐎼𐎫𐎡𐎹) | mard | mard مرد | man |
*mā́Hah | māha (𐎶𐎠𐏃) | māh 𐭡𐭩𐭥𐭧 | mâh ماه | moon, month |
*wáhr̥ | derivative vāhara (𐎺𐎠𐏃𐎼) | wahār | bahâr بهار | spring |
*stuHnáH | stūnā (𐎿𐎬𐎢𐎴𐎠) | stūn | sotun ستون | stand (column) |
*čyaHtáh | šiyāta (𐏁𐎡𐎹𐎠𐎫) | šād | šâd شاد | happy |
*Hr̥tám | artam (𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎶) | ard | ord ارد | order, truth |
*dráwgah | drauga (𐎭𐎼𐎢𐎥) | drōw | doruğ دروغ | lie |
*cwáHdaH | spāda (𐎿𐎱𐎠𐎭) | spah 𐭮𐭯𐭠𐭧 | sepâh سپاه | army |
See also
Notes
- ^ cf. Gershevitch, Ilya (1968). "Old Iranian Literature". Handbuch der Orientalistik, Literatur I. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–31., p. 2.
- ^ Gnoli, Gherardo (2006). "Iranian Identity ii. Pre-Islamic Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. 13. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
... in the Old Persian version, whose language was called "Iranian" or ariya.
- ^ Kuhrt 2013, p. 197.
- ^ Frye 1984, p. 103.
- ^ Schmitt 2000, p. 53.
- ^ "Old Persian Texts". Avesta – Zoroastrian Archives.
- ^ Kent, R. G. (1950) "Old Persian: Grammar Texts Lexicon", p. 6. American Oriental Society.
- ^ "Everyday text shows that Old Persian was probably more commonly used than previously thought". University of Chicago News Office (archived). June 15, 2007. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16.
- ^ a b Schmitt 2008, pp. 80–81.
- ^ a b c Skjærvø 2006, vi(2). Documentation. Old Persian..
- ^ a b Skjærvø 2006, vi(1). Earliest Evidence.
- ^ Schmitt 2008, p. 76.
- ^ a b Skjærvø 2006.
- ^ a b c Skjærvø 2005.
- ^ Lazard, Gilbert (1975). "The Rise of the New Persian Language". In Frye, R. N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 595–632.
- ^ Ulrich Ammon; Norbert Dittmar; Klaus J. Mattheier; Peter Trudgill (2006). An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. Sociolinguistics. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Walter de Gruyter. p. 1912.
Middle Persian, also called Pahlavi is a direct continuation of old Persian, and was used as the written official language of the country." "However, after the Moslem conquest and the collapse of the Sassanids, Arabic became the dominant language of the country and Pahlavi lost its importance, and was gradually replaced by Dari, a variety of Middle Persian, with considerable loan elements from Arabic and Parthian.
- ^ Bo Utas (2005). "Semitic on Iranian". In Éva Ágnes Csató; Bo Isaksson; Carina Jahani (eds.). Linguistic convergence and areal diffusion: case studies from Iranian, Semitic and Turkic. Routledge. p. 71.
As already mentioned, it is not likely that the scribes of Sassanian chanceries had any idea about the Old Persian cuneiform writing and the language couched in it. Still, the Middle Persian language that appeared in the third century AD may be seen as a continuation of Old Persian
- ^ Schmitt 2008, p. 78.
- Persians did not take over the Mesopotamian systemin earlier times, as the Elamites and other peoples of the Near East had, and, for that matter, why the Persians did not adopt the Aramaic consonantal script.."
- ^ a b Schmitt 2008, p. 77.
- ^ Behistun T 42 – Livius.
- ^ Schmitt 2008, p. 79.
- ISBN 978-3-11-014809-1. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
Bibliography
- Brandenstein, Wilhelm (1964), Handbuch des Altpersischen, Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz
- Hinz, Walther (1966), Altpersischer Wortschatz, Nendeln, Liechtenstein: Kraus
- Frye, Richard Nelson (1984). Handbuch der Altertumswissenschaft: Alter Orient-Griechische Geschichte-Römische Geschichte. Band III,7: The History of Ancient Iran. C.H.Beck. ISBN 978-3406093975.
- Kent, Roland G. (1953), Old Persian: Grammar, Texts, Lexicon, New Haven: American Oriental Society
- Kuhrt, A. (2013). The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period. Routledge. ISBN 978-1136016943.
- Sims-Williams, Nicholas (1996), "Iranian languages", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 7, Costa Mesa: Mazda: 238-245
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (1989), "Altpersisch", in R. Schmitt (ed.), Compendium linguarum Iranicarum, Wiesbaden: Reichert: 56–85
- Schmitt, Rüdiger (2000). The Old Persian Inscriptions of Naqsh-i Rustam and Persepolis. Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum by School of Oriental and African Studies. ISBN 978-0728603141.
- Schmitt, R. (2008), "Old Persian", in Roger D. Woodard (ed.), The Ancient Languages of Asia and the Americas (illustrated ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 76–100, ISBN 978-0521684941
- Skjærvø, Prods Oktor (2005), An Introduction to Old Persian (PDF) (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Harvard
- Skjærvø, Prods Oktor (2006), "Iran, vi. Iranian languages and scripts", Encyclopaedia Iranica, vol. 13
- 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
- Edwin Lee Johnson (1917), Historical grammar of the ancient Persian language, Volume 8 of Vanderbilt oriental series, American book company, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Edwin Lee Johnson (1917), Historical grammar of the ancient Persian language, Volume 8 of Vanderbilt oriental series, American book company, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Herbert Cushing Tolman (1892), Grammar of the Old Persian language: with the inscriptions of the Achaemenian kings and vocabulary, Ginn, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Herbert Cushing Tolman (1893), A guide to the Old Persian inscriptions, American book company, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Edwin Lee Johnson (1910), Herbert Cushing Tolman (ed.), Cuneiform supplement (autographed) to the author's Ancient Persian lexicon and texts: with brief historical synopsis of the language, Volume 7 of Vanderbilt oriental series, American Book Co., retrieved 2011-07-06
- Herbert Cushing Tolman (1908), Ancient Persian lexicon and the texts of the Achaemenidan inscriptions transliterated and translated with special reference to their recent re-examination, by Herbert Cushing Tolman .., Volume 6 of Vanderbilt oriental series, American Book Company, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Herbert Cushing Tolman (1908), Ancient Persian lexicon and the texts of the Achaemenidan inscriptions transliterated and translated with special reference to their recent re-examination, by Herbert Cushing Tolman .., Volume 6 of Vanderbilt oriental series, American Book Company, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Darius I (King of Persia) (1908), Translated by Herbert Cushing Tolman (ed.), The Behistan inscription of King Darius: translation and critical notes to the Persian text with special reference to recent re-examinations of the rock, Volume 1, Issue 1 of Vanderbilt University studies ATLA monograph preservation program Volume 3384 of Harvard College Library preservation microfilm program (reprint ed.), Vanderbilt University, ISBN 9780790531892, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Darius I (King of Persia) (1908), Herbert Cushing Tolman (ed.), The Behistan inscription of King Darius: translation and critical notes to the Persian text with special reference to recent re-examinations of the rock, Volume 1, Issue 1 of Vanderbilt University studies, Vanderbilt university, retrieved 2011-07-06
- Harvey, Scott L.; Slocum, Jonathan. "Series Introduction". Old Iranian Online. The University of Texas at Austin Linguistics Research Center.
- Windfuhr, Gernot L. (1995), "Cases in Iranian languages and dialects", Encyclopedia Iranica, vol. 5, Costa Mesa: Mazda, pp. 25–37, archived from the original on 2007-11-04
- Stolper, Matthew W.; Tavernier, Jan (2007). "From the Persepolis Fortification Archive Project, 1: An Old Persian Administrative Tablet from the Persepolis Fortification". Arta. 1.
- "An Old Persian text in the Persepolis Fortification Archive". Persepolis Fortification Archive Project. Posted by Chuck Jones. June 18, 2007.
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: CS1 maint: others (link) - Asatrian, Garnik (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Persian, ISBN 978-90-04-18341-4