Khwarezmian language
- Khwarezmian language
-
For other uses, see Khwarezmian (disambiguation).
Khwarezmian Spoken in Khwarezm Extinct ca. 13th century Language family Writing system Aramaic alphabet, Sogdian alphabet, Pahlavi script Language codes ISO 639-3 xco Khwarezmian, also known as Khwarazmian or Chorasmian, is the name of an extinct East Iranian language[1][2][3][4] closely related to Sogdian. The language was spoken in the area of Khwarezm (Chorasmia), centered in the lower Amu Darya south of the Aral Sea (the northern part of the modern Republic of Uzbekistan, and the adjacent areas of Turkmenistan).
Our knowledge of Khwarezmian is limited to its Middle Iranian stage and much like Sogdian, we are not sure of its ancient form. Before the advancement of Islam in Transoxiana (early 8th century), Khwarezmian was written in a script close to that of Sogdian and Pahlavi with its roots in the imperial Aramaic script. From the few remaining pieces of this script (from coins and artifacts), it has been observed that written Khwarezmian included Aramaic logograms or ideograms, that is, Aramaic words written to represent native spoken ones.
After the advancement of Islam, Khwarezmian adapted a version of the Perso-Arabic alphabet with a few extra signs to reflect the specific Khwarezmian sounds, such as the letter څ, which represents /ts/ and /dz/, as in traditional Pashto orthography.[5]
From the writings of the great Khwarezmian scholars, Biruni and Zamakhshari, we know that the language was in use at least until the 13th century, when it was gradually replaced by various dialects of Turkish as well as by Persian.
Other than the astronomical terms used by Biruni, our other sources of Khwarezmian include Zamakhshari's Arabic-Persian-Khwarezmian dictionary and several legal texts that use Khwarezmian terms to explain certain legal concepts.
The noted scholar W.B. Henning was preparing a dictionary of Khwarezmian when he died, leaving it unfinished.
Notes
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica, "The Chorasmian Language", D.N.Mackenzie. Online access at June, 2011: [1]
- ^ Andrew Dalby, Dictionary of Languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages, Columbia University Press, 2004, pg 278
- ^ MacKenzie, D. N. "Khwarazmian Language and Literature," in E. Yarshater ed. Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. III, Part 2, Cambridge 1983, pp. 1244-1249
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica, "Iranian languages" (Retrieved on 29 December 2008)
- ^ THE KHWAREZMIAN GLOSSARY—I, D. N. MacKenzie Link
See also
- Khwarezm
- Afrighids
- Biruni
- Zamakhshari
- Central Asia
- Ancient Iranian peoples
- Iranian peoples
- Iranian Languages
- Zoroastrianism
External links
- Encyclopedia Iranica, "The Chorasmian language" by D.N. Mackenzie
- http://www.iranianlanguages.com
- http://www.iranologie.com/history/ilf.html
Iranian languages Old EasternWesternMedian · Old PersianMiddle EasternWesternModern EasternWesternOld Azari · Balochi · Bashkardi · Central Iran dialects · Dari (Zoroastrian) · Taleshi · Gilaki · Mazandarani · Kurdic (Kurmanji · Laki · Sorani · Southern Kurdish · ) · Luri · Bakhtiari Lori · Sangsari · Persian (Dari · Tajik · Hazaragi) · Tat · Tati · Zaza · Dialects of FarsItalics indicate extinct languages Categories:- Medieval languages
- Northeastern Iranian languages
- Ancient Iranian peoples
- Extinct languages of Asia
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Khwarezmian — The name Khwarezmian (also Khorezmian, Khwarezm, Khwarizmim, Chorasmian, Carizmian, and others) may refer to: Khwarezm, a series of states in what is now known as Greater Iran Khwarezmian language, an extinct East Iranian language Khwarezmian… … Wikipedia
Khwarezmian Empire — Infobox Former Country native name = خوارزمشاهیان conventional long name = Khwarezmian Empire common name = Khwarezmian Empire continent = Asia region = country = Iran era = Medieval status = status text = empire = government type = Monarchy year … Wikipedia
Domaaki language — Domaaki Spoken in Pakistan Region Nager and Hunza Valleys Native speakers ca. 350[citation needed] (2004) … Wikipedia
Pashayi language — Pashayi Spoken in Afghanistan Native speakers 108,000 (1982)[1] Language family Indo European Indo Aryan … Wikipedia
Mal Paharia language — Mal Paharia Spoken in India Region Jharkhand and West Bengal Ethnicity Mal Paharia Native speakers approx. 100,000 (1994) … Wikipedia
Nahari language — Nahari Spoken in India Region Chhattisgarh and Orissa Native speakers 20,400 (2000) Language family Indo European … Wikipedia
Nangalami language — Nangalami Grangali Spoken in Afghanistan Native speakers 5000 (1994) Language family Indo European … Wikipedia
Sadri language — Sadri Spoken in India, Bangladesh Region East South Chotta Nagpur Region and surrounding states Native speakers ca. 2 million (1997) Language family Indo European … Wikipedia
Dameli language — Dameli Spoken in Pakistan Region Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Native speakers 5,000 (date missing) Language family Indo European … Wikipedia
Dhanwar Rai language — Dhanwar Rai Spoken in Nepal Native speakers 32,000 Language family Indo European … Wikipedia