Proto-Indo-Aryan language

{{See also|Indo-Aryan languages}}

Proto-Indo-Aryan is meant to be the predecessor of Old Indo-Aryan (1500–300 BCE), which is directly attested as Vedic and Classical Sanskrit, as well as by the Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni. Indeed, Vedic Sanskrit is very close to Proto-Indo-Aryan.see e.g. {{Harvnb|Radhakrishnan|Moore|1957|p=3}}; Witzel, Michael, "Vedas and {{IAST|Upaniṣads}}", in: {{Harvnb|Flood|2003|p=68}}; {{Harvnb|MacDonell|2004|pp=29–39}}; Sanskrit literature (2003) in Philip's Encyclopedia. Accessed 2007-08-09

Some of the Prakrits display a few minor features derived from Proto-Indo-Aryan that had already disappeared in Vedic Sanskrit.

Today, numerous modern Indo-Aryan languages are extant.

Despite the great archaicity of Vedic, the other Indo-Aryan languages preserve a small number of conservative features lost in Vedic.{{cite book|first=Colin P.|last=Masica|authorlink=Colin Masica|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages|year=1991|page=156}}

One of these is the representation of Proto-Indo-European *l and *r. Vedic (as also most Iranic languages) merges both as {{IPA|/r/}}. Later, however, some instances of Indo-European {{IPA|/l/}} again surface in Classical Sanskrit, indicating that the contrast survived in an early Indo-Aryan dialect parallel to Vedic. (A dialect with only {{IPA|/l/}} is additionally posited to underlie Magadhi Prakrit.){{cite book|first=Colin P.|last=Masica|authorlink=Colin Masica|title=The Indo-Aryan Languages|year=1991|page=97}} However, it is not clear that the contrast actually survived anywhere in Indo-Iranian, not even in Proto-Indo-Iranian, as {{IPA|/l/}} is also found in place of original *r in Indo-Iranian languages.

The common consonant cluster kṣ {{IPA|/kʂ/}} of Vedic and later Sanskrit has a particularly wide range of Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and Proto-Indo-Iranian (PII) sources, which partly remain distinct in later Indo-Aryan languages:{{cite book|first=Masato|last=Kobayashi|title=Historical Phonology of Old Indo-Aryan Consonants|series=Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa Monograph Series|volume=42|year=2004|isbn=4-87297-894-3|pages=60–65}}

• PIE *ks, *kʷs, *gs, *gʷs > PII *kš > Middle Indo-Aryan kh-, -kkh-
• PIE *dʰgʷʰ, *gʰs, *gʷʰs > PII *gʱžʱ > Middle Indo-Aryan gh-, -ggh-
• PIE *tḱ; *ǵs, *ḱs > PII *tć, *ćš > Middle Indo-Aryan ch-, -cch-
• PIE *dʰǵʰ, *ǵʰs > PII *ȷ́ʱžʱ > Middle Indo-Aryan jh-, -jh-

Most personal pronouns are identical between Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Aryan and show modest differences between Proto-Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit

Most numerals are identical between Proto-Indo-Iranian and Proto-Indo-Aryan. Most number show minimal differences between Proto-Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit (e.g., the loss of the fricative sound *H).

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• {{cite book |editor-last1=Flood |editor-first1=Gavin |title=The Blackwell companion to Hinduism |date=2003 |publisher=Blackwell Publ |location=Oxford |isbn=1-4051-3251-5}}
• {{cite book |last=MacDonell |first=Arthur Anthony |year=2004 |title=A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-2000-5}}
• {{cite book |last1=Radhakrishnan |first1=S. |last2=Moore |first2=C. A. |author-link=Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan |year=1957 |title=A Source Book in Indian Philosophy |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-01958-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/sourcebookinindi00radh}}

• Morgenstierne, Georg. "Early Iranic Influence upon Indo-Aryan." Acta Iranica, I. série, Commemoration Cyrus. Vol. I. Hommage universel (1974): 271–279.

• Category:Proto-Indo-Aryan language on Wiktionary

{{Old and Middle Indo-Aryan}}

Indo-Aryan

Category:Indo-Aryan languages

Category:Languages of India

Category:Ancient India