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Encyclopedia > Avestan language
Avestan
Spoken in: liturgical language of Zoroastrianism
Language extinction: likely by the 7th century BC
Language family: Indo-European
 Indo-Iranian
  Iranian
   Eastern Iranian
    Avestan
Language codes
ISO 639-1: ae
ISO 639-2: ave
ISO 639-3: ave 
Yasna 28.1, Ahunavaiti Gatha (Bodleian MS J2)
Yasna 28.1, Ahunavaiti Gatha (Bodleian MS J2)

Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the sacred hymns and canon of the Zoroastrian Avesta. Iranian languages are part of the Indo-Iranian Language group which includes the Indo-Aryan languages such as Sanskrit. The Indo-Iranian language group is the biggest branch of the Indo-European language family. Avestan contains passive morpheme quite similar to that of Gorani or Hewrami, one of two major dialects spoken today by modern Kurds in Iran and Iraq.[1] Zoroastrianism (Avestan Daênâ Vañuhi the good religion)[1][2] is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... An extinct language (also called a dead language) is a language which no longer has any native speakers. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 7th century BC started on January 1, 700 BC and ended on December 31, 601 BC. // Overview Events Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria who created the the first systematically collected library at Nineveh A 16th century depiction of the Hanging Gardens of... Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. ... Northeastern Iranian languages Southeastern Iranian languages See also: List of Iranian languages, Western Iranian languages. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ... Download high resolution version (930x503, 94 KB)Bodleian Library, MS J2 fol. ... Download high resolution version (930x503, 94 KB)Bodleian Library, MS J2 fol. ... The Gathas (Gāθās) are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ... Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of sounds and the human voice. ... Unicode is an industry standard designed to allow text and symbols from all of the writing systems of the world to be consistently represented and manipulated by computers. ... This chart shows concisely the most common way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is applied to represent the English language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Zoroastrianism (Avestan Daênâ Vañuhi the good religion)[1][2] is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zoroaster (Zarathustra, Zartosht). ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family with an estimated 150-200 million native speakers today. ... Indo-Iranian can refer to: The Indo-Iranian languages The prehistoric Indo-Iranian people, see Aryan This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Indo-Aryan languages form a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian languages, thus belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Indo-Iranian languages (also called Aryan languages) are the eastern-most group of the living Indo-European languages. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe and western Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ... Gorani could be the name of: Gorani, (a. ... Hewrami or Hawrami is an archaic branch of Kurdish language. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ...


Along with Old Persian, Avestan is one of the two oldest Iranian languages of which we have evidence (see also classification, below). The Avestan language should not be confused with the Avestan alphabet, which is a significantly later invention. Sketch of the first column of the Behistun Inscription Old Persian is the oldest attested Persid language. ... The Avestan alphabet was created in the 3rd century AD for writing the hymns of Zarathustra (a. ...


The Avestan language, as reflected in the Avesta, is divided into two different stages:

  1. Old Avestan or Gathic Avestan: This form of the language was used to compose the Gathas and other more ancient portions of the Yasna. Gathic Avestan is an archaic language with a complicated grammar which consists of eight case forms and a highly inflected noun system. It is still quite close to the Vedic Sanskrit. Like Zoroaster's lifetime, widely differing dates for Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BC (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit).
  2. Young Avestan: the language used for composing the greater part of the Avesta, including many of the Yashts of the "Little Avesta", the Vendidad and some sections of the Yasna. Young Avestan itself has two forms, one called Original Young Avestan, and the other, Artificial Young Avestan. The first form was probably a natural development of Old Avestan and was most likely also a spoken language up to the 8th century BCE. The Artificial Young Avestan however is a corrupt form of the language, a form that was never spoken and was used by the priesthood in later times in order to compose new texts. The Vendidad is the most significant collection of texts that were composed in Artificial Young Avestan.

Contents

The Gathas (Gāθās) are the most sacred of the texts of the Zoroastrian faith, and are traditionally believed to have been composed by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) himself. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Vedic Sanskrit is the language of the Vedas, which are the earliest sacred texts of India,. The Vedas were first passed down orally and therefore have no known date. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... (Redirected from 1000 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC - 1000s BC - 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC Events and Trends 1006 BC - David becomes king of the ancient Israelites (traditional... The Brahmana (Sanskrit ब्राह्मण) are part of the Hindu Shruti; They are composed in Vedic Sanskrit, and the period of their composition is sometimes referred to as the Brahmanic period or age (approximately between 900 BC and 500 BC). ... Faravahar, believed to be a depiction of a Farvashi, as mentioned in the Yasna and the Vendidad The Avesta is a collection of the sacred texts of the Zoroastrian religion. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ... See Avesta Municipality for the Swedish town Yasna 28. ...

Classification

Avestan is usually classified as Eastern Iranian. However, because the separation of Eastern and Western Iranian is poorly understood, and because there is no attestation of an Iranian language contemporary to Avestan, as well as because of the defective tradition of the Avestan texts, the validity, or even applicability, of this classification is uncertain. Northeastern Iranian languages Southeastern Iranian languages See also: List of Iranian languages, Western Iranian languages. ...


For example, Avestan jwa "live" is cited as closer to Sogdian žw, Khotanian juv- than to Old Persian jīva, but phonological Eastern characteristics of Avestan such as this one have been suspected of being due to a phase of the historical tradition of the texts rather than an original feature of Avestan itself. According to Kellens[2], the only thing that can be asserted with confidence is that Avestan is not a Persian dialect (the only Old Iranian language besides Avestan known in any detail being Old Persian). Anyways, Avestan shares a significant philological isogolesses with Median language, than with Old Persian. The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language spoken in Sogdiana (Zarafshan River Valley) in the modern day republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (chief cities: Samarkand, Panjikent, Ferghana). ... relating to Khotan, in particular the Kingdom of Khotan Khotanese, a Saka dialect Category: ... See Aryan Language or Old Persian For more information visit: *[Ancient Iranian Languages & Literature The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... See Aryan Language or Old Persian For more information visit: *[Ancient Iranian Languages & Literature The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies (CAIS) ... The Median language was a Western Iranian language, classified as North-Western with Parthian, Baluchi, Kurdish and others. ...


The original geographical location of Avestan is likewise uncertain, and it has been variously placed in north-western Iran, north-eastern Iran, Chorasmia, Sistan, and Bactria-Margiana.


Alphabet

After the alleged destruction of the Achaemenid palace library by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, the Avesta was transmitted orally until at least the first, and most likely until the 4th century AD. The script used for the writing of Avesta, called Dīn Dabireh, developed during the 5th or 6th century (late Sassanian times) was a derivative of Pahlavi script of Middle Persian. Dīn Dabireh is specially designed to reflect the Avestan sound system, not unlike Devanāgarī, it allows phonetic disambiguation of allophones. Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Avestan alphabet was created in the 3rd century AD for writing the hymns of Zarathustra (a. ... The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... The Pahlavi script was used broadly in the Sasanid Persian Empire to write down Middle Persian for secular, as well as religious purposes. ... Pahlavi is a term that refers: (1) to a script used in Iran derived from the Aramaic script, and (2) more broadly, to Middle Persian, the Middle Iranian language written in this script. ... Rigveda manuscript in Devanagari (early 19th century) DevanāgarÄ« (देवनागरी — in English pronounced ) (ISCII – IS13194:1991) [1] is an abugida alphabet used to write several Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Kashmiri, Sindhi, Bihari, Bhili, Konkani, Bhojpuri and Nepali from Nepal. ...


Phonology

The Avestan sound differs from the later Old Persian chiefly by the larger inventory of vowels. As opposed to Sanskrit, Avestan has retained voiced sibilants, and has fricative rather than aspirate series. There are various conventions for transliteration of Dīn Dabireh, the one adopted for this article being:


Vowels:

a ā ə ə̄ e ē o ō å ą i ī u ū

Consonants:

k g γ x xw č ǰ t d δ ϑ t̰ p b β f
ŋ ŋw ṇ ń n m y w r s z š ṣ̌ z h

The glides y and w are often transcribed as ii and uu, imitating Dīn Dabireh orthography.


Consonants

Labial Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Palatal Velar Labiovelar Glottal
Nasal m /m/ n /n/ ń [ɲ] ŋ /ŋ/ ŋw /ŋʷ/
Plosive p /p/ b /b/ t /t/ d /d/ č /tʃ/ ǰ /dʒ/ k /k/ g /g/
Fricative f /ɸ, f/ β /β/ θ /θ/ δ /ð/ s /s/ z /z/ š /ʃ/ ž /ʒ/ x /x/ γ /ɣ/ xw /xʷ/ h /h/
Approximant y /j/ w /w/
Trill r /r/
Lateral l /l/

Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). ... Dentals are consonants such as t, d, n, and l articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both, rather than with the gum ridge as in English. ... Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli (the sockets) of the superior teeth. ... Postalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, placing them a bit further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate (the place of articulation for... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... A labiovelar sound is one produced with the lips and velum simultaneously. ... The vocal cords, also known as vocal folds, are composed of twin infoldings of mucous membrane stretched horizontally across the human larynx. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... A stop or plosive or occlusive is a consonant sound produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. ... Fricatives (or spirants) are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. ... Laterals are L-like consonants pronounced with an occlusion made somewhere along the axis of the tongue, while air from the lungs escapes at one side or both sides of the tongue. ...

Vowels

  Front Central Back
short long short long short long
Close i /i/ ī /iː/   u /u/ ū /uː/
Mid e /e/ ē /eː/ ə /ə/ ə̄ /əː/ o /o/ ō /oː/
Open   a /a/
ā /aː/ å /ɒː/
Nasal   ą /ã/  

Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... In linguistics, vowel length is the duration of a vowel sound. ... A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. ... A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ... An open vowel is a vowel sound of a type used in most spoken languages. ... A nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the velum so that air escapes both through the mouth and the nose. ...

A Comparison Table of Avestan with other Iranian Languages

English Zazaki Kurdish Pashto Balochi Mazandarani Persian Middle Persian Parthian Old Persian Avestan
beautiful rind rind/delal/cûwan ʂkelay, xkelay sharr, soherâ zibâ/ xubchehreh hučihr, hužihr hužihr naiba vahu-, srîra
blood gûn xwîn wina hon xin xūn xōn xōn vohuni
bread nûn nan ḍoḍəy/roṭəy (from Indic) nân, nagan nân nân nân nân
bring ârdena anîn/hênan rāwṛəl âvardan biyârden âvardan âwurdan, āwāy-, āwar-, bar- āwāy-, āwar-, bar- bara- bara, bar-
brother birâ bira wror barādar birâr barādar brād, brâdar brād, brādar brâtar brâtar-
come amaena hatin rātləl áhag, âmadan enen âmadan âmadan, awar awar, čām ây-, âgam âgam-
cry bermayish girîn žāṛəl, jāṛəl taukh bərmə/ qâ geristan griy-, bram-
dark târî tarî tiārə thár siyo târîk târīg/k târīg, târēn sâmahe, sâma
daughter kena keç/kîj/kenîşk/dot lūr mind kijâ/ dether doxtar duxtar duxt, duxtar duxδar
day roc roj wradz, wraz roshe rez/ reoj rûz rōz raucah-
do kerdena kirin/kirdin kawəl khandagh hâkerden kardan kardan kartan kạrta- kәrәta-
door ber derge/derî war gelo bəli dar dar dar, bar duvara- dvara-
die merdena mirin mṛəl/məṛedəl mireg bamirden murdan murdan mạriya- mar-
donkey her ker xar her xar xar xar
egg hak hêk hagəy heyg merqâna toxm toxmag, xâyag taoxmag, xâyag taoxma-
earth êrd (Arabic) herd/erd (Arabic) zməka/mzəka zemin zemi zamin zamīg zamīg zam- zãm, zam, zem
evening shund êvar/êware māʂām, māxām nəmâshun begáh sarshab êbêrag
eye chım çav stərga ch.hem, chem chashm chašm chašm čaša- čašman-
father pi bav/bawk plār pyt, abbâ piyer pedar pidar pid pitar pitar
fear ters tirs wera terseg təshəpash tars tars tars tạrsa- tares-
fiancé washte dezgîran, destgirtî nām zād nâm-zad - -
fine wesh xweş/baş ʂa, xa hosh khosh dârmag srîra
finger gisht til/qamik gūṭa/gwəṭa lenkwk, mordâneg angoos angosht angust dišti-
fire âdır agir or âch, âs tesh âtash, âzar âdur, âtaxsh ādur âç- âtre-/aêsma-
fish mâse masî kab/māhī mâhi mâhi mâhig mâsyâg masyô, masya
food / eat werdena xwarin xwāṛa/xoṛəl warag, vereg xorâk / xordan parwarz / xwâr, xwardīg parwarz / xwâr hareθra / ad-, at-
go shiyaena çûn tləl jwzzegh shunen / burden raftan raftan, shudan ay- ai- ay-, fra-vaz
god homâ xwedê xwdāy hwdâ khodâ bay, abragar baga- baya-
good hol baş, çak ʂa, xa jawáin, šarr xâr xub / neku xūb, nêkog vahu- vohu, vaŋhu-
grass vash giya, riwek, şênkatî wāʂa, wāxa rem sabzeh, giyâh giyâ dâlūg urvarâ
great gırd / pil gir, mezin, gewre stər mastar belang, pila bozorg wuzurg, pīl vazạrka- uta-, avañt
hand dest dest/lep lās dast dess dast dast dast dasta- zasta-
head ser ser sar saghar kalə sar, kalleh sar
heart zerri dil zṛə dil, hatyr dil del dil dil aηhuš
horse estoar hesp ās asp istar asb, astar asp, stōr asp, stōr aspa aspa-
house ke(ye) mal kor log səre xâneh xânag demâna-, nmâna-
hunger vêyshan birçîtî/birsiyetî lwaʐa, lwaza shudhagh veyshna gorosnegi gursag, shuy
language ziwan / zun ziman žəba, jəba zevân ziwân zabân zuwân izβân hazâna- hizvâ-
laugh huyaena kenîn xandəl khendegh, hendeg xandidan xandīdan karta Syaoθnâvareza-
life jewiyaena jiyan/jîn žwandun/zwandun/jund zendegih zendegi zīndagīh, zīwišnīh žīwahr, žīw- gaêm, gaya-
man merd mêr/piyaw saṛay merd merd mard mard mard martiya- mašîm, mašya
moon ashmê heyv/mang spoʐməy/spozməy/spogməy máh mithra mâh māh māh mâh- måŋha-
mother mae dayik mor mât, mâs mâr mâdar mādar mādar mâtar mâtar-
mouth fek dev/dem xwla daf dahân dahân, rumb åŋhânô, âh, åñh
name nâme nav nom num num nâm nâm nâman nãman
night shewe şev špa shaw, šap sheow shab shab xšap- xšap-
open rakerdena vekirin prānistəl/prānatəl božagh vâ-hekârden bâz-kardan abâz-kardan būxtaka- būxta-
peace kotpy aştî rogha ârâm âshti, ârâmeš âštih, râmīšn râm, râmīšn šiyâti- râma-
pig xoz beraz xug xi xūk xūk varâza (wild pig)
place ja cih/şûn dzāy, zāy hend gâh gâh gâθu- gâtu-, gâtav-
read wendena xwendin lwastəl wánagh baxinden xândan xwândan
say vatena gotin/wutin wayəl gushagh baotena goftan guftan, gōw-, wâxtan gōw- gaub- mrû-
sister wae xweşk xor gwhâr xâxer xâhar xwahar
small qıch piçûk ləʐ, ləg/woṛ/kuchnay lekem pətik, bechuk, perushk kuchak, kam kam, rangas kam kamna- kamna-
son qıj kur zwǣ, zuy pisar, phusagh pisser pesar pur, pusar puhr puça pūθra-
soul giyan rūh (Arabic), sā rūh (Arabic) ravân rūwân, gyân rūwân, gyân urvan-
spring wusar bihar psarlay wehâr bahâr wahâr vâhara- θūravâhara-
tall berz bilind/berz lwaṛ bwrz boland / bârez buland, borz bârež barez-
three hire dre se se se hrē çi- θri-
village dew gund, dê kəlay helk deh deh, wis wiž dahyu- vîs-, dahyu-
want wastena xwestin/wîstin ghwāṛəl lotagh bexanen xâstan xwâstan
water awe av obə âf ab âb âb âb âpi avô-
when key kengê kəla, či ked kay kay ka čim-
wind va ba bād gwáth bâd wâd vâta-
wolf verg gur līwə gurkh varg, gəorge gorg gurg varka- vehrka
woman jeniye jin/afret ʂədza, xəza jan zəna zan zan žan hâīrīšī-, nâirikâ-
year serre sal kāl sâl sâl sâl θard ýâre, sarәd
yes / no ya / ne erê / na ho; āho/na ere / na âri / na hâ / ney hâ / ney yâ / nay, mâ yâ / noit, mâ
yesterday vizêr duh/dwênê pərun direz diruz dêrûž

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Zazaki (Zazaish) is a language spoken by Zazas in eastern Anatolia (Turkey). ... The Kurdish language is a language spoken in the region called Kurdistan, including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... Pashto (‎, IPA: also known as Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto ‎, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, Pushtoo, Pathan, or Afghan language) is an Iranian language of the Indo-Iranian language family spoken by Pashtuns living in southeastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. ... Balochi (also Baluchi, Baloci or Baluci) is a Southeastern Iranian language. ... Mazandarani or Tabari is an ancient Iranian language of the northwestern branch. ... Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Middle Persian or Pahlavi is the Iranian language spoken during Sassanian times. ... The Iranian languages are a part of the Indo-European language family with estimated 150-200 million native speakers. ... Sketch of the first column of the Behistun Inscription Old Persian is the oldest attested Persid language. ...

Notes

  1. ^ Dr. Michiel Leezenberg: Gorani Influence on Central Kurdish
  2. ^ Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum (1989), p. 35

References

  • Robert S. P. Beekes, A Grammar of Gatha-Avestan, E.J. Brill: Leiden, New York, København, Köln 1988 ISBN 90-04-08332-4
  • Karl Hoffmann & Bernhard Forssman, Avestische Laut- und Flexionslehre (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft 84), Universität Innsbruck 1996 ISBN 3-85124-652-7

Karl Hoffmann (26 February 1915 – 21 May 1996) was a German historian who specialized in Indo-European and Indo-Iranian studies. ...

External links

Iranian Languages
Eastern Iranian
Old Iranian Avestan † | Scythian (including Saka)† | Sogdian†
Middle Iranian Bactrian† | Khwarezmian† | Khotanese† (possibly a Saka dialect) | Ossetic | Sacian†
Modern Iranian Bartangi | Hidukush Group | Ishkashmi | Karakoram Group | Khufi | Munji | Oroshori | New Ossetic | Parachi | Pashto | Roshani (Roshni) | Sanglechi | Sarikoli | Shughni | Wakhi | Vanji † | Waziri | Yaghnobi | Yidgha | Yazgulami | Zebaki
Western Iranian
Old Iranian Median† | Old Persian (Aryan)†
Middle Iranian Parthian Pahlavi† | Sasanian Pahlavi†
Modern Iranian Alviri (Vidâri) | Ashtiani | Azari† | Baluchi | Bashkardi | Persian Dari | Dari (Zoroastrian) | Gilaki | Gorani | Harzani | Judeo-Persian | Kurdish Kurmanji | Laki | Luri | Bakhtiari Lori | Mazandarani | Ormuri | Sangsari | Parachi | New-Persian | Sorani (Kurdish) | Tajik | Taleshi | Tati | Vafsi | Zazaki
Extinct †

  Results from FactBites:
 
Avestan language information - Search.com (540 words)
Old Avestan or Gathic Avestan: This form of the language was used to compose the Gathas and Yasna Haptanghaiti, probably by Zoroaster himself.
Young Avestan: the language used for composing the major parts of Avesta, including the rest of the Yasnas, the Yashts, and Vidaevdat.
The Artificial Young Avestan however is a corrupt form of the language, a form that was never spoken and was used by the priests (Magi) in later times in order to compose new texts.
Avestan language at AllExperts (697 words)
Like Zoroaster's lifetime, widely differing dates for Avestan have been proposed; scholarly consensus floats around 1000 BC (roughly contemporary to the Brahmana period of Vedic Sanskrit).# Young Avestan: the language used for composing the major parts of Avesta, including the rest of the Yasnas, the Yashts, and Vidaevdat.
The Artificial Young Avestan however is a corrupt form of the language, a form that was never spoken and was used by the priests (Magi) in later times in order to compose new texts.
For example, Avestan jwa "live" is cited as closer to Sogdian žw, Khotanian juv- than to Old Persian jīva, but phonological Eastern characteristics of Avestan such as this one have been suspected of being due to a phase of the historical tradition of the texts rather than an original feature of Avestan itself.
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