The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from ca. the 4th century BC) The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian, but this is uncertain. Current distribution of the Iranian languages. ... Numerous languages are spoken in Iran, yet all of them originate from the same linguistic roots. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 4th century BC started on January 1, 400 BC and ended on December 31, 301 BC. // Overview Events Bust of Alexander the Great in the British Museum. ... Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ...

They are divided into a Northeastern and a Southeastern branch. In spite of this separation, Eastern Iranian remained a single dialect continuum subject to common innovation.

As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian dialects, Middle Eastern Iranian preserves word-final syllables. Eastern Iranian is thought to have separated from Western Iranian in the course of the later 2nd millennium BC, and was possibly located at the Yaz culture. Numerous languages are spoken in Iran, yet all of them originate from the same linguistic roots. ... archaeological cultures associated with Indo-Iranian expansion (after EIEC). ...

The largest living Eastern Iranian language is Pashto with some 40 million speakers, a major language of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Pashto (پښتو ; also known as Afghan, Pathan, Pakhto, Pushto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, Pashto پشتو and Pukhto پختو ) is the language spoken by the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the western provinces of Pakistan. ...

Northeastern

The Northeastern group has only two living members in two widely separated areas, the Yaghnobi language of Tajikistan (descended from Sogdian) and the Ossetic language of the Caucasus (descended from Scytho-Sarmatian). These are remnants of the vast ethno-linguistic continuum stretching over most of the steppes of Central Asia in the 1st millennium BC. The Avestan language itself, the oldest attestation of the Iranian branch, is a member of the group. With Greek presence in Central Asia, some of the easternmost of these languages were recorded in their Middle Iranian stage (hence the "Eastern" classification), while almost no records of the Scytho-Sarmatian continuum stretching from Kazakhstan west across the Pontic steppe to the Ukraine have survived. Yaghnobi language - one of two living Northeastern Iranian languages, spoken in high valley of the Yaghnob river in Zarafshan area of Tajikistan, considered to be direct descendant of Sogdian by many linguists. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Ossetic or Ossetian (in Ossetic: or ) is a language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains on the borders of Russia and Georgia. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map The Caucasus, a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus Mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia (Russian: Средняя Азия/Srednyaya Azia for Middle Asia or Центральная Азия/Tsentralnaya Azia for Central Asia; in Turkic languages Orta Asya; in Persian آسياى مرکزی; (Urdu: وسطى ايشيا)Wasti Asia; Standard Mandarin Chinese... (2nd millennium BC – 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium – other millennia) // Events The Iron Age spread to Western Europe Egypt declined as a major power The Tanakh was written Buddhism was founded by Siddharta Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha (6th century BC) Jainism was founded by Mahavira (6th century BC... Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... Maximum extent of Indo-Greek territory circa 175 BCE. The Indo-Greeks (or sometimes Greco-Indians) designate a series of Greek kings, who invaded and controlled parts of northwest and northern India from 180 BCE to around 10 BCE. They are the continuation of the Greco-Bactrian dynasty of Greek... Numerous languages are spoken in Iran, yet all of them originate from the same linguistic roots. ... The Pontic steppe refers to the steppelands to the north of the Black Sea and on its eastern side as far as the Caspian Sea. ...

• Avestan, ca. 1300 BC - 7th c. BC
  • Bactrian, ca. 4th c. BC - 9th c. AD
• Khwarezmian ca. 4th c. BC - 13th c. AD
• Sogdian, from ca. the 4th c. BC.
  • Yaghnobi
• Saka
  • Eastern (Scytho-Khotanese)
    • Khotanese, ca. 5th c. AD - 10th c. AD
    • Tumshuq (formerly Maralbashi), 7th c. AD
  • Western (Scytho-Sarmatian), from ca. the 8th c. BC
    • Ossetian (dialects: Iron, Digor, Jassic)

Avestan is an Eastern Old Iranian language that was used to compose the hymns of the Zoroastrian holy book, the Avesta. ... Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies The Bactrian language is an extinct language which was spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria, also called Tocharistan, in northern Afghanistan. ... Chorasmian, also known as Khwarezmian or Khwarazmian, is the name of an extinct northeastern Iranian language closely related to Sogdian. ... 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). ... The Yaghnobi language - yaγnobī́ zivók (in Tajik variant of cyrillic script яғнобӣ зивок [jaʁnɒ:bi: zɪvɒ:k], Russian ягнобский язык /jagnobskij jazyk/, Tajik забони яғнобӣ /zabon-i yaġnobî/, Persian زبان یغنابى /zæbān-e yæġnābī/, Ossetic ягнобаг æвзаг /yagnobag ævzag/, Polish jagnobski język, Czech jagnóbština, Slovak jagnóbčina... Scythian and Sarmatian are the names of the East Iranian dialects spoken by the Scythian/Sarmatian tribes of the nomadic cattlebreeders in Southern Russia between 8th century BC and 5th century AD. Sometimes, the Scythian and Sarmatian languages are combined into one name: Scytho-Sarmatian languages. ... The Entholinguistic patchwork of the modern Caucasus - CIA map Ossetic or Ossetian (in Ossetic: or ) is a language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus mountains on the borders of Russia and Georgia. ... Jassic is a dialect of the Ossetian language and the name of a nomadic tribe settled in Hungary in the 13th century. ...

Southeastern

The Southeastern group includes some 11 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about many people in Asia;. Each subfamily in this list contains subgroups and individual languages. SIL International is a non-profit, faith-based, scientific organization with the main purpose to study, develop and document lesser-known languages for the purpose of expanding linguistic knowledge, promoting world literacy and aiding minority language development. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ...

• Pamir languages
  • Shughni Group
    • Shughni
    • Roshani - Khufi
    • Bartangi - Oroshori - Sarikoli
  • Yazgulami
• Munji and Yidgha
• Sanglechi and Ishkashimi
• Wakhi (with Saka influence)
• Pashto; variants: Central (including Waziri), Northern, Southern, Waneci

The Pamir languages of the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia are Shughni, Sarikoli, Yazgulyam, Munji, Sanglechi-Ishkashimi, Wakhi, and Yidgha. ... Adjective; of or relating to Wakhan, the extreme northeastern region of Afghanistan that borders China, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. ... Pashto (پښتو; also known as Afghan, Pushto, Pashto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the ethnic Afghan otherwise known as the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the Western provinces of Pakistan. ... The Waziri language is an east-iranian language spoken on the Waziristan Province of Pakistan and some of the neighboring provinces in Pakistan and Afghanstan. ...

References

• Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, ed. Schmitt (1989), p. 100.

See also

• List of Iranian languages
• Western Iranian languages.

The Iranian languages include some 84 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the Indo-Iranian language family. ... task manager disable ---- please help ...

External links

• ethnologue report