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Iranian
Iranic
Ethnicity	Iranian peoples
Geographic distribution	West Asia, Caucasus, Central Asia, and South Asia
Linguistic classification	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian
Proto-language	Proto-Iranian
Subdivisions	Western Avestan (Central) Eastern
ISO 639-2 / 5	ira
Linguasphere	58= (phylozone)
Glottolog	iran1269[1]
Countries and areas where an Iranian language has official status or is spoken by a majority

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The Iranian or Iranic languages^[2][3] are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples.

The Iranian languages are grouped in three stages: Old Iranian (until 400 BC), Middle Iranian (400 BC – 900 AD), and New Iranian (since 900 AD). The two directly attested Old Iranian languages are Old Persian (from the Achaemenid Empire) and Old Avestan (the language of the Avesta). Of the Middle Iranian languages, the better understood and recorded ones are Middle Persian (from the Sasanian Empire), Parthian (from the Parthian Empire), and Bactrian (from the Kushan and Hephthalite empires).

As of 2008, there were an estimated 150–200 million native speakers of the Iranian languages.^[4]Ethnologue estimates that there are 86 Iranian languages,^[5][6] the largest among them being Persian, Pashto, and the Kurdish dialect continuum.^[7]

Term

Iranian languages family tree

The term Iranian is applied to any language which descends from the ancestral Proto-Iranian language.^[8]

This use of the term for the Iranian language family was introduced in 1836 by Christian Lassen.^[9]Robert Needham Cust used the term Irano-Aryan in 1878,^[10] and Orientalists such as George Abraham Grierson and Max Müller contrasted Irano-Aryan (Iranian) and Indo-Aryan (Indic). Some recent scholarship, primarily in German, has revived this convention.^{[11][12][13][14]}

The Iranian languages are divided into the following branches:

• The Western Iranian languages subdivided into:
  
  • Southwestern, of which Persian is the dominant member;
  
  
  • Northwestern, of which the Kurdish languages are the dominant members.
  
  


• The Eastern Iranian languages subdivided into:
  
  • Southeastern, of which Pashto is the dominant member;
  
  
  • Northeastern, by far the smallest branch, of which Ossetian is the dominant member.
  
  

Proto-Iranian

Historical distribution in 100 BC: shown is Sarmatia, Scythia, Bactria (Eastern Iranian, in orange); and the Parthian Empire (Western Iranian, in red)

The Iranian languages all descend from a common ancestor: the so-called Proto-Iranian which itself evolved from Proto-Indo-Iranian. This ancestor language is speculated to have origins in Central Asia and the Andronovo Culture is suggested as a candidate for the common Indo-Iranian culture around 2000 BC.

It was situated precisely in the western part of Central Asia that borders present-day Russia (and present-day Kazakhstan). It was in relative proximity to the other satem ethno-linguistic groups of the Indo-European family, like Thracian, Balto-Slavic and others, and to common Indo-European's original homeland (more precisely, the steppes of southern Russia to the north of the Caucasus), according to the reconstructed linguistic relationships of common Indo-European.

Proto-Iranian thus dates to some time after Proto-Indo-Iranian break-up, or the early second millennium BCE, as the Old Iranian languages began to break off and evolve separately as the various Iranian tribes migrated and settled in vast areas of southeastern Europe, the Iranian plateau, and Central Asia.

Proto-Iranian innovations compared to Proto-Indo-Iranian include:^[15] the turning of sibilant fricative *s into non-sibilant fricative glottal *h; the voiced aspirated plosives *bʰ, *dʰ, *gʰ yielding to the voiced unaspirated plosives *b, *d, *g resp.; the voiceless unaspirated stops *p, *t, *k before another consonant changing into fricatives *f, *θ, *x resp.; voiceless aspirated stops *pʰ, *tʰ, *kʰ turning into fricatives *f, *θ, *x, resp.

Old Iranian

The multitude of Middle Iranian languages and peoples indicate that great linguistic diversity must have existed among the ancient speakers of Iranian languages. Of that variety of languages/dialects, direct evidence of only two have survived. These are:

• 
  Avestan, the two languages/dialects of the Avesta, i.e. the liturgical texts of Zoroastrianism.


• 
  Old Persian, the native language of a south-western Iranian people known as Persians.^[16]

Indirectly attested Old Iranian languages are discussed below.

Old Persian is the Old Iranian dialect as it was spoken in south-western Iran by the inhabitants of Parsa, who also gave their name to their region and language. Genuine Old Persian is best attested in one of the three languages of the Behistun inscription, composed circa 520 BC, and which is the last inscription (and only inscription of significant length) in which Old Persian is still grammatically correct. Later inscriptions are comparatively brief, and typically simply copies of words and phrases from earlier ones, often with grammatical errors, which suggests that by the 4th century BC the transition from Old Persian to Middle Persian was already far advanced, but efforts were still being made to retain an "old" quality for official proclamations.

The other directly attested Old Iranian dialects are the two forms of Avestan, which take their name from their use in the Avesta, the liturgical texts of indigenous Iranian religion that now goes by the name of Zoroastrianism but in the Avesta itself is simply known as vohu daena (later: behdin). The language of the Avesta is subdivided into two dialects, conventionally known as "Old (or 'Gathic') Avestan", and "Younger Avestan". These terms, which date to the 19th century, are slightly misleading since 'Younger Avestan' is not only much younger than 'Old Avestan', but also from a different geographic region. The Old Avestan dialect is very archaic, and at roughly the same stage of development as Rigvedic Sanskrit. On the other hand, Younger Avestan is at about the same linguistic stage as Old Persian, but by virtue of its use as a sacred language retained its "old" characteristics long after the Old Iranian languages had yielded to their Middle Iranian stage. Unlike Old Persian, which has Middle Persian as its known successor, Avestan has no clearly identifiable Middle Iranian stage (the effect of Middle Iranian is indistinguishable from effects due to other causes).

In addition to Old Persian and Avestan, which are the only directly attested Old Iranian languages, all Middle Iranian languages must have had a predecessor "Old Iranian" form of that language, and thus can all be said to have had an (at least hypothetical) "Old" form. Such hypothetical Old Iranian languages include Carduchian (the hypothetical predecessor to Kurdish) and Old Parthian. Additionally, the existence of unattested languages can sometimes be inferred from the impact they had on neighbouring languages. Such transfer is known to have occurred for Old Persian, which has (what is called) a "Median" substrate in some of its vocabulary.^[17] Also, foreign references to languages can also provide a hint to the existence of otherwise unattested languages, for example through toponyms/ethnonyms or in the recording of vocabulary, as Herodotus did for what he called "Scythian".

Isoglosses

Conventionally, Iranian languages are grouped in "western" and "eastern" branches.^[18] These terms have little meaning with respect to Old Avestan as that stage of the language may predate the settling of the Iranian peoples into western and eastern groups. The geographic terms also have little meaning when applied to Younger Avestan since it isn't known where that dialect (or dialects) was spoken either. Certain is only that Avestan (all forms) and Old Persian are distinct, and since Old Persian is "western", and Avestan was not Old Persian, Avestan acquired a default assignment to "eastern". Confusing the issue is the introduction of a western Iranian substrate in later Avestan compositions and redactions undertaken at the centers of imperial power in western Iran (either in the south-west in Persia, or in the north-west in Nisa/Parthia and Ecbatana/Media).

Two of the earliest dialectal divisions among Iranian indeed happen to not follow the later division into Western and Eastern blocks. These concern the fate of the Proto-Indo-Iranian first-series palatal consonants, *ć and *dź:^[19]

• Avestan and most other Iranian languages have deaffricated and depalatalized these consonants, and have *ć > s, *dź > z.


• Old Persian, however, has fronted these consonants further: *ć > θ, *dź > *ð > d.

As a common intermediate stage, it is possible to reconstruct depalatalized affricates: *c, *dz. (This coincides with the state of affairs in the neighboring Nuristani languages.) A further complication however concerns the consonant clusters *ćw and *dźw:

• Avestan and most other Iranian languages have shifted these clusters to sp, zb.


• In Old Persian, these clusters yield s, z, with loss of the glide *w, but without further fronting.


• The Saka language, attested in the Middle Iranian period, and its modern relative Wakhi fail to fit into either group: in these, palatalization remains, and similar glide loss as in Old Persian occurs: *ćw > š, *dźw > ž.

A division of Iranian languages in at least three groups during the Old Iranian period is thus implied:

• Persid (Old Persian and its descendants)


• Sakan (Saka, Wakhi, and their Old Iranian ancestor)


• Central Iranian (all other Iranian languages)

It is possible that other distinct dialect groups were already in existence during this period. Good candidates are the hypothethical ancestor languages of Alanian/Scytho-Sarmatian subgroup of Scythian in the far northwest; and the hypothetical "Old Parthian" (the Old Iranian ancestor of Parthian) in the near northwest, where original *dw > *b (paralleling the development of *ćw).

Middle Iranian languages

What is known in Iranian linguistic history as the "Middle Iranian" era is thought to begin around the 4th century BCE lasting through the 9th century. Linguistically the Middle Iranian languages are conventionally classified into two main groups, Western and Eastern.

The Western family includes Parthian (Arsacid Pahlavi) and Middle Persian, while Bactrian, Sogdian, Khwarezmian, Saka, and Old Ossetic (Scytho-Sarmatian) fall under the Eastern category. The two languages of the Western group were linguistically very close to each other, but quite distinct from their eastern counterparts. On the other hand, the Eastern group was an areal entity whose languages retained some similarity to Avestan. They were inscribed in various Aramaic-derived alphabets which had ultimately evolved from the Achaemenid Imperial Aramaic script, though Bactrian was written using an adapted Greek script.

Middle Persian (Pahlavi) was the official language under the Sasanian dynasty in Iran. It was in use from the 3rd century CE until the beginning of the 10th century. The script used for Middle Persian in this era underwent significant maturity. Middle Persian, Parthian and Sogdian were also used as literary languages by the Manichaeans, whose texts also survive in various non-Iranian languages, from Latin to Chinese. Manichaean texts were written in a script closely akin to the Syriac script.^[20]

New Iranian languages

Dark green: countries where Iranian languages are official.
Teal: regional co-official/de facto status.

Following the Islamic Conquest of Persia (Iran), there were important changes in the role of the different dialects within the Persian Empire. The old prestige form of Middle Iranian, also known as Pahlavi, was replaced by a new standard dialect called Dari as the official language of the court. The name Dari comes from the word darbâr (دربار), which refers to the royal court, where many of the poets, protagonists, and patrons of the literature flourished. The Saffarid dynasty in particular was the first in a line of many dynasties to officially adopt the new language in 875 CE. Dari may have been heavily influenced by regional dialects of eastern Iran, whereas the earlier Pahlavi standard was based more on western dialects. This new prestige dialect became the basis of Standard New Persian. Medieval Iranian scholars such as Abdullah Ibn al-Muqaffa (8th century) and Ibn al-Nadim (10th century) associated the term "Dari" with the eastern province of Khorasan, while they used the term "Pahlavi" to describe the dialects of the northwestern areas between Isfahan and Azerbaijan, and "Pârsi" ("Persian" proper) to describe the Dialects of Fars. They also noted that the unofficial language of the royalty itself was yet another dialect, "Khuzi", associated with the western province of Khuzestan.

Geographic distribution of modern Iranian languages

The Islamic conquest also brought with it the adoption of Arabic script for writing Persian and much later, Kurdish, Pashto and Balochi. All three were adapted to the writing by the addition of a few letters. This development probably occurred some time during the second half of the 8th century, when the old middle Persian script began dwindling in usage. The Arabic script remains in use in contemporary modern Persian. Tajik script, used to write the Tajik language, was first Latinised in the 1920s under the then Soviet nationality policy. The script was however subsequently Cyrillicized in the 1930s by the Soviet government.

The geographical regions in which Iranian languages were spoken were pushed back in several areas by newly neighbouring languages. Arabic spread into some parts of Western Iran (Khuzestan), and Turkic languages spread through much of Central Asia, displacing various Iranian languages such as Sogdian and Bactrian in parts of what is today Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In Eastern Europe, mostly comprising the territory of modern-day Ukraine, southern European Russia, and parts of the Balkans, the core region of the native Scythians, Sarmatians, and Alans had been decisively taken over as a result of absorption and assimilation (e.g. Slavicisation) by the various Proto-Slavic population of the region, by the 6th century AD.^{[21][22][23][24]} This resulted in the displacement and extinction of the once predominant Scythian languages of the region. Sogdian's close relative Yaghnobi barely survives in a small area of the Zarafshan valley east of Samarkand, and Saka as Ossetic in the Caucasus, which is the sole remnant of the once predominant Scythian languages in Eastern Europe proper and large parts of the North Caucasus. Various small Iranian languages in the Pamir Mountains survive that are derived from Eastern Iranian.

Comparison table

English	Zaza	Sorani Kurdish	Kurmanji	Pashto	Tati	Talyshi	Balochi	Mazanderani	Persian	Middle Persian	Parthian	Old Persian	Avestan	Ossetian
beautiful	rınd, xasek	nayab, cwan	rind, delal, bedew	x̌kūlay, x̌āista	xojir	ghašang	dorr, soherâ, mah rang, sharr, juwān	xoşgel, xojir	zibā/xuš-čehr(e)/xoşgel(ak)/ghashanq/najib	hučihr, hužihr	hužihr	naiba	vahu-, srîra	ræsughd
blood	goyni	xwên	xwîn, xûn	wīna	xevn	xun	hon	xun	xūn	xōn	gōxan		vohuni-	tug
bread	nan, non	nan	nan	ḍoḍəi, məṛəi	nun	nun	nān, nagan	nun	nān	nān	nān			dzul
bring	ardene	/weranîn, hawirdin	anîn, hînan	(rā)wṛəl	vârden, biyordon	varde	âurten, yārag, ārag	biyârden	āwurdan, biyār ("(you) bring!")	āwurdan, āwāy-, āwar-, bar-	āwāy-, āwar-, bar-	bara-	bara, bar-	xæssyn
brother	bıra	brader, bra	bra, brarg, brang, brat	wror	bərâr	bira, boli	brāt, brās	birâr	barādar	brād, brâdar	brād, brādar	brātar	brātar-	æfsymær
come	ameyene	hatin, were	hatin, atin, were,	rā tləl	biyâmiyan	ome	āhag, āyag,hatin	biyamona, enen, biyâmuen	āmadan	āmadan, awar	awar, čām	āy-, āgam	āgam-	cæwyn
cry	bermayene	girîn, giryan	grîn, griyan	žəṛəl	bərma	berame, bame	greewag, grehten	birme	gerīstan/gerīye	griy-, bram-	barmâdan			kæwyn
dark	tari	tarî/tarîk	tarî	skəṇ, skaṇ, tyara	ul, gur, târica, târek	toki	tār	sîyo, sîyu	tārīk	tārīg/k	tārīg, tārēn		sâmahe, sâma	tar
daughter	keyne, çêneke	kîj, kiç, kenişk, düet (pehlewanî)	dot (daughter) keç(girl)	lūr	titiye, dətar	kinə, kila	dohtir, duttag	kîjâ, deter	doxtar	duxtar	duxt, duxtar		duxδar	čyzg (Iron), kizgæ (Digor)
day	roce/roje/roze	řoj	roj	wrəd͡z (rwəd͡z)	revj, ruz	ruj	roç	ruz, ruj	rūz	rōz		raucah-	raocah-	bon
do	kerdene	kirdin	kirin	kawəl	kardan, kordan	karde	kanag, kurtin	hâkerden	kardan	kardan	kartan	kạrta-	kәrәta-	kænyn
door	ber, keyber,çêber	derge/derke, derga	derî	wər	darvâca	bə	dar,gelo, darwāzag	dar, loş	dar	dar	dar, bar	duvara-	dvara-	dwar
die	merdene	mirdin	mirin	mrəl	bamarden	marde	mireg , murten	bamerden	murdan	murdan		mạriya-	mar-	mælyn
donkey	here	ker	ker	xər	astar, xar	hə, hər	har,her, kar	xar	xar	xar				xæræg
eat	werdene	xwardin	xwarin, xwartin, xartin	xwāṛə, xurāk / xwaṛəl	harden	harde	warag, warâk , wārten	xerâk / baxârden	xordan / xurāk	parwarz / xwâr, xwardīg	parwarz / xwâr		hareθra / ad-, at-	xærinag
egg	hak, akk	hêk/hêlke, tuxm	hêk	hagəi	merqâna, karxâ	morqana, uyə	heyg, heyk, ā morg	merqâne, tîm, balî	toxm, xāya ("testicle")	toxmag, xâyag	taoxmag, xâyag		taoxma-	ajk
earth	erd	zemîn, zewî, ʿerz, erd	erd, zevî	d͡zməka (md͡zəka)	zemin	zamin	zemin, degār	zamîn, bene	zamīn	zamīg	zamīg	zam-	zãm, zam, zem	zæxx
evening	şan	êware	êvar	māx̌ām (māš̥ām)	nomâzyar, nomâšon	shav	begáh	nemâşun	begáh	ēvārag	êbêrag			izær
eye	çım	çaw/çaş	çav	stərga	coš	čaş,gelgan	cham, chem	çəş, bəj	čashm	čašm	čašm	čaša-	čašman-	cæst
father	pi, pêr	bawk, ba	bav, bab	plār	piyar, piya, dada	piya, lala, po	pet, pes	pîyer, per	pedar, baba	pidar	pid	pitar	pitar	fyd
fear	ters	tirs	tirs	wēra (yara), bēra	târs	tars	turs, terseg	taşe-vaşe	tars	tars	tars	tạrsa-	tares-	tas
fiancé	waşti	dezgîran	dergîstî, xwestî	čənghol [masculine], čənghəla [feminine]	numzâ	nomja	nāmzād	numze	nāmzād	-	-			usag
fine	weş, hewl	xoş	xwaş, xweş, xaş,	x̌a (š̥a), səm, ṭik (Urdu origin)	xojir, xar	xoş	wash, hosh	xâr, xeş, xojir	xoš, xūb, beh	dārmag			srîra	xorz, dzæbæx
finger	engışte, gışte, bêçıke	engust, pence	tilî, pêçî	gwəta	anquš	anqiştə	changol, mordâneg,lenkutk	angus	angošt	angust			dišti-	ængwyldz
fire	adır, adfır	agir/awir, ahir	agir	wōr (ōr)	taš	otaş	âch,atesh, âs	taş, âtar	ātaš, āzar	âdur, âtaxsh	ādur	âç-	âtre-/aêsma-	art
fish	mase	masî	masî	kəb	mâyi	moy	māhi, māhig	mâhî	māhi	māhig	māsyāg		masya	kæsag
go	şo (şiyayış)	çûn, řoştin, řoyiştin	çûn	tləl	šiyen, bišiyan	şe	shoten	şunen / burden	ro/şo	şow/row	ay-	ai-	ay-, fra-vaz	cæwyn
god	homa, huma, oma, heq	Yezdan, xwedê, xuda, xodê, xwa(y)	xwedê, xweda, xwadê, xudê	xwədāi	xədâ	Xıdo	xoda,hwdâ	xedâ	xodā/izad	xudā/yazdān		baga-	baya-	xwycaw
good	hewl, rınd, weş	baş, çak	baş, rind	x̌ə (š̥ə)	xâr, xojir	çok	zabr, sharr, jowain	xâr, xeş, xojir	xub, nīkū, beh	xūb, nêkog, beh		vahu-	vohu, vaŋhu-	xorz
grass	vaş	giya/gya	gîya, çêre	wāx̌ə (wāš̥ə)	vâš	alaf	rem, sabzag	vâş	sabzeh, giyāh	giyâ	giya	viş	urvarâ	kærdæg
great	gırd, gırs, pil	gewre	mezin, gir	lōy, stər	pilla	yol, yal, vaz,dıjd	mastar, mazan,tuh	gat, pilla	bozorg	wuzurg, pīl, yal		vazraka-	uta-, avañt	styr
hand	dest	dest, des	dest	lās	bâl	dast	dast	das, bāl	dast	dast	dast	dasta-	zasta-	k'ux / arm
head	ser	ser	ser	sər	kalla	sə, sər	sar, sarag, saghar	kalle,sar	sar	sar		kalli	sairi	sær
heart	zerri, zerre	dil/dił/dir(Erbil)/zil	dil	zṛə	dəl	dıl	dil, hatyr	del, zel, zil	del	dil	dil		aηhuš	zærdæ
horse	estor, (ostor/astor)	asp/hesp/esp, hês(t)ir	esp, hesp	ās [male], aspa [female]	asb, astar	asp	asp	asp, as	asb	asp, stōr	asp, stōr	aspa	aspa-	bæx
house	keye, ban	mał, xanu, xang	mal, xanî	kor	kiya	ka	ges, dawâr,log	sere, xene, kime	xāne	xânag			demâna-, nmâna-	xædzar
hungry	veyşan	birsî	birçî	lwəga	vašnâ, vešir, gesnâ	vahşian	shudig, shud	veşnâ	gorosne, goşne	gursag, shuy	veşnâg
language (also tongue)	zıwan, zon, zuan, zuon, juan, jüan	ziman, ziwan	ziman	žəba	zobun, zəvân	zivon	zewān, zobān	zivun, zebun	zabān	zuwān	izβān	hazâna-	hizvā-	ævzag
laugh	huyayene	kenîn/pêkenîn, kenîn	kenîn	xandəl/xənda	xurəsen, xandastan	sıre	hendag, xandag	rîk, baxendesten	xande	xande, xand		karta	Syaoθnâvareza-	xudyn
life	cu/cuye, cewiyayış	jiyan	jiyan	žwəndūn, žwənd	zindәgi	jimon	zendegih, zind	zindegî, jan	zendegi, jan	zīndagīh, zīwišnīh	žīwahr, žīw-		gaêm, gaya-	card
man	merdêk, camêrd, cuamêrd	merd, pîyaw	mêr	səṛay, mēṛə	mardak, miarda	merd	merd	mard(î)	mard	mard	mard	martiya-	mašîm, mašya	adæjmag
moon	aşme, menge (for month)	mang	meh, heyv	spūgməi (spōẓ̌məi)	mâng	mang, owşum	máh	ma, munek	mâh	māh	māh	mâh-	måŋha-	mæj
mother	maye, marde, maya	dayek	dayik, mak	mōr	mâr, mâya, nana	moa, ma, ina	mât, mâs	mâr	mâdar	mâdar	dayek	mâtar	mâtar-	mad
mouth	fek	dem	dev	xūla (xʷəla)	duxun, dâ:ân	gəv	dap	dâhun, lâmîze	dahân	dahân, rumb			åŋhânô, âh, åñh	dzyx
name	name	naw, nêw	nav	nūm	num	nom	nâm	num	nâm	nâm		nâman	nãman	nom
night	şewe	şew	şev	špa	šö, šav	şav	šap, shaw	şow	shab	shab		xšap-	xšap-	æxsæv
open (v)	a-kerdene	kirdinewe	vekirin	prānistəl	vâz-kardan	okarde	pāch, pabozag	vâ-hekârden	bâz-kardan, va-kardan	abâz-kardan, višādag		būxtaka-	būxta-	gom kænyn
peace	pêameyış, werêameyış	aştî, aramî	aştî, aramî	rōɣa, t͡sōkāləi	dinj	aşiş	ârâm	âştî	âshti, ârâmeš, ârâmî	âštih, râmīšn	râm, râmīšn	šiyâti-	râma-	fidyddzinad
pig	xoz, xonz	beraz,	beraz,	soḍər, xənd͡zir (Arabic)	xu, xuyi, xug	xug	khug, huk	xî	xūk	xūk			hū	xwy
place	ca	je(jega), ga	cîh, geh	d͡zāi	yâga	vira	ja, jaygah, hend	jâ	jâh/gâh	gâh	gâh	gâθu-	gâtu-, gâtav-	ran
read	wendene	xwendin/xwêndin	xwandin, xwendin, xandin	lwastəl, kōtəl	baxânden	hande, xwande	wánag, wānten	baxinden, baxundesten	xândan	xwândan				kæsyn
say	vatene	gutin, witin	gotin, bêtin	wayəl	vâten, baguten	vote	gushag, guashten	baowten	goftan, gap(-zadan)	guftan, gōw-, wâxtan	gōw-	gaub-	mrû-	dzuryn
sister	waye	xweh, xweşk, xoşk, xuşk, xoyşk	xwîşk, xwarg, xwang, xang	xōr (xʷōr)	xâke, xâv, xâxor, xuâr	hova	gwhâr	xâxer	xâhar/xwâhar	xwahar			x ̌aŋhar- "sister"	xo
small	qıc, qıyt, qıj, qıçkek, qıtek, werdi	giçke, qicik, hûr	biçûk, hûr	kūčnay, waṛ(ū)kay	qijel, ruk	hırd	gwand, hurd	peçik, biçuk, xurd	kuchak, kam, xurd, rîz	kam, rangas	kam	kamna-	kamna-	chysyl
son	lac, laj, kaz, pısa	law/kuř	kur (son) law (boy)	d͡zoy (zoy)	pur, zâ	zoə, zurə	possag, baç	piser/rîkâ	pesar, baça	pur, pusar	puhr	puça	pūθra-	fyrt
soul	roh, gan	jan, giyan, rewan, revan	can	sā	rəvân	con	rawân		ravân, jân	rūwân, jyân	rūwân, jyân		urvan-	ud
spring	wesar, usar	behar, wehar	behar	spərlay	vâ:âr	əvəsor, bahar	bārgāh	vehâr	bahâr	wahâr		vâhara-	θūravâhara-
tall	berz	bilind/berz	bilind/berz	lwəṛ, ǰəg	pilla	barz, bılınd	borz, bwrz	bilen(d)	boland / bârez	buland, borz	bârež		barez-	bærzond
ten	des	deh/de	deh	ləs	da	da	dah	da	dah	dah		datha	dasa	dæs
three	hirê, hiri, hirı	sê	sê	drē	so, se	se, he	sey	se	se	sê	hrē	çi-	θri-	ærtæ
village	dewe	gund, dêhat, dê	gund	kəlay	döh, da	di	dehāt,helk, kallag, dê	dih, male, kola	deh, wis	wiž	dahyu-	vîs-, dahyu-	vîs	qæw
want	waştene	xwastin, wîstin	xwastin, xastin	ɣ(ʷ)ux̌təl	begovastan, jovastan	piye	loath, loteten	bexâsten	xâstan	xwâstan				fændyn
water	awe, owe, ou	aw	av	obə/ūbə	âv, ö	ov, wat(orandian dialect)	âp	ow	âb	âb/aw	aw	âpi	avô-	don
when	key, çı wext	key	kengê, kîngê	kəla	key	keyna	kadi,ked	ke	key	kay	ka		čim-	kæd
wind	va	ba, wa (pehlewanî)	ba	siləi	vâ	vo	gwáth	vâ	bâd	wâd	wa		vâta-	dymgæ / wad
wolf	verg	gurg, wurg	gur	lewə, šarmux̌ (šarmuš̥)	varg	varg	gurk	verg	gorg	gurg		varka-	vehrka	birægh
woman	cêniye, cênıke	jin	jin	x̌əd͡za (š̥əd͡za)	zeyniye, zenak	jen, jiyan	jan,jinik	zan	zan	zan	žan		gǝnā, γnā, ǰaini-,	sylgojmag / us
year	serre	sal/sał	sal	kāl	sâl	sor, sal	sâl	sâl	sâl	sâl		θard	ýâre, sarәd	az
yes / no	ya, heya, ê / nê, ney, ni	bełê, a / na, ne	erê, arê, belê, a / na, no, ne	Hao, ao, wō / na, ya	ahan / na	ha / ne, na	ere, hān / na	are / nâ	baleh, ârē, hā / na, née	ōhāy / ne	hâ / ney	yâ / nay, mâ	yâ / noit, mâ	o / næ
yesterday	vizêri	dwênê, duêke	duho	parūn	azira, zira, diru	zir, zinə	zí	dîruz	diruz	dêrûž		diya(ka)	zyō	znon
English	Zaza	Sorani Kurdish	Kurmanji	Pashto	Tati	Talyshi	Balochi	Mazandarani	Persian	Middle Persian	Parthian	Old Persian	Avestan	Ossetian

See also

• Indo-Iranian languages


• Iranian peoples

References

1. 
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2. 
   ^ Johannes Bechert; Giuliano Bernini; Claude Buridant (1990). Toward a Typology of European Languages. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-012108-7.
   


3. 
   ^ Gernot Windfuhr (1979). Persian Grammar: History and State of Its Study. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-90-279-7774-8.
   


4. 
   ^ Windfuhr, Gernot. The Iranian languages. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
   


5. 
   ^ "Ethnologue report for Iranian". Ethnologue.com.
   


6. 
   ^ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005). "Report for Iranian languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas: SIL International.CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
   


7. 
   ^ Cardona, George. "Indo-Iranian languages". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
   


8. 
   ^ (Skjærvø 2006)
   


9. 
   ^ Lassen, Christian. 1936. Die altpersischen Keil-Inschriften von Persepolis. Entzifferung des Alphabets und Erklärung des Inhalts. Bonn: Weber. S. 182.
   This was followed by Wilhelm Geiger in his Grundriss der Iranischen Philologie (1895). Friedrich von Spiegel (1859), Avesta, Engelmann (p. vii) used the spelling Eranian.
   


10. 
    ^ Cust, Robert Needham. 1878. A sketch of the modern languages of the East Indies. London: Trübner.
    


11. 
    ^ Dani, Ahmad Hasan. 1989. History of northern areas of Pakistan. Historical studies (Pakistan) series. National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research.
    "We distinguish between the Aryan languages of Iran, or Irano-Aryan, and the Aryan languages of India, or Indo-Aryan. For the sake of brevity, Iranian is commonly used instead of Irano-Aryan".
    


12. 
    ^ Lazard, Gilbert. 1977. Preface in: Oranskij, Iosif M. Les langues iraniennes. Traduit par Joyce Blau.
    


13. 
    ^ Schmitt, Rüdiger. 1994. Sprachzeugnisse alt- und mitteliranischer Sprachen in Afghanistan in: Indogermanica et Caucasica. Festschrift für Karl Horst Schmidt zum 65. Geburtstag. Bielmeier, Robert und Reinhard Stempel (Hrg.). De Gruyter. S. 168–196.
    


14. 
    ^ Lazard, Gilbert. 1998. Actancy. Empirical approaches to language typology. Mouton de Gruyter.
    ISBN 3-11-015670-9,
    ISBN 978-3-11-015670-6
    


15. 
    ^ Michael Witzel (2001): Autochthonous Aryans? The evidence from Old Indian and Iranian texts. Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies 7(3): 1–115.
    


16. 
    ^ Roland G. Kent: "Old Persion: Grammar Texts Lexicon". Part I, Chapter I: The Linguistic Setting of Old Persian. American Oriental Society, 1953.
    


17. 
    ^ (Skjaervo 2006) vi(2). Documentation.
    


18. 
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19. 
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20. 
    ^ Mary Boyce. 1975. A Reader in Manichaean Middle Persian and Parthian, p. 14.
    


21. 
    ^ Brzezinski, Richard; Mielczarek, Mariusz (2002). The Sarmatians, 600 BC-AD 450. Osprey Publishing. p. 39. (..) Indeed, it is now accepted that the Sarmatians merged in with pre-Slavic populations.
    


22. 
    ^ Adams, Douglas Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. p. 523. (..) In their Ukrainian and Polish homeland the Slavs were intermixed and at times overlain by Germanic speakers (the Goths) and by Iranian speakers (Scythians, Sarmatians, Alans) in a shifting array of tribal and national configurations.
    


23. 
    ^ Atkinson, Dorothy; et al. (1977). Women in Russia. Stanford University Press. p. 3. ISBN 9780804709101. (..) Ancient accounts link the Amazons with the Scythians and the Sarmatians, who successively dominated the south of Russia for a millennium extending back to the seventh century B.C. The descendants of these peoples were absorbed by the Slavs who came to be known as Russians.
    


24. 
    ^ Slovene Studies. 9–11. Society for Slovene Studies. 1987. p. 36. (..) For example, the ancient Scythians, Sarmatians (amongst others), and many other attested but now extinct peoples were assimilated in the course of history by Proto-Slavs.
    

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External links

• Society for Iranian Linguistics


• Kurdish and other Iranic Languages


• Iranian EFL Journal


• Audio and video recordings for over 50 languages spoken in Iran


• 
  Iranian language tree in Russian, identical with above classification.


• 
  Old Iranian Lessons (free online through the Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin)