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Middle Indo-Aryan languages
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Middle Indo-Aryan languages
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{{short description|Historical group of Indo-Aryan languages from 600 BCE to 1000 CE}}- the content below is remote from Wikipedia
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- The early stage is represented by the Ardhamagadhi of the Edicts of Ashoka (c. 250 BCE) and Jain Agamas, and by the Pali of the Tripitakas.
- The middle stage is represented by the various literary Prakrits, especially the Shauraseni language and the Maharashtri and Magadhi Prakrits. The term Prakrit is also often applied to Middle Indo-Aryan languages (prÄká¹ta literally means 'natural' as opposed to saá¹ská¹ta, which literally means 'constructed' or 'refined'). Modern scholars such as Michael C. Shapiro follow this classification by including all Middle Indo-Aryan languages under the rubric of "Prakrits", while others emphasise the independent development of these languages, often separated from Sanskrit by social and geographic differences.Shapiro, Michael C. (2001), "Hindi", in: Facts About the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present, eds. Jane Garry and Carl Rubino: New England Publishing Associates.
- The late stage is represented by the Apabhraá¹Åas of the 6th century CE and later that preceded early Modern Indo-Aryan languagesBubenik, Vit (2007). "Chapter Six: PrÄkrits and Apabhraá¹Åa". In Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 209. {{ISBN|978-1-135-79711-9}}. (such as Braj Bhasha).
History
The Indo-Aryan languages are commonly assigned to three major groups: Old Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan languages and Early Modern and Modern Indo-Aryan languages. The classification reflects stages in linguistic development, rather than being strictly chronological."...the MIA languages are not younger than ('classical') Sanskrit. And a number of their morphophonological and lexical features betray the fact that they are not direct descendants of Rigvedic Sanskrit, the main basis of 'Classical' Sanskrit; rather they descend from dialects which, despite many similarities, were different from Rigvedic and in some regards even more archaic." {{harvcol|Oberlies|2007|p=163}}The Middle Indo-Aryan languages are younger than the Old Indo-Aryan languages"The most archaic Old Indo-Aryan is found in Hindu sacred texts called the Vedas, which date to approximately 1500 BCE". Encyclopædia Britannica - Indo-Aryan languages. General characteristics. but were contemporaneous with the use of Classical Sanskrit, an Old Indo-Aryan language used for literary purposes."If in "Sanskrit" we include the Vedic language and all dialects of the Old Indian period, then it is true to say that all the Prakrits are derived from Sanskrit. If on the otherhand " Sanskrit " is used more strictly of the Panini-Patanjali language or "Classical Sanskrit," then it is untrue to say that any Prakrit is derived from Sanskrit, except that S'auraseni, the Midland Prakrit, is derived from the Old Indian dialect". Introduction to Prakrit, by Alfred C Woolner. Baptist Mission Press 1917According to Thomas Oberlies, a number of morphophonological and lexical features of Middle Indo-Aryan languages show that they are not direct continuations of Vedic Sanskrit. Instead they descend from other dialects similar to, but in some ways more archaic than Vedic Sanskrit.BOOK, Jain, Danesh,weblink The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cardona, George, 2007-07-26, Routledge, 978-1-135-79711-9, 163, en,Early phase (3rd century BCE)
- Ashokan Prakrits (regional dialects of the 3rd century BCE)
- Gandhari (a Buddhist canonical language)
- Pali (a Buddhist canonical language)
- early Ardhamagadhi (language of the oldest Jain sutras)
Middle phase (200 BCE to 700 CE)
- Niya Prakrit
- Ardhamagadhi (later Jain canon)
- Dramatic Prakrits (Maurya period)
- Sinhalese Prakrit
- Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (later texts)
Late phase: Apabhraá¹Åa (700â1500)
- Abahatta (Magadhi Apabhraá¹Åa)
General characteristics
The following phonological changes distinguish typical MIA languages from their OIA ancestors:Jain, Danesh; Cardona, George (2007-07-26). The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. p. 163-220.- The replacement of vocalic liquids Ṡand ḷ by a, i or u
- The OIA diphthongs ai and au became the monophthongs e and o which were long in open syllables and short in closed syllables.
- Long vowels become short in overweight and later pre/post-tonic heavy syllables.
- The three sibilants of OIA are reduced to one, either Å (Magadhi) or s (elsewhere).
- OIA clusters either became geminates through assimilation (deletion if the output would violate phonotactics) or were split by vowel epenthesis.
- Initially, intervocalic aspirated stops spirantised. Later, all other intervocalic stops were deleted, weakened, or voiced.
- Dentals (and sometimes retroflexes) are palatalised if directly preceding /j/.
- Most final consonants delete except in sandhi junctions. Final m became á¹ instead, which was preserved.
- The dual number in nominal declensions was lost.
- Consonantal stems were thematicised.
- The i-/u- and Ä«-/Å«- declensions were merged into one Ä«-/Å«- declension.
- The dative was eliminated and the genitive took on its former functions.
- Many different case-endings could be used for one verbal paradigm.
- The middle voice eventually disappeared.
- mahyaá¹ and tubyaá¹ became used for genitives and me and te for instrumentals.
- New verbal forms based on the present stem coexisted with fossilized forms from OIA.
- Active endings replaced passive endings for the passive voice.
Attested languages
PÄli
Pali is the best attested of the Middle Indo-Aryan languages because of the extensive writings of early Buddhists. These include canonical texts, canonical developments such as Abhidhamma, and a thriving commentarial tradition associated with figures such as Buddhaghosa. Early PÄli texts, such as the Sutta-nipÄta contain many "Magadhisms" (such as heke for eke; or masculine nominative singular in -e). PÄli continued to be a living second language until well into the second millennium. The Pali Text Society was founded in 1881 by T. W. Rhys Davids to preserve, edit, and publish texts in PÄli, as well as English translations.ArdhamÄgadhÄ«
Known from a few inscriptions, most importantly the pillars and edicts of Ashoka found in what is now Bihar.South Asian folklore: an encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, By Peter J. Claus, Sarah Diamond, Margaret Ann Mills, Routledge, 2003, p. 203GÄndhÄrÄ«
Many texts in Kharoá¹£á¹hi script have been discovered in the area centred on the Khyber Pass in what was known in ancient times as Gandhara and the language of the texts came to be called GÄndhÄrÄ«. These are largely Buddhist texts which parallel the PÄli Canon, but include MahÄyÄna texts as well. The language is distinct from other MI dialects.Elu
Elu (also Eḷa, Hela or Helu Prakrit) was a Sri Lankan Prakrit of the 3rd century BCE. It was ancestral to the Sinhalese and Dhivehi languages. One major source of sample is from Thonigala Rock Inscriptions, Anamaduwa.References
{{reflist}}External links
- GÄndhÄrÄ« Language entry in the Encyclopædia Iranica
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