| Also Known As: Pazend,Avesta
Description:
Avestan is an Eastern Iranian language known only from its use as the language of Zoroastrian scripture, i.e. the Avesta, from which it derives its name. The language must also at some time have been a natural language, but how long ago that was is unknown. Its status as a sacred language ensured its continuing use for new compositions long after the language had ceased to be a living language.
"Avestan, which is associated with northeastern Iran, and Old Persian, which belongs to the southwest, together constitute what is called Old Iranian." Only these two (of what must have been a great variety) have left written traces. The Old Iranian language group is a branch of the Indo-Iranian language group, which is in turn a branch of the Indo-European language group.
Iranian languages are traditionally classified as "eastern" or "western", and within this framework Avestan is classified as Eastern Iranian. But this distinction is of limited meaning for Avestan, as the linguistic developments that later distinguish Eastern from Western Iranian had not yet occurred. Avestan is assuredly not Old Persian, and so in this sense, "eastern" only means "non-western".
The Avestan language is..... full article at Wikipedia |
