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Routledge Language Family
The Iranian Languages
The Iranian languages form the major eastern branch of the Indo-European group of languages, itself part of the larger Indo-Iranian family. Estimated to have between 150 and 200 million native speakers, the Iranian languages constitute one of the world's major language families. This comprehensive volume offers a detailed overview of the principle languages which make up this group: Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian.
The Iranian Languages is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapters by the editor present a general overview and a detailed discussion of the linguistic typology of Iranian. The individual chapters which follow are written by leading experts in the field. These provide the reader with concise, non-technical descriptions of a range of Iranian languages. Each chapter follows the same pattern and sequence of topics, taking the reader through the significant features not only of phonology and morphology but also of syntax; from phrase level to complex sentences and pragmatics.
Ample examples on all levels are provided with detailed annotation for the non-specialist reader. In addition, each chapter covers lexis, sociolinguistic and typological issues, and concludes with annotated sample texts.
This unique resource is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will also be of interest to researchers or anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development.
Gernot Windfuhr is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan; he has published widely on Persian and Iranian languages and linguistics and related languages, as well as on other aspects of Iranian culture including Persian literature and Pre-Islamic Iranian religions.
The Iranian Languages is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapters by the editor present a general overview and a detailed discussion of the linguistic typology of Iranian. The individual chapters which follow are written by leading experts in the field. These provide the reader with concise, non-technical descriptions of a range of Iranian languages. Each chapter follows the same pattern and sequence of topics, taking the reader through the significant features not only of phonology and morphology but also of syntax; from phrase level to complex sentences and pragmatics.
Ample examples on all levels are provided with detailed annotation for the non-specialist reader. In addition, each chapter covers lexis, sociolinguistic and typological issues, and concludes with annotated sample texts.
This unique resource is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will also be of interest to researchers or anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development.
Gernot Windfuhr is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan; he has published widely on Persian and Iranian languages and linguistics and related languages, as well as on other aspects of Iranian culture including Persian literature and Pre-Islamic Iranian religions.
- GenresLanguageLinguistics
704 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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April 17, 2025
This book gives a description of nearly all of the languages under the Iranian branch of Indo-European, both the languages known from historical attestations and the languages spoken today. Like all volumes in the Routledge Language Family Surveys series, the description of each language is entirely synchronic; only a couple of chapters at the beginning offer some details of Iranian historical phonology.
The chapters were written by noted experts on these languages and the descriptions are extremely detailed, often setting out the most subtle matters of syntax, even for the languages like Khwarezmian for which material is scanty.
There are some notable gaps here, but perhaps this could not be helped in a book so massive it was chafing against the limitations of a single volume. Ossetic, in many ways one of the most exotic members of the Iranian family, is not covered at all. Nor is Bactrian, which was finally understood in good detail by the early millennium, but apparently missed the cut-off date for this book which began to be prepared in the late 1990s. The chapter on Wakhi is based mainly on the variety spoken in the Hunza valley in Pakistan, so anyone looking for a full picture of Wakhi must consult the Russian-language works on the subject. Finally, while there is a very brief chapter on the Pamir languages in general, the only Pamir language (besides Wakhi) that gets a full description is Shughni.
Ultimately this is a now-standard handbook – I consult it at least a couple of times a week – and can be rated accordingly. For matters diachronic, or for the minor Pamir languages, I still rely on the somewhat antiquated but still useful Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, or the Soviet and Russian counterparts to this book like Основы иранского языкознания.
The chapters were written by noted experts on these languages and the descriptions are extremely detailed, often setting out the most subtle matters of syntax, even for the languages like Khwarezmian for which material is scanty.
There are some notable gaps here, but perhaps this could not be helped in a book so massive it was chafing against the limitations of a single volume. Ossetic, in many ways one of the most exotic members of the Iranian family, is not covered at all. Nor is Bactrian, which was finally understood in good detail by the early millennium, but apparently missed the cut-off date for this book which began to be prepared in the late 1990s. The chapter on Wakhi is based mainly on the variety spoken in the Hunza valley in Pakistan, so anyone looking for a full picture of Wakhi must consult the Russian-language works on the subject. Finally, while there is a very brief chapter on the Pamir languages in general, the only Pamir language (besides Wakhi) that gets a full description is Shughni.
Ultimately this is a now-standard handbook – I consult it at least a couple of times a week – and can be rated accordingly. For matters diachronic, or for the minor Pamir languages, I still rely on the somewhat antiquated but still useful Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, or the Soviet and Russian counterparts to this book like Основы иранского языкознания.
Displaying 1 of 1 review