The Indo-
European Language Family
A large group of languages spoken over most of Europe and also in Iran,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal,
Northern India, Bangladesh and Sri
Lanka. They developed from a parent language probably spoken somewhere in eastern Europe or
Western Asia around 5000 years ago.

An Example of the Evidence:
Words for
`is’
• German:
• Russian ist yest
• Latin (ancient European language) est
• Ancient Greek esti
• Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) asti
•
Can you guess what the original word probably was?

An Example of the Evidence:
Words for
`is’
• German:
• Russian ist yest
• Latin (ancient European language) est
• Ancient Greek esti
• Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) asti
•
Can you guess what the original word probably was? *esti

What the original language might have been like
`Ner owiom r wihnam sebhi gwhermom
Man sheep ‘s wool to-himself warm westrom kwerneuti neghi owiom wihna esti.’ clothing makes nor to-sheep wool is
Tod kekluwos owis agrom ebhuget.
That having-heard sheep to-plain fled

Branches of Indo-European in
Asia
•
HITTITE (ancient language once spoken in
Turkey)
•
TOCHARIAN (ancient language once spoken in Sinkiang ( 新疆 ))
•
INDO-IRANIAN
– PERSIAN and similar languages
– INDO-ARYAN (languages of northern India and nearby countries)

Uriah the HITTITE ( 赫人 烏利亞 ) was sent to die in battle by King David so that David could take his wife - Samuel II, 11 ( 撒母耳記下 )

Hittite Writing Method

Chinese Oracle Bone

Mummified body of a Tocharian speaker? 1500 B.C.?

A hymn to the god Ganesh from the
Rigveda, written in Sanskrit , an ancient
INDO-IRANIAN language

INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES
•
[SANSKRIT]
•
HINDI/URDU
•
NEPALI
•
Bengali
•
Gujarati
•
Marathi
•
Sinhala

What’s your name (in Indo-
Aryan)
• Sanskrit:
Tava nama kim asti?
• Hindi/Urdu: Tumhara nam kya hai?
• Nepali:
• Gujarati:
Timro nam ke ho?
Tamarun nam shun che ?

European Language Groups
• CELTIC: spoken in small areas of North-Western
Europe
• SLAVIC: spoken in Eastern Europe
• GERMANIC: spoken in Northern Europe
• ROMANCE: spoken in Southern Europe

• WELSH
• [Cornish]
• Breton
• IRISH
• Gaelic
• [Manx]
CELTIC

SLAVIC
• Russian
• Ukranian
• Polish
• Czech
• Bulgarian
• SERBO-CROATIAN

• GERMAN
• Dutch
•
ENGLISH
• Danish
• Swedish
• Norwegian
GERMANIC

COMPARING GERMANIC
LANGUAGES
• English: The king slept in my house for two nights
• Dutch: De koning sliep in mijn huis voor twee nachten.
• German: Der König schlief in meinem Haus für zwei Nächte

• [LATIN]
• SPANISH
• Portuguese
• ITALIAN
• FRENCH
• Romanian
ROMANCE

We love our mother
(in Romance)
• Latin: nostram matrem amamus
• Spanish: Amamos a nuestra madre
• Italian: Amiamo la nostra madre
• French: Nous aimons notre mère

How Latin may have sounded
2000 years ago
( http://www.rhapsodes.fll.vt.edu/audiofiles/aeneis1.mp3
)
• Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris arms man also sing-I Troy’s who first from shores
• Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit
Italy-to fate-by refugee Lavinian-also came
• litora multum ille et terris iactatus et alto coasts-to much he both land-on harassed and sea-at
• vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram.
force-by gods’ cruel memorable Juno’s from anger