Proto-Indo-Iranian language

Proto-Indo-Iranian, also called Proto-Indo-Iranic or Proto-Aryan,^[1] is the reconstructed proto-language of the Indo-Iranian branch of Indo-European. Its speakers, the hypothetical Proto-Indo-Iranians, are assumed to have lived in the late 3rd millennium BC, and are often connected with the Sintashta culture of the Eurasian Steppe and the early Andronovo archaeological horizon.

Proto-Indo-Iranian
Proto-Indo-Iranic (PIIr)
Reconstruction of	Indo-Iranian languages
Region	Eurasian Steppe
Era	Late 3rd m. BCE
Reconstructed ancestor	Proto-Indo-European
Lower-order reconstructions	Proto-Indo-Aryan Proto-Iranian Proto-Nuristani

Proto-Indo-Iranian was a satem language, likely removed less than a millennium from its ancestor, the late Proto-Indo-European language, and in turn removed less than a millennium from its descendants: Vedic Sanskrit (of the Rigveda)^[2] and Old Avestan (of the Gathas).

It is the ancestor of Indo-Aryan languages, the Iranian languages, and the Nuristani languages, predominantly spoken in the Southern Asian subregion of Eurasia.

Descriptive phonology

Proto-Indo-Iranian consonant segments

		Labial	Coronal		Palatal		Velar	Laryngeal
			dental/alveolar	post-alveolar	first	second
Plosive	voiceless	*p	*t		*ć	*č	*k
	voiced	*b	*d		*ȷ́	*ǰ	*g
	aspirated	*bʰ	*dʰ		*ȷ́ʰ	*ǰʰ	*gʰ
Fricative	voiceless		*s	*š				*H
	voiced		(*z)	(*ž)
Nasal		*m	*n
Liquid			(*l)	*r *r̥
Semivowel					*y		*w

PII vowel segments

High	*i (*ī)	*u (*ū)
Low	*a *ā

In addition to the vowels, *H, and *r̥ could function as the syllabic core. In many reconstructions, instances of *iH and *uH occur instead of *ī and *ū.

Two palatal series

Proto-Indo-Iranian is hypothesized to have contained two series of stops or affricates in the palatal to postalveolar region.^[3] The phonetic nature of this contrast is not clear, and hence they are usually referred to as the primary or first series (*ć *ȷ́ *ȷ́ʰ, continuing Proto-Indo-European palatovelar *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ) and the second or secondary series (*č *ǰ *ǰʰ, continuing Proto-Indo-European plain and labialized velars, *k, *g, *gʰ and *kʷ, *gʷ, *gʷʰ, in palatalizing contexts). The following table shows the most common reflexes of the two series (Proto-Iranian is the hypothetical ancestor to the Iranian languages, including Avestan and Old Persian):^[4][5]

PII	Proto-Indo-Aryan	Sanskrit	Proto-Iranian	Avestan	Old Persian	Nuristani
*ć	ś ([ɕ])	ś ([ɕ])	*ts	s	θ	ċ ([ts]) / š
*ȷ́	j ([dʑ])	j ([dʑ])	*dz	z	d	j ([dz]) / z
*ȷ́ʰ	źh ([dʑʱ])	h ([ɦ])
*č	c ([tɕ])	c ([tɕ])	*č	č	č	č
*ǰ	j ([ɖʐ])	j ([dʑ])	*ǰ	ǰ	ǰ	ǰ / ž
*ǰʰ	źh ([ɖʐʱ])	h ([ɦ])

Laryngeal

Proto-Indo-European is usually hypothesized to have had three to four laryngeal consonants, each of which could occur in either syllabic or non-syllabic positions. In Proto-Indo-Iranian, the laryngeals merged as one phoneme /*H/. Beekes suggests that some instances of this /*H/ survived into Rigvedic Sanskrit and Avestan as unwritten glottal stops as evidenced by metrics.^[6]

Accent

Like Proto-Indo-European and Vedic Sanskrit (and also Avestan, though it was not written down^[7]), Proto-Indo-Iranian had a pitch accent system similar to present-day Japanese, conventionally indicated by an acute accent over the accented vowel.

Historical phonology

The most distinctive phonological change separating Proto-Indo-Iranian from Proto-Indo-European is the collapse of the ablauting vowels *e, *o into a single vowel, Proto-Indo-Iranian *a (but see Brugmann's law). Grassmann's law, Bartholomae's law, and the ruki sound law were also complete in Proto-Indo-Iranian.

A fuller list of some of the hypothesized sound changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Indo-Iranian follows:

• The Satem shift, consisting of two sets of related changes. The PIE palatals *ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ are fronted or affricated, eventually resulting in PII *ć, *ȷ́, *ȷ́ʰ, while the PIE labiovelars *kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ merge with the velars *k *g *gʰ.^[8]

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*ḱm̥tóm	*ćatám	śatám	satəm	centum	hund(red)	id
*ǵónu	*ȷ́ā́nu	jā́nu	zānu	genū	knee	id
*ǵʰimós	*ȷ́ʰimás	himá	ziiā̊	hiems		'winter' / 'snow'
*kʷós	*kás	kás	ka	quis	who	id
*gʷṓws	*gā́wš	gaus	gao	bōs	cow	id
*gʷʰormós	*gʰarmás	gharmás	garəma	formus	warm	'warmth, heat'

• The PIE liquids *l *r *l̥ *r̥ merge as *r *r̥.^[9]

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*ḱléwos	*ćráwas	śrávas	srauua	clueō		'fame, honour, word'
*wĺ̥kʷos	*wŕ̥kas	vŕ̥kas	vəhrka	lupus	wolf	id
*gʷʰormós	*gʰarmás	gharmás	garəma	formus	warm	'warmth, heat'

• The PIE syllabic nasals *m̥ *n̥ merge with *a.^[9]

PIE	pre-PII	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*déḱm̥	*dáćm̥	*dáća	dáśa	dasā	decem	ten	id
*gʷm̥tós	*gm̥tás	*gatás	gatá	gata	ventus	come	'come, gone'
*n̥bʰrós	*n̥bʰrás	*abʰrás	abhrá	aβra	imber		'rain, cloud'

• Bartholomae's law: an aspirate immediately followed by a voiceless consonant becomes voiced stop + voiced aspirate. In addition, dʰ + t > dᶻdʰ.^[10]

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	English	Glossary
*ubʰtós	*ubdʰás	sámubdha	ubdaēna	web, weave	'woven' / 'made of woven material'
*wr̥dʰtós	*wr̥dᶻdʰás	vr̥ddʰá	vərəzda		'grown, mature'
*dʰéwgʰti	*dáwgdʰi	dógdhi	*daogdi	daugh(·ter)	'to milk'

• The Ruki rule: *s is retracted to *š when immediately following a liquid (*r *r̥ *l *l̥), a high vowel (*i *u), a PIE velar (*ḱ *ǵ *ǵʰ *k *g *gʰ *kʷ *gʷ *gʷʰ) or the syllabic laryngeal *H̥.^[11] Its allophone *z likewise becomes *ž.^[9]

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*wisós	*wišás	víṣas	viša	vīrus		'poison, venom'
*ḱeHs-	*ćH̥šam	aśiṣam	sīšā			'teach!'
*ǵéwseti	*ȷ́áwšati	jóṣati	zaošō	gustus		'to like, taste'
*kʷsép-	*kšáp-	kṣáp-	xšap-			'darkness'
*plúsis	*plúšiš	plúṣi	*fruši	pūlex		'flea, noxious insect'
*nisdós	*niždás	nīḷá/nīḍá	*nižda	nīdus	nest	'nest'

• Before a dental occlusive, *ć becomes *š and *ȷ́ becomes *ž. *ȷ́ʰ also becomes *ž, with aspiration of the occlusive.^[12]

PIE	pre-PII	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*h₁oḱtṓ	*Haćtā́	*Haštā́	aṣṭá	ašta	octō	eight	'eight'
*dr̥ḱtós	*dr̥ćtás	*dr̥štás	dr̥ṣṭá	dərəšta			'seen, visible, apparent'
*mr̥ǵt-	*mr̥ȷ́d-	*mr̥žd-	mr̥ḷ-/mr̥ḍ-	mərəžd-			'to forgive, pardon'
*uǵʰtós	*uȷ́dʰás	*uždʰás	ūḍhá	*užda	vector	weight	'carried'

• The sequence *ćš was simplified to *šš.^[13]

PIE	pre-PII	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*h₂éḱs-	*Háćšas	*Háššas	ákṣa	aša	axis	axle	'axle, shoulder'

• The "second palatalization" or "law of palatals": *k *g *gʰ develop palatal allophones *č *ǰ *ǰʰ before the front vowels *i, *e.^[10] through an intermediate *kʲ *gʲ *gʲʰ.

PIE	pre-PII	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*-kʷe	*-kʲa	*-ča	-ca	-ča	-que		'and'
*gʷih₃wós	*gʲiHwás	*ǰiHwás	jīvás	juuō	vīvus	quick	'alive, living'
*gʷʰénti	*gʲʰánti	*ǰʰánti	hánti	jaiṇti	-fendit		'slays'

• Brugmann's law: *o or *ó in an open syllable lengthens to *ā.^[14]

PIE	pre-PII	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	Glossary
*deh₃tórm̥	*daHtā́rm̥	*daHtā́ram	dātā́ram	dātārəm	datōrem	'giver' (accusative singular)

• The vowels *e *o merge with *a. Similarly, *ē, *ō merge with *ā. This has the effect of giving full phonemic status to the second palatal series *č *ǰ *ǰʰ.

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*dédeh₃ti	*dádaHti	dádāti	dadāiti	dat		'to give'
*h₃dónts	*Hdánts	dant	dantan	dēns	tooth	'tooth'
*bʰréh₂tēr	*bʰráHtā	bhrā́tr̥	brātar	frāter	brother	'brother'
*wṓkʷs	*wā́kš	vā́k	vāxš	vōx		'voice'

• In certain positions, laryngeals were vocalized to *i. This preceded the second palatalization.^[15][16]

• Following a consonant, and preceding a consonant cluster

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	Glossary
*ph₂tréy	*pitráy	pitré	piθrē	patrī	'father' (dative singular)

• Following a consonant and word-final

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Glossary
*-medʰh₂	*-madʰHi	-mahi	-maidī/-maiδi	(1st person plural middle ending)

• The Indo-European laryngeals all merged into one phoneme *H, which may have been a glottal stop. This was probably contemporary with the merging of *e and *o with *a.^{[citation needed]}

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Latin	English	Glossary
*ph₂tḗr	*pHtā́	pitā́	ptā	pater	father	id

• According to Lubotsky's Law, *H disappeared when followed by a voiced nonaspirated stop and another consonant:^[17]

PIE	PII	Sanskrit	Avestan	Glossary
*bʰéh₂geti	*bʰáǰati	bhájati	bažat̰	'to divide, distribute'

Subsequent sound changes

Among the sound changes from Proto-Indo-Iranian to Indo-Aryan is the loss of the voiced sibilants *z, *ẓ, *ź; among those to Proto-Iranian is the de-aspiration of the PIE voiced aspirates.

Proto-Indo-European and Indo-Iranian Phonological Correspondences^[18]

PIE		O.Indc/VS	Av	PIE	OInd/VS	Av
*p	>	p	p	*ph̥₂tḗr "father"	pitā́ "father"	pitar- "father"
*b	>	b	b	*bél- "strong"	bálam "strength"	—
*bʰ	>	bh	b	*bʰréh₂tēr "brother"	bhrā́tār- "brother"	brātar- "brother
*t	>	t	t	*tuHóm "thou"	tuvám "thou"	tvəm "thou"
*d	>	d	d	*dóru "wood"	dā́ru "wood"	dāru- "wood"
*dʰ	>	dh	d	*dʰoHnéh₂- "grain"	dhānā́- "grain"	dāna- "grain"
*ḱ	>	ś	s	*déḱm̥ "ten"	dáśa "ten"	dasa "ten"
*ǵ	>	j	z	*ǵónu "knee"	jā́nu "knee"	zānu- "knee"
*ǵʰ	>	h	z	*ǵʰimós "cold"	himá- "cold, frost"	zəmaka- "winterstorm"
*k	>	k ~ c	x ~ č	*kruh₂rós "bloody"	krūrá- "bloody"	xrūra- "bloody"
				*téket "may he run"	—	tačat̰ "may he run"
*g	>	g ~ j	g ~ ǰ	*h₂éuges- "strength"	ójas- "strength"	aoǰah "strength"
				*h₂ugrós "strong"	ugrá- "strong"	ugra- "strong"
*gʰ	>	gh ~ h	g ~ ǰ	*dl̥Hgʰós "long"	dīrghá- "long"	darəga- "long"
				*dleHgʰistos "longest"	drā́ghiṣṭha	draǰišta- "longest"
*kʷ	>	k ~ c	k ~ č	*kʷós "who"	káḥ "who"	kō "who"
				*kʷe "and"	ca "and"	́ča "and"
*gʷ	>	g ~ j	g ~ ǰ	*gʷou- "cow"	gav- "cow"	gau- "cow"
				*gʷih₃wós "alive"	jīvá- "alive"	OPer: ǰīva- "living"
*gʷʰ	>	gh ~ h	g ~ ǰ	*gʷʰnénti "strike" (pl.)	ghnánti "strike" (pl.)	—
				*gʷʰénti "strikes"	hánti "strikes"	ǰainti "strikes"
*s	>	s	s ~ h	*septm̥ "seven"	saptá "seven"	hapta "seven"
				*h₁ésti "is"	ásti "is"	asti "is"
*y	>	y	y	*yugóm "yoke"	yugam "yoke"	yuga- "yoke"
*w	>	v	v	*wéǵʰeti "drives, rides"	váhati "drives"	vazaiti "travels"
*m	>	m	m	*méh₂tēr "mother"	mātár- "mother"	mātar- "mother"
*n	>	n	n	*nós "us"	nas "us"	nō "us"
*l	>	l ~ r	r	*kʷeleti "moves"	carati "moves"	caraiti "moves"
*r	>	r	r	*bʰréh₂tēr "brother"	bhrā́tār- "brother"	brātar- "brother
*n̥	>	a	a	*n̥- "un-"	a- "un-"	a- "un-"
*m̥	>	a	a	*ḱm̥tóm "hundred"	śatám "hundred"	satəm "hundred"
*l̥	>	r̥	ərər	*wĺ̥kʷos "wolf"	vŕ̥ka- "wolf"	vəhrka- "wolf"
*r̥	>	r̥	ərər	*ḱŕ̥d- "heart"	hŕ̥d- "heart"	zərəd- "heart"
*i	>	i	i	*linékʷti "leaves"	riṇákti "leaves"	irinaxti "releases"
*e	>	a	a	*déḱm̥ "ten"	dáśa "ten"	dasa "ten"
*ē	>	ā	ā	*h₂nḗr "man"	nā "man"	nā "man"
*a	>	a	a	*h₂éǵeti "drives"	ájati "drives"	azaiti "drives"
*ā	>	ā	ā	*méh₂tēr "mother"	mātā́ "mother"	mātar- "mother"
*o	>	a ~ ā	a ~ ā	*ǵómbʰos "tooth, peg"	jā́mbha- "tooth, tusk"	—
				*ǵónu "knee"	jānu "knee"	zānu- "knee"
*ō	>	ā	ā	*dʰoHnéh₂- "grain"	dhānā́- "grain"	dāna- "grain"
*u	>	u	u	*yugóm "yoke"	yugám "yoke"	yuga- "yoke"
*ū	>	ū	ū	*mū́s "mouse"	mū́ṣ- "mouse"	NPer mūs "mouse"
*h₁	>	∅	∅	*h₁ésti "is"	ásti "is"	asti "is"
*h₂	>	∅	∅	*h₂ŕ̥tḱos "bear"	ŕ̥kṣa- "bear"	arəša- "bear"
*h₃	>	∅	∅	*h₃ókʷs(i) "eye"	ákṣi "eye"	aši "eye"
*h₄	>	∅	∅	*h₄órǵʰis "testicle"	—	ərəzi- "testicle"

Proto-Indo-Iranian	Old Iranian (Av, OP)	Vedic Sanskrit
*Háćwas "horse"	Av aspa, OP asa	áśva
*bʰaHgás "portion, share"	Av bāga	bhāgá
*bʰráHtā "brother"	Av, OP brātar	bhrā́tr̥
*bʰúHmiš "earth, land"	OP būmiš	bhū́mi-
*mártyas "mortal, man"	Av maṣ̌iia, OP martiya	mártya
*mā́Has "moon"	Av mā̊, OP māha	mā́s
*wásr̥ "spring"	Av vaŋhar	vásara "morning"
*Hr̥tás "truth"	Av aṣ̌a, OP arta	r̥tá
*dʰráwgʰas "lie"	Av draoγa, OP drauga	drógha "using malicious words"
*sáwmas "pressed (juice)"	Av haoma	sóma-

Morphology and basic vocabulary

Proto-Indo-Iranian has preserved much of the morphology of Proto-Indo-European (PIE): thematic and athematic inflection in both nouns and verbs, all three numbers (singular, dual and plural), all the tense, mood and voice categories in the verb, and the cases in the noun.

Personal pronouns (nominative case)

Pronouns, nouns and adjectives are inflected into the eight cases of PIE: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, ablative, locative and instrumental (with also a comitative/sociative meaning).

Pronoun	PIE	PII
I	*éǵ > *eǵHóm	*aȷ́Hám > *aȷ́ʰám
You	*túh₂	*túH
He	*ey- (*eyóm?) *só	*ayám *sá
She	*séh₂	*sáH
It	*tód	*tád
We	*wéy > *weyóm	*wayám
You (all)	*yū́	*yúH
They (m.)	*tóy	*táy
They (f.)	*téh₂es	*tā́s (or *táHas?)
They (n.)	*téh₂	*táH

Three examples of verbs

In verbs, the chief innovation is the creation of a passive conjugation with the suffix *-yá, with middle inflection.^[19]

The following examples lack the dual plural and are conjugaten in the present tense.

"To bear/carry"

Pronoun	PIE	PII
I	*bʰéroh₂ > *bʰéroh₂mi	*bʰáraHmi
You	*bʰéresi	*bʰárasi
He, she, it	*bʰéreti	*bʰárati
We	*bʰéromos > *bʰéroh₂mos?	*bʰáraHmas
You (all)	*bʰérete	*bʰáratʰa
They	*bʰéronti	*bʰáranti

"To call/summon"

Pronoun	PIE	PII
I	(*ǵʰéwyemi >) *ǵʰwéyoh₂mi?	*ȷ́ʰwáyaHmi
You	*ǵʰwéyesi	*ȷ́ʰwayasi
He, she, it	*ǵʰwéyeti	*ȷ́ʰwáyati
We	*ǵʰwéyomos > *ǵʰwéyoh₂mos?	*ȷ́ʰwáyaHmas
You (all)	*ǵʰwéyete	*ȷ́ʰwayatʰa
They	*ǵʰwéyonti	*ȷ́ʰwáyanti

"To be" (athematic)

Pronoun	PIE	PII
I	*h₁ésmi	*Hásmi
You	*h₁ési	*Hási
He, she, it	*h₁ésti	*Hásti
We	*h₁smós	*Hsmás
You (all)	*h₁sté	*Hstʰá
They	*h₁sénti	*Hsánti

Examples of noun declension

Despite Proto-Indo-Iranian preserving much of the original morphology of Proto-Indo-European, an important innovation in the noun is the creation of a genitive plural ending *-nām used with vowel stems.^[19]

The following examples lack the dual number.

Masculine noun

"Wolf"

Case	Singular	Plural
Nom.	PIE *wĺ̥kʷos > PII *wŕ̥kas	PIE *wĺ̥kʷoes > PII *wŕ̥kā(s)
Gen.	*wĺ̥kʷosyo > *wŕ̥kasya	*wĺ̥kʷoHom > *wŕ̥kāna(H)m
Dat.	*wĺ̥kʷoey > *wŕ̥kāy	*wĺ̥kʷomos > *wŕ̥kaybʰyas
Acc.	*wĺ̥kʷom > *wŕ̥kam	*wĺ̥kʷoms > *wŕ̥kāns
Voc.	*wĺ̥kʷe > *wŕ̥ka	*wĺ̥kʷoes > *wŕ̥kā(s)
Abl.	*wĺ̥kʷead > *wŕ̥kāt	*wĺ̥kʷomos > *wŕ̥kaybʰyas
Loc.	*wĺ̥kʷey/oy > *wŕ̥kay	*wĺ̥kʷoysu > *wŕ̥kayšu
Instr.	*wĺ̥kʷoh₁ > *wŕ̥kā	*wĺ̥kʷōys > *wŕ̥kāyš

Feminine noun

"Cow" (e.g., Latin "vacca")

Case	Singular	Plural
Nom.	PIE *woḱéh₂ > PII *waćáH	PIE *woḱéh₂es > PII *waćā́s
Gen.	*woḱéh₂s > *waćáyaHs	*woḱéh₂oHom > *waćáHnām
Dat.	*woḱéh₂ey > *waćáyaHy	*woḱéh₂mos > *waćáHbʰyas
Acc.	*woḱā́m > *waćā́m	*woḱéh₂m̥s > *waćā́s
Voc.	*woḱéh₂ > *waćay	*woḱéh₂es > *waćā́s
Abl.	*woḱéh₂s > *waćáyaHs	*woḱéh₂mos > *waćáHbʰyas
Loc.	*woḱéh₂(i) > *waćáyaH(m)	*woḱéh₂su > *waćáHsu
Instr.	*woḱéh₂h₁ > *waćáyaH́	*woḱéh₂mis > *waćáHbʰiš

Neuter noun

"Yoke"

Case	Singular	Plural
Nom.	PIE *yugóm > PII *yugám	PIE *yugéh₂ > PII *yugáH
Gen.	*yugósyo > *yugásya	*yugóHom > *yugā́na(H)m
Dat.	*yugóey > *yugā́y	*yugómos > *yugáybʰyas
Acc.	*yugóm > *yugám	*yugéh₂ > *yugáH
Voc.	*yugóm > *yugám	*yugéh₂ > *yugáH
Abl.	*yugéad > *yugā́t	*yugómos > *yugáybʰyas
Loc.	*yugéy/óy > *yugáy	*yugóysu > *yugáyšu
Instr.	*yugóh₁ > *yugā́	*yugṓys > *yugā́yš

An example of adjectival declension

The morphology in adjectival declension is identical to the one in noun declension. The following example lacks the dual number.

"Immortal" (*n̥-mr̥t-ós)

Case	Masculine (singular)	Feminine (singular)	Neuter (singular)
Nom.	PIE *n̥mr̥tós > PII *amŕ̥tas	PIE *n̥mr̥téh₂ > PII *amŕ̥taH	PIE *n̥mr̥tóm > PII *amŕ̥tam
Gen.	*n̥mr̥tósyo > *amŕ̥tasya	*n̥mr̥téh₂s > *amŕ̥tayaHs	*n̥mr̥tósyo > *amŕ̥tasya
Dat.	*n̥mr̥tóey > *amŕ̥tāy	*n̥mr̥téh₂ey > *amŕ̥tayaHi	*n̥mr̥tóey > *amŕ̥tā́y
Acc.	*n̥mr̥tóm > *amŕ̥tam	*n̥mr̥tā́m > *amŕ̥tā́m	*n̥mr̥tóm > *amŕ̥tam
Voc.	*n̥mr̥té > *amŕ̥ta	*n̥mr̥téh₂ > *amŕ̥tay	*n̥mr̥tóm > *amŕ̥tam
Abl.	*n̥mr̥téad > *amŕ̥tāt	*n̥mr̥téh₂s > *amŕ̥tayaHs	*n̥mr̥téad > *amŕ̥tā́t
Loc.	*n̥mr̥téy/óy > *amŕ̥tay	*n̥mr̥téh₂(i) > *amŕ̥tayaH(m)	*n̥mr̥téy/óy > *amŕ̥tay
Instr.	*n̥mr̥tóh₁ > *amŕ̥tā	*n̥mr̥téh₂h₁ > *amŕ̥tayaH	*n̥mr̥tóh₁ > *amŕ̥tā́

Case	Masculine (plural)	Feminine (plural)	Neuter (plural)
Nom.	PIE *n̥mr̥tóes > PII *amŕ̥ā(s)	PIE *n̥mr̥téh₂es > PII *amŕ̥ā́s	PIE *n̥mr̥téh₂ > PII *amŕ̥áH
Gen.	*n̥mr̥tóHom > *amŕāna(H)m	*n̥mr̥téh₂oHom > *amŕ̥áHnām	*n̥mr̥tóHom > *amŕ̥ā́na(H)m
Dat.	*n̥mr̥tómos > *amŕ̥aybʰyas	*n̥mr̥téh₂mos > *amŕ̥áHbʰyas	*n̥mr̥tómos > *amŕ̥áybʰyas
Acc.	*n̥mr̥tóms > *amŕ̥āns	*n̥mr̥téh₂m̥s > *amŕ̥ā́s	*n̥mr̥téh₂ > *amŕ̥áH
Voc.	*n̥mr̥tóes > *amŕ̥ā(s)	*n̥mr̥téh₂es > *amŕ̥ā́s	*n̥mr̥téh₂ > *amŕ̥áH
Abl.	*n̥mr̥tómos > *amŕ̥aybʰyas	*n̥mr̥téh₂mos > *amŕ̥áHbʰyas	*n̥mr̥tómos > *amŕ̥áybʰyas
Loc.	*n̥mr̥tóysu > *amŕ̥ayšu	*n̥mr̥téh₂su > *amŕ̥áHsu	*n̥mr̥tóysu > *amŕ̥áyšu
Instr.	*n̥mr̥tṓys > *amŕ̥āyš	*n̥mr̥téh₂mis > *amŕ̥áHbʰiš	*n̥mr̥tṓys > *amŕ̥ā́yš

Numerals

Numeral	PIE	PII
One (1)	*h₁óynos > *h₁óykos	*Háykas
Two (2)	*dwóh₁	*dwáH
Three (3)	*tréyes	*tráyas
Four (4)	*kʷetwóres	*čatwā́ras
Five (5)	*pénkʷe	*pánča
Six (6)	*swéḱs	*šwáćš
Seven (7)	*septḿ̥	*saptá
Eight (8)	*oḱtṓw	*Haštā́
Nine (9)	*h₁néwn̥	*Hnáwa
Ten (10)	*déḱm̥	*dáća

See also

• Substratum in the Vedic language

References

1. Peter Bellwood; Immanuel Ness (10 November 2014). The Global Prehistory of Human Migration. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-97059-1.
2. Hock, Hans Henrich (2015). "Proto-Indo-European verb-finality: Reconstruction, typology, validation". In Kulikov, Leonid; Lavidas, Nikolaos (eds.). Proto-Indo-European Syntax and its Development. John Benjamins.
3. Burrow, pp. 78–79
4. Ramat, Anna Giacalone (1998). The Indo-European Languages (illustrated ed.). London; New York: Routledge. p. 134. ISBN 0-415-06449-X.
5. Cardona, George; Dhanesh Jain (2003). The Indo-Aryan Languages. London; New York: Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 0-7007-1130-9.
6. Beekes (1988), p. 50
7. Beekes, p. 55
8. Burrow, pp. 74–75
9. Fortson, p. 182
10. Fortson, p. 181
11. F. B. J. Kuiper. 1976. "Old East Iranian dialects." Indo-Iranian Journal 18, p. 242.
12. Burrow, p. 91
13. Burrow, pp. 92–94
14. Fortson, p. 183
15. Beekes, pp. 85–86
16. Lubotsky, p. 53
17. Beekes, pp. 88–89
18. "Indo-Iranian Languages." Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Ed. J.P. Mallory and D.Q. Adams. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. pp. 305.
19. Fortson p. 205

Bibliography

• Beekes, Robert Stephen Paul (1988). A Grammar of Gatha-Avestan. Leiden; New York: Brill. ISBN 90-04-08332-4.
• Burrow, T. (1973). The Sanskrit Language (third ed.). London: Faber & Faber. ISBN 0-571-04819-6.
• Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction (illustrated ed.). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-0316-7.
• Lubotsky, A. M. (1988). The System of Nominal Accentuation in Sanskrit and Proto-Indo-European. Leiden; New York: Brill. ISBN 90-04-08835-0.
• Alexander Lubotsky, "The Indo-Iranian substratum" in Early Contacts between Uralic and Indo-European, ed. Carpelan et al., Helsinki (2001).
• Asko Parpola, 'The formation of the Aryan branch of Indo-European', in Blench and Spriggs (eds), Archaeology and Language III, London and New York (1999).

Further reading

Contacts between Indo-Iranian and Uralic

• Kuz’Mina, E.E. (2007). "Indo-Iranian contacts with other linguistic groups". In J.P. Mallory (ed.). The Origin of the Indo-Iranians. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. pp. 199–204. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004160545.i-763.53.
• Carpelan, Christian; Parpola, Asko (2017). "On the emergence, contacts and dispersal of Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Uralic and Proto-Aryan in an archaeological perspective". In Adam Hyllested; Benedicte Nielsen Whitehead; Thomas Olander; Birgit Anette Olsen (eds.). Language and Prehistory of the Indo-European Peoples: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective. Copenhagen Studies in Indo-European. Vol. 7. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanums Forlag. pp. 77–87. ISBN 9788763545310.
• Parpola, Asko (2017a). "Finnish vatsa ~ Sanskrit vatsá and the formation of Indo-Iranian and Uralic languages" (PDF). Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja. 2017 (96): 245–286. doi:10.33340/susa.70229.
• Holopainen, Sampsa (2019). Indo-Iranian borrowings in Uralic: Critical overview of sound substitutions and distribution criterion. Helsinki: University of Helsinki. PhD thesis.
• Holopainen, Sampsa (2020). "Indo-Iranian loanwords in Finnic - A critical overview". Acta Linguistica Petropolitana. Труды института лингвистических исследований. XVI (3): 613–668. doi:10.30842/alp2306573716319. Access date: 11.05.2024.
• Bjørn Rasmus G. Indo-European loanwords and exchange in Bronze Age Central and East Asia: Six new perspectives on prehistoric exchange in the Eastern Steppe Zone. Evol Hum Sci. 2022 Apr 22;4:e23. doi:10.1017/ehs.2022.16 PMID 37599704; PMCID: PMC10432883.
• Sámmol Ánte, Luobbal Sámmol (2022). "Proto-Uralic". In Marianne Bakró-Nagy; Johanna Laakso; Elena Skribnik (eds.). The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 3–27 [25–26]. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-876766-4. Accessed 10 May 2024.
• Holopainen, S. (2023). "The RUKI Rule in Indo-Iranian and the Early Contacts with Uralic". In Nikolaos Lavidas; Alexander Bergs; Elly van Gelderen; Ioanna Sitaridou (eds.). Internal and External Causes of Language Change: The Naxos Papers. Springer Nature. pp. 315–346. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-30976-2_11. ISBN 9783031309762.

External links

• "Early Indo-Iranic loans in Uralic: Sounds and strata" (PDF). Martin Joachim Kümmel, University of Jena. Seminar for Indo-European Studies.