Homework (20 min.) - Students will be engaged in a discussion about yesterday's class as well as the homework articles.
First Part (1 hour) - Contrary to the Old Iranian period, in the Middle Iranian period we have a greater number of attested languages and also more diverse materials related to religions like Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Buddhism, Christianity. The list of these languages includes Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Bactrian, Khwarezmian, Khotano-Saka, Tumshuqese. We are going to take a closer look at the grammatical, i.e. morphological, phonetic, and lexical characteristics of those languages and their interconnections.
Break (15 min.)
Second Part (45-50 min. ) - After discussing the grammatical and linguistic aspects of the abovementioned Middle Iranian languages, we are going to discuss the cultural aspects of those languages and their literary, religious, and political significance. An important place in the discussion will be given to Middle Persian, which is the language that later evolved into Classical New Persian and thus is of importance for understanding the history of the Persian language.
Discussion (15-20) - As usual, at the end of the day students will be given an opportunity to ask their questions and discuss points of interest in relation to the day's topic. After that sources will be recommended for further study and homework readings will be introduced.
Literature:
Skjærvø, P. O., ‘Middle West Iranian’, in Windfuhr, G. (ed.) The Iranian Languages, London/New York, 2009, pp. 196-278.
Durkin-Meisterernst, D., ‘Khwarezmian’, in Windfuhr, G. (ed.), The Iranian languages, Routledge, 2009, pp. 336-376.
Emmerick, R. E., Saka grammatical studies, London, 1968.
Henning, W. B., The Bactrian Inscription, BSOAS 23, 1960, 47-55
Sims-Williams, N., ‘Bactrian’, in Schmitt, R. (ed.), Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum, Wiesbaden, 1989, pp. 230-235;
Skjærvø, P. O., ‘Middle West Iranian’, in Windfuhr, G. (ed.) The Iranian Languages, London/New York, 2009, pp. 196-278.