As part of the Indo-European language family, the Indo-Iranian branch traces its origins back to the Indo-European homeland on the Pontic-Caspian steppe 5000 years ago. But how did it spread from... Show moreAs part of the Indo-European language family, the Indo-Iranian branch traces its origins back to the Indo-European homeland on the Pontic-Caspian steppe 5000 years ago. But how did it spread from there to Asia? The aim of this thesis is to uncover the early prehistory of Indo-Iranian by investigating its relationship to the Balto-Slavic languages of Eastern Europe, which have been hypothesized to form a subgroup with Indo-Iranian: Indo-Slavic. By comparing the linguistic data with evidence from archaeology and genetics, this thesis traces the migration path of prehistoric Indo-Iranian speakers from the Pontic-Caspian steppe, via the rivers and forests of Eastern Europe, across the Ural Mountains, and southwards to the steppes of Central Asia. Show less
The East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have... Show moreThe East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have developed in relative isolation without much contact with other languages. In this dissertation, I take a deep dive into the East Baltic lexicon, peeling away the layers of prehistoric borrowings in the process. As well as significant contact events with known languages, like the Russian dialect of Novgorod-Pskov, Gothic and the ancestors of modern Finnish, Sámi and Mordvin, the lexicon also reveals evidence of contact with unattested languages from which earlier populations must have shifted upon the arrival of the Balts in the Baltic region. The fragments obtained not only shed light on the linguistic features of these lost languages, but also provide a new perspective on the sociolinguistic scenario which led the earlier populations of the region to undergo language shift. Show less
