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The Indo-European Family of Languages

1. Language Constantly Changing

Most people think of language as something fixed, like what we see in writing. When we think of
languages like Latin or French in literature, we see them as stable and unchanging. However, writing is
just a way to record sounds, and language itself is mostly spoken and constantly changing. We often
forget that even languages like Cicero’s Latin or Voltaire’s French evolved over centuries and are always
in flux as long as people keep speaking them.

Speech happens because of muscle movements that control the airflow through our throat and face.
Whenever we repeat a movement, it can gradually change. This is true for speech as much as it is for
other parts of the body. Even though we don’t usually notice it, these small changes affect the way we
speak. Every person unknowingly alters their speech in slight ways. This means language is never
completely the same. Speech differs from one community to another, and even within one family, each
person has their own way of speaking.

However, people in the same community influence each other, so speech in a community generally has
similarities. The language spoken in any region is made up of the speech habits of the people there and
changes as the speech of its members evolves. These changes can be so gradual that we may not notice
them day-to-day, but over time, the differences become noticeable.

For example, looking back at the 18th century, Alexander Pope wrote phrases like

"Good-nature and good-sense must even join"

To err is human, to forgive, divine….

where he pronounced "join" as "jine." He also wrote,

"Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey, Dost sometimes counsel take—and sometimes
Tea," where he pronounced "tea" as "tay." Many of the words he rhymed in his poetry have changed in
pronunciation since then. If we go further back to the time of King Alfred, we can see even bigger
changes in how words were spoken, like how he pronounced "bone" as "bān" and "how" as "hū." The way
we speak today is very different from how people spoke centuries ago.

2. Dialectal Differentiation

When people who speak the same language communicate regularly, their individual ways of speaking
blend together, and the speech becomes more uniform. But when two communities become separated
for a long time, differences in their speech begin to appear. If the separation is small, these differences
are minor, and we get local dialects. If the separation is large, the differences can grow so much that
people from one area can’t understand the language of another, and separate languages may form.

Even if languages become very different, we can often still find some similarities that show they once
were the same language. For example, English and German share many similar words, like "milch"
(German) and "milk" (English), "brot" (German) and "bread" (English), "fleisch" (German) and "flesh"
(English), or "wasser" (German) and "water" (English). These are all words that came from the same
origin but changed over time.

We also see connections between Latin and English, like "pater" (Latin) and "father" (English), or "frāter"
(Latin) and "brother" (English), although the sounds in the words may have changed. If we look at how
"father" is similar to the word for father in languages like Dutch (vader), German (vater), Greek (patēr),
and Sanskrit (pitar-), and how "brother" in English is similar to "broeder" (Dutch), "bruder" (German),
"phrātēr" (Greek), and "bhrātar-" (Sanskrit), we can see that many languages in Europe and parts of Asia
were once the same language.

The Discovery of Sanskrit

A key discovery that supported the idea of a common language origin was the recognition that Sanskrit,
an ancient language from India, belonged to the same language group. This idea started to emerge in the
late 1700s and was confirmed by the early 1800s. The literature of India, which is older than any
European language, keeps many features of the ancient language, even older than Greek, Latin, or
German. For instance, it's easier to see the connection between the English word "brother" and the
Sanskrit word "bhrātar," than between "brother" and the Latin "frāter."

Even more important is that Sanskrit has a detailed system of word changes (declensions and
conjugations). This helped linguists understand that the way words change in languages like Greek, Latin,
and German all trace back to a shared origin.

Compare the following forms of the verb to be:

Old English Gothic Latin Greek Sanskrit

eom (am) im sum eimi asmi
eart (art) is es ei asi
is (is) ist est esti asti
sindon (are) sijum sumus esmen smas
sindon (are) sijuþ estis este stha
sindon (are) sind sunt eisi santi

The Sanskrit forms particularly permit us to see that at one time this verb had the same endings (mi,
si, ti, mas, tha, nti) as were employed in the present tense of other verbs, for example:

Sanskrit Greek
dádāmi dídōmi (I give)
dádāsi dídōs
dádāti dídōsi
dadmás dídomen (dial.
didomes)
datthá dídote
dáda(n)ti didóāsi (dial.
dídonti)
Sanskrit provided valuable material for comparing with other languages in its group, both in terms of
vocabulary and how words change (inflection). Additionally, Hindu grammarians had already made
significant progress in analyzing the language. They identified word roots, classified the building blocks
of words, and understood the rules governing sound changes. This deep understanding of Sanskrit greatly
helped in recognizing and confirming the relationships between Sanskrit and other related languages.

Grimm’s Law

 Jacob Grimm (1822) developed a theory explaining how certain consonants changed in
Germanic languages compared to languages like Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit.
 Key Sound Shifts:
o p → f: Latin "p" became "f" in Germanic languages.
 Example: Latin "piscis" (fish) → English "fish".
 Latin "pēs" (foot) → English "foot".
o t → þ (th sound) and k → h: Latin "t" became "þ" (like "th") and "k" became "h" in
Germanic languages.
 Example: Latin "trēs" (three) → English "three".
 Latin "centum" (hundred) → English "hundred".
 Voicing Changes:
o Latin "b" and "d" became voiceless sounds in Germanic languages.
 Example: Latin "cannabis" (hemp) → English "hemp".
 Latin "genu" (knee) → English "knee".
 High German Sound Shift: Some Germanic languages (like German) experienced a further shift
in sounds.
o Example: English "open" → German "offen", English "eat" → German "essen".
 The Cause:
o Grimm’s Law likely took place after Germanic languages separated from other Indo-
European languages, possibly due to contact with foreign groups.
 Exceptions to Grimm’s Law:
o Karl Verner (1875) explained exceptions through Verner’s Law, stating that when the
accent was not on the vowel right before the consonant, the shift didn't happen as
expected.
 Example: Latin "centum" (hundred) → English "hundred" (t changed to "h", but
d should have been a fricative, not voiced).

The Indo-European Family

The Indo-European language family consists of languages that all come from a common parent
language. This family was once referred to as "Aryan," but this term is now mostly used for
languages in India and Iran. The term "Indo-Germanic" was also used, especially by German
scholars, but it focuses too much on the Germanic languages. Today, the term "Indo-European"
is the most widely accepted, as it better reflects the global spread of these languages.

The parent language of the Indo-European family had already split into different branches before
written history began, so we have no direct records of it. However, by comparing the languages
that descended from it, linguists can make educated guesses about its vocabulary and structure.
The languages within the Indo-European family are grouped into 11 main branches: Indian,
Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic (Greek), Albanian, Italic (languages derived from Latin), Balto-
Slavic (Baltic and Slavic languages), Germanic (which includes languages like English and
German), Celtic, Hittite, and Tocharian. These branches show the connection between languages,
which often relates to their geographic locations.

The Home of the Indo-Europeans

The Indo-European language, which evolved from a common parent speech, must have been
spoken by a specific group of people at some point in history. However, very little is known
about their physical traits or their exact location. It's important to note that language continuity
doesn't necessarily mean biological descent. History shows that people often abandon their
native language to adopt another, especially through conquest or merging with other groups. This
phenomenon is common, and the spread of Indo-European languages across various cultures
today, many of which have different heritages, suggests that the original Indo-European speakers
were likely ethnically diverse. Therefore, we can't make definitive conclusions about the physical
characteristics of these early people.

Determining the exact time when the Indo-European community existed as a unified group is
also difficult, though it is generally believed that their common existence spanned from around
3500 to 2500 B.C. This community’s original home, however, can be inferred with some
certainty based on language spread and other evidence. By examining where Indo-European
languages are found today, we can rule out regions like Africa, Australia, and the Americas, as
these areas saw the spread of these languages only in historical times. Furthermore,
archaeological and historical evidence helps eliminate areas like the British Isles and southern
Europe, which were not part of the Indo-European homeland.

One of the key pieces of evidence for the location of the Indo-European homeland comes from
ancient texts. For example, the Hindu Vedas, the earliest books of the Hindus, indicate
knowledge of the Indus River but not the Ganges, showing that the Indo-Europeans entered India
from the northwest. Based on such findings, it is generally accepted that the Indo-European
homeland was located somewhere in mainland Europe or the western part of Asia, specifically in
regions such as the steppes north of the Caspian Sea, not in the areas of the British Isles or
southern Europe.

Prior to the 19th century, it was widely believed that the Indo-European family had an Asiatic
origin. This view was based in part on the biblical tradition that placed the Garden of Eden in the
Mesopotamian region, and on the fact that Sanskrit, an Indo-European language, was spoken in
Asia and shared many similarities with the parent language. Additionally, historical invasions of
Europe by Asian peoples, such as the Huns and Turks, reinforced the idea of westward
migration. However, it was later recognized that this was an overly simplistic view. Evidence
began to point to the fact that the Indo-European languages have been primarily in Europe from
the earliest known times, and that it was more likely that the languages spread eastward into
Asia, rather than the reverse.
One clue that points to a European origin is the word for the beech tree in Indo-European
languages. In languages such as Latin and Germanic, the word refers to the beech tree, but in
Greek, it refers to an oak, and in other languages, it refers to an elder or elm. The honeybee also
provides evidence, as there is a common word for honey across Indo-European languages. The
honeybee is native to most of Europe but is not found in the parts of Asia considered as possible
Indo-European locations. These linguistic traces make the idea of a European homeland more
likely.

Another important linguistic factor is the division of Indo-European languages into two groups:
the centum and satem branches. This division is based on how certain consonants in the parent
language were modified. The centum group includes languages such as Hellenic, Italic,
Germanic, and Celtic, while the satem group includes languages like Indian, Iranian, Armenian,
and Slavic. A line running from Scandinavia to Greece roughly separates the two groups,
suggesting a split that may have taken place before the Indo-Europeans dispersed eastward and
westward. However, although this division was once thought to indicate a central European
homeland, further research has suggested that it was more likely the result of a sound change in
the eastern part of the Indo-European speaking area.

In recent years, new archaeological discoveries in Russia and Ukraine have shed light on the
origins of the Indo-European people. Excavations of graves in the steppe regions between the
River Don and the Urals have revealed evidence of a Kurgan culture that existed from the fifth
through the third millennia B.C. The Kurgan people lived in a forested steppe zone, where the
climate was warmer and damper than it is today. This area contained a variety of trees, including
oak, birch, and fir, as well as wild animals such as boar, elk, and wild horses. Many scholars,
including Marija Gimbutas, who named the Kurgan culture, believe that the Kurgan people were
the original Indo-Europeans, though some propose different migration routes.

Despite the uncertainty about the precise location of the Indo-European homeland, most scholars
agree that it was likely located somewhere east of the Germanic region, stretching from central
Europe to the southern Russian steppes. This area remains the most plausible origin for the Indo-
European languages, but definitive evidence is still lacking, and the search continues through
both linguistic and archaeological studies.

At the time of their dispersal, the Indo-Europeans had reached a neolithic level of civilization.
They had begun to use copper, and while they were no longer purely nomadic, they had settled
into homes and practiced some agriculture. Words relating to farming, like “plow,” suggest that
they raised grain and wool, though the type of plow they used was likely primitive. They kept
cattle and relied on their agricultural produce, along with game and fruit, for food. The Indo-
Europeans also had religious beliefs, recognizing gods and the existence of a soul, and they had
developed ethical concepts. Though their culture was not uniform across the entire region, the
Indo-Europeans had already achieved considerable cultural development before they began to
spread.

The Home of the Indo-Europeans

 Origins of the Indo-European language:

 o The Indo-European language must have been spoken by a specific group of
people at some point in history.
o Very little is known about their physical traits or exact location.
o Language continuity doesn’t imply biological descent; people often adopt new
languages due to conquest or merging with other groups.
o The spread of Indo-European languages across various cultures today suggests the
original speakers were likely ethnically diverse.
 Timeframe of existence:
o Determining the exact time when the Indo-European community existed as a
unified group is difficult.
o It is generally believed their common existence spanned from around 3500 to
2500 B.C.
 Location of origin:
o The Indo-European homeland is generally believed to have been in mainland
Europe or the western part of Asia, based on language spread and other evidence.
o Africa, Australia, and the Americas are ruled out, as Indo-European languages
spread there only in historical times.
o The British Isles and southern Europe are also not considered part of the Indo-
European homeland.
 Evidence from ancient texts:
o The Hindu Vedas indicate knowledge of the Indus River but not the Ganges,
suggesting Indo-Europeans entered India from the northwest.
o This supports the idea that the Indo-European homeland was in Europe or western
Asia, not the areas of the British Isles or southern Europe.
 Earlier belief in an Asiatic origin:
o Before the 19th century, it was believed that Indo-Europeans originated in Asia,
based on the presence of Sanskrit in Asia and its similarities to the parent
language.
o Historical invasions by Asian peoples (e.g., Huns, Turks) reinforced the idea of
westward migration.
o Later, evidence showed that Indo-European languages have been in Europe from
the earliest known times, and it became more plausible that languages spread
eastward from Europe.
 Linguistic evidence:
o The word for "beech tree" in Indo-European languages is used differently in
various languages (e.g., Latin and Germanic use it for the beech tree, while Greek
uses it for oak).
o The honeybee, native to Europe but not in parts of Asia, is another linguistic clue
pointing to a European origin.
o These linguistic traces suggest the Indo-European homeland is more likely to be
in Europe.
 The centum and satem divisions:
o Indo-European languages are divided into the centum and satem groups based on
consonant modifications in the parent language.
o The centum group includes languages like Hellenic, Italic, Germanic, and Celtic,
while the satem group includes Indian, Iranian, Armenian, and Slavic.
 o A line running from Scandinavia to Greece separates the two groups, suggesting
an early split before the Indo-Europeans dispersed eastward and westward.
o However, further research suggests this division is the result of a sound change,
not an indication of a central European homeland.
 Archaeological discoveries:
o New findings from Russia and Ukraine revealed a Kurgan culture in the steppe
region between the River Don and the Urals from the fifth to third millennia B.C.
o The Kurgan people lived in a forested steppe zone, which was warmer and
damper than today, and contained oak, birch, and fir trees, as well as animals like
boar, elk, and wild horses.
o Many scholars, including Marija Gimbutas, believe the Kurgan people were the
Indo-Europeans.
o Some propose different migration routes, but the steppe region remains a likely
origin for the Indo-Europeans.
 Location of Indo-European homeland:
o Most scholars agree the Indo-European homeland was likely located east of the
Germanic region, stretching from central Europe to the southern Russian steppes.
o Definitive evidence is still lacking, but the region remains the most plausible
origin based on linguistic and archaeological studies.
 Cultural development:
o By the time of their dispersal, the Indo-Europeans had reached a neolithic level of
civilization.
o Copper was in use, and they were no longer purely nomadic but had settled into
homes and practiced some agriculture.
o They raised grain and wool, used primitive plows, and kept cattle.
o Their diet included agricultural produce, game, and fruit.
o They had religious beliefs, recognized gods and the soul, and developed ethical
concepts.
o Though not uniform across the region, their culture was advanced before they
began to spread.