Sogdian language

Manichean priests writing, with panel inscription in Sogdian. Manuscript from Khocho, Tarim Basin.

The Sogdian language is a Middle Iranian language spoken in Sogdiana (Zarafshan River Valley) in the modern day republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (chief cities: Samarkand, Panjakent, Fergana).

Sogdian is one of the most important Middle Iranian languages with a large literary corpus, standing next to Middle Persian and Parthian. It was the language of trade in all of Central Asia (Transoxiana) and was the lingua franca of Chinese and Iranian traders. The language belongs to the Northeastern branch of Iranian languages. No evidence of an earlier version of the language (*Old Sogdian) have been found, although the mention of the area in Old Persian inscriptions means that a separate and recognisable Sogdiana existed since at least the Achaemenid era (ca. 550-323 BCE). Sogdian possesses a more conservative grammar and morphology than Middle Persian.

The economic and political importance of the language guaranteed its survival in the first few centuries after the conquest of Sogdiana by the Muslims in the early eighth century CE. The fact that the earliest texts of Modern Persian have been written in the territory of Sogdiana under the patronage of Samanid Kings means that many Sogdian words have entered Modern Persian as well. Only a dialect of Sogdian, called Yaghnobi language, has survived into the 21st century and is spoken by the mountain dwellers of the Yaghnob valley.

Evidence of early Sogdian script has been found in Sogdiana. This early script was taken from the Aramaic script and was almost solely heterographic. However, much of the rather large corpus of Sogdian writings (religious writings, letters, literature, and administrative correspondence) is in the Sogdian Script that has its roots in the same Aramaic script and like Middle Persian, contains many Logograms or Aramaeograms or Heterograms in Iranian studies. Various Sogdian pieces, almost entirely religious works of Manichaean and Christian writers, have also been found in the Turfan text corpus. Sogdian script is the direct ancestor of Uyghur script, itself the forerunner of the Mongolian script.

Sample Sogdian text (transliteration): MN sγwδy-k MLK’ δy-w’šty-c ’t x’xsrc xwβw ’pšwnw δrwth γ-rβ nm’cyw

Word-by-word translation: From Sogdiana's King Dewashtic to Khakhsar's Khuv Afshun, (good) health (and) many salutation...

External links

• Iranian Language Family
• Sogdian
• Sogdian Dictionary

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