Nicholas Sims-Williams is a Professor of Iranian and Central Asian Studies, SOAS; and Fellow of the British Academy.
摘要
The exciting recent developments in our understanding of the history of the Indo-Iranian languages and their speakers are surveyed and assessed by a group of internationally renowned linguists and archaeologists.
In the last few years the materials available for the study of the older Indo-Iranian languages have increased dramatically: there have been sensational discoveries of birch-bark scrolls bearing Buddhist texts in the Gandhari language of north-west India, and of leather documents in Bactrian, the ancient language of northern Afghanistan. Previously known data has been exploited in new ways using innovative techniques for compiling, manipulating and disseminating electronic text and digital images. And archaeological finds in India, Pakistan and Central Asia, including the 'Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex', have given rise to new hypotheses concerning the history and pre-history of the Indo-Iranian peoples.
The volume also pays tribute to the pioneer work of the great philologist Sir Harold Bailey (1899-1996).
目次
Hunting the hapax: Sir Harold W. Bailey (1899-1996), Ronald E. Emmerick Archaeological Models and Asian Indo-Europeans, J.K. Mallory The Nuristani Languages, Asko Parpola Gandhari and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages in the Light of Newly-Discovered Karosthi Manuscripts, Richard Salomon Pali and the Languages of Early Buddhism, K.R. Norman The Vocabulary of Buddhist Sanskrit: Problems and Perspectives, O Von Hin"uber The Avestan Language and its Problems, Jost Gippert Scythian Elements in Old Iranian, Alexander Lubotsky Regional Interaction in Central Asia and Northwest India in the Kidarite and Hephthalite Periods, Frantz Grenet Ancient Afghanistan and its Invaders: Linguistic Evidence from the Bactrian Documents and Inscriptions, Nicholas Sims-Williams Tocharian and Indo-Iranian: Relations between Two Linguistic Areas, Georges-Jean Pinault Professor Sir Harold Bailey: An Appreciation, Ilya Gershevitch
