New Latin Grammar | Page 3

or language of the Vedic Hymns. These Hymns are the oldest literary
productions known to us among all the branches of the Indo-European family. A
conservative estimate places them as far back as 1500 B.C. Some scholars have even set
them more than a thousand years earlier than this, i.e. anterior to 2500 B.C.
The Sanskrit, in modified form, has always continued to be spoken in India, and is
represented to-day by a large number of dialects descended from the ancient Sanskrit, and
spoken by millions of people.
b. The Iranian, spoken in ancient Persia, and closely related to the Sanskrit. There were

two main branches of the Iranian group, viz. the Old Persian and the Avestan. The Old
Persian was the official language of the court, and appears in a number of so-called
cuneiform[2] inscriptions, the earliest of which date from the time of Darius I (sixth
century B.C.). The other branch of the Iranian, the Avestan,[3] is the language of the
Avesta or sacred books of the Parsees, the followers of Zoroaster, founder of the religion
of the fire-worshippers. Portions of these sacred books may have been composed as early
as 1000 B.C.
Modern Persian is a living representative of the old Iranian speech. It has naturally been
much modified by time, particularly through the introduction of many words from the
Arabic.
c. The Armenian, spoken in Armenia, the district near the Black Sea and Caucasus
Mountains. This is closely related to the Iranian, and was formerly classified under that
group. It is now recognized as entitled to independent rank. The earliest literary
productions of the Armenian language date from the fourth and fifth centuries of the
Christian era. To this period belong the translation of the Scriptures and the old Armenian
Chronicle. The Armenian is still a living language, though spoken in widely separated
districts, owing to the scattered locations in which the Armenians are found to-day.
d. The Tokharian. This language, only recently discovered and identified as
Indo-European, was spoken in the districts east of the Caspian Sea (modern Turkestan).
While in some respects closely related to the three Asiatic branches of the Indo-European
family already considered, in others it shows close relationship to the European members
of the family. The literature of the Tokharian, so far as it has been brought to light,
consists mainly of translations from the Sanskrit sacred writings, and dates from the
seventh century of our era.
EUROPEAN MEMBERS OF THE INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY.
e. The Greek. The Greeks had apparently long been settled in Greece and Asia Minor as
far back as 1500 B.C. Probably they arrived in these districts much earlier. The earliest
literary productions are the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer, which very likely go back to
the ninth century B.C. From the sixth century B.C. on, Greek literature is continuous.
Modern Greek, when we consider its distance in time from antiquity, is remarkably
similar to the classical Greek of the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.
f. _The Italic Group._ The Italic Group embraces the Umbrian, spoken in the northern
part of the Italian peninsula (in ancient Umbria); the Latin, spoken in the central part (in
Latium); the Oscan, spoken in the southern part (in Samnium, Campania, Lucania, etc.).
Besides these, there were a number of minor dialects, such as the Marsian, Volscian, etc.
Of all these (barring the Latin), there are no remains except a few scanty inscriptions.
Latin literature begins shortly after 250 B.C. in the works of Livius Andronicus, Naevius,
and Plautus, although a few brief inscriptions are found belonging to a much earlier
period.
g. _The Celtic._ In the earliest historical times of which we have any record, the Celts

occupied extensive portions of northern Italy, as well as certain areas in central Europe;
but after the second century B.C., they are found only in Gaul and the British Isles.
Among the chief languages belonging to the Celtic group are the Gallic, spoken in
ancient Gaul; the Breton, still spoken in the modern French province of Brittany; the Irish,
which is still extensively spoken in Ireland among the common people, the Welsh; and
the Gaelic of the Scotch Highlanders.
h. _The Teutonic._ The Teutonic group is very extensive. Its earliest representative is the
Gothic, preserved for us in the translation of the scriptures by the Gothic Bishop Ulfilas
(about 375 A.D.). Other languages belonging to this group are the Old Norse, once
spoken in Scandinavia, and from which are descended the modern Icelandic, Norwegian,
Swedish, Danish; German; Dutch; Anglo-Saxon, from which is descended the modern
English.
i. _The Balto-Slavic._ The languages of this group belong to eastern Europe. The Baltic
division of the group embraces the Lithuanian and Lettic, spoken to-day by the people
living on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. The earliest literary