New Latin Grammar

New Latin Grammar

1. The Indo-European Family of Languages.Latin belongs to one group of a large family of languages, known as Indo-European.[1] This Indo-European family of languages embraces the following groups: a. The Sanskrit, spoken in ancient India. Of this there were several stages, the oldest of which is the Vedic, 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. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 15665
Author: Bennett, Charles E. (Charles Edwin)
Release Date: Apr 20, 2005
Format: eBook
Language: English