Persian and Sanskrit share a common origin and have a very ancient connection. Their common ancestor was Indo-Iranian, which later branched off into Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages. In this video, we compare some of the similarities between Sanskrit (संस्कृत) and Persian (فارسی), with Aanandi and Arnika representing Sanskrit, and Aryana and myself on the Persian side. Though we compared Sanskrit to Modern Persian for a wider reach, the words have entered modern Persian through Old Persian and as you will notice in the video, Old Persian and Sanskrit were much closer in terms of sounds, syntax, grammar and alphabetical order. Please note, that these words did not enter Persian through Sanskrit, as some people falsely claim in the comments, but rather, they share the same root and have a common origin.
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Here are the words we used in the video:
- Branch - Sanskrit शाखा (shaakhaa). Persian شاخه (shaakheh)
- Fist - Persian مشت (mosht). Sanskrit मुष्टि (muShTi)
- Thirst and thirsty, respectively - Sanskrit तृष्णा. Persian تشنه (teshneh)
- Newborn - Persian نوزاد (nozaad). Sanskrit नवजात (navajaata)
- Fifth - Sanskrit पंचम (panchama). Persian پنجم (panjom)
- Name - Persian نام (naam). Sanskrit: नाम (naama)
- Leather/skin - चर्म (charma). Persian چرم (charm)
- Nature - Persian سرشت (seresht), Sanskrit सृष्टि (Srishti)
- Knee - Sanskrit जानु (Jaanu). Persian زانو (zaanu)
- Milk - Persian شیر (sheer). Sanskrit क्षीर (Ksheera)
- Water - Sanskrit आप् (aap). Persian آب (aab).
- Cloud - Persian ابر (abr). Sanskrit अभ्र (abr)
Additional words that came up in conversation were names of body parts like prushtha/posht, angushtha/angosht.
Words under consonant change: Saptaha/hafte, Swapna/khwab and Swasru/khwahar.
Some other words that we discussed: names of animals such as ewe (mesh/meesh), mouse (mooshak/moosh), camel (Ushtra à oshtor à shotor), jackal (shrigal/shoghal).
Sanskrit (संस्कृत) is one of the oldest Indo-Aryan languages. It has influenced several Indo-European, Iranian, as well as European languages. It is the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and some texts of Buddhism and Jainism. Today, Sanskrit is still spoken as a primary language in some parts of India. Sanskrit has had a significant impact on languages outside of the Indian subcontinent. Sanskrit manuscripts and inscriptions have been found in China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Mongolia, Thailand, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, and other parts of the world. It is very common to find words that are derived from Sanskrit in Chinese, Sino-Tibetan languages, Thai, Khmer, and Lao. Austronesian languages, such as Javanese, Malay, Tagalog, and Indonesian, also derive a portion of their vocabulary from Sanskrit. European languages, including English, also contain words derived from Sanskrit.
The Persian language (Farsi) is also an ancient language which has had a huge impact on other languages and cultures, mainly the Middle East, as well as Central and South Asia. Classified as one of the Western Iranian languages, Persian holds official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Persian has strongly influenced numerous Turkic languages, as well as Armenian, Georgian, and many languages in the Indian subcontinent. Persian has a long history of literature and it was the first language in the Muslim world to break through Arabic's monopoly on writing. It was even established as a court tradition instead of Arabic under many ruling Muslim dynasties.
References:
• संस्कृत अमरकोशः
• वैदिक सम्पत्ति - पंडित रघुनंदन शर्मा (available on Google Books)
• An Etymological Dictionary of Persian, English and other Indo-European Languages - Dr Ali Nourai; pages 443, 446 and 491 + a general overview on tinyurl.com/y4r4gqdm
• Mendeleev and the Periodic Table of Elements - Professor Subhash Kak (arxiv.org/vc/physics/papers/0...)
• An introduction to Old Persian - Prod Oktor Skjærvø
• Land of the Seven Rivers - Sanjeev Sanyal
15 авг 2020
