Explore the languages spoken in Eurasia around 500 BC, including Proto-Germanic, Baltic, Finnic, Slavic, and Punic and their geographical significance. Discover the linguistic landscape of Eurasia during the Iron Age and the emergence of new languages. Delve into the linguistic changes influenced by the Scythians and the dominance of the Greek language. Learn about the linguistic history of China and the diverse languages present in China during that time.
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Quick takeaways
The Mediterranean region in 500 BC had a diverse range of languages, including Phoenician, Celtic, and non-Indo-European languages coexisting with Greek.
Indo-European languages were spoken across Eurasia, with different language families present in different regions, such as Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Uralic, Turkic, Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Sino-Tibetan, Austro-Asiatic, Scythian, Tokarian, Korean, Chorionic, Japonic, and Old Chinese.
Deep dives
Linguistic Diversity in the Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean region around 500 BC, there was a rich variety of languages being spoken. Phoenician, or Punic, had become a major language of trade, spreading from Tyre to the Atlantic shores of Iberia. Celtic languages were also spreading across Western and Central Europe, displacing non-Celtic languages. Greek was firmly established in the region, with cities like Syracuse and Athens serving as major centers. There were also non-Indo-European languages, such as Iberian, Tartessian, and Basque, coexisting with Celtic and Greek.
The Spread of Indo-European Languages
Indo-European languages were spoken across a vast expanse of Eurasia. In Britain and Ireland, Celtic languages arrived with migrants from the continent. In Central Europe, Celtic-speaking communities spread their languages down the social spectrum. Germanic languages, such as Proto-Germanic, were developing in a small area of northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. Baltic and Slavic languages were spoken in the forested zones of Eastern Europe, while Uralic and Turkic languages likely had a presence on the steppe and in Siberia. Indo-Aryan and Dravidian languages dominated South Asia. Other language families, such as the Sino-Tibetan and Austro-Asiatic, were represented in China and Southeast Asia.
Language Dynamics in Central Asia
In Central Asia, the Scythian language, an Eastern Iranian language, was spoken across the steppe, while Indo-European languages, including Tokarian, were likely present as well. To the north of the steppe, speakers of Uralic and non-Indo-European languages were found. On the Siberian coast, Korean, Chorionic, and Japonic languages coexisted and interacted, while Proto-Mongolic and Proto-Turkic languages were in contact in Mongolia and Manchuria.
Linguisitic Landscape of East Asia
In East Asia, Old Chinese was the dominant language, though it likely had linguistic siblings that were not recorded. Diverse languages were spoken in southern China, including Krahdai languages, Sino-Tibetan languages, and Austronesian languages. The Korean Peninsula likely had its own unique linguistic situation, while Japan had its own ancestral forms of Japonic and Chorionic languages. The Siberian coast, Korea, and Japan were also home to a wide range of languages and language families.
As an age of bronze gave way to one of iron, and then classical empires, the importance of writing grew all across Eurasia. That means more written sources for us to work with, but it also tells us dramatically more than we could have known before about the languages people were actually speaking across the continents.
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