Addendum to “The Indo-Europeanization of the world from a

Central Asian homeland: New approaches, paradigms and insights

from our research publications on Ancient India” which was
published in Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute,
Volume 3, Number 1 in 2015

Sujay Rao Mandavilli

Abstract

In the main paper, we explained how the Indo-Europeanization of the world may have happened
from the Central Asian homeland using maps and diagrams. We also proposed the ‘Ten modes of
linguistic transformations associated with Human migrations’, and the approaches we proposed
were perhaps vastly superior to existing approaches. This addendum offers additional tips which
could help depict the transformation of Pre-Indo-European languages to Indo-European languages in
various geographical areas. Our paper along with this addendum could lead to a revolution in human
knowledge, with a better understanding of cultural and social paradigms, and benefit scholars and
students of Indo-European studies across nationalities. The Indo-European question is not as
vexatious as it seems. It can easily be tackled and solved in the twenty-first century if the proposals
in the main paper and this addendum are adhered to. For this, scholars from different parts of the
world must work together as explained. There is already a welcome change as people from different
regions of the world have begun to show interest in this issue in the past couple of decades. For this,
however, nationalism and region-centrism which is a troubling sign, must be eschewed by scholars
across the world, and a global outlook adopted. To accomplish a readership of this addendum,
reading the main part of this paper, “The Indo-Europeanization of the world from a Central Asian
homeland: New approaches, paradigms and insights from our research publications on Ancient
India” which was published in Journal of Social Science Studies, Macrothink Institute, Volume 3,
Number 1 in 2015 is mandatory.
Summary of the main paper

The Indo-European question can trace its roots to Sir William Jones’ discovery that the Indo-Aryan
languages spoken in India were related to those in Europe and perhaps had a common ancestor,
commonly called Proto Indo-European or PIE. Although some missionaries such as Filippo Sassetti
and others such as Lord Monboddo had noticed the similarities between European and Indian
languages much earlier than Jones, it was Jones who is accredited with having laid the foundation
for Indo-European studies across the world. This interest was due to the sheer complexity of this
problem, the vast distances involved across much of Europe, India and Iran, and the fact that may
Indo-European languages like Sanskrit were highly influential in their respective regions. Jones’
ideas found support among other scholars, and the foundation was eventually laid for comparative
philology and historical linguistics in the years that followed. 1

In the main paper, we had proposed the Six Phases of the Indo-Europeanization of the World as
follows (a) Phase A: The spread of various dialects and languages comprising what we called Base
Indo European from the Indo-European homeland as a result of migrations at different points in
time, and resultant linguistic transformations in regions outside the IE homeland. (b) Phase B: Billiard
like extensions. This phase would comprise the Indo-Europeanization of Europe, and the spread of
Sanskrit in India influencing near eastern languages, Dravidian and other languages. This may have
happened with or without human migrations. (c) Phase C: Tertiary extensions. This phase would
comprise extensions like the spread of Sanskrit into South East Asia from India at a later date. (d)
Phase D: This phase would comprise the spread of IE languages in recent times due to migrations
from Europe to the New World. (e) Phase E: This phase would comprise the spread of IE as a
secondary language due to colonialism in places such as Africa and Asia. (f) Phase F: This phase
would comprise the spread of IE languages in the 20 th and 21st centuries due to current globalization
trends. 23

Different models explaining the Indo-Europeanization of different parts of the world have been
proposed by various scholars over the years. One of them is the unlikely Anatolian model proposed
by the British scholar Colin Renfrew which involves the spread of agriculturalists from the Asia Minor
region also known to scholars as Anatolia from 7000 BC or later. The Near Eastern model is another
model supported by a small number of scholars. Among the proponents of this model are the
linguists Tamaz Gamkrelidze, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Stanislav Grigoriev. According to this model, the
homeland is located south of the Caucasus, and Indo-European expansions are believed to have
taken place from this region. Marija Gimbutas’ homeland which is a part of the much more widely-
accepted and probably correct Kurgan hypothesis or the Pontic- Caspian model, and posits a
homeland including regions to the East of the Caspian Sea in the steppes and this includes Georgia,
Azerbaijan and Armenia, and parts of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as well. We proposed that the
PIE (or base Indo-European) may not have been a single language or just a group of dialects, but
perhaps a language group in itself, spoken over a large region and this could account for differences
in the PIE among different scholars. These languages could then have spread to Europe and other
regions in Asia at different points in time, accompanied in most cases by small migrations, and
leading to assimilation and acculturation in outlying regions in a bidirectional two-way process.
1
On the internal classification of Indo-European languages: survey[*] Václav Blažek
2
Syncretism and Acculturation in Ancient India: A new Nine phase acculturation model explaining the process
of transfer of power from the Harappans to the Indo Aryans Part One Sujay Rao Mandavilli ICFAI Journal of
history and culture January 2009
3
Syncretism and Acculturation in Ancient India: A new Nine phase acculturation model explaining the process
of transfer of power from the Harappans to the Indo Aryans Part Two Sujay Rao Mandavilli ICFAI Journal of
history and culture January 2010
Migrations involving very large distances may not be warranted in most cases and a domino model
involving a chain reaction may be proposed, and would most probably be accurate. 4 5

Therefore, the languages of Europe, North India and Iran may have not been linear descendants of
the PIE as assumed but may have only been heavily influenced by them or may have evolved as a
result of a more complex interplay of linguistic forces. IE languages, would in many cases been
viewed as culturally superior in most regions to allow them to spread, or would have been
associated with superior technology such as horse riding. This is due to the fact that migrants could
only have been small in number, and could not have replaced the native populations of different
regions in any case. In other cases, transformations could have happened due to historical accidents
as evidenced by the transformation of Harappan India to Post-Harappan India.

While developing models, scholars would therefore naturally need to bear in mind the fact that
migrations would have been small in most cases, given the small populations of the IE homeland.
This would pre-empt simplistic models in most cases. Therefore, replacements would have been
cultural or linguistic rather than genetic, and wholescale replacements of languages would also have
been unlikely. Scholars will also need to identify triggers or motives for migration as humans tend
not to migrate unless absolutely required. Consequently, large scale migrations would be harder to
justify. We had formulated these as a part of the ‘Ten golden rules’

We propose the following ten scenarios of linguistic transformations in this context:

(a) Complete replacement or Annihilation: This would be a very simplistic view, and one that may be
practically rare and inapplicable to most situations. Such scenarios have however, been witnessed in
a few cases examples being the USA, where native languages were more or less annihilated by IE
languages such as English.

(b) Linguistic Sub-ordination: Linguistic Sub-ordination (non-IE languages subordinated to IE

languages) was another concept we had discussed in our previous paper, and may be relatively more
common than annihilation.

(c) Roller-ball model (Single loop): In this scenario, an alien language spreads up to a certain point in
time, loses its original form, and is influenced by the languages native to the region.

(d) Roller-ball model (Double or Multiple loop): This is an extension of the Single Loop Roller-ball
model where both groups of languages keep influencing each other as was observed in case of the
rather complex transformation of Harappan India to Post-Harapan India.

(e) Extended Roller-ball model (Roller-ball model combined with Billiard-like extensions): In this
model, a language spreads up to a certain point in time through one of the methods above, and
subsequently spreads through cultural diffusion at later points in time to other outlying regions.

(f) Assimilation: The language or languages of the immigrants die out completely over a period of
time, leaving behind no trace. (Local languages may however be influenced) This is in stark contrast
to the idea of annihilation of languages, and may happen under rare or special circumstances.

(g) Cultural diffusion without transhumance movements or ‘Pure Acculturation’: This may be
relatively rare from the perspective of Indo-European studies even though they may be observed in
the 21st century.

4
Twenty-first century clouds over Indo-European homelands: J P Mallory Queens University, Belfast
5
THE INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILY — THE LINGUISTIC EVIDENCE by Brian D. Joseph, The Ohio State University
h) Transhumance movements without linguistic change: In this scenario, there is minimal to no
interaction between speakers and both languages continue to exist in parallel.

(i) Lateral influences: Lateral influences are not just an interesting theoretical possibility: they have
actually been observed in the context of Indo-European studies. I.e., lateral influences between
Persia and India which played a vital role in the development of Vedic Sanskrit and the RV.

(j) Variants or combinations of the above scenarios may also be pervasive in the real-world and as
such it is only expected that scholars will take cues from the above scenarios. 6

This approach always talks about two or more streams of languages and adds several more
dimensions the issue, including mandating a knowledge of local histories and issues.

Any discussion will be a non-starter unless accompanied by a thorough knowledge of the local
history such as the history of different periods of England, France or Germany, (including different
historical models, if applicable) (For example, even though England became inhabited 800000 years
ago, one notable phase of Indo-Europeanization is the Roman conquest of 43 CE till the 5 th century
CE, followed by Anglo-Saxon migrations, predating the birth of Old English; however there were
believed to have been earlier migrations from Europe around 2500 BCE from the Bell Beaker culture
which may have been related to the cultures from the steppes (Olalde et al. (2018)) (In France,
Gaulish was a Celtic language (already IE) which was subsequently further transformed by foreign
rule of the Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians. However, Pre-IE languages such as Aquitanian were
also present) (In Italy, Etruscan culture flourished from 800 BC, and they probably spoke a Non-IE
language. Greek dialects began to reach Italy in the few centuries before the Christian era, and
Greek was spoken by the elite well into the Roman period. During the Roman period, Latin (which
was later used by the elites in many parts of the world) became popular, though its origin is obscure)
culture, languages both ancient and modern, and knowledge of any other extraneous factors
impacting such issues such as the pre-researched history of languages. The pre-researched history of
languages may be used as a starting point, but may be modified based on the researcher’s inputs
and conclusions. A familiarity with linguistic and archaeological evidence pertaining to the area is
also mandatory. However, a scholar is not required to acquire proficiency in a large number of
languages. What is required is a collaborative effort between scholars of backgrounds across
cultures in different parts of Europe and in Iran and India (and different specializations within a
culture), in addition to a core centralized team, such that this kind of a collaboration leads to a rapid
increase in knowledge. 7

The Tree Model:

The Tree Model was popularized by August Schleicher around 1860. In its simplest form, the ‘Tree
model’ consists of a ‘Proto-Language’ (Proven or assumed), say ‘A’ branching into languages ‘B’, ‘C’
and ‘D’. ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ in turn may have further branches. Anybody who is familiar with our work will
agree that this antiquated model is too simplistic to have any value in the real-world, and in the
context of Indo-European studies.

The Wave Model

The Wave Model was first proposed by Hugo Schuchardt and Johannes Schmidt around 1870 as an
alternative to the ‘Tree model’. Under the Wave Model, an instance of language change arises

6
History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Volume I and II (UNESCO Publishing)
7
Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics: Sociolinguistics Second Edition R.A Hudson Cambridge University Press
2001
usually from within a geographical region, and from there spreads to adjacent speaker groups. The
propagation of the change is therefore like a ‘wave’ which expands away from its centre as the new
feature is adopted by other languages usually in the region.” The Wave Model may not address all
scenarios arising from Human migrations, and cannot be adopted in unmodified form.

The Ten dimensions of the Indo-European debate

Needless to say, the Indo-European debate has also been multi-faceted, and Harald Haarmann
classifies issues associated with this debate into the following seven dimensions:

(a) The Economic dimension: This dimension deals with economic issues. For example, the transition
from foraging to pastoralist subsistence.

(b) The Socio-Political dimension: For example, the emergence of stratified society and statehood in
South Eastern Europe.

(c) The Ethnic dimension: this dimension deals with interaction between people of various ethnicities
during the process of Indo-Europeanization.

(d) The Cultural dimension: this dimension deals with a fusion of different cultural traditions during
the process of Indo-Europeanization.

(e) The Linguistic dimension: this dimension deals with language shifts arising due to the process of
Indo-Europeanization. Here, a layer-by-layer approach needs to be followed. For example, Hindi,
which is a modern Indo-Aryan language was greatly influenced by Persian as well during the
medieval era. Again, spoken language needs to be differentiated from written language. We had
observed that the spread of writing and the introduction of alphabets in Indo-Aryan languages in
India followed a completely different path.

(f) The Visual-artistic dimension: The spread of visual imagery representing Indo-European traits
forms a part of this dimension.

(g) The Mythical dimension: The study of Indo-European Gods and Goddesses forms a part of this
dimension.

To this, we propose to add the following three dimensions:

(a) The Archaeological dimension: This dimension deals with all types of archaeological evidence
associated with the spread of Indo-European

(b) The Technological dimension: This dimension deals the spread of technology such as the use of
chariots and Iron in specific contexts – inevitably, both these technologies did not exist in the IE
homeland.

(c) The Genetic dimension: This dimension deals with the Genetic evidence associated with the Indo-
European problem.

Research on each of these dimensions must be carried out independently as there is little possibility
of a complete overlap of issues associated with all the above dimensions. For example, the spread of
language may not happen in tandem with the spread of technology.

We also propose the following colour scheme for greater clarity. (1) The Red arrows will represent
the constituents of Base Indo-European moving out of the homeland usually, though not always in
conjunction with human migrations. Where dates are available, information will be provided
alongside the arrows. (2) The Blue arrows will represent Billiard like extensions. These may be at
several levels. For example, Sanskrit and Prakrits influenced Dravidian languages. Secondarily,
Sanskrit may have spread to South-East Asia from South India at a later period of time. (3) The Green
arrows will represent tertiary extensions. Examples of these are the Indo-Europeanization of North
America, South America and Australasia in modern times.

Different types of linguistic transformations may also be represented using different icons, and our
proposals are as below. These will be useful while preparing diagrams and other kinds of visual
depictions.

1 Complete replacement or Annihilation: Two triangles pointing upwards

2 Linguistic Sub-ordination: Single triangle pointing upwards

3 Roller-ball model (Single loop) ∞ (Single sigma)

4 Roller-ball model (Double or Multiple loop) ∞∞ (double sigma)

5 Extended Roller-ball model (Roller-ball model combined with Billiard-like extensions) Billiard-like
extensions shown through distinct arrows of the appropriate colour

6 Assimilation: Single triangle pointing downwards

7 Cultural diffusions without transhumance movements or ‘Pure Acculturation’ Arrows with dotted
lines

8 Transhumance movements without linguistic change: Crossed circle Or =

9 Lateral influences: Arrows of the appropriate colour

10 Various combinations of the above scenarios: Uses the relevant icons sequentially

11 Unresolved: Uses a question mark

Changes in approaches and focus areas

Also note the following (a) Identifying the IE homeland or Urheimat can be much more reliably be
done once the methods and approached presented in the main paper are followed. (b) The major
focus going forward should be identifying and analysing how linguistic transformations took place in
various outlying regions and identifying as many new scenarios from across the world as possible.
Thus, several new modes of linguistic transformation may be identified, and added to the body of
knowledge. An inductive or nomothetic approach may be followed. (c) Another major focus should
be identifying the characteristics of various components of Base Indo-European using the various
approaches – or combinations of the various approaches - laid down in the main paper. (d) Another
major paradigm shift would a globalized approach with scholars from many regions in the world
participating, and the key principles for the above have been laid bare in the main paper as well as
our earlier ones. (e) Another major paradigm shift would be multi-disciplinary approaches, and the
key principles for this have been laid bare in our earlier papers. 8

Formation of language groups

Language groups may have been the result of more permanent natural barriers such a mountains,
large rivers, seas and oceans which may have led to a separation between two linguistic groups. In
some other cases, they may have been a result of extraneous factors such as human migrations
8
General Linguistics and Indo-European Reconstruction Frederik Kortlandt
leading to linguistic transformations in a given region. Scholars are well-advised to study the
formation of language groups more closely taking into account the various forms of evidence
discussed in this paper, as well as political and historical factors. These may prove to be veritable
jackpots and could yield rich cues on the origin and spread of languages. In many cases, however,
classification of languages into language groups may be erroneous and subject to the whims of
scholars, and future scholars need to bear this in mind. 9

Proto-languages and language groups

The idea of a hypothetical proto-language being an ancestor of a family of languages, may also be an
over-simplification by today’s standards and may be linked to the antiquated tree model. The idea of
a language splitting up into many different languages without any apparent underlying reason,
seems not only highly over-simplistic, but also flawed. Some early scholars erroneously believed that
all the world’s languages could be traced to a handful of proto-languages. Readers are urged to read
our main paper and our paper on the origin of languages (Epochal polygenesis approach) as well for
further clarity. 10

Languages can likewise die out, but scholars need to bear in mind the fact that this is usually a slow
process: this aspect needs to be borne in mind while studying linguistic transformations due to
migrations as well. Language extinction can occur only when the language has no competent
language speakers and when the language falls into disuse. This naturally would be a slow process.

Use of Ethnography

The term ‘Ethnography’ is a combination of two Greek words, namely: ‘ethnos’ which means ‘folk’ or
‘peoples’ and ‘grapho’ which means ‘to write’. Ethnography is therefore, a detailed narrative of
communities and their lifestyles with the objective of long-term knowledge generation, and is
sometimes referred to as a detailed and a structured ‘portrait of a people’. Ethnography therefore
seeks to provide a detailed and a scientific study of or a group, community, society or culture.
Ethnography also typically involves a prolonged interaction with different communities, and is a
systematic description of a contemporary culture through extensive and intensive fieldwork in a
wholly natural context or setting. Ethnographic studies usually focus or a particular community or
group, and specific aspects of that group. Ethnography may be used as a part of IE studies to
understand how languages change and die by targeting specific languages, or specific groups of
languages, and studying speaker behaviour, preferences and attitudes. Ethnography may likewise be
used in various fields of linguistics. One drawback is that such studies are of a longer duration, and
for this we may propose ‘perpetual ethnography’ which involves the study of the same issue at
different points in time by the same team or by different teams. This would be critical for a long-
term analysis.

Our work only covers linguistic changes arising out of Human migrations. For a more comprehensive
perspective, linguistic changes arising out of other scenarios also need to be taken into account,
although although this must be left to other scholars. Linguistic change not arising due to human
migrations, needs to be studied at a greater level of detail by other scholars or linguists not
specializing in the spread of IE. This would have some impact on language change in the long-term as
the Indo-Europeanization of the world was typically a slow process. The two, when taken together,
would constitute of proposed replacement for the Tree model and the Wave model.

9
Alexandre Fran¸cois. Trees, Waves and Linkages: Models of Language Diversification. Bowern, Claire; Evans,
Bethwyn. The Routledge Handbook of Historical Linguistics, Routledge, pp.161189, 2014, 978-0-41552-789-7.
10
Trees, Waves and Linkages: Models of Language Diversification Alexandre Francois
Methods of performing analysis

There can be potentially several different approaches of performing analysis within a sub-branch of
IE languages, and we list a few of them below. In all these approaches, the other concepts
introduced in the main paper as well as in this addendum must be rigorously adhered to:

Outside in approach based on the geographical distance from the IE homeland (FAFA). Per this
approach, the IE language which is farthest from the IE homeland is analysed first, and analysis is
done backwards., such that the oldest IE language or base Indo-European is eventually reached.
However, an analysis of linkages with other languages such as non-IE languages can be done in any
direction. This approach can also be adopted in conjunction with other approaches for different IE
streams. Per this approach, modern IE languages of North America and South America such as
English, Portuguese and Spanish can be taken up for analysis first, and analysis can proceed
backwards to their respective antecedents in Europe.

Analysing youngest languages first (YOFA): Per this approach, the IE language that is youngest is
taken up for analysis first. In order to accomplish this, a basic analysis ranking various IE languages in
the order of age may need to be done before a detailed analysis can be carried out . Again, an
analysis of linkages with other languages such as Non-IE languages can be done in any direction. This
approach can also be adopted in conjunction with other approaches for different IE streams. Per this
approach again, modern IE languages of North America and South America such as English,
Portuguese and Spanish can be taken up for analysis first, and analysis can proceed backwards to
their respective antecedents in Europe.

Inside out approach: Per this approach, languages nearest to the IE homeland are analysed first, and
analysis is done outwards. Again, an analysis of linkages with other languages such as Non-IE
languages can be done in any direction. This approach can also be adopted in conjunction with other
approaches for different IE streams.

Oldest languages first analysed: Per this approach, which is diametrically opposed to the YOFA
approach the oldest IE language is analysed first, and younger languages are then analysed in a
sequential fashion. Again, an analysis of linkages with other languages such as Non-IE languages can
be done in any direction. This approach can also be adopted in conjunction with other approaches
for different IE streams. Per this approach, languages such as the partially reconstructed PIE (refer
the main paper), or Hittite (being the oldest attested IE language, albeit by a slender margin) and
Vedic Sanskrit may be analysed first followed by younger languages.

Random Analysis or bi-directional analysis within a stream of IE languages: Per this approach,
analysis is done in a random order subject to the availability of data. Per a variant of this approach,
analysis is done bidirectionally from a central point and subject to clarity or availability of data, such
that missing linkages are closed progressively.

Combination of various methods: Per this approach, different approaches amongst those listed
above, are adopted for different streams of IE languages, while adopting other modes of analysis for
peripheral studies such as a linkage with Non-IE languages.

In all these approaches, relationships between current Indo-European languages and older IE
languages, relationships between parent and daughter languages, and relationship between IE
languages and non-IE languages, and a geographical chain or dispersal analysis must be followed,
while always maintaining dates. Thus, the timing of influence or linguistic transformation must be
shown, and must be derived based on a knowledge of local history or histories and historical models.
If any along with the history of languages in the region, and a corroboration between the two. An
example of the latter was our model showing the transformation of Harappan India to Post-
Harappan India. Influences may be short-lived or prolonged and these may also be depicted suitably.
If there are multiple influences at different points in time, these must also be shown.

Estimating the timing of influence: This can be done based on whether basic words were present or
whether advanced vocabulary were included in the daughter language. For example, in the case of
Vedic Sanskrit, only basic words are traceable to the PIE, and more advanced vocabulary are
indigenous in origin. This would imply that the split up happened at a very early date, and long
before the RV was compiled. Likewise, an analysis of different parts of speech may be done. In the
case of Vedic Sanskrit, it may be observed that pronouns and basic nouns are mostly of IE origin
while more complex nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs are of indigenous origin. This would imply
that the split up happened very early, again long before the RV was compiled. A study of the word
order (VSO,SVO or flexible word order) would also be required. Since the word order cannot change
from parent to daughter languages under ordinary circumstances, this would illustrate the type of
influence. If the word order was changes, it would indicate a transformation rather than a complete
replacement. Other linguistic features such as the presence or absence of a neuter gender in a
particular IE language vis a vis other related languages, may also be one of the factors involved in an
analysis. A study of isolates such as Brahui in present-day Pakistan may also be carried out along
with the study of the influences IE languages had on such languages. These approaches would be
somewhat superior to an analysis of the substratum of IE languages which can throw up erroneous
results. Conventional classification of languages into Genealogical Classification (Languages are
grouped by diachronic relatedness into language families), Typological Classification. (Languages are
grouped into language types on the basis of formal criteria, according to their similarities in
grammatical structure) Areal Classification (areal features are elements shared by languages or
dialects in a geographic area, particularly when such features are not descended from a proto-
language, or, common ancestor language) may also serve as a rough guide in assessing linguistic
transformations.

Annotated bar and rod diagram

The resultant diagram would be known as the Annotated bar and rod diagram which would be vastly
superior to Tree models and wave modes. As discussed, these would be tied a regions history or
histories as well as complex historical models pertinent to a region. The following are the key
features of this diagram:

- Lists cross influences by means of connectors

- Lists type of cross influences. Notations for the “Ten modes of linguistic transformation” are
used. Additional modes of linguistic transformation can be listed by other scholars as a part
of their research, and suitable notations developed.
- Lists degree of cross influences, along with the nature of cross-influences, if possible. This
can be shown by modulating the thickness of lines
- Lists timing of cross influences along with dates
- If cross-influences are prolonged, these may be annotated as such along with a range of
dates
- The diagram is dated throughout, and history of development of languages along with cross-
influences is dated
- Relationship between IE languages and non- IE languages may be shown separately, if
required
- Split up of languages may be shown if applicable, while avoiding over-simplifications
 - The transformation of pre-IE languages to IE languages is shown wherever applicable as a
separate stream so that the history of Pre-IE (i.e. to be transformed languages) is also shown
where relevant. (Refer our model on transformation of Harappan Indian to post-Harappan
India, for example)
- IE languages may be shown as horizontal lines . For example, the PIE, Old Avestan and
Persian may be shown as parallel lines with connectors as described here.
- Pre-IE Languages may be marked differently on horizontal lines
- Dates may be shown on the x-axis both for the pre-Christian era and the Christian era
- Influences may be shown as vertical lines perpendicular to the horizontal lines, and
elaborated as discussed above. These vertical lines connect two IE languages, one of which is
the older IE language and the other, which is transformed.
- The thickness of these lines can show the degree of influence
- Appropriate notations are used for the type of linguistic transformation (Refer the main
paper)
- The colour scheme delineated in the main paper may be used (Red arrows, blue arrows and
green arrows)
- The diagram is annotated with suitable explanations and suitable explanations are provided
throughout by means of additional notes or call out boxes
- Vocabulary pertaining to each period of cultural transformation may be shown in an
annexure
- This diagram must cover all IE languages eventually, though this would be a laborious and
time-consuming process. This may even take up to a century or more if an earnest effort is
made, and involve scholars from different parts of the world.
- The common name for each language is shown alongside
- All languages influenced by IE languages may also be shown E.g., Munda even if they are not
classified as IE languages. This may make the diagram somewhat clumsy, and so, separate
diagrams may be used for this purpose.
- If the Horizontal line terminates abruptly, it refers to the death of a language.
- The diagram may be split up if it becomes too unwieldly or clumsy and the appropriate
linkages inserted by means of connectors.
- Open and unresolved issues may be marked as such, and suitably annotated.
- At the discretion of the researcher, unimportant or minor languages may be omitted from
the analysis or shown in separate diagrams.
- Likewise, minor issues such as dialect levelling may be omitted or explained through
annotations.
- The nature of use of the language whether used in daily speech, used by the elite, or
liturgical may also be indicated.
- A variant of this diagram is drawn on a map as was shown in the main paper. In this case,
different regional maps may be used, and linked by means of connectors. In this variant, the
spread of IE is drawn along geographical regions, making it much more intuitive.

Conclusion

The Indo-European question is not as vexatious as it seems. It can easily be tackled and solved in the
twenty-first century if the proposals in the main paper and this addendum are adhered to. For this,
scholars from different parts of the world must work together as explained. There has already been
a welcome change in the past two decades as people from different regions of the world have begun
to show interest in this issue in the past couple of decades. While no compelling models have been
presented as yet, scholars from other parts of the world have at least begun to question earlier
models. For this endeavour to be taken to a higher level, however, nationalism and region-centrism
which is a troubling sign, must be eschewed by scholars across the world, and a global outlook
adopted. This is easier said than done, however, as few scholars may possess the knowledge of
diverse disciplines and geographies that this issue warrants. However, collaboration, trust and a
spirit of bonhomie can make a world of a difference and yield rich rewards.

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17th to 19th ce
in an even gre
French words.
influence was
in the 19th cen
not become do
second half of
century.

42nd edition of the

Wörterbuch ("Aus

Thus, Notker L
to translate Ar
treatises into p
German in the
the year 1000
of loan transla
revitalized in t
with linguists l
Heinrich Camp
introduced clo
that are still us
German. Even
movements th
the Ersatz (su
foreign words
unnecessary w
alternatives.[73]
As in English,
pairs of synon
enrichment of
vocabulary
with loanword
Latinized Gree
often have diff
connotations f
Germanic cou
are usually pe
scholarly.

 Historie, hi
historical",
geschichtli
 Humanität,
"humanene
(Menschlic
 Millennium
(Jahrtause
 Perzeption
(Wahrnehm
 Vokabular 
(Wortschat
 Diktionär –
(Wörterbuc
 probieren –
The size of the
German is diff
The Deutsche
Wörterbuch (G
Dictionary) init
by Jacob and 
Grimm already
330,000 head
edition. The m
scientific voca
estimated at n
and word grou
the analysis o
sentences of a
Leipzig, which
included 500 m
total).[74]
The Duden is
facto official d
German langu
published by K
1880. The Dud
regularly, with
appearing eve
years. As of A
was in its 27th
12 volumes, e
different aspec
as loanwords,
unciation, syn
forth.
The first of the
deutsche
Rechtschreibu
Orthography),
the prescriptiv
spelling of Ge
The Duden ha
bible of the Ge
being the defin
regarding gram
and usage of G
The Österreich
Wörterbuch ("
Dictionary"),
abbreviated Ö
official dictiona
German langu
the Republic o
edited by a gro
under the auth
Austrian Fede
Education, Art
Culture (Germ
sterium für Un
und Kultur). It
counterpart to
German Dude
number of term
to Austrian Ge
frequently use
pronounced th
considerable a
"Austrian" voc
common in So
Germany, esp
and some of it
in Switzerland
the 39th editio
orthography o
been adjusted
spelling reform
dictionary is a
in the Italian p
Tyrol.
English to
cognates[e
This is a selec
of cognates in
and German.
usual infinitive
German verbs
a hyphen after
Words that are
capital letters
nouns.
Orthograp
Main articles: 
orthography a
braille

Austria's standard

Germany's standa

German is wri
alphabet. In ad
standard letter
three vowels w
mark, namely 
well as the esz
s (sharp s): ß.
and Liechtens
instead of ß. S
never occur at
a word, it has
traditional upp
Written texts in
easily recogni
distinguishing
as umlauts an
certain orthog
– German is th
language that
nouns, a relic
practice in No
the early mode
(including Eng
in the 1700s) –
frequent occur
compounds. B
and convenien
boundaries, co
consisting of m
or four nouns
exclusively fou
contexts. (In c
English can al
together, it usu
the nounor ex
bowl cleaner".
Present[edit
n some diction
all other words
with Ä may oc
words starting
older dictionar
initial Sch and
as separate le
listed as sepa
after S, but the
treated as S+C
Written Germa
uses an altern
inverted comm
mark) as in „G
Past[edit]

A Russian diction
the "German alph
columns of each h
are Fraktur and K
the footnote expla
Fraktur.

Further inform
Orthographic C
(German), An
dispute, and G
orthography re
Until the early
German was p
in blackletter t
ktur, and in Sc
and written in
corresponding
example Kurre
. These varian
alphabet are v
from the serif
serif Antiqua t
today, and the
forms in partic
for the untrain
printed forms,
claimed by so
readable when
for Germanic
needed][78]
 The Naz
promoted Frak
Schwabacher
were consider
they abolished
claiming that t
were Jewish.[7
that the Nazi r
banned this sc
realized that F
inhibit commu
territories occu
during World W
The Fraktur sc
remains prese
life in pub sign
and other form
advertisement
used to conve
rusticality and
A proper use o
s (langes s), ſ,
writing Germa
in Fraktur type
Many Antiqua
include the lon
set of rules ap
of long s in Ge
nowadays it is
Antiqua typese
case "s" at the
syllable would
opposed to a t
short s (the m
variation of the
marks the end
example, in di
between the
words Wachſtu
house) and W
of polish/wax)
decide which "
appropriate hy
(Wach-ſtube v
The long s onl
in lower case.
Orthograph
Reform[edit
Main article: G
orthography re
The orthograp
1996 led to pu
and considera
states (Bunde
Rhine-Westph
refused to acc
point, the disp
highest court,
dismissed it, c
states had to d
themselves an
schools could
made the offic
everybody els
writing as they
After 10 years
intervention by
parliament, a m
was installed i
time for the co
year. In 2007,
spellings were
invalidated; ho
many of the ol
were again pu
The most notic
was probably
letter ß, called
s (Sharp S) or
zett (pronounc
Traditionally, t
used in three s

1. After a long
combinatio
2. Before a t;
3. At the end
Examples are
and daß. Curr
first rule is in e
the correct
spellings Füße
and dass. The
has the letter ß
contains a lon
though that let
end of a syllab
this change is
single letter w
two letters, so
distinction app
example) betw
words den and

Phonolog
Main article: G
phonology
Vowels[edit]

Spoken German i

In German, vo
diphthongs; se
either short or
Short /ɛ/ is rea
stressed syllab
(including sec
but as [ə] in un
syllables. Note
short /ɛ/ can b
with e or with 
instance, hätte
and Kette 'cha
general, the sh
open and the
close. The one
the open /ɛː/ s
in some variet
German, /ɛː/ a
merged into [e
anomaly. In th
like Bären/Bee
s' or Ähre/Ehre
wheat)/honour
homophonous
Bluebear).
In many variet
German, an u
not pronounce
vocalised to [ɐ
Whether any p
letter represen
short phonem
completely pre
although the fo
regularities ex

 If a vowel (
end of a sy
single cons
pronounce
 If a vowel i
an i is follo
 If the vowe
double con
(e.g. ff, ss 
a consona
it is nearly
(e.g. hoffen
consonant
function of
vowels as
itself is nev
 lengthened
words this
order of ge
then vowel
Both of these
exceptions (e.
is short despit
rule; Mond [m
long despite th
For an i that is
combination ie
nor followed b
consonant or c
short), there is
In some cases
regional differe
Germany (Hes
the proper nam
pronounced lo
most other Ge
pronounce it s
applies to the 
geographical n
"Mecklenburg"
that region. Th
word Städte "c
pronounced w
vowel [ˈʃtɛtə] b
Hofer, ARD Te
with a long vo
others (Mariet
Slomka, ZDF 
Finally, a vowe
by ch can be s
(Fach [fax] "co
che [ˈkʏçə] "ki
(Suche [ˈzuːxə
er [ˈbyːçɐ] "bo
random. Thus
homographou
between [laːxə
and [laxə] Lac
laughing" (coll
or lache! "laug
German vowe
following digra
and diphthong
pronunciation)
pronunciation
(ei, äu, eu) is v
from what one
when conside
component let

Additionally, th
digraph ie gen
the phoneme 
a diphthong. In
an /r/ at the en
vocalised. How
sequence of a
by such a voc
phonemic
diphthong: Bä
[eːɐ̯] "he", wir 
oːɐ̯] "gate", ku
Wörter [vœɐ̯tɐ
In most varieti
German, sylla
with a vowel a
a glottal stop [
Consonant
With approxim
phonemes, the
consonant sys
average numb
consonants in
other languag
more notewor
unusual affrica
consonant inv
standard langu
below.
 1
/x/ has two
after back
respectivel
 2
/r/ has thre
variation: [
the syllable
allophone 
varieties.
 3
 The voice
stops /p/, /
pt when pr
identical to
4 ͡
 /dʒ/ and /ʒ
foreign (us
origin.
 Where a st
initial vowe
As its pres
context, [ʔ]
phoneme.
Consonant spe

 c standing
German le
it is usually
pronounce
ö, ü, y) or [
consonant
combinatio
 used to ind
vowel is sh
 ch occurs
pronounce
äu, e, ei, e
consonant
suffix -chen
of a word),
or [k] at the
before a, o
consonant
the beginn
German w
with initial
(Chemie "c
considered
needed]
 Howev
Franconian
sense) rep
German as
darker vow
such as
in Charakte
Germans (
will borrow
model. Bot
variant, an
the standa
awkward a
 dsch is
pronounce
ˈd͡ʒʊŋəl/ "ju
few loanwo
 f is pronou
 h is pronou
at the begi
a vowel it i
lengthens
(e.g. Reh [
 j is pronou
words (Jah
"year". In r
follows mo
languages
 l is always
never *[ɫ] (
 q only exis
with u and
appears in
 Latin word
(quer [kveː
But as mos
are Latinat
considerab
it is in Eng
 r is usually
a guttural f
fricative [ʁ]
front of a v
(Rasen [ˈʁ
spoken Ge
commonly
(er being p
like [ˈɛɐ̯] – 
varieties, th
"tongue-tip
 s in Germa
in "zebra")
onset (e.g.
otherwise [
Austria, Sw
Southern G
syllable on
A ss [s] ind
preceding
short. st an
of words o
pronounce
respectivel
 ß (a letter u
called scha
ligature of
z (ʒ) and is
pronounce
in Blacklett
traditionally
of a syllabl
muß; ich m
within a wo
with ss [s] 
preceding
(compare i
ˈmaːsən] "w
Massen [ɪn
The use of
limited by t
spelling ref
used for ss
(e.g. ich m
 always pro
U/Ü); Switz
Liechtenste
in 1934.[81]
 sch is pron
"shine").
 tsch is pro
"cherry")
 tion in Lati
pronounce
 th is found
and is pron
loanword is
usually as
loanword is
some, mos
to replace
with [s]).
 v is pronou
number of
origin, such
as Vater [ˈ
"from, of", 
of", voll "fu
is also use
is normally
pronunciat
like Vase, 
til, vulgär, a
however, p
some peop
The only n
which "v" is
is Eva (Eve
 w is prono
"vacation"
 y is pronou
and [ʏ] whe
in Hygiene
labyˈʁɪnt] o
ˈnaːzi̯ ʊm/),
in ay and e
pronounce
used in loa
pronounce
language,
 z is always
pronounce
except in lo
 A tz indica
vowel is sh
Consonant shif
Further inform
German conso
German does
any dental fric
English th). Th
which the Eng
still has, disap
continent in G
consonant shi
8th and 10th c
sometimes po
parallels betw
German by re
English th with
"Thank" → in
"this" and "tha
→ dies and da
2nd person sin
→ du, "think" →
"thirsty" → dur
other example
Likewise,
the gh in Germ
words, pronou
different ways
English (as an
can often be li
German ch: "t
→ lachen, "thr
"high" → hoch
→ nichts, "ligh
→ leicht or Lic
→ Sicht, "daug
→ Tochter, "n
→ Nachbar.

Literature
Main article: G
The German l
in German lite
be traced back
Ages, with the
authors of the
being Walther
Vogelweide an
Eschenbach.
The Nibelunge
author remain
also an import
epoch. The fa
collected and
by Jacob and
Grimm in the 1
became famou
the world.
Reformer and
theologian Ma
was the first to
Bible into Germ
credited for ha
basis for the m
German" lang
best-known po
in German
are Lessing, G
Kleist, Hoffma
e, and Kafka.
German-spea
won the Nobe
literature: The
Mommsen, Ru
Eucken, Paul
Heyse, Gerha
Hauptmann, C
Spitteler, Thom
Sachs, Herma
Hesse, Heinric
Canetti, Günte
Jelinek, Herta
Handke, maki
most awarded
(together with
English.
Loanword
German t
English[ed
Main article: L
expressions in
English has ta
many loanwor
often without a
spelling (aside
eliminating um
not capitalizing
Organisat
Several organ
the use and le
German langu
Goethe Ins
Main article: G
The governme
backed Goeth
ed after Johan
Goethe) aims
knowledge of
and language
and the rest o
is done by hol
and conferenc
related theme
training and gu
learning and u
German langu
example, the G
Institut teache
Zertifikat Germ
qualification.
Deutsche W
Main article: D

Deutsche Welle lo

The German s
broadcaster D
Welle provides
television broa
German and 3
spoken slowly
tailored for lea
Welle also pro
learning webs
of Latin