Article contents
Parthian ž
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 October 2010
Abstract
This article argues that the opposition between Old Iranian *č and *ǰ was preserved in Manichaean Parthian not only word-initially, but also in postvocalic position, at least at the time of the introduction of the Manichaean script. The approach is phonological, and attempts to show that Pth. /č/ (< OIr. *č), written <c> and <>, and Pth. /ž/ (< OIr. *ǰ and *ž), written <j>, are consistently distinguished in the Manichaean script. Pth. /č/ may have developed a postvocalic allophone [ǰ] (not affecting the phonematic opposition), which might have been a motivation for the use of the letter <
>. Transcriptions into Sogdian script and the cantillations suggest a coalescence of the Pth. phonemes, but it is not clear whether this is a later development of the Pth. language itself or a peculiarity of the liturgical pronunciation of Parthian as practised by Manichaeans in Central Asia.1
- Type
- Articles
- Information
- Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 73 , Issue 3 , October 2010 , pp. 415 - 436
- Copyright
- Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 2010
References
![](https://static.cambridge.org/binary/version/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20160328093248473-0844:S0041977X1000039X_char5.gif?pub-status=live)
![](https://static.cambridge.org/binary/version/id/urn:cambridge.org:id:binary:20160328093248473-0844:S0041977X1000039X_char6.gif?pub-status=live)
- 2
- Cited by