Armenian hypothesis facts for kids
The Armenian hypothesis is an idea about where the very old Proto-Indo-European language might have started. This idea suggests that the language was spoken in a place called the Armenian Highland around 5,000 years ago (in the 3rd millennium BC). Two important scholars, Tamaz Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov, were the ones who suggested this homeland was in Armenia.
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What is the Armenian Hypothesis?
The Armenian hypothesis is a theory that tries to figure out the original home of the Proto-Indo-European language. This language is like a very old ancestor to many languages spoken today, from English and Spanish to Russian and Hindi. The hypothesis suggests that the people who spoke this ancient language lived in the Armenian Highland.
Understanding Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European (often shortened to PIE) is not a language we can hear or speak today. It's a reconstructed language, meaning experts have pieced it together by looking at similarities in many different languages. Think of it like a detective trying to find the common ancestor of a big family. If you see similar words for "mother" or "father" in many languages, it suggests they all came from an even older, shared word.
Why is PIE Important?
Finding the homeland of PIE helps us understand how people moved around the world long ago. It also shows us how languages spread and changed over thousands of years. It's like finding the starting point of a huge river that branches out into many smaller streams.
The Armenian Highland: A Possible Homeland
The Armenian Highland is a mountainous region in Western Asia. It includes parts of modern-day Armenia, Turkey, and Iran. This area has a long history and was home to many ancient cultures.
Life in the 3rd Millennium BC
The 3rd millennium BC was a very long time ago, from 3000 BC to 2001 BC. This was a time when early civilizations were growing, farming was common, and people were starting to build cities. If the Proto-Indo-European language was spoken here then, it means the people who spoke it were part of these early developments.
Who Proposed This Idea?
The main scholars behind the Armenian hypothesis were Tamaz Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav Vsevolodovich Ivanov. They were linguists, which means they studied languages and how they work. They looked at many clues, including words, grammar, and even archaeological findings, to suggest their theory.
Other Ideas About the Homeland
It's important to know that the Armenian hypothesis is just one idea. There are other theories about where Proto-Indo-European might have originated. For example, another well-known idea is the Kurgan hypothesis, which suggests the homeland was in the Pontic-Caspian steppe (a large grassland area in Eastern Europe). Scientists continue to study and debate these different ideas.
See Also
- T. V. Gamkrelidze and V. V. Ivanov, The Early History of Indo-European Languages, Scientific American, March 1990
- I.M. Diakonoff, The Prehistory of the Armenian People (1984).
- Robert Drews, The Coming of the Greeks (1988), argues for late Greek arrival in the framework of the Armenian hypothesis.
- Martiros Kavoukjian, Armenia, Subartu, and Sumer : the Indo-European homeland and ancient Mesopotamia, trans. N. Ouzounian, Montreal (1987), ISBN: 0921885008.
