First of all, many thanks to Sergei for drawing our
attention to this interesting little item on the
(Royal) Scythian language.
One of his (Kull.'s) main points is that Scythian had
substituted "l" for the earlier "d" (a lambdacising
process within this particular context). This allows
him to suggest that the earlier form of the Herodotan
"Paralatai"/Paralata was "Paradata", known from
Avestan. How plausible is this?
Personally, I still prefer Piotr's analysis of
"Paralata" as "foremost Aryans". It seems not only
linguistically adequate, but historically plausible.
What would "Paradata" mean? I've found "primitive
establishment". Is there a better etymology? Above
all, how would an ancient Avestan royal family wind up
north of the Black Sea? Is this not a bit too fantastic?
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