For about two centuries, the issue of Indo-European Linguistics has
virtually has either misled or frozen research studies related to
bharatiya languages.

It is time to remedy this situation with a new approach, but based on
bharatiya tradition of bhasha s'iksha.

Here is an attempt by Mayuresh Kelkar and S. Kalyanaraman.

A two-page summary is provided in this message. Detailed monograph of
about 100 pages with pictures is at http://protovedic.blogspot.com/
The file will also be uploaded on the files section. A summary plus
album of pictures is also mirrored at
http://spaces.msn.com/members/sarasvati97

Dhanyavaadah.

K.

The Proto-Vedic Continuity Theory of Bharatiya (Indian) Languages

S. Kalyanaraman and Mayuresh Kelkar

(October 2005, Yugabda 5106, Deepavali)

Summary: To avoid the pitfalls of invasionist hypotheses to explain
language changes, a Proto-Vedic Continuity Theory for Bharatiya
languages is postulated. This will be tested on the Indo- in the Indo-
European,that is Bharatiya (Indian) languages, which are clubbed in
the hyphenated compound, 'Indo-European' languages.

Bharatam janam is the phrase used by vis'vamitra gathina in the
Rigveda. The objective of this monograph is to study the languages of
bharatam janam in a historical and cultural perspective. The Rig Veda
is such a profound document that many centuries of evolution of
language should have occurred before the Vedic mantra-s were
perceived ( dras.t.a). It is, therefore, suggested that there was a
Proto-Vedic language which needs to be unraveled through language
studies.

The authors submit that it should be possible to delineate the
languages/dialects spoken by bharatam janam from Proto-Vedic times.
This will be attempted by denying the usefulness of methods used by
Indo-European Linguistics (IEL) that are unfalsifiable, ideologically
driven conjectures. . Was Proto Indo European ever spoken? Who knows?
This is an unfalsifiable statement in IEL. Many unfalsifiable
statements found among proponents and supporters of IEL are presented
as quotable quotes in this monograph. An array of genetic-language
relationship studies from mostly genetic journals to highlight the
slippery nature of the attempts being made to match a scientific,
genetic discipline with unfalsifiable categorizations provided by IEL
studies. Many IEL assumptions are treated as "evidence" in these
articles appearing in "scientific" journals.

The monograph is organized in two parts and the following sections,
highlighting the limitations of IEL and the imperative of study of
evolution of Bharatiya languages now spoken by more than one billion
people living in Bharat, that is India.

Part 1: Limitations of Indo-European Linguistics

'Love' of Sanskrit as a camouflage for evangelism
Unfalsifiable Teach Yourself PIE
Indeterminate laryngeals
Aryan race ideology
Eurocentrism
A fading discipline hangs on to slippery genes

Part 2: Bharatiya Language Studies
Studies needed to delineate the Indo- in Indo-European
Study of Prakrits from Paleolithic times
The Proto-Vedic Continiuty Theory of Bharatiya Languages

Appendix 1 provides a dialectic on How to study bhasha? S'abda as
Brahman in bharatiya tradition of language studies (s'iksha).


Appendix 2 discusses c oncordances between Post-Vedic and Avestan.
The Annex provides detail examples of concordances between Vedic and
Avestan.

[The term Bhartiya as used in this monograph refers to people
of 'Greater India' comprising the modern nations of Pakistan, India,
Nepal, Bangaldesh, Bhutan and S'rilanka; language contacts evidenced
in Afghanistan, Iran, Mesopotamia and in Indian Ocean Rim states (for
e.g., Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand).]