"The corollary of Nichols's model is that it portrays the homogeneity of Indo-Iranian and the heterogeneity of the western languages in a new light. The assumed variegation of the western languages is only due to the fact that the later Iranian language had spread and severed the contiguity of the northern and southern Indo-European trajectories (which had previously formed an unbroken continuity around the east coast of the Caspian), thereby making them appear noncontinuous while leaving behind Indo-Iranian and a stranded Tocharian to the east. The variegation of western languages is actually due to their situation on the western periphery of the original locus, or homeland. This model might also address the issue of why Proto-Indo-European did not evolve into more dialects in the putative homeland: the later westward spread of Iranian obliterated all of the eastern parts of the protocontinuum except for Indo-Aryan to its east and the isolated Tocharian to the northeast."
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Non-fiction authors from the United StatesLinguists from the United StatesPeople from IowaUniversity of California, Berkeley alumni
Original Language: English
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Sources
Bryant, E. F. (2001). The Quest for the Origins of Vedic Culture : the Indo-Aryan migration debate. Oxford University Press.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johanna_Nichols
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Johanna Nichols
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