Pardic

Pardic refers to a group of languages historically spoken in the northeastern Iranian plateau. These languages are considered to be closely related to Persian and are part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. While the precise linguistic boundaries and classification of Pardic languages have been subject to scholarly debate, they are generally understood to encompass a continuum of dialects spoken across various regions.

Historically, speakers of Pardic languages were situated in areas that today might be considered parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and possibly parts of eastern Iran. The exact number of distinct Pardic languages and their precise relationships to each other and to Classical Persian are not definitively established, with some scholars viewing them as dialects of a larger language group rather than separate languages.

The study of Pardic languages is primarily based on historical texts and comparative linguistics. Due to the passage of time and linguistic evolution, many of these languages may no longer be spoken in their original forms, or have merged with more dominant neighboring languages. Understanding Pardic languages offers insights into the linguistic history of the Iranian plateau and the evolution of the Persian language family.