Author(s): Dr. Shruti Hariharan Aiyer
Abstract:
This paper investigates the morphophonological pathways that transform reconstructed Proto Indo Iranian (PIIr) inputs into the attested reflexes of Vedic Sanskrit and Gathic/Old Avestan. Rather than treating sound change as purely segmental, the study models change as ordered phonological operations applying over morphological representations (root + affix), and evaluates the explanatory power of affixal conditioning, sandhi domains, anaptyxis, and analogical leveling. Three empirical domains—sibilant developments, syllabic resonants and anaptyxis, and labiovelar outcomes and vowel coloring—are examined through curated cognate sets drawn from the Ṛgveda and the Gāthās. Results show that a majority of apparent irregularities are predictable once morphological structure is accounted for; residual mismatches correlate with plausible contact windows and later analogical processes. The paper concludes with implications for PIIr reconstruction and recommendations for integrating morphop-honological modeling into comparative practice.
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