Proto Indo-Europen

This branch of Indo-European comprises two large groups, known as Indo Aryan (of Indic) and Iranian. There are over 200 Indo-Aryan languages, spoken by over 825 million people in the northern and central parts of the Indian subcontinent. They may be divided into several groups, on a broadly geographical basis: the Midland group mainly includes Hindu/Urdy, the Bihari languages, and the Rajastani languages, the Eastern group includes Asamese, Bengali, and Oriya; the West and South-West groups include Gujarati, Konkani, Maldivian, Marathi, and Sinhalase; and the North-West group includes Punjabi, sindhi, Lahnda, the Dardic languages, and the Pahari languages. The Roman languages of the gypsies is also a member of Indo-Iranian. The early forms of Indo-Aryan, dating from around 1000 BC., are collectively referred to as Sanskrit – the language in which the Vedas, the oldest sacred texts, are written. Later forms, the Prakrits, lasted 1,000 years, and were the medium of Buddhist and Jain literature. ~ Page 377