Editor-in-chief’s preface

This is the fi rst issue of the new linguistic journal Indo-Iranian Languages.The journal deals with linguistic aspects of the Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Dardic and Nuristani languages, which are united under the label of "Indo-Iranian" or "Aryan" and together constitute a separate branch of the Indo-European language family.Edelman [1992] considers that the subdivision of this branch took place gradually: initially, the Nuristani languages split off as a separate group, and this was followed by the breakup of the remainder into the Iranian and Indo-Aryan groups.There is no scholarly consensus on the status of the Dardic languages.According to the traditional point of view, which is still supported by many scholars, the Dardic languages belong within the Indo-Aryan group.However, a recent study by Anton Kogan convincingly shows that they instead constitute a separate Indo-Iranian group which split off aft er the Nuristani languages [Kogan 2005].The Indo-Iranian languages are located in close proximity to each other.All Dardic and Nuristani languages are surrounded by Iranian and in contact with Indo-Aryan languages.Many Dardic and Nuristani native speakers are bilingual: for example, Dardic Pashai [Gryunberg 1999a: 73; Lehr 2014] and Nuristani Kati speakers [ Gryunberg 1999b: 102, Halfmann 2024] also know Iranian Pashto or Dari.The presence of a number of shared linguistic features attested by Indo-Iranian and the neighboring languages has made it possible to include many Indo-Iranian languages in a Central Asian or Himalayan linguistic area [Edelman 1980], which in recent studies has been called "the Greater Hindukush" or "Peristan" [Liljegren 2023].It unites the languages of the Pamirs, the Hindu Kush, the Karakorum, the Himalayas and neighboring territories.The precise demarcation of this area and the list of languages included vary across linguistic studies.For example, Edelman [1980: 22] includes the following Indo-Iranian languages: all of Dardic and Nuristani, the majority of Eastern Iranian (Pashto and the Pamir languages), Balochi (Western Iranian),