IV. In Conclusion

In the preceding chapters, an attempt has been made to give a picture of the Balochi language as the product of its specific history, reflecting a variety of factors and influences: first, the North Western Iranian heritage; second, the intense contact with neighbouring languages, among which Persian has occupied a place of pre-eminent importance; and third, the dialectal diversity, echoing, among other things, the precarious ecological environment and the differing occupation of the speakers as shepherding nomads or settled farmers. The preceding pages attempt to show how these factors interact and are mirrored in the Balochi lexicon. In conclusion, the question arises of how the position of Balochi among North Western Iranian languages of past and present times may be described in the light of the issues raised. At first sight, it seems that Balochi occupies a position apart from all other Western Iranian languages since the Old Iranian stops and affricates appear as such in the Southern and Western dialects and presumably in Common Balochi, while they undergo modifications in the closely related languages Parthian and Persian.