Editing Indo-European Languages (section)

=== Satem versus Centum ===
The languages that change the palatal stops into affricates are known as the '''satem''' languages - from the <u>Avestan</u> word ''satəm'' ‘hundred’ (from PIE *''kmtóm''), which illustrates the change. The languages that preserve the palatal stops as ''k''-like sounds are known as '''centum''' languages, from ''centum'' (/kentum/), the corresponding word in <u>Latin</u>. Satem languages are not geographically separated from one another by any centum languages, which implies this change happened only once, but occurred across a contiguous language area of PIE. 

==== Boundaries between Satem and Centum Languages ====
Generally, there is an east-west division within the family, with the satem languages predominantly situated in the east, and the centum languages occupying the west. 

The boundary begins in <u>Europe</u>, where the <u>Baltic</u> and <u>Slavic</u> languages mark the westernmost extent of the satem languages. The division here separates the satem-speaking <u>Slavic</u> and <u>Baltic</u> regions from the centum-speaking <u>Germanic</u> and <u>Romance</u>-speaking areas of <u>Western Europe</u>.

The boundary continues, separating the <u>Slavic</u> languages in <u>Eastern Europe</u> from the <u>Germanic</u> languages to the northwest and the <u>Romance</u> languages to the southwest. The Satem-Centum divide here is not purely geographical but correlates with the linguistic landscape shaped by historical migrations and the <u>Roman Empire</u>'s influence.

The boundary extends south, where the historical presence of satem-speaking <u>Thracian</u>, <u>Dacian</u>, and <u>Illyrian</u> languages differentiated these areas from the centum-speaking regions of ancient <u>Italy</u> and <u>Greece</u>. This area is more complex due to the historical movements of peoples and the eventual dominance of <u>Slavic</u> languages in much of the <u>Balkans</u>. To the northeast of the <u>Black Sea</u>, the boundary delineates the <u>Indo-Iranian</u> languages of the satem group from the <u>Anatolian</u> languages and the ancient <u>Greek</u> dialects, which were centum languages.

The boundary extends into <u>Asia</u>, encompassing the vast area of <u>Iran</u> and <u>Central Asia</u>, where <u>Iranian</u> languages are spoken, and further into <u>South Asia</u>, home to the <u>Indo-Aryan</u> languages. The boundary skirts around the <u>Caucasus</u> region, which is linguistically diverse and includes languages from both the <u>Indo-European</u> family (including <u>Armenian</u>, a satem language) and many non-Indo-European languages.