Dialects
Researchers believe that Eastern Balochi (which is not a unified dialect, but rather a conglomerate of dialects often referred to by the tribal names of the speakers as the Marrī, Bugṭī, Leghārī, Mazārī, Buzdar etc.) [5]
Sulaimani is found mainly in eastern Balochistan, covering parts of Pakistan, particularly in areas like Quetta, Kalat, Khuzdar, [9] Sindh and Punjab.
Eastern Hill Balochi dialects are spoken in the areas of the Marri, Bugti, Leghari, Buzdar and Mazari tribes. [10] Mansel Longworth Dames, Portuguese language scholar was the first to study this dialect and called it Northern Balochi. [11] The Baloch Talpurs ruled Sindh for a long time, which led to Baloch interaction with the inhabitants of Sindh, and over time, Eastern Balochi particularly the one spoken in Sindh has been influenced by Sindhi to a minor extent, and the borrowed terms are of rare occurrence. [6] It is spoken east of Quetta, Dera Ghazi Khan, Taunsa and from Sibi in the west nearly to the Indus river in the east. [9]
Phonology
The sound system of Eastern Balochi is different from Southern and Western Balochi. [12] In Eastern Balochi, the sounds /f/, /kh/, and /gh/ are pronounced as /p/, /k/, /g/. [8]
Vowles
Based on what Dames mentions, the Eastern Balochi has the long vowels a2, i2, u2, the short vowels a, i, u, and the vowels e, ai, o, au under the name of diphthongs. [13]
Vowel systems in Eastern Balochi| Scholars | Vowel systems |
|---|
|
| Dames (1891) | ī, i, e, a, ā, o, u, ū |
| Grierson (1921) | ī, i, e, ē, a, ā, o, ō, u, ū |
| Bashir (2008) | ī, i, e, ē, a, ā, o, ō, u, ū, ã, ā̃, ẽ, ĩ, ī, õ |
|
Eastern Balochi has its fricatives and acquired retroflex consonants, [14] A fronting of ū > ī has taken place and n seems to have acquired phonemic status in Southern Balochi. [10]
Consonants
The following table shows consonants which are common Southern Balochi. [15] [16] [17]
Eastern Balochi Consonant Shift | word-initial and postconsonantal position | postvocalic position |
|---|
|
| p, t, k | aspiration: pʰ tʰ kʰ | fricatives: f, ɕ, x |
| b, d, g | (no change: b, d, g) | fricatives: β, ʝ, ǧ |
| č, ǰ | aspiration: cʰ(no change: ǰ) | fricatives: š, ž |
| w | aspiration: wʰ | (no change: w) |
|
Nasalization is phonemic in the eastern/Sulemani balochi
In Eastern Balochi, it is noted that the stop and glide consonants may also occur as aspirated allophones in word initial position as [pʰ tʰ ʈʰ t͡ʃʰ kʰ] and [wʱ]. Allophones of stops in postvocalic position include for voiceless stops, [f θ x] and for voiced stops [β ð ɣ]. /n l/ are also dentalized as [n̪ l̪]. [18] The complete set off, ʃ, β, x, ɣ, ǧ, it is present as regular phonemes in eastern balochi. [14] In Eastern Hill Baluchi, θ and ’ from postvocalic t and d; and intervocalic b tends to become v. [9]
Syllable
In Eastern Balochi, the last heavy syllable of a word is stressed. [19] Complex verbs and preposition + noun are treated as a unit as far as stress is concerned. [8]
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