Kohistani Shina | |
---|---|
Kohistani, Kohistyo, Palasi-Kohistani | |
ݜݨیاٗ کستِین٘و زبان / ݜݨیاٗ زبان | |
Native to | Pakistan |
Region | Kohistan District, Pakistan |
Native speakers | 458,000 (2018) [1] |
Dialects | |
Perso-Arabic script (Nastaliq) | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | plk |
Glottolog | kohi1248 |
Kohistani Shina is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. According to Ethnologue , Kohistani Shina is mutually intelligible with the Shina variety of Chilas, but not with the standard dialect of Gilgit. [1] Bateri and Kalkoti speakers speak Kohistani Shina as a second language. [3] Indus Kohistani loanwords can be found in the language.[ citation needed ] A grammar and a dictionary of the language have been published. [4] [5] [6]
Shina is one of the few Dardic languages with a written tradition. [7] However, it was an unwritten language until a few decades ago. [8] Only in late 2010s has Shina orthography been standardized and primers as well as dictionaries have been published. [9] [5]
Since the first attempts at accurately representing Shina's phonology in the 1960s there have been several proposed orthographies for the different varieties of the language, with debates centering on how to write several retroflex sound not present in Urdu and whether vowel length and tone should be represented. [10]
There are two main orthographic conventions now, one in Pakistani-controlled areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Kohistan, and the other in Indian-controlled area of Dras, Ladakh.
Below alphabet has been standardized, documented, and popularized thanks to efforts of literaturists such as Professor Muhammad Amin Ziya, Shakeel Ahmad Shakeel, and Razwal Kohistani, and it has been developed for all Shina language dialects, including Gilgit dialect and Kohistani dialect, which [9] [5] [11] The Kohistani Shina alphabet differs slightly from the Gilgiti variety. For example, it includes one additional letter ڦ, and it includes several additional digraphs to represent additional aspirated consonants unique to Kohistani. Furthermore, variations and personal preferences can be observed across Shina documents. For example, it is common to see someone use سً instead of ݜ for [ ʂ ], or use sukun◌ْ (U+0652) instead of small sideway noon◌ࣿ (U+08FF) to indicate short vowels. However, these variations are no longer an issue. Another issue is that of how to write loanwords that use letters not found in Shina language, for example letters "س / ث / ص", which all sound like [s] in Shina. Some documents preserve the original spelling, despite the letters being homophones and not having any independent sound of their own, similar to orthographic conventions of Persian and Urdu. Whereas other documents prefer to rewrite all loanwords in a single Shina letter, and thus simplify the writing, similar to orthographic conventions of Kurdish and Uyghur.
Shina vowels are distinguished by length, by whether or not they're nasalized, and by tone. Nasalization is represented like other Perso-Arabic alphabets in Pakistan, with Nun Ghunna (ن٘ـ / ـن٘ـ / ں). In Shina, tone variation only occur when there is a long vowel. There are conventions unique to Shina to show the three tones. In Shina conventions, specific diacritics are shown in conjunction with the letters aliv, waaw, buṛi ye, and ye (ا، و، یـ، ی، ے), as these letters are written down to represent long vowels. The diacritics inverted damma◌ٗ (U+0657) and superscript alef◌ٰ (U+0670) represent a rising tone and a falling tone respectively. Another diacritic, a small sideway noon◌ࣿ (U+08FF) is used to represent short vowels when need be. [12]
Below table shows Shina consonants. [9] [5]
Name | Forms | IPA | Transliteration [13] | Unicode | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shina | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial | ||||
الڦ aliv | ا | ـا | ـا | ا / آ | [ ʌ ], [ ∅ ], silent | – / aa | U+0627 U+0627 | At the beginning of a word it can either come with diacritic, or it can come in form of aliv-madda (آ), or it can be stand-alone and silent, succeeded by a vowel letter. Diacritics اَ اِ، اُ can be omitted in writing. |
بےࣿ be | ب | ـب | ـبـ | بـ | [ b ] | b | U+0628 | |
پےࣿ pe | پ | ـپ | ـپـ | پـ | [ p ] | p | U+067E | |
تےࣿ te | ت | ـت | ـتـ | تـ | [ t̪ ] | t | U+062A | |
ٹےࣿ te | ٹ | ـٹ | ـٹـ | ٹـ | [ ʈ ] | ṭ | U+0679 | |
ثےࣿ se | ث | ـث | ـثـ | ثـ | [ s ] | s | U+062B | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter siinس. [9] |
جوࣿم ǰom | ج | ـج | ـجـ | جـ | [ d͡ʒ ] | ǰ | U+062C | |
چےࣿ če | چ | ـچ | ـچـ | چـ | [ t͡ʃ ] | č | U+0686 | |
څےࣿ tse | څ | ـڅ | ـڅـ | څـ | [ t͡s ] | ts | U+0685 | Letter borrowed from Pashto alphabet. |
ڇےࣿ c̣e | ڇ | ـڇ | ـڇـ | ڇـ | [ ʈ͡ʂ ] | c̣ | U+0687 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use حٍـ instead of ڇـ. |
حےࣿ he | ح | ـح | ـحـ | حـ | [ h ] | h | U+062D | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter hayہ. [9] |
خےࣿ khe | خ | ـخ | ـخـ | خـ | [ x ]~[ kʰ ] | kh | U+062E | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with digraph letter kheکھ. [9] |
دال daal | د | ـد | - | - | [ d̪ ] | d | U+062F | |
ڈال ḍaal | ڈ | ـڈ | - | - | [ ɖ ] | ḍ | U+0688 | |
ذال zaal | ذ | ـذ | - | - | [ z ] | z | U+0630 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter zeز. [9] |
رےࣿ re | ر | ـر | - | - | [ r ] | r | U+0631 | |
ڑےࣿ ṛe | ڑ | ـڑ | - | - | [ ɽ ] | ṛ | U+0691 | |
زےࣿ ze | ز | ـز | - | - | [ z ] | z | U+0632 | |
ژےࣿ že / ǰe | ژ | ـژ | - | - | [ ʒ ]~[ d͡ʒ ] | ž / ǰ | U+0632 | Only used in loanwords of Persian and European origin. Can be replaced with letter jomج. [9] |
ڙےࣿ ẓe | ڙ | ـڙ | - | - | [ ʐ ] | ẓ | U+0699 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use رً instead of ڙ. |
سِین siin | س | ـس | ـسـ | سـ | [ s ] | s | U+0633 | |
شِین šiin | ش | ـش | ـشـ | شـ | [ ʃ ] | š | U+0634 | |
ݜِین ṣiin | ݜ | ـݜ | ـݜـ | ݜـ | [ ʂ ] | ṣ | U+0687 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use سً instead of ݜ. |
صواد swaad | ص | ـص | ـصـ | صـ | [ s ] | s | U+0635 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter siinس. [9] |
ضواد zwaad | ض | ـض | ـضـ | ضـ | [ z ] | z | U+0636 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter zeز. [9] |
طوے tooy | ط | ـط | ـطـ | طـ | [ t̪ ] | t | U+0637 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter teت. [9] |
ظوے zooy | ظ | ـظ | ـظـ | ظـ | [ z ] | z | U+0638 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter zeز. [9] |
عَین ayn | ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ | [ ʔ ], silent | - | U+0639 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter alivا. [9] |
غَین gayn | غ | ـغ | ـغـ | غـ | [ ɣ ]~[ ɡ ] | g | U+063A | Only used in loanwords of Arabic and Turkic origin. Can be replaced with letter gaafگ. [9] |
فےࣿ fe / phe | ف | ـف | ـفـ | فـ | [ f ]~[ pʰ ] | f / ph | U+0641 | Only used in loanwords. Can be replaced with digraph letter pheپھ. [9] |
ڦےࣿ ve | ڦ | ـڦ | ـڦـ | ڦـ | [ v ] | v | U+06A6 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use ڡً instead of ڦ. |
قاف qaaf / kaaf | ق | ـق | ـقـ | قـ | [ q ]~[ k ] | q / k | U+0642 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic and Turkic origin. Can be replaced with letter kaafک. [9] |
کاف kaaf | ک | ـک | ـکـ | کـ | [ k ] | k | U+0643 | |
گاف gaaf | گ | ـگ | ـگـ | گـ | [ ɡ ] | g | U+06AF | |
ڱاف / گاف گُنَہ ngaaf / gaaf gunna | ڱ | ـڱ | ـڱـ | ڱـ | /ŋ/ | ng | U+06B1 | Unique letter for Kohistani Shina language. [5] |
لام laam | ل | ـل | ـلـ | لـ | [ l ] | l | U+0644 | |
مِیم miim | م | ـم | ـمـ | مـ | [ m ] | m | U+0645 | |
نُون nuun | ن | ـن | ـنـ | نـ | [ n ] | n | U+0646 | |
نُوݨ nuuṇ | ݨ | ـݨ | ـݨـ | ݨـ | [ ɳ ] | ṇ | U+0768 | |
نُوں / نُون گُنَہ nū̃ / nūn gunna | ں / ن٘ | ـں | ـن٘ـ | ن٘ـ | /◌̃/ | ◌̃ | For middle of word: U+0646 plus U+0658 For end of word: U+06BA | |
واؤ waaw | و / او | ـو | - | - | [ oː ] / [ w ] | w / ō | U+0648 | The letter waaw can either represent consonant ([w/v]) or vowel ([oo]). It can also act as a carrier of vowel diacritics, representing several other vowels. At the beginning of a word, when representing a consonant, the letter waaw will appear as a standalone character, followed by the appropriate vowel. If representing a vowel at the beginning of a word, the letter waaw needs to be preceded by an alivا. When the letter waaw comes at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [w], a hamza is used ؤ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. [12] |
ہَے hai | ہ | ـہ | ـہـ | ہـ | [ h ] | h | U+0646 | This letter differs from do-ac̣hi'ii hay (ھ) and they are not interchangeable. Similar to Urdu,do-chashmi hē (ھ) is exclusively used as a second part of digraphs for representing aspirated consonants. In initial and medial position, the letter hē always represents the consonant [h]. In final position, The letter hē can either represent consonant ([h]) or it can demonstrate that the word ends with short vowels a◌َہ / ـَہ, i◌ِہ / ـِہ, u◌ُہ / ـُہ. [12] |
ہَمزَہ hamza | ء | - | - | - | [ ʔ ], silent | ’ | U+0621 | Used mid-word to indicate separation between a syllable and another that starts with a vowel. hamza on top of letters waaw and ye at end of a word serves a function too. When the letter waaw or ye come at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [w] or [y], a hamza is used ؤ / ئ / ـئ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. [9] [12] |
یےࣿ / لیکھی یےࣿ ye / leekhii ye | ی | ـی | ـیـ | یـ | [ j ] / [ e ] / [ i ] | y / e / i | U+06CC | The letter ye can either represent consonant ([j]) or vowels ([e]/[i]). It can also act as a carrier of vowel diacritics, representing several other vowels. At the beginning of a word, when representing a consonant, the letter ye will appear as a standalone character, followed by the appropriate vowel. If representing a vowel at the beginning of a word, the letter ye needs to be preceded by an alivا. When the letter ye comes at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [j], a hamza is used ئ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. When representing a vowel at the end of a word, it can only be [i]. For vowel [e], the letter buṛi yeے is used. |
بُڑیࣿ یےࣿ buṛi ye | ے | ـے | - | - | [ e ] / [ j ] | e / y | U+06D2 | The letter buṛi ye only occurs in final position. The letter buṛi ye represents the vowel "ē" [eː] or the consonant "y" [j]. |
بھےࣿ bhe | بھ | ـبھ | ـبھـ | بھـ | [ bʱ ] | bh | U+0628 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
پھےࣿ phe | پھ | ـپھ | ـپھـ | پھـ | [ pʰ ] | ph | U+067E and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
تھےࣿ the | تھ | ـتھ | ـتھـ | تھـ | [ t̪ʰ ] | th | U+062A and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
ٹھےࣿ ṭhe | ٹھ | ـٹھ | ـٹھـ | ٹھـ | [ ʈʰ ] | ṭh | U+0679 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
جھوࣿم ǰhom | جھ | ـجھ | ـجھـ | جھـ | [ d͡ʒʱ ] | ǰh | U+062C and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
چھےࣿ čhe | چھ | ـچھ | ـچھـ | چھـ | [ t͡ʃʰ ] | čh | U+0686 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
څھےࣿ tshe | څھ | ـڅھ | ـڅھـ | څھـ | [ t͡sʰ ] | tsh | U+0685 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
ڇھےࣿ c̣he | ڇھ | ـڇھ | ـڇھـ | ڇھـ | [ ʈ͡ʂʰ ] | c̣h | U+0687 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
دھےࣿ dhe | دھ | ـدھ | ـدھـ | دھـ | [ d̪ʱ ] | dh | U+062F and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
ڈھےࣿ ḍhe | ڈھ | ـڈھ | ـڈھـ | ڈھـ | [ ɖʱ ] | ḍh | U+0688 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
رھےࣿ rhe | رھ | ـرھ | ـرھـ | رھـ | [ rʱ ] | rh | U+0631 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
زھےࣿ zhe | زھ | ـزھ | ـزھـ | زھـ | [ zʱ ] | zh | U+0632 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
ڙھےࣿ ẓhe | ڙھ | ـڙھ | ـڙھـ | ڙھـ | [ zʱ ] | ẓh | U+0699 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
کھےࣿ khe | کھ | ـکھ | ـکھـ | کھـ | [ kʰ ] | kh | U+0643 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
گھےࣿ ghe | گھ | ـگھ | ـگھـ | گھـ | [ ɡʱ ] | gh | U+06AF and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
لھےࣿ lhe | لھ | ـلھ | ـلھـ | لھـ | [ lʱ ] | lh | U+0644 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
مھےࣿ mhe | مھ | ـمھ | ـمھـ | مھـ | [ mʱ ] | mh | U+0645 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
نھےࣿ nhe | نھ | ـنھ | ـنھـ | نھـ | [ nʱ ] | nh | U+0646 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. [5] |
There are five vowels in Kohistani Shina language. Each of the five vowels in Kohistani Shina have a short version and a long version. Shina is also a tonal language. Short vowels in Shina have a short high level tone ˥. Long vowels can either have "no tone", i.e. a long flat tone ˧, a long rising tone [ ˨˦ ], or a long falling tone (/˥˩/.
All five vowels have a defined way of presentation in Kohistani Shina orthographic conventions, including letters and diacritics. Although diacritics can and are occasionally dropped in writing. Short vowels [a], [i], and [u] are solely written with diacritics. Short vowels [e] and [o] are written with letters waw and buṛi ye. A unique diacritic, a small sideway noon◌ࣿ (U+08FF) is used on top of these letters to indicate a short vowel. [12] Long vowels are written with a combination of diacritics and letters aliv, waaw or ye.
Below table shows short vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word. [12] [13]
Vowel at the beginning of the word | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
a | e | i | o | u |
اَ | ایࣿـ / اےࣿ | اِ | اوࣿ | اُ |
Vowel at the middle of the word | ||||
ـَ | یࣿـ / ـیࣿـ | ـِ | وࣿ / ـوࣿ | ـُ |
Vowel at the end of the word | ||||
◌َہ / ـَہ | ےࣿ / ـےࣿ | ◌ِہ / ـِہ | وࣿ / ـوࣿ | ◌ُہ / ـُہ |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with "no tone", i.e. a long flat tone ˧. [12] [13]
Vowel at the beginning of the word | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
aa | ee | ii | oo | uu |
آ | ایـ / اے | اِیـ / اِی | او | اُو |
Vowel at the middle of the word | ||||
ا / ـا | یـ / ـیـ | ◌ِیـ / ـِیـ | و / ـو | ◌ُو / ـُو |
Vowel at the end of the word | ||||
ا / ـا | ے / ـے | ◌ِی / ـِی | و / ـو | ◌ُو / ـُو |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with a long rising tone [ ˨˦ ]. [12] [13]
Vowel at the beginning of the word | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
aá | eé | ií | oó | uú |
آٗ | ایٗـ / اےٗ | اِیٗـ / اِیٗ | اوٗ | اُوٗ |
Vowel at the middle of the word | ||||
اٗ / ـاٗ | یٗـ / ـیٗـ | ◌ِیٗـ / ـِیٗـ | وٗ / ـوٗ | ◌ُوٗ / ـُوٗ |
Vowel at the end of the word | ||||
اٗ / ـاٗ | ےٗ / ـےٗ | ◌ِیٗ / ـِی | وٗ / ـوٗ | ◌ُوٗ / ـُوٗ |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with a long falling tone (/˥˩/. [12] [13]
Vowel at the beginning of the word | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
áa | ée | íi | óo | úu |
آٰ | ایٰـ / اےٰ | اِیٰـ / اِیٰ | اوٰ | اُوٰ |
Vowel at the middle of the word | ||||
اٰ / ـاٰ | یٰـ / ـیٰـ | ◌ِیٰـ / ـِیٰـ | وٰ / ـوٰ | ◌ُوٰ / ـُوٰ |
Vowel at the end of the word | ||||
اٰ / ـاٰ | ےٰ / ـےٰ | ◌ِیٰ / ـِیٰ | وٰ / ـوٰ | ◌ُوٰ / ـُوٰ |
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The Munji language, also known as Munjani, Munjhan (مونجهان), and the Munjiwar language, is a Pamir language spoken in the Munjan valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which is spoken in the Upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral, west of Garam Chashma in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Shina is a Dardic language of Indo-Aryan language family spoken by the Shina people. In Pakistan, Shina is the major language in Gilgit-Baltistan spoken by an estimated 1,146,000 people living mainly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan. A small community of Shina speakers is also found in India, in the Guraiz valley of Jammu and Kashmir and in Dras valley of Ladakh. Outliers of Shina language such as Brokskat are found in Ladakh, Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir, Palula and Sawi in Chitral, Ushojo in the Swat Valley and Kalkoti in Dir.
Torwali, also known as Bahrain Kohistani, is a Dardic language of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken by the Torwali people, and concentrated in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat Kohistan in district Swat in northern Pakistan. The Torwali language is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim communities of Swat. It is the closest modern Indo-Aryan language still spoken today to Niya, a dialect of Gāndhārī, a Middle Indo-Aryan language spoken in the ancient region of Gandhara. Torwali and Gawri languages are collectively classified as "Swat Kohistani". The words "Kohistan" and Kohistani are generic terms. Kohistan in Persian and in Urdu means as "land of mountains" whereas "Kohistani" refers to 'language spoken in the land mountains" or 'people of the mountains. Joan Baart is the only author who used the term "Bahrain Kohistani" for the "Torwali" language. Ethnologue, twenty seventh edition suggests Kohistani, Torwalak, Torwalik and Turvali as alterative names for the language while Torwali as an autonym for it.
Gawri (ګاوری), also known as Kalami (کالامي), Kalam Kohistani and Bashkarik, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in Swat Kohistan region in the upper Swat District and in the upper Panjkora river valley of Upper Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Gawri and Torwali are collectively classified as "Swat Kohistani".
The Urdu alphabet is the right-to-left alphabet used for writing Urdu. It is a modification of the Persian alphabet, which itself is derived from the Arabic script. It has co-official status in the republics of Pakistan, India and South Africa. The Urdu alphabet has up to 39 or 40 distinct letters with no distinct letter cases and is typically written in the calligraphic Nastaʿlīq script, whereas Arabic is more commonly written in the Naskh style.
Indus Kohistani or simply Kohistani is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Pakistan. The language was referred to as Maiyã (Mayon) or Shuthun by early researchers, but subsequent observations have not verified that these names are known locally.
The Shina or Gilgitis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group primarily residing in Gilgit–Baltistan and Indus Kohistan in Pakistan, as well as in the Dras Valley and Kishenganga Valley (Gurez) in the northern region of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in India. They speak an Indo-Aryan language, called Shina and their geographic area of predominance is referred to as Shenaki.
The Pashto alphabet is the right-to-left abjad-based alphabet developed from the Arabic script, used for the Pashto language in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It originated in the 16th century through the works of Pir Roshan.
The Khowar alphabet is the right-to-left alphabet used for the Khowar language. It is a modification of the Urdu alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the Persian alphabet and Arabic alphabet and uses the calligraphic Nastaʿlīq script.
Kalkoti, also known as Goedijaa, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kalkot Tehsil, in the Upper Dir district in Pakistan.
Nūn ġunnā, is an additional letter of the Arabic script not used in the Arabic alphabet itself but used in Urdu, Saraiki, and Shahmukhi Punjabi to represent a nasal vowel,. In Shahmukhi, it is represented by the diacritic ٘◌.