Waziri dialect

Waziri (Pashto: وزیري Wazīrī) is a dialect of Pashto spoken in Waziristan, and the neighbouring Afghan provinces of Khost, Paktia and Paktika.

The Wazir dialect, referred to as "Wazirwola" (Pashto: وزیر واله Wazīr wāla, meaning "of the Wazirs" or "from the Wazirs") by its speakers, is almost identical to the dialect of Bannu, and somewhat resembles the Khattak dialect of Karak. The dialects of Greater Paktia are also very closely related, except that they are of the hard/northern variety.(See Pashto dialects)

It differs significantly in pronunciation and grammar from the standard literary Pashto based on the larger Kandahar and Peshawar dialects. The vowels [a], [ɑ], [u] and [o] of standard Pashto become [ɑ], [o]/[u], [i] and [e] in the Waziri dialect, so Pashto [paʂto] becomes [pɑɕte]. (Studies show that the a-o transition is a common phenomenon in the dialects of most Karlani tribes.) Another feature of Waziri is that the phonemes [ʃ] and [ʂ], along with their voiced counterparts, [ʒ] and [ʐ], have merged into [ɕ] and [ʑ] respectively.

The standard Pashto words for moon, "سپوږمۍ" and month, "میشت", pronounced [spoʐməi] or [spogməi] and [mjast̪] or [mjaʃt̪], respectively, are used somewhat interchangeably in Waziri as [speʑməi] and [mjɑɕt̪]. This not unique to Waziri, however. The standard Pashto word for "boy", "هلک" [halək], is rarely heard in Waziri, instead, "ووړکی" [weɻkai] meaning "little one" is used. The word "lashki" [ləɕki] is used instead of the standard "لږ" [ləʐ] or [ləg], "a little bit". The pronoun "موږ" or "مونږ" [muʐ] or [muŋg], meaning "we" or "us" is pronounced [miʑ] in Waziri.

Waziri, like many other obscure Pashto dialects, is almost never written and most speakers use standard Pashto as a literary language. Since Waziri Pashto is spoken by many different tribes, it may also be called "Maseedwola" by the Mahsuds or "Dawarwola" by the Dawari. There are slight differences in pronunciation, for example, the phonemes [t͡s] and [d͡z] can become [s] and [z], or even [t͡ʃ] and [d͡ʒ] depending on the tribe or area the speaker is from.

References

• Linguist List
• Grammar and Vocabulary of Waziri Pashto (1902) written by John Gordon Lorimer