Shekhani dialect
| Eastern Kata-vari | |
|---|---|
| شیخانی (Shekhani) | |
 | |
| Native to | Pakistan |
| Region | Lutkuh Valley (Gobor, Shekhandeh, Rumbur, Badogar, and Urstsun), Upper Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
Native speakers | 1,500 (2003)[1][2] |
Indo-European
| |
| Khowar alphabet (Perso-Arabic) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
Eastern Kata-vari also locally known as Shekhani is a variety of the Kata-vari language spoken in Chitral district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.[3] The Kamviri language is also known as Shekhani. The Khowar name for the dialect is Sheikhwar[4] which means "Language of the Sheikhs or converts."[5] Some linguists consider Shekhani or Eastern Kata-vari a different language due to the isolation from other Nuristani languages other than Kamviri.[6][7] Kamviri Shekhani is different than Eastern Kata-vari which is also called Shekhani.[8]
In August 2022, Pakistani linguist, Rehmat Aziz Chitrali proposed a keyboard to Khowar Academy, Chitral.[9]
Speakers
The speakers of Eastern Kata-vari migrated from Kamdesh in Nuristan in modern-day Afghanistan to Lutkuh Valley in Chitrali Princely State in British Raj during the 19th century.[10] Most Shekhani speakers speak either Pashto or Khowar as a second language. Many Shekhani speakers often marry the minority Pashtuns in the area.[11]
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Palato- alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | k | |||
| voiced | b | d | ɖ | ɡ | ||||
| Affricate | voiceless | t͡s | t͡ʃ | t͡ʂ | tɕ | |||
| voiced | d͡ʒ | d͡ʐ | ||||||
| Fricative | voiceless | (f) | s | ʃ | ʂ | ɕ | (x) | h |
| voiced | v | z | (ʒ) | ʐ | ʑ | (ɣ) | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɳ | ŋ | ||||
| Tap | ɾ | (ɽ) | ||||||
| Approximant | lateral | l | ||||||
| central | ɻ | (j) | ||||||
- Sounds /ʒ ɽ ɣ/ occur from neighboring languages. /f x/ are borrowed from loanwords mainly from Khowar or Yidgha.
- /ʈ/ can also be heard as an allophone [ɽ].
- [j] is heard as an allophone of /i/.
- /v/ can also be heard as bilabial [β] or a labial approximant [w].
Vowels
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i | ə | u |
| Mid | e | o | |
| Low | a |
- Mid /ə/ can be heard as a close central [ɨ].
References
- ^ Frawley, William J. (May 1, 2003). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-977178-3 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Writing System for Shekhani Language being developed". Pakngos.com.pk. April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Experts work to develop writing system in Shekhani language". Chitraltoday.net. April 15, 2021.
- ^ "Chitral Times || News Detail ||". Chitraltimes.com.
- ^ "The languages of northern Pakistan | Political Economy". Thenews.com.pk.
- ^ Baart, Joan (January 1, 2001). "Bibliography of Languages of Northern Pakistan, compiled by Joan L.G. Baart and Esther L. Baart-Bremer". NIPS-SIL Working Paper Series 1.
- ^ "Dardic languages – RASHID AHMED GABARO". Rashidgabbaro.com. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ Kati at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
- ^ Chitrali, Rehmat Aziz. "Shekhani Keyboard". Keyman. Khowar Academy.
{{cite web}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ "Linguistic Diversity, Multilingualism and Social Empowerment in Northern Pakistan" (PDF). Linguapax.org. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ Rensch, Calvin Ross (July 25, 1992). "Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan: Languages of Chitral". National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University – via Google Books.
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