Khowar language

Spoken in

• Indo-European languages Indo-Iranian languages Indo-Aryan languages Dardische languages Chitral - subgroup Khowar

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Inc ( other Indo-Aryan languages)

KHW

Khowar. ( Gespr: ' Kowar, not Chowar with ch; this word means in Khowar " poor, lower class belonging " ) is an Indo-European language spoken in northern Pakistan it forms together with the neighboring language Kalasha -mun the Chitral subgroup of the Indo-Aryan branch of the dardischen languages.

Identification and dissemination

The neighboring Pashtuns call the language and its speakers " Kashkari ", the Kalasha call them " Patu ", living in neighboring Gilgit Shina " Arinah ". " Khowar " means language of the Kho, it is the native language of the ethnic group Kho, in the northern part of Chitral ( "Upper Chitral " ) is native to 1969 and the Prince ( called Mehtar ) from Chitral presented. In the upper Chitral it is spoken almost exclusively ( except for a small group of speakers of Iranian Wakhi ); in the southern part Chitral ( "Lower Chitral ") is also nine other languages ​​are spoken. The distribution area ends south of the city Drosh in the river valley of Chitral. Smaller groups of Khowar - speakers living in the Swat district and in the western part of Gilgit. The area of the district of Chitral is accessible from southern Pakistan only through the impassable in winter Lovari Pass, also over the valley of the river Chitral ( in Afghanistan: Kunar ) from Afghanistan; from the north you can reach it via the Shandur Pass. Due to the inaccessibility of the linguistic region, the Khowar retained a more archaic character than most other Indo-Aryan languages.

Sounds and grammar

In Khowar there are 39 consonants and five vowels. Labial consonants are p, pH, B, F, W, M; Apical: T th, d, s, z, n, L, R; apical affricate ts, tsh, dz; Retro flexes: T, Th, D, Sh, Zh, L; retroflex affricate: C, Ch, J; Palatals: c, ch, j, sh, zh, y; Velar: k, kh, g, x, gh, Subvelare: q is, the vowels are a, e, i, o, u, unlike in most Indo-Aryan languages ​​and " inanimate " Nouns are inflected with six cases. Loanwords were taken especially from the Persian; Morgenstierne (1936 ) Here are four categories:

Sociolinguistic situation

As the mother language of Chitral politically dominant ethnicity Khowar became the lingua franca of the Principality. As a language of the Princely House enjoyed a high prestige. Among the nobles Chitral it was customary to give the children to a foster mother in a friendly family in another part of the country. Furthermore, marriages were usually arranged between living far away from each other families, the bride moved into the house of the husband. This had the benefit of a uniform language. In a study done in 1989 still different dialects were found on their accuracy and proximity to high-level language partially heated controversy be performed:

In its distribution area Khowar is spoken in everyday household and village. In education it is used up to the 9th or 10th grade by the teachers, because most students do not understand Urdu, but it is not a subject taught; Also Friday sermons are held in many communities in Khowar. Will use the language for sporting events, such as Budi dik ( Chitrali Cricket ), polo or football tournaments. There is a rich tradition of poetry and songs and stories ( shilogh ), the ( Mushaira ) are various instruments, especially the sitar, sung or told by the women working together at social gatherings, the songs are also distributed on audio cassettes. As a second language Khowar is used by members of smaller language groups in Chitral. On the larger bazaars in the cities of Chitral and Drosh is since the beginning of the 1980s, due to increasingly spoken by the influx of refugees from Afghanistan, alongside Khowar and Pashto. Most Kho are proud of their sonorous, melodic language, which also benefited from the good image of Chitralis as an honest, civilized and peaceful people in the rest of Pakistan.

Language maintenance and textualisation

Despite its role as the language of the ruling house Khowar verschriftlicht was only in the 1950s, until then Farsi was used in all correspondence. At the time of British colonial rule a program for commanding officers to Chitral was set to learn the language under the guidance of Khowar - native speaker; the successful completion of the program was rewarded with a scholarship. In Pakistan, the program is formally still in force, but will not be performed. After independence, the written letters in Arabic-Persian Urdu national language was teaching other languages ​​is allowed, but is granted only restrictive with regard to the national unity. The way of writing the language was largely from the last Mehtar Chitral, Prince Hisham ul -Mulk, and his son Samsam ul -Mulk, who wrote the first Khowar grammar operated; Hisham ul -Mulk was here in correspondence with the Norwegian linguist Morgenstierne, in northern Pakistan was a pioneer in the study of languages. In order to consolidate and maintain the language formed the two princes 1956, the company Anjuman -e- Taraqqi Khowar. First, a way of writing in Latin letters was considered, in which the language in the opinion Hisham Ul - Mulk was significantly write better. For technical, religious and political reasons, but this was rejected. This is based on the Arabic Urdu alphabet was / expanded to six letters for writing the Khowar - specific umlauts / J /, / Sh /, / c /, / zh /, / ts / and / dz. Today in Khowar magazines are printed and sent broadcast programs.

Foreign studies on Khowar were written by Leitner ( 1870), Biddulph (1880 ), O'Brien ( 1895), Grierson (1919), Buddruss ( 1965-1980 ) and Elena Bashir (1990). The most important by far was the Norwegian linguist Georg Morgenstierne ( 1892-1978 ).