| Wakhi | ||
|---|---|---|
| x̌ik zik | ||
| Spoken in | Afghanistan (9,600), China (6,000), Pakistan (9,100), Tajikistan (7,000) | |
| Total speakers | approximately 31,700 | |
| Language family | Indo-European | |
| Writing system | Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | -- | |
| ISO 639-2 | -- | |
| ISO 639-3 | wbl | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
Wakhi is an Indo-European language in the sub-branch of Southeastern Iranian languages and is intimately related to other Pamir languages and Pashto.
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Classification and Distribution
Wakhi is one of several languages that belong to the Pamir language group. A reflection of this is the fact that the Wakhi people are occasionally called Pamiris. The origin of this language is Wakhan in Afghanistan. A very rough estimate of the population of Wakhis is 50,000 worldwide. The Wakhi live in four different countries. In the northern areas of Pakistan, the Wakhi people mainly live in Gojal, Ishkoman, Darkut and Broghol. They also live in some parts of Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan and Xinjiang in China. The religion of the Wakhi is Shia Ismaili Islam; they are followers of Aga Khan IV.
In Tajikistan
In Tajikistan the Wakhi and other communities that speak one of the Pamir languages refer to themselves as Pamiri or Badakhshani and there has been a movement to separate their identity from that of the majority Persian-speaking Tajiks. Linguists universally refer to Wakhi as an East Iranian language independent of Tajik Persian, but many Tajik nationalists insist that Wakhi and other Pamir languages are actually dialects of Tajik.[1]
In Pakistan
In Pakistan, the central organization of the Wakhi is the Wakhi Cultural Association Pakistan (WCA), an organization that is registered with the Government of Pakistan and which works with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The Association is working for the preservation of the Wakhi language and culture, as well as documenting their poetry and music.
Radio Pakistan Gilgit relays the Wakhi radio programme "Sadoyah Boomy Dunyo", the voice of the roof of the world. The Wakhi Cultural Association has arranged more than twenty programmes since 1984, which includes cultural shows, musical nights, and large-scale musical festivals with the collaboration of Lok Virsa Pakistan, the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP), and Pakistan television. In 2000, the WCA won a "Best Programme" organizer award in the Silk Road Festival from the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf. A computerized codification of the Wakhi script has been released, which will help to promote the language development programme and documentation of Wakhi poetry, literature, and history. [2]
In China
Orthography
Traditionally Wakhi was not a written language. Writing systems have been developed for the language using Arabic script, Cyrillic and a modified Roman alphabet[3].
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Sample text from a Bible translation published in 2001 is shown below.[4]
| Wakhi in Roman alphabet | Wakhi in Cyrillic alphabet | English (KJV) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Yiso yavər x̆atəy: «Sayišt i dəo carəv, x̆anəv: „Ey bzыrgwor Tat ki də osmonət cəy! Ti bəzыrg nung bər olam ыmыt! Ləcər dəwroni Ti podšoyi ɣ̆at-ət, zəmin-ət zəmon də hыkmi taw ыmыt! | 2 Йисо йавəр х̌атəй: «Сайишт ҙи дəо царəв, х̌анəв: „Ей бзыргв̌ор Тат ки дə осмонəт цəй! Ти бəзырг нунг бəр олам ымыт! Лəцəр дəв̌рони Ти подшойи г̌ат-əт, зəмин-əт зəмон дə ҳыкми тав̌ ымыт! | 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. |
| 3 Spo rыsq-ət rыzi sakər nəsib car! | 3 Спо рысқ-əт рызи сакəр нəсиб цар! | 3 Give us day by day our daily bread. |
| 4 Cə spo gənoən šəxs! Sak bə kuy, ki sakər šakiɣ̆, cə kərk! kыx̆ter baxṣ̌əṣ̌ carən. Cə bandi nafs-ət awasən, Cə waswasayi Iblisən saki niga δыr!“» | 4 Цə спо гəноəн шəхс! Сак бə куй, ки сакəр шакиг̌ цə кəрк! Кых̌тəр бахш̣əш̣ царəн. Цə банди нафс-əт ав̌асəн, Цə в̌асв̌асайи Иблисəн саки нига д̌ыр!“» | 4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil." |
Vocabulary
The Wakhi lexicon exhibits significant differences with the other Pamir languages. Gawarjon's comparison of the dialects of Sarikoli and Wakhi spoken in China is reproduced below.
| English gloss | Persian | Tajik | Pashto | Shughni | Sarikoli | Wakhi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| son | pisær (پسر) | pisar (писар) | zuy | puts | pɯts | putr |
| fire | æt̪iʃ (اتش) | otaʃ (оташ) | wor | joːts | juts | rɯχniɡ |
| water | æb (اب) | ob (ов) | obə | xats | xats | jupk |
| hand | d̪æst̪ (دست) | dast (даѕт) | lɑs | ðust | ðɯst | ðast |
| foot | pɔ (پا) | po (по) | pxa, pʂa | poːð | peð | pɯð |
| tooth | d̪ænd̪ɔn (دندان) | dandon (дандон) | ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ | ðinðʉn | ðanðun | ðɯnðɯk |
| eye | tʃæʃm (چشم) | tʃaʃm (чашм) | stərɡa | tsem | tsem | tʂəʐm |
| horse | æsb (اسب) | asp (асп) | ɑs | voːrdʒ | vurdʒ | jaʃ |
| cloud | æbr (ابر) | abr (абр) | uriədz | abri | varm | mur |
| wheat | gænd̪um (گندم) | gandum (гандум) | ɣanəm | ʒindam | ʒandam | ɣɯdim |
| meat | ɡʉʃt̪ (گوشت) | ɡʉʃt (гушт) | ɣwəxa, ɣwəʂa | ɡuːxt | ɡɯxt | ɡuʂt |
| many | bisjɔr (بسيار) | bisjor (бисйор) | ɖer, pura | lap | pɯr | təqi |
| high | bulænd̪ (بلند) | baland (баланд) | lwəɻ | biland | bɯland | bɯland |
| far | dʉr (دور) | dur (дур) | ləre | ðar | ðar | ðir |
| good | xʉb (خوب) | xub (хуб) | xə, ʂə | bashand | tʃardʒ | baf |
| small | xurd̪ (خرد) | χurd (хурд) | ləɡ, ləʐ | dzul | dzɯl | dzəqlai |
| to say | guft̪ (گفت) | guft (гуфт) | wəjəl | lʉvdow | levd | xənak |
| to do | kærd̪ (كرد) | kard (кард) | kawəl | tʃiːdow | tʃeiɡ | tsərak |
| see | d̪id̪ (ديد) | did (дид) | winəm | wiːntow | wand | wing |
Phonology
Vowels
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This section requires expansion. |
Consonants
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This section requires expansion. |
References
- ^ Viires, Ants; Lauri Vahtre (2001). The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire. Tallinn: NGO Red Book. ISBN 9985-9369-2-2. http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/index1.shtml.
- ^ Wakhi Tajik Cultural Association report 1991–2001. Pakistan: Wakhi Cultural Association. 2001.
- ^ Wakhi Roman alphabets on Gojal.net
- ^ (in Wakhi) Luqo Inǰil (Gospel of Luke). Bəzыrg Kitob tarǰimacrakыzg institute. 2001.: Title page, passages in Roman alphabet[1],passages in Cyrillic alphabet[2]
- ^ Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1985). Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì). Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House.
See also
External links
- Wakhies in Gojal, Pakistan
- Ethnologue data: Languages of the World, 15th Edition
- The Wakhis: Article from the Ismaili dot net
- English-Ishkashimi-Zebaki-Wakhi-Yazghulami Vocabulary
- Wakhi poetry
- Georg Morgenstierne multimedia database
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