Khowar language
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Khowar is a Dardic language. It is spoken by 332,200 people. These people live in the upper Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
| Kho | |
|---|---|
| Khowar کھوار | |
 | |
| Native to | Pakistan |
| Region | Chitral District |
| Ethnicity | Kho people |
| Native speakers | 1,000 (2004)e19 |
| Language family | |
| Writing system | Nastaliq alphabet |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | khw |
Loanwords
Khowar has many loanwords taken from Hindustani, Persian, and Ghalchah. It also has words from Sanskrit and Ancient Greek.
In the 19th century, when the area was conquered by Hindustanis, many words from the Hindustani languages entered Kho, like afas from the Hindustani aas, which means hope; ruphi from the Hindustani rukna. which means to stop; usna from the Hindustani uthana, which means to lift up; and choghi from the Hindustani chori, which means to steal.
Alphabet
The Khowar alphabet is based on the Urdu alphabet.
| Letter | Name of letter | Transcription | IPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| ا | alif | ā/aa, a, i, u | /ɑː/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/ |
| ب | be | b | /b/ |
| پ | pe | p | /p/ |
| ت | te | t | /t̪/ |
| ٹ | ṭe | ṭ | /ʈ/ |
| ث | se | (s) | /s/ |
| ج | jīm | j | /d͡ʒ/ |
| چ | če | č | /t͡ʃ/ |
| ح | baṛī he | (h) | /h/ |
| خ | xe | x | /x/ |
| ݯ | çe | ç | /ʈ͡ʂ/ |
| ݮ | ǰīm | ǰ | /ɖ͡ʐ/ |
| څ | tse | c | /t͡s/ |
| ځ | dze | dz/đ | /d͡z/ |
| د | dāl | d | /d̪/ |
| ڈ | ḍāl | ḍ | /ɖ/ |
| ذ | zāl | (z) | /z/ |
| ر | re | r | /r/ |
| ڑ | ṛe | ṛ | /r~ɫ/ |
| ز | ze | z | /z/ |
| ژ | že | ž/zh | /ʒ/ |
| ݱ | ẓ̌e | ẓ̌ | /ʐ/, /ʑ/ |
| س | sīn | s | /s/ |
| ش | šīn | š/sh | /ʃ/ |
| ݰ | ṣīn | ṣ | /ʂ/, /ɕ/ |
| ص | su'ād | (s) | /s/ |
| ض | zu'ād | (z) | /z/ |
| ط | to'e | (t) | /t/ |
| ظ | zo'e | (z) | /z/ |
| ع | ‘ain | ', a, i, u | /ʔ/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/ |
| غ | ǧain | ǧ/gh | /ɣ/ |
| ف | fe | f | /f/ |
| ق | qāf | q | /q/ |
| ک | kāf | k | /k/ |
| گ | gāf | g | /ɡ/ |
| ل | lām | l | /l/ |
| ڵ | łām | ł | /lʲ/ |
| م | mīm | m | /m/ |
| ن | nūn | n | /n/ |
| ں | nūn ǧunnā | _̃ | /◌̃/ |
| و | wā'o | w, o, au, or ū | /ʋ/, /oː/, /ɔ/ or /uː/ |
| ہ | čoṭī he | h | /h/ |
| ھ | do čašmī he | _h | /ʰ/ |
| ء | hamza | ' | /ʔ/ |
| ى | khowar ye | y, ī | /j/ or /iː/ |
| ے | barī ye | ai or e | /ɛː/, or /eː/ |
Khowar Language Media
Khowar written in the Khowar alphabet in Nastaliq style.
Related pages
More reading
- Elena Bashir, (2001) Spatial Representation in Khowar. Proceedings of the 36th Annual Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society. Chicago: Chicago Linguistic Society.
- Kendall D. Decker, (1992) Languages of Chitral ISBN 969-8023-15-1
- Erik L’Homme, (1999) Parlons Khowar. Langue et culture de l’ancien royaume de Chitral au Pakistan. Paris: L’Harmattan
- Georg Morgenstierne, (1936) Iranian Elements in Khowar. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. VIII, London.
- Badshah munir Bukhari (2001) Khowar language. University publisher.Pakistan
- Georg Morgenstierne, (1947) Some Features of Khowar Morphology. Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap, Vol. XIV, Oslo.
- Georg Morgenstierne, (1957) Sanskritic Words in Khowar. Felicitation Volume Presented to S.K. Belvalkar. Benares. 84-98 [Reprinted in Morgenstierne (1973): Irano-Dardica, 267-72]
- Mohammad Ismail Sloan (1981) Khowar-English Dictionary. Peshawar. ISBN 0-923891-15-3.
