Wakhi language

Wakhi
x̌ik zik
Native to	Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Russia
Native speakers	58,000 (1992–2012)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Wakhi
Writing system	Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	wbl
Glottolog	wakh1245[2]
Linguasphere	58-ABD-c

Wakhi is an Indo-European language in the Eastern Iranian branch of the language family spoken today in Wakhan District, Afghanistan and also in Northern Pakistan, China, and Tajikistan.

Classification and distribution

Wakhi is one of several languages that belong to the areal Pamir language group. Its relationship to the other Iranian languages is not clear; in certain features Wakhi shows affinity to the extinct Saka language in particular.

The Wakhi people are occasionally called Pamiris and Guhjali. The origin of this language is Wakhan and it is, according to many sources, more than four thousand years old. It is spoken by the inhabitants of the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, parts of Gilgit–Baltistan (the former NAs) of Pakistan, Gorno-Badkhshan (mountainous-Badakhshan, in Russian) region of Tajakistan, and Xinjiang in western China. The Wakhi use the self-appellation ‘X̌ik’ (ethnic) and suffix it with ‘wor’/’war’ to denote their language as ‘X̌ik-wor’ themselves. The noun ‘X̌ik’ comes from *waxša-ī̆ka- (an inhabitant of *Waxša- ‘Oxus’, for Wakhan, in Wakhi ‘Wux̌’. There are other equivalents for the name Wakhi (Anglicised) or Wakhani (Arabic and Persian), Vakhantsy (Russian), Gojali/Gojo (Dingrik-wor/Shina), Guyits/Guicho (Borushaski), Wakhigi/Wakhik-war (Kivi-wor/Khow-wor) and Cert (Turki). The language belongs, as yet to be confirmed according to studies and sources, to the southern group of the Pamir languages, in the Iranian group of the Indo-European family (450) of languages, where the different Ishkashmi, Shighni/…nani and Wakhi languages are included. A very rough estimate of the population of Wakhis is 58,000 worldwide. The Wakhi live in six different countries. In the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan, the Wakhi people mainly live in Gojal, Ishkoman, Darkut and in Chitral District's Broghol. They also live in some parts of Wakhan in Afghanistan, Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan, Xinjiang in China, Russia and Turkey

In Afghanistan

In the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, Wakhi is spoken from Putur, near Ishkashim, to the upper reaches of the Wakhan River.^[3]

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.^[4]

In Pakistan

In Gilgit-Baltistan Wakhi is spoken in the sparsely populated upper portions of five of the northernmost valleys: Hunza (many ethnic Wakhi of this valley now speak Burushaski), Gojal that including the valleys of Chipursan and Shingshal, (Upper-Hunza—mostly intact), Ishkoman (many ethnic Wakhi speak, now, Shina), Yasin (many ethnic Wakhi of this valley speak, now, Khow-wor or Burushaski/Virchik-wor), Gupis (many ethnic Wakhi speak, now, Shina) and Yarkhun (many ethnic Wakhi of this valley now speak Khow-wor). Yarkhun is located in the Chitral district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while others are in the Gilgit–Baltistan. Gojal, in the Hunza valley, has the largest Wakhi population of any of the above five areas. The Wakhis of Ishkoman live primarily in the Karambar valley, in the town of Imit and beyond. In Yasin, they live mostly in the vicinity of Darkot, and in Yarhkun, they are found in Baroghil and in a few other small villages in the high, upper portion of valley. 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. ^[5]

In China

Wakhi is also spoken in the Xinjiang province of China.

In Russia

There are approximately 6000 Wakhi in Russia, Most of them have migrated from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

In Turkey

There are some Wakhi villages in Turkey in the eastern regions, where they have migrated from Afghanistan in 1979 during the Afghan and Russian war.^[6]

Orthography

Traditionally Wakhi was not a written language. Writing systems have been developed for the language using Arabic, Cyrillic and Latin scripts.

Arabic script

This Arabic alphabet is mainly used in Afghanistan:^[7]

Letter	ا	آ	ب	پ	ت	ټ	ث	ج	ڃ	چ	ڇ	څ	ځ	ح	خ	د	ډ	ذ	ر	ز	ږ	ژ	ڙ	س
IPA	[a], Ø	[o]	[b]	[p]	[t̪]	[ʈ]	[θ]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɖ͡ʐ]	[t͡ʃ]	[ʈ͡ʂ]	[t͡s]	[d͡z]	[h]	[χ]	[d̪]	[ɖ]	[ð]	[r]	[z]	[ɣ]	[ʒ]	[ʐ]	[s]
Letter	ښ	ش	ڜ	ص	ض	ط	ظ	ع	غ	ف	ڤ	ق	ک	گ	ل	م	ن	ه	و	ؤ	وْ	ي	ی
IPA	[x]	[ʃ]	[ʂ]	[s]	[z]	[t]	[z]	Ø	[ʁ]	[f]	[v]	[q]	[k]	[g]	[l]	[m]	[n]	[h]	[w], [ə]	[u]	[ɨ]	[i]	[j], [e]

Cyrillic script

When Wakhi is written in Cyrillic, the sounds are usually represented by these letters:

Letter	А а	Б б	В в	В̌ в̌	Г г	Ғ ғ	Г̌ г̌	Д д	Д̣ д̣	Д̌ д̌	Е е	Ё ё	Ж ж	Ж̣ ж̣	З з	Ҙ ҙ	И и	Й й	К к	Қ қ	Л л	М м	Н н	О о	П п
IPA	[a]	[b]	[v]	[w]	[g]	[ʁ]	[ɣ]	[d̪]	[ɖ]	[ð]	[e], [je]	[jo]	[ʒ]	[ʐ]	[z]	[d͡z]	[i]	[j]	[k]	[q]	[l]	[m]	[n]	[o]	[p]
Letter	Р р	С с	Т т	Т̣ т̣	Т̌ т̌	У у	Ф ф	Х х	Х̌ х̌	Ҳ ҳ	Ц ц	Ч ч	Ч̣ ч̣	Ҷ ҷ	Ҷ̣ ҷ̣	Ш ш	Ш̣ ш̣	Щ щ	Ъ ъ	Ы ы	Ә ә	Ь ь	Э э	Ю ю	Я я
IPA	[r]	[s]	[t̪]	[ʈ]	[θ]	[u]	[f]	[χ]	[x]	[h]	[t͡s]	[t͡ʃ]	[ʈ͡ʂ]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɖ͡ʐ]	[ʃ]	[ʂ]	[ʃt͡ʃ]	Ø	[ɨ]	[ə]	Ø	[e]	[ju]	[ja]

Latin script

A Latin alphabet was developed in 1984 by Haqiqat Ali:^[8]

The new Wakhi Alphabet

Letter	A a	B b	C c	Č č	Č̣ č̣	D d	Ḍ ḍ	Δ δ	E e	Ə ə	F f	G g	Ɣ ɣ	Ɣ̌ ɣ̌	H h	I i	J̌ ǰ	J̣̌ ǰ̣	K k	L l	M m	N n
IPA	[a]	[b]	[t͡s]	[t͡ʃ]	[ʈ͡ʂ]	[d̪]	[ɖ]	[ð]	[e]	[ə]	[f]	[g]	[ʁ]	[ɣ]	[h]	[i]	[d͡ʒ]	[ɖ͡ʐ]	[k]	[l]	[m]	[n]
Letter	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	Š š	Ṣ̌ ṣ̌	T t	Ṭ ṭ	Θ ϑ	U u	V v	W w	X x	X̌ x̌	Y y	Z z	Ž ž	Ẓ̌ ẓ̌	Ʒ ʒ	Ы ы
IPA	[o]	[p]	[q]	[r]	[s]	[ʃ]	[ʂ]	[t̪]	[ʈ]	[θ]	[u]	[v]	[w]	[χ]	[x]	[j]	[z]	[ʒ]	[ʐ]	[d͡z]	[ɨ]

Sample text

Sample text from a Bible translation published in 2001 is shown below:^[9]

Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:2-4)

Wakhi in Latin alphabet	Wakhi in Cyrillic alphabet	English (KJV)
^2Yiso yavər x̆atəy: «Sayišt ʒi 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!	^2Йисо 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!	^2And 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.
^3Spo rыsq-ət rыzi sakər nəsib car!	^3Спо рысқ-əт рызи сакəр нəсиб цар!	^3Give us day by day our daily bread.
^4Cə spo gənoən šəxs! Sak bə kuy, ki sakər šakiɣ̆, cə kərk! kыx̆tər baxṣ̌əṣ̌ carən. Cə bandi nafs-ət awasən, Cə waswasayi Iblisən saki niga δыr!“»	^4Цə 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!“»	^4And 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.

Lexical comparison of seven Iranian languages^[10]

English gloss	Persian	Tajik	Shughni	Sarikoli	Pashto	Wakhi	Avestan
one	jæk (یک)	jak (як)	jiw	iw	jaw (يو)	ji	aēva-
meat	ɡuʃt (گوشت)	ɡuʃt (гушт)	ɡuːxt	ɡɯxt	ɣwaxa, ɣwaʂa (غوښه)	ɡuʂt	?
son	pesær (پسر)	pisar (писар)	puts	pɯts	zoi (زوی)	putr	putra
fire	ɒteʃ (اتش)	otaʃ (оташ)	joːts	juts	or (اور)	rɯχniɡ	âtar
water	ɒb (اب)	ob (об)	xats	xats	obə (اوبه)	jupk	aiwyô, ap
hand	dæst (دست)	dast (даѕт)	ðust	ðɯst	lɑs (لاس)	ðast	zasta
foot	pɒ (پا)	po (по)	poːð	peð	pxa, pʂa (پښه)	pɯð	pad
tooth	dændɒn (دندان)	dandon (дандон)	ðinðʉn	ðanðun	ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ (غاښ)	ðɯnðɯk	?
eye	tʃæʃm (چشم)	tʃaʃm (чашм)	tsem	tsem	stərɡa (سترګه)	tʂəʐm	cashman
horse	æsb (اسب)	asp (асп)	voːrdʒ	vurdʒ	ɑs(masculine),aspa(feminine) (آس,اسپه)	jaʃ	aspa
cloud	æbr (ابر)	abr (абр)	abri	varm	urjadz (اوريځ)	mur	maēγa-
wheat	ɡændom (گندم)	ɡandum (гандум)	ʒindam	ʒandam	ɣanam (غنم)	ɣɯdim	?
many	besjɒr (بسيار)	bisjor (бисёр)	bisjoːr	pɯr	ɖer (ډېر)	təqi	paoiri, paoirîsh, pouru
high	bolænd (بلند)	baland (баланд)	biland	bɯland	lwaɻ (لوړ)	bɯland	berezô, berezañt
far	dur (دور)	dur (дур)	ðar	ðar	ləre (لرې)	ðir	dûra, dûrât
good	χub (خوب)	χub (хуб)	χub	tʃardʒ	xə, ʂə (ښه)	baf	vohu
small	kutʃik (کوچک)	χurd (хурд)	dzul	dzɯl	ləɡ, ləʐ (لږ)	dzəqlai	?
to say	ɡoft (گفت)	ɡuft (гуфт)	lʉvd	levd	wajəl (ويل)	xənak	aoj-, mrû-, sangh-
to do	kærd (کرد)	kard (кард)	tʃiːd	tʃeiɡ	kawəl (کول)	tsərak	kar-
to see	did (ديد)	did (дид)	wiːnt	wand	kətəl (کتل)	wiŋɡ	dî-

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	ɨ	u
Mid	e	ə	o
Open	a

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Alveolo- palatal	Retroflex	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	m	n
Plosive	p b	t̪ d̪			ʈ ɖ	k ɡ	q
Affricate			t͡s d͡z	t͡ʃ d͡ʒ	ʈ͡ʂ ɖ͡ʐ
Fricative	f v	θ ð	s z	ʃ ʒ	ʂ ʐ	x ɣ	χ ʁ	ɨ
Approximant		l		j		w
Rhotic		r

Books

1. Wakhi Khushkhati (Wakhi Calligraphy)
2. Wakhi Qaida (Wakhi Primer)
3. Wakhi Huroof (Wakhi letters)

See also

• Wakhi people

References

1. Wakhi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2016). "Wakhi". Glottolog 2.7. Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
3. Payne, John (1989). "Pamir Languages". In Schmitt, Rüdiger. Compendium Linguarum Iranicum. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. p. 419. ISBN 3-88226-413-6.
4. Viires, Ants; Lauri Vahtre (2001). The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire. Tallinn: NGO Red Book. ISBN 9985-9369-2-2.
5. Wakhi Tajik Cultural Association report 1991–2001. Pakistan: Wakhi Cultural Association. 2001.
6. See the book online "The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan in Turkey"
7. http://www.pamirian.ru/Wakhi_language_transition.pdf
8. Ali, Haqiqat (1984). Wakhi Language. 1.
9. Luqo Inǰil (Gospel of Luke) (in Wakhi). Bəzыrg Kitob tarǰimacrakыzg institute. 2001.: Title page, passages in Roman alphabet,passages in Cyrillic alphabet
10. Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1985). Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì). Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House.

• Backstrom, Peter C. Languages of Northern Areas (Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 2), 1992. 417 pp. ISBN 969-8023-12-7.

External links

• Wakhies in Gojal, Pakistan
• The Wakhis: Article from the Ismaili dot net
• English-Ishkashimi-Zebaki-Wakhi-Yazghulami Vocabulary
• Wakhi poetry
• Georg Morgenstierne multimedia database