Sarikoli language explained

Sarikoli
Nativename:تۇجىك زىڤ / سەرىقۇلى زىڤ[1]
Tujik ziv / Sarikhuli ziv
Тоҷик зив / Сариқоли зив
States:China
Region:Pamir (Taxkorgan County)
Ethnicity:Sarikolis
Speakers:16,000
Date:2000
Ref:e18
Familycolor:Indo-European
Fam2:Indo-Iranian
Fam3:Iranian
Fam4:Eastern
Fam5:Shugni–Yazgulami
Fam6:Shughnani
Script:Uyghur Arabic alphabet (unofficial)
Iso3:srh
Glotto:sari1246
Glottorefname:Sarikoli
Lingua:58-ABD-eb
Map:Sarikoli Language in Xinjiang.png
Notice:IPA

The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by the Pamiris of Xinjiang, China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the related Iranian language spoken in Tajikistan, which is considered a dialect of Persian.

Nomenclature

Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (Chinese: 塔吉克语, Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China.[2] However, it is not closely related to Tajik (a form of Persian) as spoken in Tajikistan because Sarikoli is an Eastern Iranian language, closely related to other Pamir languages largely spoken in the Badakshan regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, whereas the Western Iranian Farsi-Dari-Tajik is a polycentric language of a related but distinctly and historically different type. Both of these types of language and dialect clusters have been geographically separated by great distances and mountainous terrain over the course of long periods of time during which many differences of pronunciation, wording and xenolinguistic borrowings or retention of older forms or word choices accumulated over time.[3] It is also referred to as Tashkorghani,[4] after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom—now the Tashkurgan (or Taxkorgan) Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China. However, the usage of the term Tashkorghani is not widespread among scholars.

The earliest written accounts in English are from the 1870s which generally use the name "Sarikoli" to refer to the language, but some written accounts since that time may use a different pronunciation derived from transcribing Chinese phonetics of the term into English as "Selekur(i)".[5] Modern Chinese researchers often mention Sarikoli and Tajik names in their papers.

Distribution of speakers

The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Southern Xinjiang Province, China. The Chinese name for the Sarikoli language, as well as the usage of Sarikol as a toponym, is Sàléikuòlèyǔ (Chinese: 萨雷阔勒语). Speakers in China typically use Chinese and Uyghur to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. The rest are found in parts of the Pakistani-administered Kashmir, closely touching the Pakistan-Chinese international borders in the north east.

Writing system

The language has no official written form. Linguist Gao Erqiang, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary,[1] while Tatiana N. Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers.[6] [7] The majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction.

Uyghur alphabet

See main article: Uyghur Arabic alphabet.

In recent years, Sarikoli speakers in China have used Uyghur Arabic alphabet to spell out their language.[8]

Sarikoli Uyghur Arabic Alphabet!No.!Letter!IPA! Latin Eq.!No.!Letter!IPA! Latin Eq.
1Uighur; Uyghur: ئا|label=nonepronounced as /link/O o20Uighur; Uyghur: غ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Gh gh
2Uighur; Uyghur: ئە|label=nonepronounced as /link//pronounced as /link/A a21Uighur; Uyghur: ݝ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Gc gc
3Uighur; Uyghur: ب|label=nonepronounced as /link/B b22Uighur; Uyghur: ف|label=nonepronounced as /link/F f
4Uighur; Uyghur: پ|label=nonepronounced as /link/P p23Uighur; Uyghur: ڤ|label=nonepronounced as /link/V v
5Uighur; Uyghur: ت|label=nonepronounced as /link/T t24Uighur; Uyghur: ق|label=nonepronounced as /link/Kh kh
6Uighur; Uyghur: ث|label=nonepronounced as /link/Ss ss25Uighur; Uyghur: ك|label=nonepronounced as /link//pronounced as /link/K k
7Uighur; Uyghur: ج|label=nonepronounced as /link/J j26Uighur; Uyghur: گ|label=nonepronounced as /link//pronounced as /link/G g
8Uighur; Uyghur: چ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Q q27Uighur; Uyghur: ڭ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Ng ng
9Uighur; Uyghur: خ|label=nonepronounced as /link/H h28Uighur; Uyghur: ل|label=nonepronounced as /link/L l
10Uighur; Uyghur: ݗ|label=nonepronounced as /link/C c29Uighur; Uyghur: م|label=nonepronounced as /link/M m
11Uighur; Uyghur: څ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Ts ts30Uighur; Uyghur: ن|label=nonepronounced as /link/N n
12Uighur; Uyghur: ځ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Dz dz31Uighur; Uyghur: ھ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Hy hy
13Uighur; Uyghur: د|label=nonepronounced as /link/D d32Uighur; Uyghur: ئۇ|label=nonepronounced as /link/U u
14Uighur; Uyghur: ذ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Zz zz33Uighur; Uyghur: ئۈ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Ü ü
15Uighur; Uyghur: ر|label=nonepronounced as /link/R r34Uighur; Uyghur: ۋ|label=nonepronounced as /link/W w
16Uighur; Uyghur: ز|label=nonepronounced as /link/Z z35Uighur; Uyghur: ئې|label=nonepronounced as /link/E e
17Uighur; Uyghur: ژ|label=nonepronounced as /link/Zy zy36Uighur; Uyghur: ئى|label=nonepronounced as /link/I i
18Uighur; Uyghur: س|label=nonepronounced as /link/S s37Uighur; Uyghur: ي|label=nonepronounced as /link/Y y
19Uighur; Uyghur: ش|label=nonepronounced as /link/X x
LetterLatin Eq.
Uighur; Uyghur: ئاي|label=noneOi oi
Uighur; Uyghur: ئاۋ|label=noneOu ou
Uighur; Uyghur: ئېي|label=noneEi ei
Uighur; Uyghur: ئېۋ|label=noneEu eu

Latin alphabet variants

Gao Erqiang Sarikoli latin alphabet

In 1958, linguist Gao Erqiang studied Sarikoli in collaboration with Tajik linguists, using 37 symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet for the transcription of the language. In the 1996 Sarikoli–Han dictionary, Gao uses an alphabet of 26 letters and 8 digraphs based on Pinyin.[1]

Sarikoli alphabet (Gao 1996)
UppercaseABCDDZEFGGCGHHHYIJKKHLM
Lowercaseabcddzefggcghhhyijkkhlm
Pronunciationpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/
UppercaseNOPQRSSSTTSUÜVWXYZZYZZ
Lowercasenopqrsssttsuüvwxyzzyzz
Pronunciationpronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/pronounced as /link/

Pakhalina Sarikoli latin alphabet

In the Sarikoli latin alphabet version by linguist Tatiana N. Pakhalina,[6] the sounds are represented by these letters:

LetterА аB bC cČ čD dUighur; Uyghur: δ|label=none δE eƐ εƏ əF fG gƔ ɣƔ̆ ɣ̆I iƷ ʒJ̌ ǰK k L lМ мN nO oP pQ qR rS s
IPA[a][b][t͡s][t͡ʃ][d][ð][e][ɛ][ə][f][g][ʁ][ɣ][i][d͡z][ɖ͡ʐ][k][l][m][n][o][p][q][r][s]
LetterŠ šT tU uÜ üV vW wХ хХ̌ х̌У уZ zŽ žЫ ы
IPA[ʃ][t][θ][u][uː][v][w][χ][x][j][z][dʑ][ɯ]

Phonology

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Highpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Near-highpronounced as /link/
High-midpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Low-midpronounced as /link/ (pronounced as /link/)
Lowpronounced as /link/

Sarikoli vowel pronounced as /link//pronounced as /link/ is an allophone with Uyghur vowel pronounced as /link/. Sarikoli vowel pronounced as /link/ is an allophone with Uyghur vowel pronounced as /link/. Sarikoli vowels have undergone the same chain shift as Tajik, Uzbek, and other Central Asian Pamir languages. The vowel chain shift looks like the following:[9]

Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in brackets):

pronounced as /a [a], e [e], ɛy [ɛi̯] (dialectal æy or ay [æi̯ / ai̯]), ɛw [ɛu̯] (dialectal æw or aw [æu̯ /au̯]), ə [ə], i [i], o [o / ɔ], u [u], ы [ɯ] (dialectal ů [ʊ])./ In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄. (citation?)

Consonants

Sarikoli has 30 consonants:[10]

Sarikoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription (IPA values in slashes): p pronounced as //p//, b pronounced as //b//, t pronounced as //t//, d pronounced as //d//, k pronounced as //k ~ c//, g pronounced as //ɡ ~ ɟ//, q pronounced as //q//, c pronounced as //ts//, ʒ pronounced as //dz//, č pronounced as //tɕ//, ǰ pronounced as //dʑ//, s pronounced as //s//, z pronounced as //z//, pronounced as //x//, γ̌ pronounced as //ɣ//, f pronounced as //f//, v pronounced as //v//, θ pronounced as //θ//, δ pronounced as //ð//, x pronounced as //χ//, γ pronounced as //ʁ//, š pronounced as //ɕ//, ž pronounced as //ʑ//, h pronounced as //h//, w pronounced as //w//, y pronounced as //j//, m pronounced as //m//, n pronounced as //n, ŋ//, l pronounced as //l//, r pronounced as //r//

LabialDentalAlveolarPalatalVelarUvularGlottal
Nasalpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ (pronounced as /link/)
Plosivepronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ ~ pronounced as /link/
Affricatepronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Fricativepronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Approximantpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Rhoticpronounced as /link/

Stress

Most words receive stress on the last syllable; however, a minority receive stress on their first syllable. Also, several noun declensions and verb inflections regularly place stress on their first syllable, including the imperative and interrogative.

Vocabulary

Although to a large extent the Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, there are a large number are words unique to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.

Lexical comparison of eight Iranian languages together with an English translation! English gloss! Persian! Tajik! Wakhi! Pashto! Shughni! Sarikoli!Ossetic! Avestan
one pronounced as /jæk/ (یک) pronounced as /jak/ (‍як) pronounced as /ji/ pronounced as /jaw/ (يو) pronounced as /jiw/ pronounced as /iw/ iw (иу)aēuua-
meat pronounced as /ɡuʃt/ (گوشت) pronounced as /ɡuʃt/ (гушт) pronounced as /ɡuʂt/ pronounced as /ɣwaxa, ɣwaʂa/ (غوښه) pronounced as /ɡuːxt/ pronounced as /ɡɯxt/ zizä (дзидза)gao- (N. gāuš)
son pronounced as /pesær/ (پسر) pronounced as /pisar (писар/) pronounced as /putr/ pronounced as /zoi/ (زوی) pronounced as /puts/ pronounced as /pɯts/ fɪ̈rt (фырт)puθra-
fire pronounced as /ɒteʃ/ (آتش) pronounced as /otaʃ/ (оташ) pronounced as /rɯχniɡ/ pronounced as /or/ (اور) pronounced as /joːts/ pronounced as /juts/ ärt (арт)ātar-
water pronounced as /ɒb/ (اب) pronounced as /ob/ (об) pronounced as /jupk/ pronounced as /obə/ (اوبه) pronounced as /xats/ pronounced as /xats/ don (дон)ap-
hand pronounced as /dæst/ (دست) pronounced as /dast/ (даѕт) pronounced as /ðast/ pronounced as /lɑs/ (لاس) pronounced as /ðust/ pronounced as /ðɯst/ kʼuχ (къух)zasta-
foot pronounced as /pɒ/ (پا) pronounced as /po/ (по) pronounced as /pɯð/ pronounced as /pxa, pʂa/ (پښه) pronounced as /poːð/ pronounced as /peð/ fäd (фад)paδa-, pāδa-
tooth pronounced as /dændɒn/ (دندان) pronounced as /dandon/ (дандон) pronounced as /ðɯnðɯk/ pronounced as /ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ/ (غاښ) pronounced as /ðinðʉn/ pronounced as /ðanðun/ dəndäg (дӕндаг)daṇtān-
eye pronounced as /tʃæʃm/ (چشم) pronounced as /tʃaʃm/ (чашм) pronounced as /tʂəʐm/ pronounced as /stərɡa/ (سترګه) pronounced as /tsem/ pronounced as /tsem/ səʃt (цæст)dōiθra-; caṣ̌man-
horse pronounced as /æsb/ (اسب) pronounced as /asp/ (асп) pronounced as /jaʃ/ pronounced as /ɑs/ (آس) pronounced as /voːrdʒ/ pronounced as /vurdʒ/ bəχ (бӕх)aspa-
cloud pronounced as /æbr/ (ابر) pronounced as /abr/ (абр) pronounced as /mur/ pronounced as /urjadz/ (اوريځ) pronounced as /abri/ pronounced as /varm/ əvräʁ (æврагъ) / miʁ (мигъ)abda-; aβra-, aβrā-; maēγa-
wheat pronounced as /ɡændom/ (گندم) pronounced as /ɡandum/ (гандум) pronounced as /ɣɯdim/ pronounced as /ɣanam/ (غنم) pronounced as /ʒindam/ pronounced as /ʒandam/ mənəw (мæнæу)gaṇtuma-
many pronounced as /besjɒr/ (بسيار) pronounced as /bisjor/ (бисёр) pronounced as /təqi/ pronounced as /ɖer, pura/ (ډېر، پوره) pronounced as /bisjoːr/ pronounced as /pɯr/ fyr (фыр)paoiri-
high pronounced as /bolænd/ (بلند) pronounced as /baland/ (баланд) pronounced as /bɯland/ pronounced as /lwaɻ/ (لوړ) pronounced as /biland/ pronounced as /bɯland/ bərʒond (бӕрзoнд)bərəzaṇt-
far pronounced as /dur/ (دور) pronounced as /dur/ (дур) pronounced as /ðir/ pronounced as /ləre/ (لرې) pronounced as /ðar/ pronounced as /ðar/ därd (дард)dūra-
good pronounced as /χub/ (خوب) pronounced as /χub/ (хуб) pronounced as /baf/ pronounced as /xə, ʂə/ (ښه) pronounced as /χub/ pronounced as /tʃardʒ/ χorʒ (хорз)vaŋha-
small pronounced as /kutʃik/ (کوچک)) pronounced as /χurd/ (хурд) pronounced as /dzəqlai/ pronounced as /ləɡ, ləʐ/ (لږ) pronounced as /dzul/ pronounced as /dzɯl/ gɪ̈ssɪ̈ɫ (гыццыл)kasu-
to say pronounced as /ɡoft/ (گفت) pronounced as /ɡuft/ (гуфт) pronounced as /xənak/ pronounced as /wajəl/ (ويل) pronounced as /lʉvd/ pronounced as /levd/ zurɪ̈n (дзурын)vac-; aoj-; mrū-; saŋh-
to do pronounced as /kærd/ (کرد) pronounced as /kard/ (кард) pronounced as /tsərak/ pronounced as /kawəl/ (کول) pronounced as /tʃiːd/ pronounced as /tʃeiɡ/ kənɪ̈n (кæнын)kar-
to see pronounced as /did/ (ديد) pronounced as /did/ (дид) pronounced as /wiŋɡ/ pronounced as /winəm/ (وينم) pronounced as /wiːnt/ pronounced as /wand/ wɪ̈nɪ̈n (уынын)dī-, viŋ-

Sample Text

The following text is a paragraph from Gao Erqiang's "Tajik-Chinese Dictionary" (1996), talking about the significance of the development of a writing system for the language of Tajiks of Xinjiang, both in Chinese and Sarikoli. The Sarikoli text is written in the "Pinyin" developed by Gao Erqiang for use in the dictionary. Below, the text is also transcribed in an equivalent Uyghur-Arabic alphabet.[1]

Latin scriptAwal birinqi masala qi ter gap kayan. Tujik milat hüyan ziv yost. Yad ziv optunum noya ar doira khulanmix soud. Janubi Xinjongan Yurkond, Puskom, KHarghalegh, Pixan khatorlekh juiefan wi Tujik heil uhxox na yozzin, Di juienj Tujik heil asos az jat hü ziv khulanmix kayin, Hü milatan wi ziv khulanmix qeig wa a wi tarakhi qeig Asosi KHonün zzujenj hyukhukh. Agar i milatan ghov ziv vid, kitubi ziv tsa na vid, di rang zivan wi rafond wa tarakhiyot qaklimari diqur hird. M dos qeig levd alo k yü milat Asosi KHonün zzujenj az hyukhukh tulukh bahyrimand na sezzjenj soud. Yizekh levjenj a ziv hotirlamix qeigiquz balgü, yani i mi khati münosibatlig vezzjenj pinyin sestimo qi qer wezzd khati hyusil sezzjenj, dian hyiq rang sir nist, Pinyin loyayan wi tüzülüx mofekh tsa soud, hyiq rang alukat mas peidu na soud. Vizekhan at ziv mazzon vezzjenj zidiyat mas ubiktip hyolda i taraf set khati ter sawiya khati birligir yozzd. Müstakhil tarakhi qogcjenj i zivan Kyamon wiri mos yetiquz i yizekh vid karak. Ilim wa rafond az nuhto zoct alo yad douliri uighun qer.
ChineseChinese: 先说第一个问题。塔吉克族有自己的语言。这种语言在自 治县通用,是无法用其他语言代替的。和南疆莎车、泽普、叶 城等地的塔吉克人不同,这里很多塔吉克人只使用或基本上 使用自己语言。使用和发展本民族语言是宪法赋予的权利。如果一个民族只有口头语而没有书面语,这个语言的使用和 发展实际上就受到限制,也就不能合理享受宪法给予的权 利。文字就是记录语言的符号,用的是相关的一套拼音系 统,其中没有什么神秘,拼音方案设计周到也不会产生繁 难。文和语之问可能具有的矛盾将会通过客观而明智的处理 达到很大程度上的一致。一个独立发展的语言总要有和他相适应的文字。这从学术上或实用上说是理所当然的。
EnglishLet’s talk about the first question first. The Tajiks have their own language. This language is commonly used in the autonomous county and cannot be replaced by other languages. Unlike the Tajiks in Yarkand, Poskam, Kargilik and other places in southern Xinjiang, many Tajiks here exclusively or largely exclusively use their own language. The use and development of the national language is a right conferred by the constitution. If a nation only has a spoken language but no written language, the use and development of this language will actually be restricted, and it will not be able to reasonably enjoy the rights granted by the constitution. Writing is a set of symbols that record language, and a related pinyin system is used. There is nothing mysterious about it, and a well-designed pinyin scheme will not cause any complications. Possible contradictions between text and language will be treated objectively and wisely to achieve a large degree of consistency. A language that develops independently must have a set of characters that are suitable for it. This is a matter of course from an academic or practical point of view.

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Gao . Erqiang (Chinese: 高尔锵) . zh:塔吉克汉词典 . Tajik-Chinese Dictionary . 1996 . Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House (Chinese: 四川民族出版社) . 978-7-5409-1744-9 . https://books.google.com/books?id=l3FSAAAACAAJ . zh-hans.
  2. A wide variety of varied transcriptions of the name "Sarikoli" are used in linguistic discussions, such as Chinese: 萨里库尔语, Sàlǐkùěryǔ, Chinese: 萨雷阔勒语, Sàléikuòlèyǔ, Chinese: 色勒库尔语, Sèlèkùěryǔ or Chinese: 撒里科里语, Sǎlǐkēlǐyǔ.
  3. Book: Gao, Erqiang. Tǎjíkèyǔ jiǎnzhì. 1985. Minzu chubanshe. Beijing. zh:塔吉克语简志. Outline of the Tajik language. zh.
  4. Book: Rudelson, Justin Jon. Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook: Languages of the Silk Road. 2005. Lonely Planet Publications. 1-74104-604-1. Footscray. en.
  5. Shaw. Robert. 1876. On the Ghalchah Languages (Wakhí and Sariḳolí). Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. en. 45. 2. 139–278. biodiversitylibrary.org.
  6. Book: Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (Татьяна Н. Пахалина). Sarykol'skij Jazyk . ru:Сарыкольский язык . The Sarikoli Language . Akademia Nauk SSSR . Moskva . 1966 . ru.
  7. Book: Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (Татьяна Н. Пахалина) . Sarykol'sko-russkij slovar' . ru:Сарыкольско-русский словарь . Sarikoli–Russian Dictionary . Akademia Nauk SSSR . Moskva . 1971 . ru.
  8. Yang. Yi-fang 杨亦凡. Abdurahman Tursun. Abdurahman Tursun 阿不都热合曼·吐尔逊. Aray Zangbek. Aray Zangbek 阿来·藏别克. Qian. Wei-liang 钱伟量. 2017. Jīyú "Yīdài Yīlù" zhànlüè shìjiǎo de Zhōngguó Tǎjíkè yǔyán wénzì bǎohù yǔ chuánchéng wèntí fēnxī. zh:基于"一带一路"战略视角的中国塔吉克语言文字保护与传承问题分析. Research of Protection and Inheritance of Sarikoli Tajik Language and Characters. Jiāmùsī zhíyè xuéyuàn xuébào / Journal of Juamjusi Education Institute. 2017. 4. 263–265. zh. 10.3969/j.issn.1000-9795.2017.04.176. 近代以来,我国塔吉克族使用阿拉伯维吾尔文拼写高山塔吉克语.
  9. Ido, S. (2017). The Vowel System of Jewish Bukharan Tajik: With Special Reference to the Tajik Vowel Chain Shift. Journal of Jewish Languages, 5(1), 81–103. doi:10.1163/22134638-12340078
  10. Book: Kim, Deborah. Topics in the syntax of Sarikoli. Leiden University. 2017.