Wakhi language explained

Wakhi
Nativename:	زبان وخی / زبان واخانی ښیکوار زیک X̌ikwor zik, х̆икв̆ор зик
States:	Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan
Ethnicity:	Wakhi
Speakers:	20,000 in Pakistan (2016); 58,000
Date:	1992–2012
Ref:	e18
Familycolor:	Indo-European
Fam2:	Indo-Iranian
Fam3:	Iranian
Fam4:	Eastern
Ancestor:	Scythian
Ancestor2:	Saka^[1] ^[2] ^[3]
Script:	Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin
Iso3:	wbl
Glotto:	wakh1245
Glottorefname:	Wakhi
Lingua:	58-ABD-c
Notice:	IPA

Wakhi (Wakhi: وخی/В̌aхi, IPA: [waχi]) is an Indo-European language in the Eastern Iranian branch of the language family spoken today in Wakhan District, Northern Afghanistan, and also in Tajikistan, Northern Pakistan and Western China.

Classification and distribution

Wakhi is one of several languages that belong to the areal Pamir language group. It is believed to be a descendant of the Scytho-Khotanese language once spoken in the Kingdom of Khotan.

The Wakhi people are occasionally called Pamiris and Guhjali. It is spoken by the inhabitants of the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, parts of Gilgit-Baltistan (the former NAs) of Pakistan, the Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan, 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 (Burushaski), 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 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 countries. In the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, the Wakhi people mainly live in Gojal, Ishkoman, and Darkut, as well as in Chitral District's Broghol. They live in parts of Wakhan in Afghanistan, Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan, and the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County 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.^[4]

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 of 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 dialects of Tajik.^[5]

In Pakistan

In Gilgit-Baltistan, Wakhi is spoken in the sparsely populated upper portions of five of the northernmost valleys: Hunza, Gojal, Ishkoman, Yasin, Gupis, and Yarkhun. The Hunza Valley has the largest Wakhi population in Pakistan. The Wakhis of Ishkoman lives primarily in the Karambar valley, the town of Imit, and beyond. In Yasin, they live mainly in the vicinity of Darkot, and in Yarhkun, they are found in Baroghil and a few other small villages in the high, upper portion of the valley.

In Pakistan, the central organization of the Wakhi is the Wakhi Cultural Association Pakistan (WCA). This organization is registered with the Government of Pakistan and collaborates with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The Association is working to preserve the Wakhi language and culture and document 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 include 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 program and documentation of Wakhi poetry, literature, and history.^[6]

In China

See also: Tajiks of Xinjiang. Wakhi is also spoken in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Xinjiang of China, mainly in the township of Dafdar.

In Russia

There are approximately 6,000 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.^[7]

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Mid	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Open	pronounced as /link/

Consonants

	Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Alveolo- palatal	Retroflex	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Plosive	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/
Affricate			pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/
Fricative	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/
Approximant		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Rhotic		pronounced as /link/

Orthography

Traditionally, Wakhi was not a written language. Wakhi people live in 4 countries, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and China, and are in contact with speakers of various other languages. Writing systems have been developed for the language using Arabic, Cyrillic, and Latin scripts, each with inspirations from neighboring languages and orthographic conventions. However, due to the pluricentric nature of Wakhi dialects, marginalization in favour of a more significant national/regional language, remoteness, and political instability, no one orthographic standard has managed to rise to the level of a singular unifying writing system.

Perso-Arabic script

The Perso-Arabic script for the Wakhi language has been derived from the Persian alphabet used in Afghanistan. However, there are sounds in Wakhi that are not found in Persian. Here, two diverging conventions have emerged, one in Afghanistan and another in Pakistan (and Pakistani-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan). Pashto has inspired letters in Afghanistan to represent missing sounds in Wakhi, especially the various retroflex sounds missing in Persian. Urdu and orthographies of other languages of Gilgit-Baltistan have been the inspiration in Pakistan.^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

Afghan Perso-Arabic alphabet

The below table is the Afghan version of the Perso-Arabic alphabet for the Wakhi language. The alphabet has been derived from the alphabet of Dari (Persian), one of Afghanistan's national languages. Pashto, the other national language of Afghanistan, has been the source of letters for phonemes that don't exist in Persian. This orthographic standard has similarities to the orthographies of other Pamir languages, such as Shughni and Munji.^[9]

Wakhi Perso-Arabic Letters (Afghanistan)

Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ¹
‌ - (A a/E e/I i/U u)
[∅]([a][u][e][i])| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ²
(A a)
[ɔ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(B b)
[b]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(P p)
[p]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(T t)
[t̪]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ṭ ṭ)
[ʈ]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ³
(S s)
[s]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ³

[θ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(J̌ ǰ)
[d͡ʒ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(J̣̌ ǰ̣)
[ɖ͡ʐ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Č č)
[t͡ʃ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Č̣ č̣)
[ʈ͡ʂ]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(H h)
[h]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(X x)
[χ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ʒ ʒ)
[d͡z]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(C c)
[t͡s]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(D d)
[d̪]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ḍ ḍ)
[ɖ]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁴
(Z z)
[z]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁴
(Δ δ)
[ð]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(R r)
[r]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Z z)
[z]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ž ž)
[ʒ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ẓ̌ ẓ̌)
[ʐ]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ɣ̌ ɣ̌)
[ɣ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(S s)
[s]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Š š)
[ʃ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ṣ̌ ṣ̌)
[ʂ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(X̌ x̌)
[x]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(S s)
[s]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Z z)
[z]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(T t)
[t̪]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Z z)
[z]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(-)
[∅]/[ʔ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Ɣ γ)
[ʁ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(F f)
[f]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(V v)
[v]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(Q q)
[q]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(K k)
[k]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(G g)
[g]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(L l)
[l]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(M m)
[m]|-! Perso-Arabic
(Latin)
[IPA]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
(N n)
[n]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁵
(W w)
[u][w]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁶
(Ы ы)
[ɨ]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁷
(H h/ - a)
[h][a]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ^8,9
(E e/I i/Y y)
[e][i][j]| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ⁹
(- i)
[i]|}

Notes:

Letter alef at the beginning of a word can serve two functions. First, it precedes vowel letters "" [e] and [i], or "" [u]. Second, it acts as a vowel carrier for diacritics of the vowel, "" [a].
Vowel phoneme [ɔ] is represented with "" when at the beginning of a word, and with "" when in the middle or end of a word.
While the letter se "" represents the phoneme [θ] in Arabic, this letter in Arabic loanwords that have entered Dari (Persian) have come to be pronounced as [s]. Due to consistent contact with Dari (Persian), Arabic loanwords have entered Wakhi via Persian, with their modified Persian pronunciation. Unlike Persian, Wakhi does have a separate phoneme [θ]. Some sources use the letter se "", whereas others use a new letter, te with 4 dots "" that has been introduced so that there can be distinguishment between the native sound [θ] and the sound [s] produced by the letter se "" in loanwords.
While the letter zal "" represents the phoneme [ð] in Arabic, this letter in Arabic loanwords that have entered Dari (Persian) have come to be pronounced as [z]. Due to consistent contact with Dari (Persian), Arabic loanwords have entered Wakhi via Persian, with their modified Persian pronunciation. Unlike Persian, Wakhi does have a separate phoneme [ð]. Some sources use the letter zal "", whereas others use a new letter, dal with 3 dots "" that has been introduced so that there can be distinguishment between the native sound [ð] and the sound [z] produced by the letter zal "" in loanwords.
Represents two phonemes based on context, [w] and [u]. If used at the beginning of a word, if representing consonant [w], it will be written standalone "", if representing a vowel [u], it will be preceded by alef "".
Represents a vowel phoneme. But even if at the beginning of a word, it is written standalone, and without a preceding alef; "".
At the end of a word, the letter he "" can either represent a consonant sound [h] or a vowel sound [a] depending on context.
The letter ye represents three phonemes based on context, [e], [i] and [j]. If used at the beginning of a word, if representing consonant [j], it will be written standalone "", if representing a vowel [e] or a vowel [i], it will be preceded by alef "".
There are two types of final ye. in At the end of a word, if representing the consonant [j], the dotless final ye "" is ued. If representing the vowel [i], the double dot final ye "" is used.

Wakhi Perso-Arabic Vowels (Afghanistan)
Vowels at the beginning of a word
A a	O o	E e	I i	Ə ə	U u	Ы ы
[a]	[ɔ]	[e]	[i]	[ə]	[u]	[ɨ]
		-		-
Vowels at the middle of a word
				-
Vowels at the end of a word

Pakistani Perso-Arabic alphabet

The below table is the Pakistani version of the Perso-Arabic alphabet for the Wakhi language.[1] This alphabet has also been derived from the alphabet of Dari (Persian). However, Urdu, Pakistan's national language, has been the source of letters for phonemes that don't exist in Persian. The vowels are shown to reflect Urdu pronunciations and not the Dari/Tajik pronunciation. Meaning that, for example, the phoneme [ɔ], which is equivalent to Iranian Persian[<nowiki/>[[Open back rounded vowel|ɒː]]] after having undergone a chain shift, is not written with alef "آ / ا /ا ـا‎", but with the letter waw "".^[12]

Stylistically, while in Afghanistan Naskh is the more common script, in Pakistan, similar with Urdu and other orthographies of Northern Pakistan and Pakistani-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan, Nastaliq is the more common script.

Notes and References

Book: Frye. R.N.. The History of Ancient Iran. registration. 1984. 192. 9783406093975. [T]hese western Saka he distinguishes from eastern Saka who moved south through the Kashgar-Tashkurgan-Gilgit-Swat route to the plains of the sub-continent of India. This would account for the existence of the ancient Khotanese-Saka speakers, documents of whom have been found in western Sinkiang, and the modern Wakhi language of Wakhan in Afghanistan, another modern branch of descendants of Saka speakers parallel to the Ossetes in the west..
Book: Bailey. H.W.. The culture of the Sakas in ancient Iranian Khotan. 1982. Caravan Books. 7–10. It is noteworthy that the Wakhi language of Wakhan has features, phonetics, and vocabulary the nearest of Iranian dialects to Khotan Saka..
Carpelan. C.. Parpola. A.. Koskikallio. P.. Early Contacts Between Uralic and Indo-European: Linguistic and Archaeological Considerations: Papers Presented at an International Symposium Held at the Tvärminne Research Station of the University of Helsinki, 8–10 January, 1999. Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura. 2001. 242. 136. ...descendants of these languages survive now only in the Ossete language of the Caucasus and the Wakhi language of the Pamirs, the latter related to the Saka once spoken in Khotan..
Book: Payne, John. Rüdiger. Schmitt. Compendium Linguarum Iranicum. Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. 1989. Wiesbaden. 419. Pamir Languages. 3-88226-413-6.
Book: Viires, Ants. Lauri Vahtre. The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire. NGO Red Book. 2001. Tallinn. 9985-9369-2-2.
Book: Wakhi Tajik Cultural Association report 1991–2001. Wakhi Cultural Association. Pakistan. 2001.
See the book online "The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan in Turkey"
Jami, Sakhi Ahmad. (2004) Languages and Literature of the Northern Areas (Balti, Shina, Khowar, Burushaski, Wakhi) / شمالی علاقہ جات کی زبانیں و ادب (بلتی، شنا، کھوار، بروشسکی، وخی) (Urdu). Chapter The origin and evolution of the Wakhi language / وخی زبان کا آغاز و ارتقاء. Allama Iqbal Open University Access
Gurg Ali Khayrkhah. Wakhi Literacy Primer - Teacher’s Guide / ڜؤرد جاینکؤرگڤ کتاب - سک ښیک زیک - کتاب رهنمای معلمڤر (Wakhani). AP Mersi Afghanistan Publisher https://zabanha.af/sites/default/files/print-resources/wakhi/Wakhi%20literacy%20primer%20teachers_%20guide.pdf (Archive)
Web site: [.m] masterhost - профессиональный хостинг сайтаwww.pamirian.ru. www.pamirian.ru. https://web.archive.org/web/20180502141043/http://www.pamirian.ru/Wakhi_language_transition.pdf. 2018-05-02.
Web site: ScriptSource - Wakhi written with Arabic script, Naskh variant.
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
Book: Luqo Inǰil (Gospel of Luke) . Bəzыrg Kitob tarǰimacrakыzg institute . 2001 . (in Wakhi).
Title page, passages in Roman alphabet http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/kuhl1/wakhani-rom-2.jpg, passages in Cyrillic alphabet http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/kuhl1/wakhani-cyr-2.jpg
Afghan Bibles. (2022-New Dari). The Holy Bible in Dari / کتاب مقدس دری (Dari). https://afghanbibles.org/prs/dari-bible/luke/luke-11?prefdialect=ndv
Book: Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) . Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì) . Nationalities Publishing House . 1985 . Beijing .