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Khowar
کھووار
کھوار
Khowar written in the Khowar alphabet in Nastaliq style.
Native toPakistan
RegionChitral
EthnicityKho people (Chitralis)
Native speakers
580,000 (2020)[1]
Perso-Arabic script (Khowar alphabet)
Official status
Regulated byAssociation for the Promotion of Khowar[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3khw
Glottologkhow1242
ELPKhowar
Linguasphere59-AAB-aa
Map showing the distribution of the Khowar language

Khowar (کھووار, Khōwār, [kʰɔːwɑːɾ]), also known by its common exonym Chitrali,[a] is an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic group, primarily spoken by the Kho people (Chitralis), native to the Chitral region and surrounding areas of Pakistan.[3]

Khowar is the lingua franca of Chitral,[3] and it is also spoken in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, as well as in the Upper Swat district.[4]

Speakers of Khowar have also migrated heavily to Pakistan's major urban centres, with Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar having significant populations. It is also spoken as a second language by the Kalash people.[5][6]

Names

[edit]

The native name of the language is Khō-wār,[7] meaning "language (wār) of the Kho people". During the British Raj, it was known to the English as Chitrālī (a derived adjective from the name of the Chitral region) or Qāshqārī.[7] Among the Pashtuns and Badakhshanis, it is known as Kashkār.[8] Another name, used by Leitner in 1880, is Arnyiá[9] or Arniya, derived from the Shina language name for the part of the Yasin (a valley in Gilgit-Baltistan) where Khowar is spoken.[7]

History

[edit]

The Khowar language expanded throughout Chitral from the northern part of the region, specifically from the Mulkhow and Torkhow Valley.[10][11] According to Morgenstierne, the original abode of the Khowar language was northern Chitral in the valleys around Mastuj.[10] The Khowar language started expanding into southern Chitral around the early 14th century.[10]

Khowar shares a great number of morphological characteristics with neighbouring Iranian languages of Badakhshan, pointing to a very early location of proto-Khowar in its original abode in Upper Chitral, although from its links with the Gandhari language, it likely came from further south in the first millennium BC, possibly through Swat and Dir.[11]

Georg Morgenstierne noted, "Khowar, in many respects [is] the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form".[12]: 3 

Phonology

[edit]

Khowar has a variety of dialects, which may vary phonemically.[13] The following tables lay out the basic phonology of Khowar.[14][15][16]

Vowels

[edit]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Mid ɛ ɔ
Open ɑ

Khowar may also have nasalized vowels and a series of long vowels /ɑː/, /ɛː/, /iː/, /ɔː/, and /uː/. Sources are inconsistent on whether length is phonemic, with one author stating "vowel-length is observed mainly as a substitute one. The vowel-length of phonological value is noted far more rarely."[13] Unlike the neighboring and related Kalasha language, Khowar does not have retroflex vowels.[14]

Consonants

[edit]
Labial Coronal Retroflex Palatal Velar Post-
velar 		Glottal
Nasal m n
Stop voiceless p t ʈ k q
voiced b d ɖ ɡ
aspirated pʰ tʰ ʈʰ kʰ
Affricate voiceless ts ʈʂ tɕ
voiced dz ɖʐ dʑ
aspirated tsʰ ʈʂʰ tɕʰ
Fricative voiceless f s ʂ ɕ x h
voiced z ʐ ʑ ɣ
Approximant ʋ l(ʲ) ɫ j (w)
Rhotic ɾ

Allophones of /x ɣ h ʋ ɾ/ are heard as sounds [χ ʁ ɦ w ɹ].[16] /q x ɣ ʑ f/ are restricted to Perso-Arabic loanwords in most IA languages but they occur natively in Khowar, e.g. Sanskrit mukha, yūkā, yákan, bhrāturjāyā; Khowar mux, žuġ, ṣéġun, brežáyu. The original Old Indo-Aryan /s, ʂ, ɕ/ contrast is maintained, eg. OIA. joṣati, aśru, svásṛ; Kh. ǰoṣík, aśrú, ispusár.[17] The OIA kṣ became c̣/c̣h eg. OIA. pakṣa, Kh. poc̣ and more sibilants were made instead of a reduction which Continental IA did, eg. OIA. gaḍa, Kh. goẓ. OIA cluster ts was either preserved as a single phoneme ċ/ċh or merged with some other consonant OIA. vatsa, matsya, uts Kh. bac̣hóɫ, maċhí, uċ.

Tone

[edit]

Khowar, like many Dardic languages, has either phonemic tone or stress distinctions.[18]

Orthography

[edit]
Main article: Khowar alphabet

Khowar orthography is derived from Urdu alphabet, with additional letters created to represent sounds unique to Khowar. Similar to Urdu, Khowar is typically written in the calligraphic Nastaʿlīq script.

From the end of the 19th century onwards, literaturists and rulers of Chitral princely state have put in much effort to popularize literacy, reading, and writing in Khowar. Initially, Mirza Muhammad Shakur and Prince Tajumal Shah Mohfi adopted Persian alphabet, used in neighbouring Afghanistan. However, Persian alphabet did not have letters for many unique sounds in Khowar. By the early 20th century, as under British Colonial rule, Urdu education and literacy became ever more popular among Indian Muslims (see Hindi–Urdu controversy),[19] Chitrali literaturists, namely Sir Nasir ul-Mulk and Mirza Muhammad Ghafran saw Urdu script as a better fit for Khowar. Nonetheless, Urdu also lacked sounds that existed in Chitrali. Thus, new letters were proposed and created. But the process of settling on a standard Khowar script continued for decades into the 1970s. This process was not without controversy either. Some literaturists were advocating for keeping the number of letters to a minimum, or in other words removing Arabic letters that do not represent distinct sounds in Khowar and are homophone with other letters (for example ث، ذ، ص‎, being homophone with س، ز، س‎ respectively). In total, 6 new letters were added to the 37-letter Urdu Alphabet, to create the 43-letter Khowar script.[20]

See also

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Khowar

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Khowar, also known as Chitrali, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging to the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-European family, spoken primarily by the as their native tongue in the of , . Its within the Dardic subgroup is subject to ongoing among linguists. With approximately 400,000 speakers (as of 2024), it functions as a language of wider communication in its core region, featuring a subject-object-verb , a five-vowel system, and lexically contrastive stress and tone that distinguish it phonologically from neighboring languages. Classified within the Northwest Indo-Aryan branch, Khowar shares its closest linguistic ties with and exhibits significant substrate influences from (such as Persian and Wakhi), Turkic, , , , , and English, reflecting centuries of cultural contact in the Hindu Kush mountain range. Historically unwritten until the early , the language began to be documented in Perso-Arabic script (in the Nasta'liq style) during that period, with a standardized Latin alphabet introduced in 1996 by the Khowar Academy to facilitate modern literacy and . Its vocabulary is richly tied to the local environment and traditions, encompassing terms for , , flora, fauna, and social customs, such as kiṣ for plowing or hup for traditional dance, many of which trace etymological roots to ancient Indo-Aryan or Iranian sources. Geographically, Khowar is concentrated in Upper and Lower , with dialects varying across valleys like Torkhow, Yarkhun, Laspur, Mastuj, and Ghezur, as well as pockets in , , and migrant communities in urban centers such as , , and . Smaller populations exist in Afghanistan's and Tajikistan's , though the core homeland remains , where it originated as a vital marker of Kho identity. As a robust with high vitality, Khowar is used in local newspapers like Chitral Vision, radio broadcasts, and primary education, though it faces pressures from dominant and English; efforts to preserve it include comprehensive lexicons and cultural documentation that highlight its proverbs, , and irregular plurals as enduring elements of Chitrali heritage.

Overview

Names

The native name of the Khowar language is Khō-wār (کھووار), which translates to "language of the Kho people," where "Kho" refers to the ethnic group inhabiting the Chitral region and "-wār" denotes "language of." This endonym is used consistently by native speakers across their communities to identify the language. Khowar is also known by several exonyms, which vary based on the linguistic and ethnic groups interacting with its speakers. The most widespread exonym is Chitrali, derived from the region where the language predominates, and it is employed interchangeably with Khowar by both native speakers and neighboring populations in everyday contexts, such as in phrases emphasizing local identity. Other exonyms include Qāshqārī (or Qashqari/Kashkari), used primarily by Pashtun communities to refer to the language and its speakers, and Arnyiá (or Arniya), which is the term preferred by Shina-speaking groups in adjacent areas. Within the Chitral Valley, naming practices exhibit variations tied to specific communities and subregions, reflecting local ethnic interactions. For instance, Kalasha speakers in southern may refer to Khowar as Patu, highlighting the language's role as a in multilingual settings, while residents in central areas like Torkhow Valley predominantly use Chitrali to underscore its regional prestige and uniformity. These differences in nomenclature do not indicate dialectal divides but rather social and intergroup dynamics among the and their neighbors.

Classification

Khowar is classified as a Far Northwestern within the broader branch of the Indo-European language family, traditionally grouped under the Dardic subgroup. This placement reflects its geographical position in the Hindu Kush region and its retention of archaic traits, distinguishing it from more central or . Linguistic databases such as further specify Khowar as part of the Eastern Dardic group, emphasizing its northwestern peripheral status. Khowar shares close relationships with other , particularly , its nearest relative spoken in adjacent valleys, with which it exhibits and lexical overlap. It is also affiliated with Shina and Kashmiri through common Dardic heritage, including shared archaic features such as the preservation of three Old Indo-Aryan and reflexive pronouns derived from , like tan from tanū 'body'. These connections highlight a network of phonological and morphological retentions that link Khowar to its regional counterparts, though degrees of similarity vary, with stronger ties to than to Kashmiri. The validity of Dardic as a distinct genealogical branch remains debated among linguists, with some viewing it as a —a linguistic area defined by areal convergence rather than shared ancestry—due to the absence of unique innovations setting it apart from other . Pioneering work by Georg Morgenstierne described as a "bundle of aberrant Indo-Aryan hill-languages" influenced by isolation and contact, a perspective echoed in recent analyses. Contemporary classifications, such as those in Elena Bashir's 2025 grammar of Khowar, maintain the Dardic label as a practical cover term while acknowledging the ongoing discussion, prioritizing evidence from shared archaic features over strict phylogenetic boundaries.

Distribution and dialects

Geographic distribution

Khowar is primarily spoken in the of province, , where it predominates across rural valleys such as Torkhow, Mulkhow, Laspur, Yarkhun, and Garam Chashma. The language extends beyond into adjacent regions, including the Ghizer and Gupis-Yasin districts of , as well as parts of in . Smaller populations of speakers are also found in Tajikistan's region. As of 2024, Khowar has an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 speakers, primarily native to these northern mountainous areas. While the majority of speakers reside in rural settings within and surrounding valleys, significant migration has established Khowar-speaking populations in urban centers across , including and . These migrant communities contribute to the language's presence in more urbanized and diverse linguistic environments.

Dialects

Khowar exhibits a continuum of dialects with relatively high uniformity, primarily divided into the standard Mulkhow variety spoken in Upper and the Torkhow variety in Lower , alongside peripheral variants such as Dangarkhow and Gahkuch. The Mulkhow dialect, centered around areas like Mastuj, serves as the prestige form and basis for literary and educational standards. Torkhow, prevalent in southern regions of , shows more innovation, while Dangarkhow and Gahkuch represent border variants influenced by neighboring languages like Shina in . An additional peripheral form, Swat Khowar, extends into the Dir and Swat valleys but diverges notably from core varieties. Dialectal differences are most evident in the lexicon, where lexical similarity ranges from 86% to 98% across core areas, with lower figures in peripheral zones like Chatorkhand (86%). For instance, the word doṣ means "yesterday" in Mulkhow and Torkhow but "day before yesterday" in northern areas like Laspur and Yarkhun. Phonological variations include vowel shifts in southern dialects, such as /e/ alternating with /o/ in infinitives (e.g., Torkhow ʋrenz without the /ʣ/ affricate found in Mulkhow ʋrenʣ) and longer vowels in Lower Chitral forms like ja:m versus Mulkhow jam. Grammatical structures remain largely uniform, with shared features like evidential marking and nominal morphology showing minimal divergence across varieties. Mutual intelligibility is high among the core Mulkhow and Torkhow dialects, allowing speakers to understand each other with ease, though it decreases with peripheral variants like Swat Khowar, which presents the greatest challenges due to lexical and phonological divergence. Border forms such as Dangarkhow and Gahkuch maintain moderate to high comprehension with central varieties but exhibit influences from adjacent languages. Standardization efforts, centered on the Mulkhow dialect, include the adaptation of a Perso-Arabic script in the 1950s and promotion through organizations like Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Khowar, which supports literature, conferences, and orthographic consistency to unify the language against regional fragmentation.

History

Origins

Khowar emerged in northern from proto-Dardic substrates, forming part of the Chitral sub-group within the Dardic branch of . This development occurred alongside the ancient settlements of the in the region, tracing back to early migrations into , with some sources suggesting origins as early as the 5th century B.C. and possible Dravidian substrate influences in its agricultural and . As classified by linguists, Khowar belongs to the Dardic group, characterized by its retention of archaic Indo-Aryan features distinct from . The exhibits significant influences from , reflected in its archaic vocabulary and morphology. For instance, borrowings appear in toponyms and basic lexicon, including terms for villages and mountains, introduced through expansions. These layers underscore Khowar's role as a contact in a multilingual zone. The prehistoric and early historical roots of Khowar are intertwined with migrations by the across passes like Baroghil into the Valley and , fostering a multiethnic society where Khowar evolved as a amid cultural exchanges. These migrations and contacts shaped Khowar's distinct identity.

Historical development

The Khowar language expanded southward into southern around the early under the rule of the Mehtar dynasty, which established political control over the region starting from 1320 CE and promoted Khowar as a lingua franca among diverse groups, including through land grants and integration of local populations. This expansion continued into the Yasin and Ghizr valleys by the early 1700s, solidifying Khowar's dominance in northern Pakistan's mountainous areas during the Mehtar governance that lasted until the . Following the Islamization of , which intensified from the 14th century onward as Mehtar rulers embraced and converted local tribes such as the , Khowar incorporated numerous Perso-Arabic elements into its vocabulary, reflecting cultural and religious influences from Persian and Islamic traditions. This adoption was facilitated by the use of Persian as the until the mid-20th century and the spread of Ismaili teachings from the , leading to loanwords in domains like administration, religion, and daily life. During the British colonial era in the , Khowar faced increased external documentation and influence through surveys by explorers and linguists, such as those conducted by in 1878 and O'Brien in 1895, which highlighted its role in 's isolated society. English loanwords entered via administration. After Pakistan's independence in 1947, Khowar integrated into the national framework, with emerging as the dominant language of and , gradually replacing Persian as the in the mid-20th century and exerting pressure on regional tongues through school curricula. Despite this, Khowar retained vitality as a in , supported by intermarriage and local use, though Urdu's promotion led to shifts in bilingualism. In recent years, 2025 linguistic studies have emphasized preservation efforts for Khowar amid Urdu's dominance, noting challenges like in where Urdu and English marginalize regional languages in . Research highlights initiatives by organizations such as the Forum for Language Initiatives, which advocate for multilingual policies to counter Urdu's influence and promote Khowar through community programs and documentation. These efforts also address emerging threats from English loanwords, with studies recommending strategies like lexical purification to sustain Khowar's cultural identity.

Phonology

Vowels

The vowel system of standard Khowar consists of five monophthongal phonemes: the high front unrounded /i/, mid front unrounded /e/, low central unrounded /a/ (often realized as [ɑ]), mid back rounded /o/ (often realized as [ɔ]), and high back rounded /u/. These vowels exhibit distinctions in height, backness, and rounding, with front vowels (/i/, /e/) contrasting against back vowels (/o/, /u/), and /a/ serving as a central low that patterns with both in various phonological processes. Phonetic realizations may vary slightly by , with lower vowels tending toward more open qualities in some varieties. Acoustic analyses confirm these qualities through measurements, such as F1 values ranging from 288 Hz for /i/ to around 626 Hz for /a/, highlighting their perceptual distinctiveness in stressed positions. Vowel length is not consistently phonemic across all contexts but plays a role in contrasts, particularly under stress or in certain lexical items where long variants (/iː, eː, aː, oː, uː/) oppose short ones (e.g., don 'tooth' vs. doón 'ghee'). Lengthening often occurs under stress or before voiced consonants, resulting in allophonic elongation (e.g., /kɑr/ realized as [kɑːr] 'ear'), though this is prosodically conditioned rather than a fixed opposition. In unstressed syllables, vowels may centralize or shorten, contributing to reduced realizations like [ɨ] for /i/ after velars. Khowar includes diphthongs, primarily /ai/ and /au/, which function as vowel-glide sequences (/a j/ and /a w/) and occur syllable-finally or in open syllables, as in mai 'mother' and bau 'father'. These diphthongs are upgliding and contrast with monophthongs, with acoustic evidence showing steady formant transitions (e.g., F2 rising from /a/ to /i/ in /ai/). Additional diphthongs like /oi/ and /ʊi/ appear in some analyses but are less central to the standard inventory. Allophonic nasalization affects vowels preceding nasal consonants, producing slight nasal variants (e.g., /a/ as [ã] in ãgár 'fire'), though this is not phonemically contrastive and remains weaker than in neighboring Dardic languages. Such variations enhance coarticulation without altering meaning, and they are most prominent in careful speech.
PhonemeHeightBacknessRoundingExample Word (Gloss)
/i/HighFrontNoišlík (smooth)
/e/MidFrontNoɫex (dull blade)
/a/LowCentralNoaf (down)
/o/MidBackYesbo (bird)
/u/HighBackYesu (sew)

The consonant inventory of Khowar is relatively rich, featuring 28 to 30 depending on the analysis, with a distinctive retroflex series and contrasts in aspiration and voicing that are characteristic of within the Indo-Aryan family. These consonants are articulated across multiple places, from bilabial to glottal, and include stops, affricates, fricatives, nasals, , laterals, and rhotics. The system reflects influences from neighboring languages like and Persian, contributing to its complexity. Stops form the core of the inventory, with voiceless unaspirated, voiceless aspirated, and voiced series at bilabial, dental-alveolar, retroflex, palatal, and velar places of articulation, plus a voiceless post-velar stop. Aspiration is phonemic for voiceless stops (e.g., /p/ vs. /pʰ/, as in pēć 'cook!' vs. phēl 'moment'), distinguishing initial positions and adding to the language's phonological depth. The retroflex stops /ʈ/, /ʈʰ/, and /ɖ/ are a hallmark of Dardic phonologies, often contrasting with dental-alveolar counterparts (e.g., /tír/ 'thread' vs. /ʈír/ 'sting'). Affricates include dental-alveolar /ts/, /tsʰ/, /dz/; post-alveolar /tʃ/, /tʃʰ/, /dʒ/; and retroflex /ʈʂ/, /ʈʂʰ/, /ɖʐ/, with aspiration contrasts similar to stops. Fricatives encompass labiodental /f/ and /v/, dental-alveolar /s/ and /z/, post-alveolar /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, retroflex /ʂ/ and /ʐ/, velar /x/ and /ɣ/, and glottal /h/. The retroflex fricatives /ʂ/ and /ʐ/ further underscore the Dardic retroflexion pattern, absent in many other . Nasals occur at bilabial /m/, dental-alveolar /n/, retroflex /ɳ/, palatal /ɲ/, and velar /ŋ/ places. Liquids include the alveolar lateral /l/ (with a velarized variant /ɫ/), retroflex lateral /ɭ/, alveolar rhotic /r/ (trill or flap), and retroflex flap /ɽ/. Approximants comprise labiodental /ʋ/, labiovelar /w/, and palatal /j/. The following table summarizes the consonant phonemes by place and , based on standard analyses:
Manner / PlaceBilabialLabiodentalDental-AlveolarPost-AlveolarRetroflexPalatalVelarPost-VelarGlottal
Stops (voiceless unaspirated)ptʈckq
Stops (voiceless aspirated)pʰtʰʈʰcʰkʰ
Stops (voiced)bdɖɟg
Affricates (voiceless unaspirated)tstʃʈʂ
Affricates (voiceless aspirated)tsʰtʃʰʈʂʰ
Affricates (voiced)dzdʒɖʐ
Fricatives (voiceless)fsʃʂxh
Fricatives (voiced)vzʒʐɣ
Nasalsmnɳɲŋ
Lateralsl (ɫ)ɭ
Rhoticsrɽ
Approximantsʋj
Labiovelar approximantw

Suprasegmentals

Khowar exhibits a partial tonal , where pitch contours such as high-falling and low-rising tones serve as suprasegmental features that distinguish lexical items in a limited set of minimal pairs, though their phonemic status is debated in some analyses as potentially stress-based or linked to historical aspiration. For instance, low-rising pitch on elongated vowels marks indefinite pronouns, as in kyaá γ 'something' contrasting with high-falling pitch in kya γ 'what?', while linguist Richard Strand has proposed posterior as an alternative cue for such distinctions rather than pure pitch. This shows influences from neighboring languages like and Indo-Aryan varieties, but tones are not pervasive across all words and often interact with stress. Word stress in Khowar is lexically contrastive and phonemic, primarily realized through pitch prominence and intensity rather than , with the most common pattern falling on the final , though penultimate or even antepenultimate placement occurs depending on morphology and derivation. Stress shifts predictably with inflectional endings, such as in the where secondary aspiration may develop before a stressed -ó, as seen in dust 'friend' versus dust-ó 'friend-obl.', and it creates minimal pairs like káɫi 'dish' versus kɑɫí 'plough part'. In derived forms, stress highlights causative morphemes in infinitives, such as koré(y)k 'to cause to do', underscoring its role in signaling grammatical distinctions without altering segmental inventories. Intonation in Khowar employ pitch variations and final lengthening to convey pragmatic functions, with sentence-final lowering and elongation marking utterance boundaries and emphasis in discourse structures like relative clauses. For example, rising pitch distinguishes from indefinite interpretations in phrases such as ʋ óšun kuy ba γ áy (indefinite) versus ʋ óšun kúy ba γ áy (interrogative), often combined with particles for clarity. These patterns reflect broader prosodic strategies for questions and statements, where back vowels in sound-denoting verbs associate with lower pitch, as in muγék 'moan' versus miγék 'whimper'.

Orthography

Perso-Arabic script

The Perso-Arabic script, adapted in the style, serves as the primary for Khowar, incorporating modifications to represent sounds absent in standard Persian or orthographies. This adaptation includes six additional letters to accommodate unique phonemes, particularly retroflex consonants and s, such as ݮ for the /ɖʐ/, ݯ for the voiceless unaspirated retroflex affricate /ʈʂ/, ݯھ for the voiceless aspirated retroflex affricate /ʈʂʰ/, ڑ for the voiced velarized lateral /ɫ/, ݱ for the /ʐ/, and ݰ for the /ʂ/. These letters enable precise transcription of Khowar's phonological inventory, including retroflex and affricates that distinguish it from related languages. Vowel representation in the script relies on a combination of short vowel diacritics and long vowel letters, with digraphs employed for mid vowels like /ɛ/ and /ɔ/. For instance, /ɛ/ is typically denoted by اِی or ے, while /ɔ/ uses اُو or و, reflecting Khowar's five-vowel system (/i/, /e/, /a/, /o/, /u/) without dedicated single letters for the mid variants. These conventions, drawn from Urdu influences, allow for flexible but sometimes inconsistent spelling in practice. Standardization of the Perso-Arabic for Khowar occurred in the through efforts by local scholars and organizations such as the Anjuman-e-Taraqqi Khowar, building on earlier adaptations to promote and literary production. Prior to this, the language was predominantly oral, with the shift to written form accelerating in the post-19th century period under British colonial influence in the region, where rulers like Prince Nasir ul-Mulk introduced initial primers in 1921 to formalize script usage. This transition marked a departure from purely oral traditions, fostering the development of educational materials and dictionaries in the modified script.

Romanization

Romanization of Khowar refers to systems that transliterate the into the Latin alphabet, primarily for linguistic analysis, diaspora communication, and digital use, complementing the primary Perso-Arabic . These systems aim to capture Khowar's phonological features, such as tones and retroflex consonants, which are often inadequately represented in the Perso-Arabic script due to its lack of standardized diacritics for such elements. A prominent academic scheme was developed by linguist Georg Buddruss in his analyses of Khowar, employing a phonemically based Romanization with diacritics to denote tones and retroflexes. For tones, an acute accent marks high tone or stress (e.g., púši for "cat"), while doubled vowels with an acute accent indicate low-rising tone (e.g., doón for "ghee," contrasting with don for "tooth"). Retroflex consonants are represented using underdots, such as ṭ for /ʈ/ (e.g., ṭír for "in deep sleep," versus tir for "arrow") and ḍ for /ɖ/. This system prioritizes phonetic accuracy, addressing ambiguities in Perso-Arabic where tones are unmarked and retroflexes rely on modified letters like څ for affricates. In practical contexts, the Khowar Academy formalized a in 1996, drawing on earlier work by Rehmat Aziz , which uses extended Latin characters and diacritics for broader accessibility. This includes symbols like å for a specific quality, ɕ for palatal affricates, and underdots or hooks for retroflexes (e.g., ṭ, ș), with the full encompassing over 40 characters to cover Khowar's inventory. It has been adopted in publications such as Chitral Vision and online resources, though no single standard is universally enforced, leading to variations. For instance, a 2008 workshop by the Khowar Academy recommended dual use of Roman and Perso-Arabic scripts to balance tradition and modernity. Diaspora communities and online platforms often employ simplified versions of these Romanization schemes, omitting complex diacritics for ease in typing on standard keyboards, such as rendering doón as doon or ṭír as tir without underdots. This adaptation facilitates communication in emails, , and among Khowar speakers abroad, though it can obscure tonal distinctions critical to meaning (e.g., kyaáγ "something" versus kyaγ "what?" in Perso-Arabic, where both might appear as کياڳ without tone markers). An example comparison: The Perso-Arabic phrase کور وچ meaning "in the " (with potential tonal ambiguity on kor) is Romanized as khoʋár-oč in Buddruss's system or khor wach in simplified forms, highlighting how Latin schemes clarify and pitch.

Grammar

Nouns and morphology

Khowar nouns are inflected for number and case, but lack morphological marking for , which has been replaced by a semantically driven distinction between animate (e.g., humans, animals) and inanimate (e.g., objects, abstract concepts) referents. This system influences agreement patterns, such as with existential verbs, where animates take as- and inanimates take š-, though noun forms themselves remain unmarked for . The absence of sex-based marks a departure from inherited Indo-Aryan patterns, with serving functional roles in syntax and semantics. Number is distinguished through suffixes, with singular forms typically unmarked and plural indicated by endings that vary by and case. For direct-case plurals, animates commonly use -án (e.g., buzurgán "elders"), while inanimates may optionally add -án for countable items (e.g., pušúr-an "pieces of "). Oblique plurals are consistently marked with -an, applying to both animates and inanimates (e.g., ʋazir-án-an "ministers-obl.pl", žanʋár-an "animals-obl.pl"). Specialized plurals include -gíni for terms (e.g., nangíni "mothers") and for emphasis or small groups (e.g., ži-žáʋ "sons", phuphúk "puffs" from phuk). Irregular plurals occur but follow similar patterns without distinct classes. The case system comprises up to eight cases, realized through suffixes on the noun stem, primarily the form, with oblique serving as a base for postpositions and relational functions. The case is unmarked and used for subjects or non-specific objects (e.g., bil ""). The , marked by -o in the singular (e.g., bil-ó "lid-obl") and -an in the plural, indicates specific objects, genitives, or phrases with postpositions like sóra "with" (e.g., ṭhongí-o sóra "with a small axe"). Other cases include ablative -ar or -ári for source (e.g., istór-ar "from horse"), -en or -én for means (e.g., beɫú-en "with blowpipe"), dative -te for purpose (e.g., khyó-te "what for"), and locatives such as -a for "at/on" (e.g., sikúl-a "at "), -i for "in" (e.g., sikúl-i "in "), -tu for "up in" (e.g., kán-tu "up in tree"), and -o for "down in" (e.g., čéy-o "in "). Vocative forms use -é in the singular, often with the particle é: (e.g., é: nan "O mother"), and -án in the plural. Monosyllabic nouns may show stress shifts in oblique forms (e.g., dust "friend" → dust-ó). Derivational morphology for nouns draws on suffixes to form new words from roots, adjectives, or verbs, often reflecting Persian and other areal influences. Agent nouns are commonly derived with -ák (e.g., kor-ák "doer", čang-ák-an "liars"), a form borrowed from Persian patterns. Other suffixes include -í for abstract nouns from adjectives (e.g., ʋorí "fragrance" from a root, iskurdí "shortness" from iskúrdi "short"), -ík for infinitival nouns (e.g., por-ík "to lie down"), -áru for desideratives (e.g., piyáru "thirst" from pi- "drink"), and state-indicating forms like -žúni (e.g., c̣hekžúni "afflicted by disease") or -γári (e.g., ganγíri "affected by a fairy"). Nominal roots can also evolve into postpositions, such as sor- "head" yielding sóra "with".
CaseSingular SuffixExample (Singular)Plural SuffixExample (Plural)Function
Direct∅moóš "man"-án (animates) / optional -án (inanimates)buzurgán "elders"Subject, non-specific object
Oblique-omoóš-o "man-obl"-anʋazir-án-an "ministers-obl.pl"Specific object, postposition base
Ablative-ar / -áriistór-ar "from horse"-an-aržanʋár-an-ar "from animals"Source
Vocative-éé: nan "O mother"-ánnang-án "O mothers"Address
Instrumental-en / -énbeɫú-en "with blowpipe"-an-enkor-ák-an-en "with doers"Means
Dative-tekhyó-te "what for"-an-temit-an-te "to them"Purpose, indirect object
Locative (at/on)-asikúl-a "at school"-an-agurúɫ-an-a "at goitres"Location point
Locative (in)-isikúl-i "in school"-an-ičéy-an-i "in teas"Interior extent
This table summarizes core case paradigms, with variations for and stem adjustments; full declensions attach to the direct stem without separate classes.

Verbs

Khowar s are conjugated based on a stem system that distinguishes between present and stems, with tense marking primarily through prefixes and aspect through suffixes or participles. The present stem typically consists of the combined with a such as /u/, /o/, or /i/, while the stem often incorporates a like -ít- or undergoes vowel changes. Tense is indicated by a zero prefix in the present/ and the prefix i- (or variants o-/a- in irregular s) in the , as detailed in the comprehensive grammar of the . For example, the "to see" ( paš-) forms the present as paš-ím ("I see") with no prefix, but the as i-paš-ít-am ("I saw") with the i- prefix. Person and number agreement is realized through suffixes attached to the stem, with common forms including -um for first-person singular and -an for third-person plural. These suffixes vary slightly by tense and stem type but maintain consistency across regular verbs. In the present tense, for instance, the verb "to do" (kor-) conjugates as kor-um ("I do"), kor-í ("you do"), and kor-an ("they do"). Khowar exhibits ergative alignment specifically in past tenses, where the subject of a transitive verb takes an oblique case marked by postpositions like -ó, while intransitive subjects remain in the nominative; this contrasts with the accusative alignment in present tenses. An example is the past transitive construction tó dazbo-ó gaán-t-am ("I took that goat"), where the first-person subject is oblique due to ergativity. The language encodes aspect through dedicated markers on participles, distinguishing perfective (completed action) via the -í and imperfective (ongoing action) via -áʋ. These combine with the copula as- ("to be") to form compound tenses, such as the kor-í as-úr ("s/he has done") or past imperfective kor-áʋ as-t-am ("I was doing"). Moods like the subjunctive employ an -es- on the stem followed by personal endings, as in boγ-es-ám ("I might go"), while imperatives use stem-final -é for singular (e.g., hur-é "open!") and -ór or -úr for plural (e.g., gy-ór "go! (pl)"). Compound tenses, including the kor-í as-t-am ("I had done"), rely on these participles plus , reflecting a periphrastic strategy for nuanced temporal relations as analyzed in recent descriptive grammars.

Syntax

Khowar exhibits a basic subject-object- (SOV) word order, characteristic of many , where the subject precedes the object, and the follows at the end of the clause. This structure allows for flexibility in , with sentence-initial positions often reserved for topics or old information, while new or focused elements appear pre-verbally. For instance, a simple declarative sentence like "I goats mountain pastures go" illustrates the SOV pattern, where the subject "I," object "goats," and "mountain pastures" precede the "go." Instead of prepositions, Khowar employs postpositions that follow marked in the to express spatial, temporal, and relational functions. Common postpositions include -te for dative purposes, -ar for ablative, sum or su for or comitative roles, -a for locative, and -sar for comparative relations. An example is "ma-sar múɫi he dur," meaning "the house below me," where -sar indicates a comparative spatial relation after the oblique-marked . These postpositions integrate with morphological case markers to form complex phrases, though the details of case morphology are addressed elsewhere. Relative clauses in Khowar typically function as adjectival modifiers and are constructed using participles, agent nouns, or the complementizer ki, allowing both left-branching and right-branching structures. Left-branching relatives, which precede the head noun, often rely on non-finite forms like participles, as in "[namí ʒazáb kor-ák] išnári," translating to "a thing [which absorbs moisture]," where the participial clause modifies "išnári" (thing). Right-branching clauses with ki follow the head and use finite verbs, for example, "hasé ma žuúr [ki t-oó huú poóš-t-aʋ]," or "That is my daughter, [that you saw down there]." Correlative constructions may also link the relative clause to a demonstrative in the main clause, enhancing cohesion in complex sentences. Question formation in Khowar distinguishes between wh-questions and polar questions through specific strategies. Wh-questions employ pronouns beginning with k-, such as ka ("who"), kyá ("what"), kúra ("where"), and kí ("which"), which undergo to the sentence-initial position while maintaining SOV order for the remainder. For example, "kyá ʣah kó-s-an" means "What moist dish are you making?" with kyá fronted for focus. Polar questions are marked by the enclitic -aá at the end of the clause, accompanied by rising intonation, as in "ispusár dúr-i as-úr-aá," or "Is at ?" Intonation further differentiates pronouns from their indefinite counterparts. Khowar displays split-ergativity, particularly in transitive clauses in the , where the agent takes the rather than nominative, aligning with ergative-absolutive patterns. In non-past tenses, the language follows a nominative-accusative alignment, with verbs agreeing with the nominative subject. This split is evident in examples like "tu ma abathá a-r-ú," meaning "You have misled me," where the past transitive agent "tu" (you) is in the , and the verb agrees with the patient "ma" (me). Such patterns extend to perfect tenses constructed with participles and auxiliaries, maintaining ergative marking for agents in transitive contexts.

Vocabulary

Etymological influences

Khowar vocabulary exhibits significant retentions from Proto-Indo-Aryan, particularly in core kinship terms that reflect ancient Indo-European heritage. For instance, the word mār for "mother" derives directly from Proto-Indo-Aryan mātár, a form cognate with Sanskrit mātṛ and preserved with minimal phonetic change in this Dardic language. Similarly, tat meaning "father" derives from Proto-Indo-Aryan tāta-, an expressive form from Proto-Indo-European *tata, cognate with Sanskrit tāta "father". These retentions highlight Khowar's conservative nature in familial lexicon, where Dardic innovations include unique extensions like žaʋ for "son," adapted from Proto-Indo-Aryan sūnú with regional phonological shifts. Khowar also shows substrate influences from non-Indo-Aryan languages due to historical contacts in the region. Turkic influences appear in terms related to pastoralism and administration, such as yurt (tent, from Turkic yurt) and khan (ruler, from Turkic xan). Burushaski substrate is evident in words for local flora and topography, like hunz (a type of apricot, borrowed from Burushaski) and certain terms for mountain features reflecting pre-Indo-Aryan layers. The basic lexicon of numbers and body parts in Khowar further demonstrates substrates from and , underscoring its Indo-Aryan foundations. Numbers such as čhor "four" and čhoy "six" correspond to catúr and ṣaṣ, respectively, retaining initial palatalizations typical of northwestern Indo-Aryan developments. Body part terms like bazú "arm" from bāhu and kar "ear" from karṇa illustrate direct inheritance, with Prakrit-like simplifications in vowel quality and consonant clusters. These elements form the substrate of everyday vocabulary, preserving conceptual structures from ancient layers without extensive alteration. Comparative analysis with fellow Dardic languages reveals shared heritage in these domains, affirming Khowar's position within the group. For example, the term for "two" appears as ju in Khowar, du in Kalasha, and dui in Shina, all stemming from Proto-Indo-Aryan *dwoh. Similarly, "eye" is ghech in Khowar, ech in Kalasha, and a~hii in Shina, reflecting a common descent from *akṣi-. Kinship parallels include "brother" as braár in Khowar, cognate with Kalasha forms and Shina z:aa, both from *bhrā́tr-. These cognates underscore Dardic unity in retaining Indo-Aryan roots amid regional divergences.

Loanwords

Khowar has incorporated a substantial number of loanwords from Persian and Arabic, primarily through historical contact via administration, religion, and culture in the region. These borrowings often enter via Perso-Arabic intermediaries and dominate domains such as governance and Islamic practices. For instance, administrative terms include hokumát (government) from Persian ḥokūmat, daftar (office) from Persian daftar, and méhtar (ruler) from Persian mihtar; religious vocabulary features namāz or niméž (prayer) from Arabic ṣalāh via Persian, sala (prayer) from Arabic ṣalāh, and iqrár (confession) in compounds like iqrár kor- (to confess) from Arabic iqrār. Other common examples are kitāb (book) from Arabic kitāb and qanūn (law) from Arabic qānūn, both adapted through Persian influence. Following Pakistan's independence in 1947, Khowar has experienced increased lexical influence from Pashto, Urdu, and English due to migration, national education policies, and modernization. Pashto borrowings remain limited but include personal pronouns like khpal (self) from Pashto khpal, reflecting cross-border trade and refugee movements in southern Chitral. Urdu, as the national language, contributes to administrative and educational terms, such as sádar (president) from Urdu sadr, school (school), and ṭal maṭól (intentional delay) from Urdu ṭhal maṭhol. English loans are prominent in contemporary technology and schooling, with adaptations like sikúl (school) from English "school," radio (radio), computer (computer), ṭeliʋížan (television) from "television," telephone (telephone), hospital (hospital), and doctor (doctor), often entering via Urdu-medium instruction and tourism. These loanwords undergo phonological adaptation to fit Khowar's sound system, ensuring seamless integration. Persian and loans frequently exhibit secondary aspiration, as in phost () from Persian post, or affrication of /k/ to /tʃ/, seen in forms like kitáb () where initial /k/ may shift in . English borrowings often insert epenthetic vowels to break consonant clusters, such as sikúl () with /u/ after /k/, or palastér () from "plaster." Iranian elements, including older loans from Middle Iranian and Pamir dialects, further illustrate adaptations like vowel shifts in words for time or , such as ʋat (time) from Persian vaqt.

Literature and usage

Oral and written literature

Khowar oral literature encompasses a vibrant array of folktales, , and proverbs that reflect the cultural, moral, and historical fabric of Chitral's Kho communities, deeply rooted in Dardic traditions with influences from Central Asian and Persian sources. Folktales often feature heroic quests involving kings, princes, demons, and fairies, serving as vehicles for imparting ethical lessons on good versus evil; representative examples include "The King Who Had No Children," where Mughal Khan battles monsters to fulfill a prophetic dream, and "The Minister’s Daughter," depicting a clever outwitting adversaries. These narratives draw from diverse societal strands, such as royal courts, nomadic lifestyles, and agricultural practices, and have been adapted locally from broader Persian and dastans like those of . Epic poetry in Khowar oral tradition frequently celebrates the Mehtar rulers of , preserving historical events through laudatory verses performed in communal settings. A seminal work is Shah Nama Siyar by Baba Siyar (c. 1770–c. 1840), an epic poem praising and recognized as the earliest historical account of in Khowar. Similarly, Muzafar Khan Zafar's Zafar Nama () chronicles the reign of Mehtar Afzal II (1838–1853) in couplets reminiscent of grand Persian historical epics, emphasizing themes of rulership and legacy. Proverbs, embedded within these tales and folk wisdom, articulate communal worldviews, such as those contrasting with , and underscore moral guidance in everyday life among Khowar speakers. These oral forms have been preserved by bards and storytellers, known locally as reciters, who performed at royal courts and village gatherings, adapting narratives across generations to maintain cultural continuity. Figures like Nasikh Uddin from Torkhow exemplified this role by narrating extended tales during communal events, ensuring the transmission of tied to Mehtar . Khowar folk , including laments and ballads, further enriches this tradition, conveying grief and resilience as seen in works like Nano Begal and Nandoshi. Written Khowar literature emerged in the , transitioning from oral recitations to scripted forms using the Perso-Arabic alphabet, influenced by Islamic religious practices and Persian models. Early poets such as Mohammad Shokoor Ghareeb (d. 1782) and Mohammad Siyar (d. 1856) composed the first known verses, primarily songs (bashaunu or geet) that captured Chitral's socio-cultural essence. By the , poets like Sher Mulk (c. 1895–1940) from Nogram Mulkho advanced this tradition during the reign of Mehtar Shuja-ul-Mulk, producing lyrical works infused with personal and feudal themes. Religious texts in Khowar, including adaptations of Islamic narratives and Sufi poetry, were rendered in Perso-Arabic script to align with devotional practices, facilitating their integration into local literacy. This script's adoption stemmed from religious imperatives, enabling the transcription of Quranic commentaries and ethical treatises tailored to Khowar phonology. Genres such as ghazals in Khowar literature exhibit strong Persian influences, incorporating archaic diction and mystical motifs to evoke love, nature, and spirituality. Baba Siyar's Diwan-i Baba Siyar (compiled 2006 from 18th–19th century originals) exemplifies this synthesis, blending local Chitrali idioms with Persian bayts (couplets) that reflect regional identities within the broader Persosphere. Such works, often recited in mushairas since the 1980s, highlight Khowar's evolution from Persian-dominated poetry to a distinct indigenous voice.

Modern media and education

Khowar has seen gradual integration into modern media landscapes in , primarily through radio and print outlets. has broadcast three-hour daily programs in Khowar since 1965, serving as a key platform for news, cultural content, and entertainment in and surrounding regions. Television broadcasts in Khowar are available occasionally from stations, contributing to the language's visibility in . In print media, the monthly journal Jamhoor-e-Islam Khowar has been published since 1969, focusing on , pieces, and community issues. Additionally, the fortnightly newspaper Chitral Vision, issued in Khowar and by the Khowar Academy in , covers local news and events. Digital media has expanded Khowar's reach, particularly among younger speakers. On social platforms like , Khowar users frequently engage in with English, blending the two languages in posts and comments to navigate global and local contexts, though English often dominates due to its international status. Online resources include audio-video documentation projects and websites dedicated to Khowar content, such as kay2.tv for news updates. These developments, supported by organizations like Anjuman-e-Taraqi-e-Khowar since 1957, have promoted over 200 active writers and poets, fostering a vibrant digital literary scene. As of 2024, collaborative efforts in have promoted Khowar on platforms to support language maintenance, aligning with the Education Sector Plan 2020-25 for continued curriculum integration. In education, Khowar has transitioned from informal use to formal integration, especially in (KP) province. Since the 1960s, it has been introduced as a in elementary schools in Khowar-speaking areas, marking a shift toward development. A 2010 KP cabinet decision recognized Khowar as a compulsory subject from Class 6, expanding to Class 10 by 2015-2016, with implementation in Khowar-dominant regions. The 2012 Regional Languages Authority Act further supported its inclusion in curricula, leading to textbook development for to Grade 3, including primers distributed to over 18,000 students in 2018-2019. KP recommends Khowar as the for Grades 1-6, transitioning to or English thereafter, with Rs. 74 million allocated for curriculum materials. At higher levels, includes courses on Khowar in its M.Phil. program in Pakistani Languages and Literature, though undergraduate perceptions favor English (70% preference) for its global utility, viewing Khowar (77% support) mainly for cultural preservation. In classrooms, 79% of users report Khowar as the primary language, aiding early learning despite challenges like limited teacher training.

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