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Pahari-Pothwari
Pahari Pothwari is an Indo-Aryan language variety of the Lahnda group, spoken in the northern half of Pothohar Plateau, in Punjab, Pakistan, as well as in the most of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir and in the western areas of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It is known by a variety of names, the most common of which are Pahari (English: /pəˈhɑːri/; an ambiguous name also applied to other unrelated languages of India), and Pothwari (or Pothohari).
The language is transitional between Hindko and standard Punjabi and is mutually intelligible with both. There have been efforts at cultivation as a literary language, although a local standard has not been established yet.
Grierson in his early 20th-century Linguistic Survey of India assigned it to a so-called "northern cluster" of Lahnda (Western Punjabi), but this classification, as well as the validity of the Lahnda grouping in this case, have been called into question. In a sense all Lahnda varieties, and standard Punjabi are "dialects" of a "greater Punjabi" macrolanguage.
There are at least three major dialects: Pothwari, Mirpuri and Pahari.
The dialects are mutually intelligible, but the difference between the northernmost and the southernmost dialects (from Muzaffarabad and Mirpur respectively) is enough to cause difficulties in understanding.
Pothwari (پوٹھوہاری), also spelt Potwari, Potohari and Pothohari, is spoken in the north-eastern portion of Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab, an area administratively within Rawalpindi division. Pothwari is its most common name, and some call it Pindiwal Punjabi to differentiate it from the Punjabi spoken elsewhere in Punjab.
Pothwari extends southwards up to the Salt Range, with the city of Jhelum marking the border with Majha dialect. To the north, Pothwari transitions into the Pahari-speaking area, with Bharakao, near Islamabad, generally regarded as the point where Pothwari ends and Pahari begins. In Attock and Talagang districts of Pothohar, it comes in contact with other Lahnda varieties, namely Chacchi, Awankari and Ghebi. In Chakwal, yet another dialect is spoken, Dhani.
Pothwari has been represented as a dialect of Punjabi by the Punjabi language movement, and in census reports the Pothwari areas of Punjab have been shown as Punjabi-majority.
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Pahari-Pothwari
Pahari Pothwari is an Indo-Aryan language variety of the Lahnda group, spoken in the northern half of Pothohar Plateau, in Punjab, Pakistan, as well as in the most of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir and in the western areas of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It is known by a variety of names, the most common of which are Pahari (English: /pəˈhɑːri/; an ambiguous name also applied to other unrelated languages of India), and Pothwari (or Pothohari).
The language is transitional between Hindko and standard Punjabi and is mutually intelligible with both. There have been efforts at cultivation as a literary language, although a local standard has not been established yet.
Grierson in his early 20th-century Linguistic Survey of India assigned it to a so-called "northern cluster" of Lahnda (Western Punjabi), but this classification, as well as the validity of the Lahnda grouping in this case, have been called into question. In a sense all Lahnda varieties, and standard Punjabi are "dialects" of a "greater Punjabi" macrolanguage.
There are at least three major dialects: Pothwari, Mirpuri and Pahari.
The dialects are mutually intelligible, but the difference between the northernmost and the southernmost dialects (from Muzaffarabad and Mirpur respectively) is enough to cause difficulties in understanding.
Pothwari (پوٹھوہاری), also spelt Potwari, Potohari and Pothohari, is spoken in the north-eastern portion of Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab, an area administratively within Rawalpindi division. Pothwari is its most common name, and some call it Pindiwal Punjabi to differentiate it from the Punjabi spoken elsewhere in Punjab.
Pothwari extends southwards up to the Salt Range, with the city of Jhelum marking the border with Majha dialect. To the north, Pothwari transitions into the Pahari-speaking area, with Bharakao, near Islamabad, generally regarded as the point where Pothwari ends and Pahari begins. In Attock and Talagang districts of Pothohar, it comes in contact with other Lahnda varieties, namely Chacchi, Awankari and Ghebi. In Chakwal, yet another dialect is spoken, Dhani.
Pothwari has been represented as a dialect of Punjabi by the Punjabi language movement, and in census reports the Pothwari areas of Punjab have been shown as Punjabi-majority.