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Torwali language
Torwali (Torwali: توروالی), also known as Bahrain Kohistani, is an Indo-Aryan language of Kohistani group spoken by the Torwali people in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat Kohistan region in northern Pakistan. It has been proposed to be the closest modern Indo-Aryan language still spoken today to Niya dialect of Gāndhārī, a Middle Indo-Aryan language spoken in the ancient region of Gandhara. Torwali and Gawri languages are collectively classified as "Swat Kohistani".
The Torwali language is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim communities of Swat. Torwali is an endangered language: it is characterised as "vulnerable" by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages. There have been efforts to revitalise the language since 2004, and mother tongue community schools have been established by Idara Baraye Taleem wa Taraqi (Institute for Education and Development) (IBT).
The words "Kohistan" (lit. Land of mountains) and "Kohistani" (lit. Language or people of Kohistan) are generic terms. Kohistani can thus refer to any of about a dozen Kohistani languages spoken in the Kohistan region of Pakistan. Joan Baart is the only author who used the term "Bahrain Kohistani" for the Torwali language. Ethnologue, 27th edition suggests Kohistani, Torwalak, Torwalik and Turvali as alternative names for the language while Torwali as an autonym for it.
Although descriptions of Torwali phonology have appeared in the literature, some questions still remain unanswered.
Edelman's analysis, which was based on Grierson and Morgenstierne, shows nasal counterparts to at least /e o a/ and also found a series of central (reduced?) vowels, transcribed as: ⟨ä⟩, ⟨ü⟩, ⟨ö⟩.
Lunsford had some difficulty determining vowel phonemes and suggested there may be retracted vowels with limited distribution: /ɨ/ (which may be [i̙]), /e̙/, /ə̙/. Retracted or retroflex vowels are also found in Kalash-mondr.
The phonemic status of the breathy voiced series is debatable.
Sounds with particularly uncertain status are marked with a superscript question mark.
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Torwali language AI simulator
(@Torwali language_simulator)
Torwali language
Torwali (Torwali: توروالی), also known as Bahrain Kohistani, is an Indo-Aryan language of Kohistani group spoken by the Torwali people in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat Kohistan region in northern Pakistan. It has been proposed to be the closest modern Indo-Aryan language still spoken today to Niya dialect of Gāndhārī, a Middle Indo-Aryan language spoken in the ancient region of Gandhara. Torwali and Gawri languages are collectively classified as "Swat Kohistani".
The Torwali language is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim communities of Swat. Torwali is an endangered language: it is characterised as "vulnerable" by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages. There have been efforts to revitalise the language since 2004, and mother tongue community schools have been established by Idara Baraye Taleem wa Taraqi (Institute for Education and Development) (IBT).
The words "Kohistan" (lit. Land of mountains) and "Kohistani" (lit. Language or people of Kohistan) are generic terms. Kohistani can thus refer to any of about a dozen Kohistani languages spoken in the Kohistan region of Pakistan. Joan Baart is the only author who used the term "Bahrain Kohistani" for the Torwali language. Ethnologue, 27th edition suggests Kohistani, Torwalak, Torwalik and Turvali as alternative names for the language while Torwali as an autonym for it.
Although descriptions of Torwali phonology have appeared in the literature, some questions still remain unanswered.
Edelman's analysis, which was based on Grierson and Morgenstierne, shows nasal counterparts to at least /e o a/ and also found a series of central (reduced?) vowels, transcribed as: ⟨ä⟩, ⟨ü⟩, ⟨ö⟩.
Lunsford had some difficulty determining vowel phonemes and suggested there may be retracted vowels with limited distribution: /ɨ/ (which may be [i̙]), /e̙/, /ə̙/. Retracted or retroflex vowels are also found in Kalash-mondr.
The phonemic status of the breathy voiced series is debatable.
Sounds with particularly uncertain status are marked with a superscript question mark.