Parya language

Indo-Aryan language spoken in Central Asia
Parya
Парья
Native toTajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan
RegionGissar Valley, Surkhandarya basin
Native speakers
2,600 (2008–2017)[1]
Tajikistan: 1,600 (2017)[1]
Uzbekistan: 1,000 (2008)[1]
Afghanistan: Extinct (no date)[1]
Language family
Indo-European
  • Indo-Iranian
    • Indo-Aryan
      • Central Zone
        • Western Hindi
          • Parya
Language codes
ISO 639-3paq
Glottologpary1242
ELPParya

Parya (Russian: язык Парья) is an isolated Central Indo-Aryan language spoken in the border region between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. There are several thousand speakers worldwide.

Classification and Status

Parya is classified as a Central Zone[2] language in the Indo-Aryan language family.[3]

Tajuzbeki (or Tadj-Uzbeki) was an alternative name coined by Bholanath Tiwari for the same language.[4] Much of the academic research in documenting and characterizing Parya was done by prominent Soviet linguist I. M. Oranski. The language may also be referred to as Afgana-Yi Nasfurush, Afghana-Yi Siyarui, Changgars, Laghmani, or Pbharya.[1]

SIL estimates that there may be between 2,500 and 7,500 speakers.[5][6]

The language is not officially recognized or used in schools[7] and is categorized as severely endangered.[8]

Speakers of Parya

Parya is spoken in the Hissor Valley of Tajikistan, west of Dushanbe, and the adjacent Surkhondaryo basin of Uzbekistan, including the towns of Hisor, Shahrinav, Regar/Tursunzoda, Surchi, Afghonobod, Qalai Hisor, Pravda Vostok, Boloi Kanal, and Kolkhozi Leninism.

The language is mostly spoken with ones family and relations, and it is almost always spoken in the homes of native speakers.[9]

Parya speakers tend to be bilingual in the dominant languages surrounding them,[10] but tend to exclusively use Parya at home.[1]

The Tajik language has increasingly influenced the Parya language.[11]

Phonology

Consonants[4]
Labial Dental Alveolar Postalveolar-
Palatal
Retroflex Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m ɲ ɳ ŋ
Stop/
Affricate
voiceless p t͡ʃ ʈ k q
aspirated t̪ʰ t͡ʃʰ ʈʰ
voiced b d͡ʒ ɖ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ x
voiced v z ɣ
Approximant ɾ l j ɽ ɦ

Grammar

Vigesimal counting

Parya employs some vigesimal numeral counting patterns.[12][13]

English Parya Hindi Cognate Hindi words
one jek ek
two du do
three tin tīn
four tshar cār
five pandzh pāñc
ten dus das
twenty bis bīs
seventy sare tin bisi sattar sāṛhe tīn = three and a half; bīs = twenty
ninety sare char bisi nabbe sāṛhe cār = four and a half; bīs = twenty

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Parya at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "Did you know Parya is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  3. ^ Abbess, Elisabeth; Muller, Katja; Paul, Daniel; Tiessen, Calvin; Tiessen, Gabriela (May 2010). "Language Maintenance Among the Parya of Tajikistan". Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Tiwari, Bholanath (1970). Tajuzbeki. National Publishing House.
  5. ^ Abbess, Elisabeth; Muller, Katja; Paul, Daniel; Tiessen, Calvin; Tiessen, Gabriela (May 2010). "Language Maintenance Among the Parya of Tajikistan". Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Brenzinger, Matthias (2007-01-01). Language Diversity Endangered. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110170504.
  7. ^ Clifton, John (2010). "Stable Multilingualism in Tajikistan". CLS 46-2: The parasessions. Chicago Linguistic Society. pp. 17–25.
  8. ^ ChartsBin. "Number of Endangered Languages by Country". ChartsBin. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  9. ^ "Did you know Parya is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  10. ^ Abbess, Elisabeth; Muller, Katja; Paul, Daniel; Tiessen, Calvin; Tiessen, Gabriela (May 2010). "Language Maintenance Among the Parya of Tajikistan". Retrieved March 6, 2021.
  11. ^ Moseley, Christopher (2010-01-01). Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger. UNESCO. ISBN 9789231040962.
  12. ^ Jadranka Gvozdanović, "Numeral types and changes worldwide", Walter de Gruyter, 1999; ISBN 3-11-016113-3, ISBN 978-3-11-016113-7
  13. ^ Iosef Mikhailovich Oranski, "Dva indoariyski dialekta iz Srednei Azii", Indiyskaya i Iranskaya Filologiya; Institut Narodov Azii, Nauka, 1964.

External links

  • The Indo-Aryan languages - a tour
  • Parya numerals at the Wayback Machine (archived 2021-01-16)
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