Shughni language

Pamir language of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and China
Shughni
Shugnani-Rushani
xuɣnůni ziv/хуг̌ну̊ни зив, pomiray/помирай зив/خُږنۈنے زِڤ
Native toTajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China
EthnicityShughnan
Native speakers
(50,000 Shughni proper, ca. 75,000 all varieties cited 1990)[1]
Language family
Indo-European
  • Indo-Iranian
    • Iranian
      • Eastern Iranian
        • Shugni–Yazgulami
          • Shughnani
            • Shughni
Dialects
  • Shughni proper
  • Rushani dialect
  • Oroshori dialect
  • Khufi dialect
  • Bartangi dialect
Writing system
Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3sgh
Glottologshug1248
ELP
  • Shughni
  • Oroshor
Shughni is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Shughni or Khughni (in the local language: хуг̌ну̊ни зив tr. khughnöni ziv; Tajik: шуғнонӣ, Persian: شغنانی), is one of the Pamir languages of the Southeastern Iranian language group.[2][1] Its distribution is in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan, Chitral district in Pakistan and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China.[2][3]

Shughni-Rushani tends towards SOV word order, distinguishes a masculine and feminine gender in nouns and some adjectives, as well as the 3rd person singular of verbs. Shughni distinguishes between an absolutive and an oblique case in its system of pronouns. Rushani is noted for a typologically unusual 'double-oblique' construction, also called a 'transitive case', in the past tense. Normally Soviet school scientists consider Rushani as a close but independent language to Shughni, while Western school scientists codes Rushani as a dialect of Shughni due to Afghanistan Rushani speakers living in the Sheghnan district of Badakhshan Province.

Dialects

Rushani, Bartangi, Oroshori (Roshorvi), Khufi and Shughni proper are considered to be dialects. However, Bartangi and Khufi are quite distinct and may be separate languages.

Phonology

Vowels

The following are the vowels of Shughni:

Shughni vowels
Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Close-mid e ø (ə) o
Open-mid ɛ ɔ
Open a~æ ɑ

Long vowels occur as /, , /.

Consonants

The following are the consonants of Shughni:[4]

Shughni consonants
Labial Dental/
Alveolar
Post-
alveolar
Velar Uvular Glottal
plain sibilant
Nasal m n ŋ
Plosive/
Affricate
voiceless p t t͡s t͡ʃ k q
voiced b d d͡z d͡ʒ ɡ
Fricative voiceless f θ s ʃ x χ (h)
voiced v ð z ʒ ɣ ʁ
Approximant l j w
Rhotic r
  • /r/ can be realised as a trill [r] or a tap [ɾ].
  • Velar sounds /x, ɣ/ can also be realised as more fronted palatal sounds [ç, ʝ].

Orthography

Shughni people live in both Afghanistan and Tajikistan. For the past 100 years, each country has had diverging literary traditions and orthographic standards. On either side of the border, Shughni literaturists, being previously an unwritten language, has relied heavily on the existing orthographic standards and conventions in coming up with an orthography for Shughni language.

In Tajikistan, Perso-Arabic alphabet was discarded in 1928, being replaced by Latin alphabet, and 11 years afterwards in 1939, Latin alphabet being replaced by Cyrillic alphabet. Tajik Cyrillic alphabet is of coursed based on Russian orthography, and similar to that of Uzbek language in neighboring Uzbekistan. Thus, the alphabets developed in Tajikistan for Shughni language, have been Cyrillic and Latin.

In Afghanistan, Dari (Afghan Persian), with the well-established Perso-Arabic script, is the literary language of the nation. Pashto language too, with its own alphabet, derived from Persian, but with unique features and conventions, is the co-official language of Afghanistan. Thus, the Shughni orthography being developed by literaturists in Afghanistan has been derived from Persian, and borrowing letters from Pashto as needed.

Perso-Arabic alphabet

The process of compiling a Perso-Arabic derived alphabet for Shughni has been a long and iterative one, over a period starting from 2004, with the publication of the first book on phonology and orthography of Shughni language by Khair Mohammad Haidari.[5]

This was followed by a 2011 publication by Dr. Nur Ali Dost from Montreal-based "Sohravardi Foundation for Iranian Studies".,[6] a 2011 compilation by Mazhab Shah Zahoori [7] and two other by Alishah Sabbar and Calgary-based Dr. Khush Nazar Parmerzad.[8]

This led to controversy, correspondence, and collaboration between Shughni literaturists and academics, who over the following years, agreed upon specific set of consonants, and a specific standardized way of representing vowels.[9][10]

The Afghan government has officially adopted Shughni orthography as well, and the Ministry of Education has created textbooks to be used in Badakhshan Province.[11]

Letters

Below table demonstrates the 44-letter Perso-Arabic-derived Shughni alphabet.[10][12][13]

Forms IPA Cyrillic equivalent Latin/Greek equivalent Unicode Notes
Isolated Final Medial Initial
آ / ا ـا - آ [ɔ] О о O o U+0622
U+0627
Vowel phoneme [ɔ] is represented with "آ" when at the beginning of a word, and with "ـا / ا" when in the middle or end of a word.
ا - - ا [∅]
([a][ʊ][e~ɪ])
- / А а / И и / У у ‌ - / A a / I i / U u U+0627 Letter alif at the beginning of a word can serve two functions. First, it precedes vowel letters "اۈ" [ɵ], "او" [u], "ایـ / اي" [i], or "اېـ / اې" [e]. Second, it acts as a vowel carrier for diacritics of the three short vowels of Shughni, "اَ" [a], "اُ" [ʊ], and "اِ" [ɛ~ɪ].
ب ـب ـبـ بـ [b] Б б B b U+0628
پ ـپ ـپـ پـ [b] П п P p U+067e
ت ـت ـتـ تـ [b] Т т T t U+062a
ث ـث ـثـ ثـ [s] С с S s U+062b Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Pronounced as it would be in Dari.
ٿ ـٿ ـٿـ ٿـ [θ] Т̌ т̌ Θ ϑ U+067F Unique to Shughni, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. While the letter se "ث" represents the phoneme [θ] in Arabic, this new letter has been introduced so that there can be distinguishment between the native sound [θ] and the sound [s] produced by the letter "ث" in loanwords of Arabic-origin entering via Persian.
Some authors have used letter se with a dot underneath "ݑ" or have used the letter se "ث" for both purposes.
ج ـج ـجـ جـ [d͡ʒ] Ҷ ҷ J̌ ǰ U+062c
چ ـچ ـچـ چـ [t͡ʃ] Ч ч Č č U+0686
ح ـح ـحـ حـ [∅] ([h]) Ҳ ҳ H h U+0686 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. In most cases, the letter he "ح" is silent.
خ ـخ ـخـ خـ [χ] Х х X x U+062e
څ ـڅ ـڅـ څـ [t͡s] Ц ц C c U+0685 Letter adopted from Pashto. Similar letter exists in Khowar, Munji, and Wakhani orthographies.
ځ ـځ ـځـ ځـ [d͡z] Ҙ ҙ Ӡ ӡ U+0681 Letter adopted from Pashto. Similar letter exists in Khowar, Munji, and Wakhani orthographies.
د ـد - - [d] Д д D d U+062f
ذ ـذ - - [z] З з Z z U+0630 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Pronounced as it would be in Dari.
ڎ ـڎ - - [ð] Д̌ д̌ Δ δ U+068E Unique to Shughni, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. While the letter zol "ذ" represents the phoneme [ð] in Arabic, this new letter has been introduced so that there can be distinguishment between the native sound [ð] and the sound [z] produced by the letter "ث" in loanwords of Arabic-origin entering via Persian.
Some authors have used the letter zol "ذ" for both purposes.
ر ـر - - [r] Р р R r U+0631
ز ـز - - [z] З з Z z U+0632
ژ ـژ - - [ʒ] Ж ж Ž ž U+0698
ږ ـږ - - [ɣ] Г̌ г̌ Ɣ̌ γ̌ U+0696 Letter adopted from Pashto.
س ـس ـسـ سـ [s] С с S s U+0633
ش ـش ـشـ شـ [ʃ] Ш ш Š š U+0634
ښ ـښ ـښـ ښـ [x] Х̌ х̌ X̌ x̌ U+069a Letter adopted from Pashto. Similar letter exists in Munji, and Wakhani orthographies.
ص ـص ـصـ صـ [s] С с S s U+0635 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
ض ـض ـضـ ضـ [z] З з Z z U+0636 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
ط ـط ـطـ طـ [t] Т т T t U+0637U Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
ظ ـظ ـظـ ظـ [z] З з Z z U+0638 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
ع ـع ـعـ عـ [∅]/[ʔ] - - U+0639 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
غ ـغ ـغـ غـ [ʁ] Ғ ғ Ɣ γ U+063a
ف ـف ـفـ فـ [f] Ф ф F f U+0641
ڤ ـڤ ـڤـ ڤـ [v] В в V v U+06a4 Letter adopted from Kurdish. Similar letter exists in Munji and Wakhani.
ق ـق ـقـ قـ [q] Қ қ Q q U+0642
ک ـک ـکـ کـ [k] К к K k U+06a9
گ ـگ ـگـ گـ [g] Г г G g U+06af
ل ـل ـلـ لـ [l] Л л L l U+0644
م ـم ـمـ مـ [m] М м M m U+0645
ن ـن ـنـ نـ [n] Н н N n U+0646
و ـو - او / و [w]/[u] В̌ в̌
Ӯ ӯ
W w
Ū ū
U+0648 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 "و", if representing a vowel [u], it will be preceded by alif "او".
ۈ ـۈ - اۈ [ɵ] У̊ у̊ Ů ů U+06C8 Letter unique to Shughni, combination of letter wāw "و" and superscript alif "◌ٰ", reflecting that the letter represents a vowel phoneme that's approximately between [u] and [ɔ]. Similar letter exists in Uyghur, representing the phoneme [y].
ه - ـهـ هـ [Ø]/[◌ː]
([aː]/[ɛː])
([h])
(А̄ а̄)
(Ě ě)
(Ā ā)
(Ê ê)
U+0647 Silent letter in most cases. Lengthens the vowel preceding it, vowels [aː] "ـَ" and [ɛː] "ـِ".
ـه - - [a]
([h])
А а
А̄ а̄
A a
Ā ā
Only at the end of the word does this letter represent vowel phoneme [a]. In the middle of words, this vowel is represented with diacritic (ـَ) which is usually dropped in writing. At the beginning of a word, the diacritic is placed on top of alif (اَ).
ی ـی ـیـ ایـ / یـ [j]/[i] Й й
Ӣ ӣ
Y y
Ī ī
U+06cc Represents two phonemes based on context, [j] and [i].
If used at the beginning of a word, if representing consonant [j], it will be written standalone "یـ", if representing a vowel [i], it will be preceded by alif "ایـ".
ې ـې ـېـ اېـ [e] Е е
Э э
E e U+06d0 Unique to Shughni, not part of Persian (Dari). Similar letter exists in Pashto and Uzbek orthographies. Indicates a vowel, and when a word begins with this vowel phoneme, the letter needs to be preceded by alif (اېـ).
ے ـے - - [ɛ]~[i] И и I i U+06D2
ئ ـئ ـئـ - [Ø]/[ʔ] - / Ъ ъ - / ’ U+0626 Limited use for writing of some diphthongs and mid-word glottal stops

Vowels

Shughni language consists of 10 vowels. There are 3 short vowels, which have 3 corresponding long vowels, and there are 4 additional long vowels. One of the topics of contraversy in the process of compiling and standardizing Shughni orthography, was how to express all 9 of the vowels. In this process, letters from Pashto and Urdu have been borrowed (ې and ے), a new letter has been created (اۈ) and due to a lack of the sound [h], the letter he (هـ ـهـ) has been repurposed from a consonant grapheme to a vowel one.[10]

Below tables demonstrate how vowels are to be written in different positions within a word. Note that some vowels don't occur in specific positions in Shughni phonology. Also note that diacritics are generally dropped in writing. Also note that there exists free variation between the short vowels in colloquial Shughni.[10]

А а И и У у А̄ а̄ Ě ě О о У̊ у̊ Э э
Е е
Ӣ ӣ Ӯ ӯ
A a I i U u Ā ā Ê ê O o Ů ů E e Ī ī Ū ū
[a] [ɛ~ɪ] [ʊ] [aː] [ɛː] [ɔ] [ɵ] [e] [i] [u]
Vowels at the beginning of a word
اَ / ا اِ / ا اُ / ا اَهـ اِهـ آ اۈ اېـ ایـ او
Vowels at the middle of a word
◌َ ◌ِ ◌ُ ◌َهـ / ـَهـ ◌ِهـ / ـِهـ ا / ـا ۈ / ـۈ ېـ / ـېـ یـ / ـیـ و / ـو
Vowels at the end of a word
ه / ـه ے / ـے و / ـو - - ا / ـا ۈ / ـۈ ې / ـې ی / ـی و / ـو

Cyrillic and Latin alphabets

The Shughni Cyrillic and Latin alphabets are as follows:[14][15][12][13]

Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
А а
(A a)
[a]
اَ / ◌َ / ه ـه
А̄ а̄
(Ā ā)
[aː]
اَهـ / ◌َهـ ـَهـ
Б б
(B b)
[b]
ب
В в
(V v)
[v]
В̌ в̌
(W w)
[w]
و
Г г
(G g)
[g]
گ
Ғ ғ
(Ɣ γ)
[ʁ]
غ
Г̌ г̌
(Ɣ̌ γ̌ )
[ɣ]
ږ
Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
Д д
(D d)
[d]
د
Д̌ д̌
(Δ δ)
[ð]
ڎ
Е е
(E e)
[e]/[je]
اېـ / ـېـ / ې
Ӗ ӗ
(Ê ê)
[ɛː]
‎اِهـ / ◌ِهـ ـِهـ
Ж ж
(Ž ž)
[ʒ]
ژ
З з
(Z z)
[z]
ز، ذ، ض، ظ
Ҙ ҙ
(Ӡ ӡ)
[d͡z]
ځ
И и
(I i)
[ɛ~ɪ]
اِ / ◌ِ / ے
Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
Ӣ ӣ
(Ī ī)
[i]
ایـ / ـیـ / ی
Й й
(Y y)
[j]
یـ / ی
К к
(K k)
[k]
ک
Қ қ
(Q q)
[q]
ق
Л л
(L l)
[l]
ل
М м
(M m)
[m]
م
Н н
(N n)
[n]
ن
О о
(O o)
[ɔ]
آ / ا ـا
Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
П п
(P p)
[p]
پ
Р р
(R r)
[r]
ر
С с
(S s)
[d]
‌س، ث، ص
Т т
(T t)
[t]
ت، ط
Т̌ т̌
(Θ ϑ)
[θ]
ٿ
У у
(U u)
[ʊ]
اُ‌ / ◌ُ / و
Ӯ ӯ
(Ū ū)
[u]
او / ـو
У̊ у̊
(Ů ů)
[ɵ]
اۈ / ـۈ
Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
Ф ф
(F f)
[f]
ف
Х х
(X x)
[χ]
خ
Ҳ ҳ
(H h)
[∅]([h])
هـ، ح
Х̌ х̌
(X̌ x̌)
[x]
ښ
Ц ц
(C c)
[t͡s]
څ
Ч ч
(Č č)
[t͡ʃ]
چ
Ҷ ҷ
(J̌ ǰ)
[d͡ʒ]
ج
Ш ш
(Š š)
[ʃ]
ش
Cyrillic
(Latin)
[IPA]
Perso-Arabic
Ъ ъ
(’)
[Ø]/[ʔ]
ئ
Э э
(E e)
[e]
اېـ / ـېـ / ې

Sample Text

Below is a sample text, the first few passages from translations of a British nursery rhyme, The Old Woman and Her Pig.[16]

Perso-Arabic Script یے کمپیر ږنِکِک خو چید زِدیداوَند ڤَدت یے ځُلِکِک جُکچِن شش پولے یے ڤِرود. یه یے لۈد اِدی:‌ «وُز کو مے ځُلِکِک شش پولے قتے چیز زِهم؟» — «وُز بازار سَهم خو یے خوگبُڅ خَریتُم.» یه تَر بازار سَت خو یے خوگبُڅے خَریت چود.
Cyrillic Script Йи кампӣр г̌никик хӯ чӣд зидӣдов̌анд вадт йи ҙуликик ҷукчин шаш пӯли йи вирӯд. Йа йи лу̊д иди: «В̌уз кӯ ми ҙуликик шаш пӯли қти чӣз зӗм?» —«В̌уз бозор са̄м хӯ йи хӯгбуц харӣтум.» Йа тар бозор сат хӯ йи хӯгбуци харӣт чӯд.
Latin Script Yi kampīr γ̌nikik xū čīd zidīdowand vadt yi ӡulikik ǰukčin šaš pūli yi virūd. Ya yi lůd idi: «Wuz kū mi ӡulikik šaš pūli qti čīz zêm?» —«Wuz bozor sām xū yi xūgbuc xarītum.» Ya tar bozor sat xū yi xūgbuci xarīt čud.
Persian Translation پیرزنی در حال جارو کردن خانه‌اش بود و یک سکه خورد و کج شده شش پنسی را پیدا کرد. او به خودش گفت که: «با این سکه خورد شش پنسی چه کنم؟»—«من به بازار می روم و یک خوکچه را می خرم.» پیرزن به بازار رفت و یک خوکچه را خرید.
Persian Translation (Tajik) Пиразан хонаашро руфта истода буд, ки сиккаи шикастаи шаш пенсӣро ёфт. Худ ба худ гуфт: «Ин сиккаи шикастаи шаш пенсӣро чӣ кунам?» — «Ба бозор рафта, як хукча мехарам.» Пиразан ба бозор рафта, хукча харид.

Literature

  • Edelman, D. (Joy) I. and Leila R. Dodykhudoeva (2009). "Shughni." In: Gernot Windfuhr (ed.), The Iranian Languages, 787-824. London & New York: Routledge.
  • Olson, Karen (2017). Shughni Phonology Statement. SIL International.
  • Zarubin, I. I. (1960). Shugnanskie teksty i slovar. Moskva: Izd-vo Akademii nauk SSSR.

References

  1. ^ a b Shughni at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ a b Karamšoev, Dodchudo K. (1988–99). Šugnansko-russkij slovar. 3 vols. Moskva: Nauka. ISBN 5-02-016991-9 (Vol. 2), ISBN 5-02-018101-3 /ISBN 5-02-017858-6 (Vol. 3)
  3. ^ Windfuhr, Gernot (2013-05-13). Iranian Languages. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-79704-1.
  4. ^ Arno, James C. (2007). "Shughni" (PDF) – via people.umass.edu.
  5. ^ Khair Mohammad “Haidari”, (2004) Alphabet of Shughni Language / الفبای زبان شغنی. (Dari) Academy of sciences of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan.
  6. ^ Dr. Nur Ali Dost (2011) Shughni Language Alphabet / الفبای زبان شغنی (Dari). Sohravardi Foundation for Iranian Studies, Montreal, Canada. [1] (Archive)
  7. ^ Mazhab Shah Zahoori (2011, February 19). Determining and using the Shughni alphabet by Mazhab Shah Zahoori / تعین واستفاده الفبای شغنی توسط مذهب شاه ظهوری (Dari). Sīmā-yi Shughnān Publications Office. [2] (Archive)
  8. ^ Nawruz Ali Sabitī. (2011, March 1st) Some matters surrounding the proposed alphabet of Sughnani language / مطالبی پيرامون الفبای مطروحه زبان شغنانی (Dari). Fayzabad, Afghanistan. [3] (Archive)
  9. ^ Nawruz Ali Sabitī. (2012, May 1st) The discussion of the structure of alphabet of Shughnani language should be resumed / گفتگوی ساختار الفبای زبان شغنانی از سر گرفته شود (Dari). Fayzabad, Afghanistan.[4] (Archive)
  10. ^ a b c d Nawruz Ali Sabitī. (2011, April 25th). A reflection on the thoughtful research of Noor Ali Dost, Ph.D., regarding the Shoghnani alphabet / تأملی در قسمت پژوهش مدبرانه محترم دکتورانت نور علی دوست در مورد الفبای شغنانی (Dari). Fayzabad, Afghanistan.[5] (Archive)
  11. ^ [6]
  12. ^ a b Nawruz Ali Sabitī. (2016, 22 September) A phonemic alphabet scheme for the Pamir languages / طرح الفبای فونیمیکی برای زبان های پامیری (Dari). Fayzabad, Afghanistan. [7] (Archive)
  13. ^ a b Ali Bek Salik (2020, 15 July). How to learn Shoghani language outside of Afghanistan? (Dari). Calgary, Canada. Sīmā-yi Shughnān Publications Office. [8] (Archive)
  14. ^ Луқо Инҷӣл = Luqo Inǰīl (Shughni Bible Translation). ИПБ / IBT. 2001. ISBN 5-93943-018-X.
  15. ^ Khushom Guliam (خوشام گل ایام). (2019, June 04) History of Shughli Alphabet (خږنۈنے الفبا تاریخ / Хуɣнẙнě Алифбо тарих). Sīmā-yi Shughnān Publications Office [9] (Archive)
  16. ^ Nawruz Ali Sabitī, Sarvar Arkan. (2020, May) The Old Woman and Her Pig / پیره‌زن و خوگچه‌اش (Dari) / کمپیر ږنِکِک ات خوگبُڅَک (Shughni). Calgary, Canada. Fayzabad, Afghanistan. [10] (Archive)

External links

Shughni language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator
  • Shughni Language Page
  • The Shughni Grammar Project
  • Shughni Wikipedia main page
  • v
  • t
  • e
Official languages
  • flagAfghanistan portal
Regional languages
Minority languages
Sign languages
  • v
  • t
  • e
Official languages
Other languages
(by administrative unit)
Azad Kashmir
Balochistan
Gilgit-Baltistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Punjab
Sindh
Related topics
  • v
  • t
  • e
History
Eastern
Pamir
Others
Western
North
South