Everything about The Nuristani Languages totally explained
The
Nuristani languages are a subgroup of the
Indo-Iranian language family, spoken in
Afghanistan and parts of modern
Pakistan.
History
The Nuristani languages were not described in the literature until the 19th century. The older name for the region was
Kafiristan and the languages were termed Kafiiri or Kafiristani, but the terms have been replaced by the present ones as being less pejorative, for
kafir means "infidel", while NUR means "light". In other words Nuristan is "Land of the Light" or "Enlightened Land. And Nuristani means "...of Land of the Light or ... of Enlightened Land." Here it refers to the Language(s) of the Land of the Light.
The recent view is to classify Nuristani as an independent branch of the Indo-Iranian language family, but a few classified it with the
Indic group, while another characterized it as originally Iranian, but greatly influenced by the nearby
Dardic languages. In any event, it would seem they arrived in their present homeland at a very early date, and unlike the Indo-Aryans, never entered the
Punjab.
The languages are spoken by tribal peoples in an extremely isolated mountainous region of the
Hindukush, one that has never been subject to any real central authority in modern times. This area is located along the northeastern border of Afghanistan and adjacent portions of northwest
Pakistan. These languages have not received the attention Western linguists like to give them. Considering the very small number of peoples estimated to speak them, they must be considered
endangered languages.
There are five Nuristani languages, each spoken in several dialects. Major dialects include Kata-vari, Kamviri, and Vai-ala. Most of the Nuristanis in Pakistan speak Kamviri. These are influenced by, and sometimes classified as,
Dardic languages; but this is more of a geographical classification than a linguistic one.
The Norwegian Iranist
Georg Morgenstierne wrote that
Chitral is the area of the greatest linguistic diversity in the world. Although
Khowar is the predominant language of Chitral, more than ten other languages are spoken here. These include
Kalasha-mun,
Palula,
Dameli,
Gawar-Bati, Nuristani,
Yidgha,
Burushaski,
Gujar,
Wakhi,
Kyrgyz,
Persian and
Pashto. Since many of these languages have no written form, letters are usually written in
Urdu or
Persian.
List of Nuristani languages
Literature
Decker, Kendall D. (1992) Languages of Chitral http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850
Morgenstierne, Georg (1926) Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning, Serie C I-2. Oslo. ISBN 0-923891-09-9
Jettmar, Karl (1985) Religions of the Hindu Kush ISBN 0-85668-163-6
J. P. Mallory, In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth, Thames and Hudson, 1989.
James P. Mallory & Douglas Q. Adams, "Indo-Iranian Languages", Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.
SIL Ethnologue (External Link
)
Strand, Richard F. (1973) "Notes on the Nûristânî and Dardic Languages." Journal of the American Oriental Society, 93.3: 297-305.Further Information
Get more info on 'Nuristani Languages'.
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