Kamkata-vari language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kamkata-vari
Kati
Kâmkata-vari
Native toAfghanistan, Pakistan
RegionNuristan, Kunar, Chitral
Native speakers
150,000 (2011-2017)[1]
Dialects
Arabic script (Nastaliq)
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
bsh – Kati
xvi – Kamviri
Glottologkati1270
ELPKati
Linguasphere58-ACB-a

Kamkata-vari (Kâmkata-vari) is the largest Nuristani language. It contains the main dialects Kata-vari, Kamviri and Mumviri. Kata-vari and Kamviri are sometimes erroneously reckoned as two separate languages, but according to linguist Richard Strand they form one language.[2]

The Kamkata-vari language is spoken by 40,000–60,000 people, from the Kata, Kom, Mumo, Kshto and some smaller Black-Robed tribes in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. There are dialectal differences of the Kamkata-vari speakers of Pakistan. The most used alternative names for the language are Kati or Bashgali.

Classification[edit]

It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is in the Nuristani group of the Indo-Iranian branch.

Dialects[edit]

There are four main dialects: Eastern Kata-vari, Western Kata-vari, Kamviri and Mumviri. The last two are sometimes erroneously defined as separate languages. Eastern Kata-vari and Kamviri are commonly both referred to as Shekhani in Chitral.[3]

Status[edit]

Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language and between 15% and 25% for people who have it as a second language. The Kata-vari dialect can be heard on radio in Afghanistan.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kati at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018) Closed access icon
    Kamviri at Ethnologue (21st ed., 2018) Closed access icon
  2. ^ "Richard Strand's Nuristân Site: Peoples and Languages of Nuristan". nuristan.info. Retrieved 2022-06-04.
  3. ^ Torwali, Zubair (2020). "Countering the challenges of globalization faced by endangered languages of North Pakistan". Language Documentation and Description. 17: 51.
  • Strand, Richard F. (2010). "Nurestâni Languages". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  • Strand, Richard F. (2022). "Ethnolinguistic and Genetic Clues to Nûristânî Origins". International Journal of Diachronic Linguistics and Linguistic Reconstruction. 19: 267–353.

External links[edit]