Gawar-Bati language


Gawar-Bati or Narsati is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Chitral region of northern Pakistan, and across the border in Afghanistan. It is also known as Aranduyiwar in Chitral because it is spoken in Arandu, which is the last village in lower Chitral and is also across the border from Berkot in Afghanistan. There are about 9,000 speakers of Gawar-Bati, with 1,500 in Pakistan, and 7,500 in Afghanistan. The name Gawar-Bati means "speech of the Gawar", a people detailed by the Cacopardos in their study of the Hindu Kush.

Study and classification

The Gawar-Bati language has not been given serious study by linguists, except that it is mentioned by George Morgenstierne and Kendall Decker.
It is classified as an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic subgroup. However, the term Dardic is not linguistic but merely geographic.

Phonology

The following tables set out the phonology of the Gawar-Bati language:

Vowels

FrontCentralBack
Close
Mid
Open

The status of short /e/ and /o/ is unclear.

Consonants

A breathy voiced series, /bʱ dʱ gʱ/, existed recently in older speakers—and may still do so.

Orthography

It is rarely written. This alphabet is used in Pakistan:
Letterابپتٹثجچحخڄݮڅځدڈذرڑزژݫس
Transliterationā, Øbptṭsǰčhxc̣j̣cjdḍzrṛzẓžs
IPA, Ø
Letterشݭصضطظعغفقکگلݪمنݨںهءویے
Transliterationšṣsztzʔǧfqkglłmnṇ˜hʔw, ū, oy, īe
IPA,, ,
Letterتھپھٹھچھڄھڅھکھَُِ-------------
Transliterationthphṭhčhc̣hchkhaiu-------------
IPA-------------