Dameli
Encyclopedia
Dameli is a language spoken by approximately 5,000 people in the Domel Valley, in the Chitral
District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
The Domel Valley is about ten miles south of Drosh on the East Side of the Chitral River, on the road from the Mirkhani Fort to the pass of Arandu.
The main source of information on the Dameli Language is an article by Georg Morgenstierne
, published in 1942: Notes on Dameli: A Kafir-Dardic Language of the Chitral. A sociolinguistic survey written by Kendall Decker (1992) contains a chapter on Dameli. The language is classified as a Dardic Language
but this is more of a geographical classification than a linguistic one.
Dameli is still the main language in the villages where it is spoken, and is regularly learned by children. Most of the men speak Pashto
as a second language, and some also speak Khowar
and Urdu
but there are no signs of massive language change.
The Norwegian Linguist 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
.
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
The Domel Valley is about ten miles south of Drosh on the East Side of the Chitral River, on the road from the Mirkhani Fort to the pass of Arandu.
The main source of information on the Dameli Language is an article by Georg Morgenstierne
Georg Morgenstierne
Georg Morgenstierne was a Norwegian professor of linguistics with the University of Oslo . He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages.- Studies :...
, published in 1942: Notes on Dameli: A Kafir-Dardic Language of the Chitral. A sociolinguistic survey written by Kendall Decker (1992) contains a chapter on Dameli. The language is classified as a Dardic Language
Dardic languages
The Dardic languages are a sub-group of the Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, eastern Afghanistan, and the Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir...
but this is more of a geographical classification than a linguistic one.
Dameli is still the main language in the villages where it is spoken, and is regularly learned by children. Most of the men speak Pashto
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
as a second language, and some also speak Khowar
Khowar language
For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat...
and Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
but there are no signs of massive language change.
The Norwegian Linguist Georg Morgenstierne wrote that Chitral
Chitral
Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...
is the area of the greatest linguistic diversity in the world. Although Khowar
Khowar language
For the ethnic group, see under Chitrali people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan , and in parts of Upper Swat...
is the predominant language of Chitral, more than ten other languages are spoken here. These include Kalasha-mun
Kalasha-mun language
Kalasha is an Indo-European language in the Indo-Iranian branch spoken by the Kalash people, further classified as a Dardic language in the Chitral Group...
, Palula
Palula
Palula , Ashreti, or Dangarikwar , is a language spoken by approximately 10,000 people in the valleys of Ashret and Biori, as well as in the village Puri in the Shishi valley, and at least by a portion of the population in the village Kalkatak, in the Chitral District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa...
, Dameli, Gawar-Bati
Gawar-Bati language
Gawar-Bati is known in Chitral as Aranduyiwar, because it is spoken in Village Arandu, which is the last village in the bottom of Chitral and is across the Kunar River from Berkot in Afghanistan. Chitral keeps a military base in Arandu to guard against an attack by Afghanistan.There are 9,000...
, Nuristani
Nuristani languages
The Nuristani languages are one of the three groups within the Indo-Iranian language family, alongside the much larger Indo-Aryan and Iranian groups. They are spoken primarily in eastern Afghanistan...
, Yidgha
Yidgha
The Yidgha language is a Pamir language spoken in the Upper Lutkuh Valley of Chitral, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa west of Garam Chashma in Pakistan...
, Burushaski
Burushaski language
The Burushaski or Burushko language , is a language isolate . It is spoken by some 87,000 Burusho people in the Hunza, Nagar, Yasin, and Ishkoman valleys, and some parts of the Gilgit valley, in Gilgit–Baltistan in Pakistan and by about 300 Burusho people in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India...
, Gujar
Gujjar
The Gurjar are an ethnic group in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Alternative spellings include Gurjara, Gujar, Gurjjara and Gūrjara. The spelling Gurjara or Gurjar is preferable to the rest....
, Wakhi
Wakhi language
Wakhi is an Indo-European language in the branch of Eastern Iranian language family and is intimately related to other Southeastern Iranian languages in the Pamir languages group.-Classification and Distribution:...
, Kyrgyz
Kyrgyz language
Kyrgyz or Kirgiz, also Kirghiz, Kyrghiz, Qyrghiz is a Turkic language and, together with Russian, an official language of Kyrgyzstan...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
and Pashto
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
. Since many of these languages have no written form, letters are usually written in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
or Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
.
Books
- Decker, Kendall D. (1992) Languages of Chitral ISBN 969-8023-15-1 http://www.ethnologue.com/show_work.asp?id=32850
- Morgenstierne, Georg (1926) Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan. Instituttet for Sammenlignende KulturforskningInstitute for Comparative Research in Human CultureThe Institute for Comparative Research in Human Culture is a humanities research institute based in Oslo, Norway.It was established in 1922 by Fredrik Stang. An independent institute, its task is to sponsor research mainly in the fields of comparative linguistics, folklore, religion, ethnology,...
, Serie C I-2. Oslo. ISBN 0-923891-09-9
- Morgenstierne, Georg (1942) Notes on Dameli. A Kafir-Dardic Language of Chitral. Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap Vol. 12: 115 - 198.
- Languages of PakistanLanguages of PakistanLanguages of Pakistan include two official languages: Urdu, which is also Pakistan's national language and lingua franca, and English. Additionally, Pakistan has four major provincial languages: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Farsi and Balochi, as well as three major regional languages: Saraiki, Hindko...
Badshah Munir BukhariBadshah Munir BukhariBadshah Munir Bukhari Badshah Munir Bukhari Badshah Munir Bukhari (Urdu: بادشاہ منیر بخاری; is a linguist from Northern Pakistan. A native of Chitral, he is an Professor in linguistics and a member of the Department of Urdu, University of Peshawar....