Language quiz

Here’s a recording in a mystery language.

Can you identify the language, and do you know where it’s spoken?

Comments (7)

TJApril 1st, 2012 at 8:26 am

Seems to me some African language influenced by Arabic a bit.
I think I heard “insán” and “donya” [human, life, respectively].

SimonApril 2nd, 2012 at 10:25 am

Here’s a clue: this is a language isolate that contains many loanwords from Urdu and from other languages, such as Persian and Sanskrit, via Urdu.

Trond EngenApril 2nd, 2012 at 12:20 pm

Ah, googling “Baaj Sambaa” and variants gave mainly North Indian hits, but I couldn’t get it to be an Indo-Aryan language. I’ve pondered Kusunda from western Nepal, but with the primarily Urdu influence I guess I’ll have to say Burushaski, even if it doesn’t sound like I imagined. And on the odd chance that my searchstring has anything to do with anything: Are these speakers Srinagar Burushi?

jimutavahanaApril 2nd, 2012 at 2:21 pm

I m taking a bet on Burushaski as well

SimonApril 2nd, 2012 at 4:38 pm

Trond is right – the answer is Burushaski, a language isolate spoken in the Hunza and Yasin valleys in northern Pakistan and Kashmir.

The recording comes from the YouTube. I don’t know where these particular speakers are from

Trond EngenApril 2nd, 2012 at 5:01 pm

Finally! It’s been a long time. But truly undeserved this time, since I was completely at loss and just happened to be the first to come by after the hint.

Vijay JohnApril 3rd, 2012 at 12:04 am

Wow, I didn’t even bother to guess this one. I would’ve thought maybe Balochi, just because that’s the closest Pakistani minority language *I* have ever heard!