Khowar (کھووار)

Khowar is a member of the Dardic branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken by about 313,000 people in Pakistan. Its spoken particularly in the Gilgit district of Gilgit Baltistan province in the north of Pakistan.

Khowar at a glance

  • Native name: کھوار [kʰowaɾ]
  • Alternative names: Chitrali, Kashkari, Arniya
  • Language family: Indo-European, Indo-Aryan, Dardic
  • Number of speakers: 1 million
  • Spoken in: Pakistan
  • First written: 20th century
  • Writing systems: Perso-Arabic script and Latin script
  • Status: one of the regional languages of Pakistan

There are also Khowar speakers in cities such as Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Karachi, as well as in Hunza, where it is used as a second language. Speakers of Khowar call themselves Chetrari or Chitrali (چترالی).

Since the early 20th century Khowar has been written with the Nasta'liq style of the Perso-Arabic script. Before then it was unwritten. Khowar has also been written with a version of the Latin alphabet since the 1996, when the Khowar Academy created the Khowar Latin alphabet.

There is a fortnightly newspaper, Chitral Vision (چترال وژن), in Khowar and Urdu published by the Khowar Academy in Karachi. There are also occasional radio broadcasts in Khowar.

Khowar alphabet and pronunciation

Consonants

Khowar consonants

A recording of the Khowar alphabet

Aspirated consonants

Khowar aspirated consonants

A recording of the Khowar aspirated consonants

Vowels

Khowar vowels

A recording of the Khowar vowels

Numerals and numbers

Khowar numerals

A recording of the Khowar numbers

Latin alphabet for Khowar

This alphabet was devised by Rehmat Aziz Chitrali with the collaboration of Khowar Academy and has been used since 1996. It is designed to represent all the sounds of Khowar and avoids the problem of Arabic letters that are not supported by Unicode and which are used in the Khowar Arabic-based alphabet.

Latin alphabet for Khowar

Download a spreadsheet with the Khowar alphabets

Sample text in Khowar

Article 1 of the UDHR (Standard Khowar version)

سف انسان آزاد وا حقوق اوچے عزتو اعتبارو سورا برابار پیدا بیتی آسونی، ھیتانتے ضمیر اوچے عقل عطا کورونو بیتی شیر، ھے بچین ھیتان تان موژی برارگاریو سلوکو کوریلک۔ کھوار ترجمہ: رحمت عزیز چترالی

Article 1 of the UDHR (Khowar Latin alphabet)

Saf insān āzād wa ḥuqūq-ochay izzato ėʿtibāro sora barābaar paidā biti asuni. hetantey żamīr ôchay ʿaql ataa koronu biti sher. Hey bachen hetan taan muzhi brar gariyo sulūk korelik.

A recording of this text

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Corrections, additions and recordings by رحمت عزیز چترالی (Rehmat Aziz Chitrali) from پاکستان، ضلع چترال (Chitral, Pakistan)

Sample videos

Links

Information about Khowar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khowar_language
http://wikitravel.org/en/Khowar_Script
http://merachitral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/khowar-alphabets-characters-of-khowar.html
http://www.anusha.com/khowar.htm
http://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/01/25/khowar-language/

Khowar - English dictionary and word list
http://www.anusha.com/khow-lst.htm

Font and keyboard layout for Khowar
http://www.mahraka.com/khowar.html

Virtual Khowar keyboard
http://www.branah.com/khowar

Online Khowar news
http://kay2.tv
http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wn/khw/Main_Page

Videos in Khowar
http://www.youtube.com/channel/HCkR158AhhLaU

Dardic languages

Gawri, Indus Kohistani, Kalkoti, Kashmiri, Khowar, Palula, Sawi, Shina, Torwali

Languages written with the Arabic script

Adamaua Fulfulde, Afrikaans, Arabic (Algerian), Arabic (Bedawi), Arabic (Chadian), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Gulf), Arabic (Hassaniya), Arabic (Hejazi), Arabic (Lebanese), Arabic (Libyan), Arabic (Modern Standard), Arabic (Moroccan), Arabic (Najdi), Arabic (Sudanese), Arabic (Syrian), Arabic (Tunisian), Arwi, Äynu, Azeri, Balanta-Ganja, Balti, Baluchi, Beja, Belarusian, Bosnian, Brahui, Chagatai, Chechen, Chittagonian, Comorian, Crimean Tatar, Dargwa, Dari, Dhatki, Dogri, Domari, Gawar Bati, Gawri, Gilaki, Hausa, Hazaragi, Hindko, Indus Kohistani, Kabyle, Kalkoti, Karakalpak, Kashmiri, Kazakh, Khowar, Khorasani Turkic, Khwarezmian, Konkani, Kumzari, Kurdish, Kyrgyz, Lezgi, Lop, Luri, Maguindanao, Malay, Malay (Terengganu), Mandinka, Marwari, Mazandarani, Mogholi, Morisco, Mozarabic, Munji, Noakhailla, Nubi, Ormuri, Palula, Parkari Koli, Pashto, Persian/Farsi, Punjabi, Qashqai, Rajasthani, Rohingya, Salar, Saraiki, Sawi, Serer, Shabaki, Shina, Shughni, Sindhi, Somali, Soninke, Tatar, Tausūg, Tawallammat Tamajaq, Tayart Tamajeq, Ternate, Torwali, Turkish, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Wakhi, Wanetsi, Wolof, Xiao'erjing, Yidgha

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