Kohistani, Indus

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A language of Pakistan

ISO 639-3
mvy
Alternate Names
Khili, Kohistani, Kohistẽ, Mair, Maiyon, Maiyã, Shuthun
User Population

200,000 (1992).

Location

Khyber Pakhtunkwa province: Kohistan district, west bank Indus river.

Language Maps
Language Status

5* (Developing).

Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Outer Languages, Northwestern, Dardic, Kohistani
Dialects

Indus (Jijal, Mani, Pattan, Seo), Duber-Kandia (Duber, Khili, Manzari), Ranolia, Bankad. A separate language from nearby varieties: Bateri [btv], Chilisso [clh]. Lexical similarity: 88%–92% between dialects, 69%–71% with Chilisso [clh], 61%–63%% with Gowro [gwf], 58%–61% with Bateri [btv], 36%–41% with Kohistani Shina [plk], 26%–28% with Gawri [gwc] and Torwali [trw].

Language Use

Many also use Northern Pashto [pbu]. Many also use Urdu [urd].

Language Development

Taught as subject in primary schools, as a 2-year MTB-MLE curriculum taught in 2 privately owned schools.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Kohistani, Indus
Writing

Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab]. Arabic script, Nastaliq variant [Aran], primary usage.

Other Comments

Mani and Manzari are not used for dialects, but are said to refer to brothers whose descendants settled in the 2 dialect areas.