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| Sarikoli tujik ziv |
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|---|---|---|
| Spoken in: | China | |
| Total speakers: | approximately 20,500 (1990) | |
| Language family: | Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Southeastern Pamir Sarikoli |
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| Writing system: | None, Arabic, | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1: | none | |
| ISO 639-2: | ira | |
| ISO 639-3: | srh | |
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| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
The Sarikoli language (also Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Tajiks in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language"; however, it is actually from a different subgroup within the Iranian family than the language which is official in Tajikistan.
Contents |
Nomenclature
Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (塔吉克语/Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China, as the ethnic group who speak it identify themselves as Tajiks and not Pamiris (just as their Wakhi do in Pakistan).1 However, it is no more closely related to Tajik as spoken in Tajikistan (a Western Iranian language) than the other Pamir languages.2 It is also referred to as Tashkorghani,3 after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom (now a county of Xinjiang); however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.
The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli".4
Distribution of speakers
The number of speakers is in the tens of thousands; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in southern Xinjiang Province, China. Speakers in China typically use Uyghur and Chinese to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. It is mutually unintelligible with the related Wakhi language, also the mother tongue of a minority of Tajiks in China.5
Orthography
The language has no official written form. Gawarjon, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary,26 while Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers.78 Because the majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction, some may be able to write their language using the Uyghur alphabet.
Phonology
Vowels
Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in bracelets):
a [a], e [e], εy [ɛi̯] (dialectal ay or ay [æi̯ / ai̯], εw [ɛu̯] (dialectal æw or aw [æu̯ /au̯], ə [ə], i [i], o [o / ɔ], u [u], ы [ɯ] (dialectal ů [ʊ]) In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄.
Consonants
Sarikoli has 29 consonants:
Sariqoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription (IPA values in bracelets): p [p], b [b], t [t], d [d], k [k / c], g [ɡ / ɟ], q [q], c [ʦ], ʒ [ʣ], č [ʧʲ], ǰ [ʤʲ], s [s], z [z], x̌ [x], γ̌ [ɣ], f [f], v [v], θ [θ], δ [ð], x [χ], γ [ʁ], š [ʃʲ], ž [ʒʲ], w [w], y [j], m [m], n [n / ŋ], l [l], r [r]
Stress
Most words receive stress on the last syllable; however, a minority receive stress on their first syllable. Also, several noun declensions and verb inflections regularly place stress on their first syllable, including the imperative and interrogative.2
Vocabulary
The Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, and exhibits some similarities and some differences with Western Iranian languages such as Persian or Tajik.
| English gloss | Persian | Tajik | Shughni | Sarikoli | Wakhi | Avestan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| son | pesær (پسر) | pisar (писар) | puts | pɯts | putr | putra |
| fire | atiʃ (اتش) | otaʃ (оташ) | joːts | juts | rɯχnig | âtar |
| water | ab (اب) | ob (об) | xats | xats | jupk | aiwyô, ap |
| hand | dæst (دست) | dast (даѕт) | ðust | ðɯst | ðast | zasta |
| foot | pa (پا) | po (по) | poːð | peð | pɯð | pad |
| tooth | dændan (دندان) | dandon (дандон) | ðinðʉn | ðanðun | ðɯnðɯk | ? |
| eye | tʃæʃm (چشم) | tʃaʃm (чашм) | tsem | tsem | tʂəʐm | cashman |
| horse | æsb (اسب) | asp (асп) | voːrdʒ | vurdʒ | jaʃ | aspa |
| cloud | æbr (ابر) | abr (абр) | abri | varm | mur | ? |
| wheat | gændom (گندم) | gandum (гандум) | ʒindam | ʒandam | ɣɯdim | ? |
| meat | gʉʃt (گوشت) | gʉʃt (гушт) | guːxt | gɯxt | guʂt | ? |
| many | besjar (بسيار) | bisjor (бисёр) | bisjoːr | pɯr | təqi | paoiri, paoirîsh, pouru |
| high | bolænd (بلند) | baland (баланд) | biland | bɯland | bɯland | berezô, berezañt |
| far | dʉr (دور) | dur (дур) | ðar | ðar | ðir | dûra, dûrât |
| good | χʉb (خوب) | χub (хуб) | χub | tʃardʒ | baf | vohu |
| small | kʉtʃik (كوچك)) | χurd (хурд) | dzul | dzɯl | dzɘqlai | ? |
| to say | goft (گفت) | guft (гуфт) | lʉvd | levd | xɘnak | aoj-, mrû-, sangh- |
| to do | kærd (كرد) | kard (кард) | tʃiːd | tʃeig | tsɘrak | kar- |
| to see | did (ديد) | did (дид) | wiːnt | wand | wing | dî- |
References
- ^ A wide variety of alternative transcriptions of the name "Sarikoli" are also used in linguistic discussions, such as 萨里库尔语/Sàlǐkùěryǔ, 萨雷阔勒语/Sàléikuòlèyǔ, 色勒库尔语/Sèlèkùěryǔ, or 撒里科里语/Sǎlǐkēlǐyǔ.
- ^ a b c d Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1985). Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì). Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House.
- ^ Rudelson, Justin Jon (January 2005). Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook: Languages Of The Silk Road. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1741046041.
- ^ Shaw, Robert (1876). "On the Ghalchah Languages (Wakhi and Sarikoli)". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Asiatic Society of Bengal) XIV.
- ^ Arlund, Pamela (2006). An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs.. Arlington, Texas: The University of Texas, p8.
- ^ Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1996). 塔吉克汉词典 (Tǎjíkè-Hàn Cìdiǎn). Sichuan: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House. ISBN 754091744X.
- ^ Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1966). The Sarikoli Language (Сарыкольский язык/Sarykol'skij Jazyk). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.
- ^ Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1971). Sarikoli-Russian Dictionary (Сарыкольско-русский словарь/Sarykol'sko-russkij slovar'). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.
External links
- Ethnologue report for Sarikoli
- The Tajik Ethnic Group in China
- An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs, Pamela S. Arlund, The University of Texas at Arlington.
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