Wakhi
وخی x̌ik zik, х̌ик зик
Wakhi written in Arabic script in Nastaliq style, Latin script and in Cyrillic script
Native to	Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Tajikistan
Ethnicity	Wakhi
Native speakers	(20,000 in Pakistan (2016); 58,000 cited 1992–2012)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Wakhi
Early forms	Scythian Saka[2][3][4]
Writing system	Perso-Arabic, Cyrillic, Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	wbl
Glottolog	wakh1245
ELP	Wakhi
Linguasphere	58-ABD-c
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Wakhi language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator

Wakhi (Wakhi: وخی/В̌aхi, IPA: [waχi]) is an Indo-European language in the Eastern Iranian branch of the language family spoken today in Wakhan District, Northern Afghanistan and also in Tajikistan, Northern Pakistan and China.

Classification and distribution

Wakhi is one of several languages that belong to the areal Pamir language group. It is believed^{[by whom?]} to be a descendant of the Scytho-Khotanese language that was once spoken in the Kingdom of Khotan.

The Wakhi people are occasionally called Pamiris and Guhjali. It is spoken by the inhabitants of the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, parts of Gilgit-Baltistan (the former NAs) of Pakistan, Gorno-Badakhshan region of Tajikistan and Xinjiang in Western China. The Wakhi use the self-appellation 'X̌ik' (ethnic) and suffix it with 'wor'/'war' to denote their language as 'X̌ik-wor' themselves. The noun 'X̌ik' comes from *waxša-ī̆ka- (an inhabitant of *Waxša- 'Oxus', for Wakhan, in Wakhi 'Wux̌'. There are other equivalents for the name Wakhi (Anglicised) or Wakhani (Arabic and Persian), Vakhantsy (Russian), Gojali/Gojo (Dingrik-wor/Shina), Guyits/Guicho (Burushaski), Wakhigi/Wakhik-war (Kivi-wor/Khow-wor) and Cert (Turki). The language belongs, as yet to be confirmed according to studies and sources, to the southern group of the Pamir languages, in the Iranian group of the Indo-European family (450) of languages, where the Ishkashmi, Shighni/...nani and Wakhi languages are included. A very rough estimate of the population of Wakhis is 58,000 worldwide. The Wakhi live in six countries. In the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, the Wakhi people mainly live in Gojal, Ishkoman, Darkut and in Chitral District's Broghol. They also live in some parts of Wakhan in Afghanistan, Gorno-Badakhshan in Tajikistan, the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China, Russia and Turkey.

In Afghanistan

In the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, Wakhi is spoken from Putur, near Ishkashim, to the upper reaches of the Wakhan River.^[5]

In Tajikistan

In Tajikistan, the Wakhi and other communities that speak one of the Pamir languages refer to themselves as Pamiri or Badakhshani and there has been a movement to separate their identity from that of the majority Persian-speaking Tajiks. Linguists universally refer to Wakhi as an East Iranian language independent of Tajik Persian, but many Tajik nationalists insist that Wakhi and other Pamir languages are actually dialects of Tajik.^[6]

In Pakistan

In Gilgit-Baltistan, Wakhi is spoken in the sparsely populated upper portions of five of the northernmost valleys: Hunza, Gojal, Ishkoman, Yasin, Gupis and Yarkhun. The Hunza valley has the largest Wakhi population in Pakistan. The Wakhis of Ishkoman live primarily in the Karambar valley, in the town of Imit and beyond. In Yasin, they live mostly in the vicinity of Darkot and in Yarhkun, they are found in Baroghil and in a few other small villages in the high, upper portion of valley.

In Pakistan, the central organization of the Wakhi is the Wakhi Cultural Association Pakistan (WCA), an organization that is registered with the Government of Pakistan and which works with the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Lok Virsa Pakistan. The Association is working for the preservation of the Wakhi language and culture, as well as documenting their poetry and music.

Radio Pakistan Gilgit relays the Wakhi radio programme "Sadoyah Boomy Dunyo", the voice of the roof of the world. The Wakhi Cultural Association has arranged more than twenty programmes since 1984, which includes cultural shows, musical nights and large-scale musical festivals with the collaboration of Lok Virsa Pakistan, the Aga Khan Cultural Service Pakistan (AKCSP) and Pakistan television. In 2000, the WCA won a "Best Programme" organizer award in the Silk Road Festival from the President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf. A computerized codification of the Wakhi script has been released, which will help to promote the language development programme and documentation of Wakhi poetry, literature and history.^[7]

In China

Wakhi is also spoken in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Xinjiang of China, mainly in the township of Dafdar.

In Russia

There are approximately 6,000 Wakhi in Russia, Most of them have migrated from Tajikistan and Afghanistan.

In Turkey

There are some Wakhi villages in Turkey in the eastern regions, where they have migrated from Afghanistan in 1979 during the Afghan and Russian war.^[8]

Orthography

Traditionally, Wakhi was not a written language. Writing systems have been developed for the language using Arabic, Cyrillic and Latin scripts.

Arabic script

This Arabic alphabet is mainly used in Afghanistan and Pakistan:^[9][10]

Cyrillic script

When Wakhi is written in Cyrillic, the sounds are usually represented by these letters:

Latin script

A Latin alphabet, which includes some Cyrillic and Greek letters, was developed in 1984 by Haqiqat Ali:^[11]

The new Wakhi Alphabet

Sample text

Sample text from a Bible translation published in 2001 is shown below:^[12]

Vocabulary

The Wakhi lexicon exhibits significant differences with the other Pamir languages. Gawarjon's comparison of the dialects of Sarikoli and Wakhi spoken in China is reproduced below.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Publications

In Pakistan two books of Wakhi poetry have been published so far using Latin, modified IPA, script.

The first book is a collection of Nazir Ahmad Bulbuls poetry entitled "Beyoz-e-Bulbul". The second book is a collection of old and new poems and folklores compiled by Bulbulik Heritage Center, Gulmit.