Khowar (Chitrali)

Khowar is spoken in Chitral, which is in the far North West corner of Pakistan.
Khowar is classed as an Indo-European language of the Dardic Group.

However, "Dardic" is simply a geographical collection of Indo-European languages spoken in the Hindu Kush and Himalaya Mountains. Among them, only Kalashamun, the language of the Kalash tribe, is closely related to Khowar.

This page is dedicated to RAHMAT AZIZ who kindly provided the information below.

Existence................. .................hal bik, maujood bik
Life.......................... ..................zindagi
Being[noun]............ .................hal bik, maujood bik (somethig that exists)
Being (verb)............ .................qabza korik, kia zhagho ganik, hal bik
I was......................... ................awa oshotam,
he was...................... .................hasay oshoy
theywere.................. .................hatet oshoni
I am a man.......................... ......awa mosh, awa kulanu
you are men (plural)................. pisa mosh, pisa kulanu
He is....................... ...................hes asur
they are.................... .................het asuni

I will be in Delhi... awa Dehlia bom, awa dehlia maujood boom

he will be in Delhi................... hes Dehlia boy
they will be in Delhi................ het Dehlia boani
there was.................. ................hatera oshoy
there is?   ..................................hatera sher
There is a dog? ........................hatera i raini asoor, hatera raini asoor
There was a dog?    .................hatera i raini astai, hatera raini astai
there will be...... ........................hatera boy
it existed?
the sun exists    ........................yoor you nisay, yoor tortai
the sun is hot   .........................yoor pechh sher, yoor pechh

Finally ten short sentences. [please put the 'existence' word in brackets]
example:
The girl [is] a student. ..........................kumoru i sabaq rak [asoor], kumoru i schooli [asoor]

The girl is a student..... ............................kumoruj i sabaq rak [asoor], kumoru i schooli [asoor]
This is a ball ................... .........................hay ball, haya plinju, haya pot, hays budi.( you can say haya i ball, hays i pllinju also)
The boy is being kind.................. ...........daq bo meherban
The building has existed for ten years? josh salari building ruphi sher, josh sall hoy hay buildingo sauz biti.
The girl is running quickly.......................kumoru taiz dayran.
The boys are handsome .................... ....daq bo chust, daq bo shaili.
The man is a doctor...................................mosh i docthar, mosh i thabeeb.
I believe in the existence of God ............awa Allaho moujodagio sora haqeen koroman.
My Father is the manager.......... ..............ma tat manijair
I believe life exists on earth....................ma yaqeen sher ki zindagi dunya maujood sher
I like being a student................................awa schooli biko sum bawoojuda khoshaiman. awa i schooli biko haisiata pasand koman
I enjoy life........................................ .........awa zindagio enjoy koman, awa zindagio jam shaxchaiman.
I love her with my whole 'Being.' .........awa ho sum bo ziad muhabat koman
God exists.............. ...................................Allah maujood asoor.

Thank you very much

Yours truly,

(RAHMAT AZIZ CHITRALI)
CHITRAL, NWFP, PAKISTAN
e mail: rachitrali@yahoo.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/khowaracademy

KHOWAR: a language of Pakistan

Population	222,800 (1992).
Region	Chitral; Shandur Pass to Fupis in Ghizr Valley, Yasin and Ishkhoman valleys in Gilgit Agency, Ushu in northern Swat Valley, and large communities in Peshawar and Rawalpindi.
Alternate names	KHAWAR, CHITRALI, CITRALI, CHITRARI, ARNIYA, PATU, QASHQARI, KASHKARI
Dialects	NORTH KHOWAR, SOUTH KHOWAR, EAST KHOWAR, SWAT KHOWAR.
Classification	Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Northwestern zone, Dardic, Chitral.
Comments	The northern dialect is considered to be more 'pure'. Related to Kalasha, but different. 86% to 98% lexical similarity among dialects. Urdu schools; some girls go through fifth grade or higher. Different second languages used in different areas: Pashto in the south, Shina and Burushaski in the Gilgit Agency, Kalami and some Pashto in Swat, Urdu and English among the educated. The most important language of Chitral. Monthly journal in Khowar. 'Kho' means 'people', 'war' means 'language.' Trade language. SOV. Literacy rate in second language: 15% to 20% men, 1% women. Radio programs. Mountain valleys. Sunni and Ismaili Muslim.