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Language Information By Source

An Overview of Linguistic Structures in Torwali, A Language of Northern Pakistan
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Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

80,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

many

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2001

Location and Context

Countries

Pakistan

Coordinates

No data

Location description

The Torwali people live in the Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province in norther Pakistan. The speakers of the Bahrain dialect live along the Swat River, from Madyan northward 20-25 miles to the village of Asret, south of Peshmal while the speakers of the Chail dialect is spoken in two villages about 3-5 miles east east of Madyan (p.2-3).

Government support

no

Institutional support

no

Speakers' attitudes

Torwali speakers are very proud of their language and culture. (p. 4)

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

The Torwali people live in the Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province in norther Pakistan. The speakers of the Bahrain dialect live along the Swat River, from Madyan northward 20-25 miles to the village of Asret, south of Peshmal while the speakers of the Chail dialect is spoken in two villages about 3-5 miles east east of Madyan (p.2-3).

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Urdu; Pashto

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

Urdu is the national language and medium for instruction whereas Pashto is the lingua franca of the province. The frequency of incorporating Urdu terms for produce and numbers is increasing. Arabic words are borrowed for religion. English words such as hotel, taxi, etc. are also borrowed into Torwali.

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

60,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2010

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

35.5833,72.5

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

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Year of info

1994

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

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Location description

part of Nūrestān and adjacent areas along the Kabul river and its tributaries in the mountain region that encompasses northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northwestern India

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

part of Nūrestān and adjacent areas along the Kabul river and its tributaries in the mountain region that encompasses northeastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and northwestern India

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

The eastern subgroup includes Kashmiri in the Kashmir valley; Shina in the districts of Gilgit and Tangir, north of Kashmir; Phalura (or Palola) and the closely related Sawi; and a number of languages and dialects sometimes referred to generally as Kōhestānī (lit., “of the mountains”) in the Indus, Swat, and Panjkora basins: Maiyan (so called by native speakers but Kōhestānī by others) with the Kanywali dialect, Torwali, and Bashkarik (or Diri, known in another dialect variant as Garwi).

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

60,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2003

Location and Context

Countries

Pakistan

Coordinates

No data

Location description

the Swat valley north of Madyan and in the Chail side valley

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

the Swat valley north of Madyan and in the Chail side valley

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

60,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2009

Location and Context

Countries

Pakistan

Coordinates

No data

Location description

Swat Kohistan, both sides of Swat River, beyond Madyan north to Asrit (between Mankjal and Peshmal); Chail Valley east of Madyan

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

Swat Kohistan, both sides of Swat River, beyond Madyan north to Asrit (between Mankjal and Peshmal); Chail Valley east of Madyan

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

Pashto; Urdu

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

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Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

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Older adult speakers

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Elder Speakers

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Ethnic Population

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Non-monolingual speakers

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More about speakers

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Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

35.302906, 72.539572

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2006

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

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Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

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More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

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More on context

Since Urdu became the national language of Pakistan in 1947 and increasingly functions as the country’s lingua franca, it has replaced Persian as a compulsory language in the curriculum. From the 1980s the presence of Persian in the educational system became negligible. Despite this, a significant influx of additional Perso-Arabic words has entered the lexicons of all the languages of Pakistan through Urdu.

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

60,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2006

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

No data

Native Speakers Worldwide

No data

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

2005

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

34.25,72.0

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

No data

Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

No data

Vulnerable

Native Speakers Worldwide

60,000

Domains of Use

No data

Speaker Number Trends

No data

Transmission

No data

Speakers

Second-language speakers and learners

No data

Semi-speakers

No data

Child speakers

No data

Young adult speakers

No data

Older adult speakers

No data

Elder Speakers

No data

Ethnic Population

No data

Non-monolingual speakers

No data

More about speakers

No data

Year of info

Location and Context

Countries

No data

Coordinates

No data

Location description

No data

Government support

No data

Institutional support

No data

Speakers' attitudes

No data

Standard orthography

No data

Script (Writing system)

No data

Other writing systems

No data

More on writing systems

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Other languages used

No data

Domains of other languages

No data

More on context

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Media Resources

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  1. Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled by research teams at University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute for Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) at Eastern Michigan University
    2012. "Endangered Languages Catalogue Project. Compiled By Research Teams At University of Hawai'i Mānoa and Institute For Language Information and Technology (LINGUIST List) At Eastern Michigan University."
  2. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)
    Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)
    http://www.ethnologue.com/
  3. World Oral Literature Project
    "World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.
    http://www.oralliterature.org
  4. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
    Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)
    http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas
  5. The World Atlas of Language Structures
    2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.
  6. Glottolog
    "Glottolog." Online: http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/.
    http://www.glottolog.org/glottolog/
  7. Dardic
    Bashir, Elena. 2003. "Dardic." In The Indo-Aryan Languages, edited by George Cardona and Dhanesh Jain. 818-894. London & New York: Routledge.
  8. Dardestān ii. Language
    D.I. Edel'man. 1994. "Dardestān Ii. Language." In Encyclopedia Iranica, Online: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dardestan-#i.
    http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/dardestan-#i
  9. Indo-iranian Frontier Languages
    Elena Bashir. 2006. "Indo-iranian Frontier Languages." In Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, Online: http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-iranian-frontier-languages-and-the-influence-of-persian.
    http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/indo-iranian-frontier-languages-and-the-influence-of-persian
  10. An Overview of Linguistic Structures in Torwali, A Language of Northern Pakistan
    Lunsford, Wayne A. An Overview of Linguistic Structures in Torwali, A Language of Northern Pakistan. Master thesis, University of Texas at Arlington, 2001.
    www.fli-online.org/documents/.../torwali/wayne_lunsford_thesis.pdf
  11. Language policy, multilingualism and language vitality in Pakistan
    Tariq Rahman. 2006. "Language Policy, Multilingualism and Language Vitality in Pakistan." In Lesser-known languages of South Asia: status and policies, case studies and applications of information technology, edited by Anju Saxena and Lars Borin. 73-106. Mouton de Gruyter.