Kalkoti language

Kalkoti, also known as Goedijaa,[2] is a Dardic language of the Shina group spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[1] It is surrounded by languages predominantly in the Kohistani group. It is only spoken in a few villages of Kalkot.

Kalkoti
Pronunciation	[kʰælkoːʈ]
Native to	Pakistan
Region	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Native speakers	6,000 (2006)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Dardic Shina Kalkoti
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xka
Glottolog	kalk1245

Phonology

The following tables outline the phonology of Kalkoti.[3]

Vowels

	Front	Back
Close	ɪ~i(ː)	ʊ~u(ː)
Mid	eː	oː
Open	ə~æ(ː)~aː	ɑ(ː)~ɒ(ː)

Short vowels are slightly centralized; nasalization of vowels may be phonemic.[3]

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		m	n	ɳ (?)		ŋ (?)
Plosive	voiceless	p	t	ʈ		k	q	ʔ (?)
	aspirated	pʰ	tʰ	ʈʰ (?)		kʰ
	voiced	b	d	ɖ		ɡ
Affricate	voiceless		ts	tʂ	tʃ
	aspirated			tʂʰ (?)	tʃʰ
	voiced				dʒ
Fricative	voiceless	(f)	s	ʂ	ʃ	x
	voiced		z			ɣ
Lateral			l
Flap			ɾ	ɽ (?)
Approximant		ʋ			j

The phonemes /q, ʦ, x, z, ɣ, ɽ/ have likely been introduced by loanwords. The voiceless aspirate series is secure, and, unlike the neighboring Palula language, Kalkoti does not have a breathy voiced series. The phonemic status of /ʔ/ is unclear and is likely tied to tone in Kalkoti.

Tone

Kalkoti's system of tone likely was similar to Shina's two tone system; however, under pressure from its Kohistani neighbors it may now have a more complex tone inventory.[3]

References

1. Kalkoti at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Liljegren 2013, p. 129.
3. Liljegren 2013, pp. 134–44.

Bibliography

• Liljegren, Henrik (2013). "Notes on Kalkoti: A Shina Language with Strong Kohistani Influence". Linguistic Discovery. 11 (1): 129–160. doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.423. ISSN 1537-0852.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)