Kata-vari dialect
Kata-vari is a dialect of the Kamkata-vari language spoken by the Kata in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most used alternative names are Kati, Kativiri or Bashgali.
| Kata-vari | |
|---|---|
| Kati | |
| Native to | Afghanistan, Pakistan |
| Region | Nuristan, Kunar, Chitral |
Native speakers | 134,010 (2017)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Arabic script | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | bsh |
| Glottolog | kati1270 |
It is spoken by approximately 40,000 people (mostly in Afghanistan, just over 3,700 in Pakistan), and its speakers are Muslim. Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language, and between 15% to 25% for people who have it as a second language.
There are two main sub-dialects: Eastern Kata-vari and Western Kata-vari. In Afghanistan, Western Kata-vari is spoken in the Ramgal, Kulam, Ktivi and Paruk valleys of Nuristan. Eastern Kata-vari is spoken in the upper Landai Sin Valley. In Pakistan, Eastern Kata-vari is spoken in Chitral District, in Gobar and the upper Bumboret Valley.
Phonology
Consonants
| Labial | Dental/ Alveolar |
Palato- alveolar |
Retroflex | Palatal | Velar | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | ʈ | k | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɖ | ɡ | |||
| Affricate | voiceless | t͡s | t͡ʃ | t͡ʂ | |||
| voiced | (d͡z) | d͡ʒ | d͡ʐ | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | (f) | s | ʃ | ʂ | (x) | |
| voiced | v | z | (ʒ) | ʐ | (ɣ) | ||
| Nasal | m | n | ɳ | ŋ | |||
| Tap | ɾ | (ɽ) | |||||
| Approximant | lateral | l | |||||
| central | ɻ | (j) | |||||
- Sounds /ʒ ɽ ɣ/ occur from neighboring languages. /f d͡z x/ are borrowed from loanwords.
- /ʈ/ can also be heard as an allophone [ɽ].
- [j] is heard as an allophone of /i/.
- /v/ can also be heard as bilabial [β] or a labial approximant [w].
Vocabulary
Pronouns:
1sg. uze (nominative), ie (accusative), iema (genitive)
1pl. imu (nominative/accusative/genitive)
2sg. tiu (nominative), tu (accusative), tuma (genitive)
2pl. šo (nominative/accusative/genitive)
Numbers:
1: ev
2: diu
3: tre
4: štavo
5: puč
6: ṣu
7: sut
8: uṣṭ
9: nu
10: duć
References
- Simons, Gary F; Fennig, Charles D, eds. (2018). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (21st ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
- Grjunberg, Aleksandr L. (1980). Jazyk Kati: Teksty, Grammatičeskij Očerk. Moskva: Glavnaya Redaktsija Vostočnoj Literatury.
- Strand, Richard F. (1973). Notes on the Nūristāni and Dardic Languages. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
- Strand, Richard F. (2010). "Nurestâni Languages". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- Strand, Richard F. (2011). "Kâtʹa-vari Lexicon". Retrieved 2020-11-22.
External links
- Strand, Richard F. (1997–2013). "Nuristan: Hidden Land of the Hindu-Kush". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- Strand, Richard F. (1997). "The kâtʹa, kʹom, mumʹo, kṣtʹo, biniʹo, ǰâmčʹo, and ǰâšʹa". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- Strand, Richard F. (1998). "The kâtʹa". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- Strand, Richard F. (2011). "Kâtʹa-vari Lexicon". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
- Strand, Richard F. (2011). "The Sound System of Kt'ivřâ·i vari". Retrieved 2012-01-16.