Sarikoli language

The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by the Pamiris in Xinjiang, China and Chitral, Pakistan. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the related Iranian language spoken in Tajikistan, which is a dialect of Persian.

Nomenclature

Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (Template:Lang-zh, Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China. However, it is distantly related to Tajik (a form of Persian) as spoken in Tajikistan because Sarikoli is an Eastern Iranian language, closely related to other Pamir languages largely spoken in the Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, whereas Persian is a Western Iranian language and the official language of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, having historically been the most dominant Iranian language. It is also referred to as Tashkorghani, after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom—now the Tashkurgan (or Taxkorgan) Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China. However, the usage of the term Tashkorghani is not widespread among scholars.

The earliest written accounts in English are from the 1870s which generally use the name "Sarikoli" to refer to the language, but some written accounts since that time may use a different pronunciation derived from transcribing Chinese phonetics of the term into English as "Selekur(i)". Modern Chinese researchers often mention Sarikoli and Tajik names in their papers.

Distribution of speakers

The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Southern Xinjiang Province, China and the Chitral District of Pakistan, specifically the Broghil Valley. The Chinese name for the Sarikoli language, as well as the usage of Sarikol as a toponym, is Sàléikuòlèyǔ (). Speakers in China typically use Chinese and Uyghur to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area.

Writing system

The language has no official written form. Linguist Gao Erqiang, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary, while Tatiana N. Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers. The majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction.

Uyghur alphabet

In recent years, Sarikoli speakers in China have used Uyghur Arabic alphabet to spell out their language.

Sarikoli Uyghur Arabic Alphabet

No.	Letter	IPA	Latin Eq.	No.	Letter	IPA	Latin Eq.
1	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	O o	20	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Gh gh
2	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink	A a	21	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Gc gc
3	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	B b	22	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	F f
4	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	P p	23	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	V v
5	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	T t	24	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Kh kh
6	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Ss ss	25	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink	K k
7	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	J j	26	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink	G g
8	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Q q	27	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Ng ng
9	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	H h	28	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	L l
10	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	C c	29	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	M m
11	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Ts ts	30	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	N n
12	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Dz dz	31	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Hy hy
13	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	D d	32	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	U u
14	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Zz zz	33	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Ü ü
15	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	R r	34	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	W w
16	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Z z	35	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	E e
17	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Zy zy	36	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	I i
18	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	S s	37	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	Y y
19	Template:Langx	Template:IPAblink	X x

Letter	Latin Eq.
Template:Langx	Oi oi
Template:Langx	Ou ou
Template:Langx	Ei ei
Template:Langx	Eu eu

Latin alphabet variants

Gao Erqiang Sarikoli latin alphabet

In 1958, linguist Gao Erqiang studied Sarikoli in collaboration with Tajik linguists, using 37 symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet for the transcription of the language. In the 1996 Sarikoli–Han dictionary, Gao uses an alphabet of 26 letters and 8 digraphs based on Pinyin.

Sarikoli alphabet (Gao 1996)

Uppercase	A	B	C	D	DZ	E	F	G	GC	GH	H	HY	I	J	K	KH	L	M
Lowercase	a	b	c	d	dz	e	f	g	gc	gh	h	hy	i	j	k	kh	l	m
Pronunciation	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link
Uppercase	N	O	P	Q	R	S	SS	T	TS	U	Ü	V	W	X	Y	Z	ZY	ZZ
Lowercase	n	o	p	q	r	s	ss	t	ts	u	ü	v	w	x	y	z	zy	zz
Pronunciation	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link	Template:IPA link

Pakhalina Sarikoli Latin alphabet

In the Sarikoli Latin alphabet version by linguist Tatiana N. Pakhalina, the sounds are represented by these letters:

Letter	А а	B b	C c	Č č	D d	Template:Langx δ	E e	Ɛ ε	Ə ə	F f	G g	Ɣ ɣ	Ɣ̆ ɣ̆	I i	Ʒ ʒ	J̌ ǰ	K k	L l	М м
IPA	[a]	[b]	[t͡s]	[ʈ͡ʂ]	[d]	[ð]	[e]	[ɛ]	[ə]	[f]	[ɡ]	[ʁ]	[ɣ]	[i]	[d͡z]	[ɖ͡ʐ]	[k]	[l]	[m]
Letter	N n	O o	P p	Q q	R r	S s	Š š	T t	Template:Langx Template:Not a typo	U u	Ü ü	V v	W w	Х х	Х̌ х̌	У у	Z z	Ž ž	Ы ы
IPA	[n]	[o]	[p]	[q]	[r]	[s]	[ʂ]	[t]	[θ]	[u]	[uː]	[v]	[w]	[χ]	[x]	[j]	[z]	[ʐ]	[ɯ]

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Near-high			Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
High-mid	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Low-mid	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		(Template:IPA link) Template:Grapheme
Low		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme

• /Template:IPA link/ may also be heard as [[[:Template:IPA link]], Template:IPA link].

Sarikoli vowel Template:IPA link/Template:IPA link is an allophone with Uyghur vowel Template:IPA link. Sarikoli vowel Template:IPA link is an allophone with Uyghur vowel Template:IPA link. Sarikoli vowels have undergone the same chain shift as Tajik, Uzbek, and other Central Asian Pamir languages. The vowel chain shift looks like the following:

• Template:IPAblink → Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink
• Template:IPAblink → Template:IPAblink
• Template:IPAblink → Template:IPAblink
• Template:IPAblink → Template:IPAblink/Template:IPAblink

Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in brackets):

In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄. (citation?)

Consonants

Sarikoli has 30 consonants:

Sarikoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription (IPA values in slashes): p , b , t , d , k , g , q , c , ʒ , č , ǰ , s , z , x̌ , γ̌ , f , v , θ , δ , x , γ , š , ž , h , w , y , m , n , l , r

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		(Template:IPA link) Template:Grapheme
Plosive	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link ~ Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link ~ Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Affricate	voiceless			Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
	voiced			Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Fricative	voiceless	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
	voiced	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Approximant		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme		Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme	Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme
Rhotic				Template:IPA link Template:Grapheme

Stress

Most words receive stress on the last syllable; however, a minority receive stress on their first syllable. Also, several noun declensions and verb inflections regularly place stress on their first syllable, including the imperative and interrogative.

Vocabulary

Although to a large extent the Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, there are a large number of words unique to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.

Lexical comparison of eight Iranian languages together with an English translation

English gloss	Persian	Tajik	Wakhi	Pashto	Shughni	Sarikoli	Ossetic	Avestan
one	(یک)	(‍як)		(يو)			iw (иу)	aēuua-
meat	(گوشت)	(гушт)		(غوښه)			zizä (дзидза)	gao- (N. gāuš)
son	(پسر)	)		(زوی)			fɪ̈rt (фырт)	puθra-
fire	(آتش)	(оташ)		(اور)			ärt (арт)	ātar-
water	(اب)	(об)		(اوبه)			don (дон)	ap-
hand	(دست)	(даѕт)		(لاس)			kʼuχ (къух)	zasta-
foot	(پا)	(по)		(پښه)			fäd (фад)	paδa-, pāδa-
tooth	(دندان)	(дандон)		(غاښ)			dəndäg (дӕндаг)	daṇtān-
eye	(چشم)	(чашм)		(سترګه)			səʃt (цæст)	dōiθra-; caṣ̌man-
horse	(اسب)	(асп)		(آس)			bəχ (бӕх)	aspa-
cloud	(ابر)	(абр)		(اوريځ)			əvräʁ (æврагъ) / miʁ (мигъ)	abda-; aβra-, aβrā-; maēγa-
wheat	(گندم)	(гандум)		(غنم)			mənəw (мæнæу)	gaṇtuma-
many	(بسيار)	(бисёр)		(ډېر، پوره)			fyr (фыр)	paoiri-
high	(بلند)	(баланд)		(لوړ)			bərʒond (бӕрзoнд)	bərəzaṇt-
far	(دور)	(дур)		(لرې)			därd (дард)	dūra-
good	(خوب)	(хуб)		(ښه)			χorʒ (хорз)	vaŋha-
small	(کوچک))	(хурд)		(لږ)			gɪ̈ssɪ̈ɫ (гыццыл)	kasu-
to say	(گفت)	(гуфт)		(ويل)			zurɪ̈n (дзурын)	vac-; aoj-; mrū-; saŋh-
to do	(کرد)	(кард)		(کول)			kənɪ̈n (кæнын)	kar-
to see	(ديد)	(дид)		(وينم)			wɪ̈nɪ̈n (уынын)	dī-, viŋ-

Sample text

The following text is a paragraph from Gao Erqiang's "Tajik-Chinese Dictionary" (1996), talking about the significance of the development of a writing system for the language of Tajiks of Xinjiang, both in Chinese and Sarikoli. The Sarikoli text is written in the "Pinyin" developed by Gao Erqiang for use in the dictionary. Below, the text is also transcribed in an equivalent Persian alphabet.

Latin script	Awal birinqi masala qi ter gap kayan. Tujik milat hüyan ziv yost. Yad ziv optunum noya ar doira khulanmix soud. Janubi Xinjongan Yurkond, Puskom, KHarghalegh, Pixan khatorlekh juiefan wi Tujik heil uhxox na yozzin, Di juienj Tujik heil asos az jat hü ziv khulanmix kayin, Hü milatan wi ziv khulanmix qeig wa a wi tarakhi qeig Asosi KHonün zzujenj hyukhukh. Agar i milatan ghov ziv vid, kitubi ziv tsa na vid, di rang zivan wi rafond wa tarakhiyot qaklimari diqur hird. M dos qeig levd alo k yü milat Asosi KHonün zzujenj az hyukhukh tulukh bahyrimand na sezzjenj soud. Yizekh levjenj a ziv hotirlamix qeigiquz balgü, yani i mi khati münosibatlig vezzjenj pinyin sestimo qi qer wezzd khati hyusil sezzjenj, dian hyiq rang sir nist, Pinyin loyayan wi tüzülüx mofekh tsa soud, hyiq rang alukat mas peidu na soud. Vizekhan at ziv mazzon vezzjenj zidiyat mas ubiktip hyolda i taraf set khati ter sawiya khati birligir yozzd. Müstakhil tarakhi qogcjenj i zivan Kyamon wiri mos yetiquz i yizekh vid karak. Ilim wa rafond az nuhto zoct alo yad douliri uighun qer.
Uyghur alphabet	Template:Script/Arabic
Chinese
English	Let's talk about the first question first. The Tajiks have their own language. This language is commonly used in the autonomous county and cannot be replaced by other languages. Unlike the Tajiks in Yarkant, Poskam, Kargilik and other places in southern Xinjiang, many Tajiks here exclusively or largely exclusively use their own language. The use and development of the ethnic language is a right conferred by the constitution. If an ethnicity only has a spoken language but no written language, the use and development of this language will actually be restricted, and it will not be able to reasonably enjoy the rights granted by the constitution. Writing is a set of symbols that record language, and a related pinyin system is used. There is nothing mysterious about it, and a well-designed pinyin scheme will not cause any complications. Possible contradictions between text and language will be treated objectively and wisely to achieve a large degree of consistency. A language that develops independently must have a set of characters that are suitable for it. This is a matter of course from an academic or practical point of view.

Further reading

• Template:Cite thesis
• Template:Cite thesis

External links

• The Tajik Ethnic Group in China