Baloch language
| Balochi | |
|---|---|
| بلوچی | |
Balochi in Perso-Arabic script (Nastaʿlīq style)
|
|
| Native to | Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Oman, Turkmenistan |
| Ethnicity | predominantly Baloch, some Brahui |
|
Native speakers
|
7.6 million (2007) |
| Dialects | |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
Balochistan; Balochistan Province of Iran (provincial) |
|
Recognised minority
language in |
|
| Regulated by | Balochi Academy (Balochistan) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 |
Individual codes: bgp – Eastern Balochi bgn – Western Balochi bcc – Southern Balochi ktl – Koroshi |
| Glottolog | balo1260 |
| Linguasphere | 58-AAB-a > 58-AAB-aa (East Balochi) + 58-AAB-ab (West Balochi) + 58-AAB-ac (South Balochi) + 58-AAB-ad (Bashkardi) |
Geographic distribution of Balochi and other Iranian languages
|
|
Balochi (Balochi: بلؤچی) is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch people.
The Balochi vowel system has at least eight vowels: five long vowels and three short vowels. The long vowels are /aː/, /eː/, /iː/, /oː/, and /uː/. The short vowels are /a/, /i/ and /u/. The short vowels have more centralized phonetic qualities than the long vowels.
Southern Balochi (at least as spoken in Karachi) also has nasalized vowels, most importantly /ẽː/ and /ãː/.
The following consonants are common to both Western Balochi and Southern Balochi. The place of articulation of the consonants /s/, /z/, /n/, /ɾ/ and /l/ is claimed to be alveolar in Western Balochi, while at least the /ɾ/ is claimed to be dental in Southern Balochi. The stops /t/ and /d/ are claimed to be dental in both dialects.
Notes
In addition, /f/ is listed for Southern Balochi, but is found in few words. /x/ (voiceless velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /χ/ (voiceless uvular fricative) in Western Balochi; and /ɣ/ (voiced velar fricative) in some loanwords in Southern Balochi corresponding to /ʁ/ (voiced uvular fricative) in Western Balochi.
...
Wikipedia