Khowar language
| Khowar | |
|---|---|
| Chitrali | |
| کهووار | |
| Native to | Pakistan |
| Region | Chitral District |
| Ethnicity | Kho people |
|
Native speakers
|
290,000 (2004) |
|
Indo-European
|
|
| Khowar alphabet (Arabic script) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | khow1242 |
| Linguasphere | 59-AAB-aa |
Khowar, also known as Chitrali, Qashqari and Arniya, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic branch.
"Kho" means the people of Chitral, "War" means language. It is spoken by the Kho people in Chitral district, Ghizer district of Gilgit-Baltistan (including the Yasin Valley, Golaghmuli Valley, Phandar Ishkoman and Gupis), and in parts of Upper Swat. Speakers of Khowar have also migrated heavily to Pakistan's major urban centres with Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, having significant populations. It is spoken as a second language in the rest of Gilgit and Hunza. There are believed to be small numbers of Khowar speakers in Afghanistan, China and Tajikistan.
The native name of the language is Khō-wār, meaning "language" (wār) of the Kho people. During the British Raj it was known to the English as Chitrālī (a derived adjective from the name of the Chitral region) or Qāshqārī. Among the Pathans and Badakshis it is known as Kashkār. Another name, used by Leitner in 1880, is Arnyiá or Arniya, derived from the Shina language name for the part of the Yasin where Khowar is spoken.
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