Pahari language (Kashmir)
| Pahari–Pothwari | |
|---|---|
| Potwari, Pothohari | |
| Native to | Pakistan, India |
| Region | Pothohar region, Azad Kashmir and western parts of Jammu and Kashmir |
|
Native speakers
|
several million |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog |
paha1251 Pahari Potwari
|
The Indo-Aryan language spoken on the Pothohar Plateau in northern Punjab, in most of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, and in western areas of Indian-administered Kashmir is known by a variety of names, the most common of which are Pahari (English: /pəˈhɑːri/) and Pothwari (or Pothohari).
It is transitional between Hindko and Standard Punjabi. Its speakers have a local linguistic, but not ethnic, identity that is separate from that of Punjabi and there has been a nascent, if not yet coherent, language movement. There have been efforts at cultivation as a literary language, although a local standard has not been established yet.
It has been historically classified as a Punjabi dialect. Grierson in his early 20th-century Linguistic Survey of India assigned it to a so-called "Northern cluster" of Lahnda, but this classification, as well as the validity of the Lahnda grouping in this case, have been called into question.
There are at least three major dialects: Pothwari, Mirpuri and Pahari. They are mutually intelligible, but the difference between the northernmost and the southernmost dialects (from Muzaffarabad and Mirpur respectively) is enough to cause difficulties in understanding.
Pothwari (پوٹھواری), also spelt Potwari, Potohari and Pothohari (پوٹھوہاری), is spoken in the Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab, an area that includes parts of the districts of Rawalpindi, Jhelum , Chakwal and Gujrat. Pothwari extends southwards up to the Salt Range, with the city of Jhelum marking the border with Punjabi. To the north, Pothwari transitions into the Pahari-speaking area, with Bharakao, near Islamabad, generally regarded as the point where Pothwari ends and Pahari begins. Pothwari has been represented as a dialect of Punjabi by the Punjabi language movement, and in census reports the Pothwari areas of Punjab have been shown as Punjabi-majority.
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