Sarikoli language
| Sarikoli | |
|---|---|
| tujik ziv | |
| Native to | People's Republic of China |
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Native speakers
|
16,000 (2000) |
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Indo-European
|
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| Arabic | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | sari1246 |
| Linguasphere | 58-ABD-eb |
Xinjiang province. Light blue are areas where Sarikoli is spoken.
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The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Tajiks in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the language spoken in Tajikistan.
Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (塔吉克语 Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China. However, it is not closely related to Tajik as spoken in Tajikistan. It is also referred to as Tashkorghani, after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom (now Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China); however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.
The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli".
The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in southern Xinjiang Province, China. The Chinese name for the Sarikoli language, as well as the usage of Sarikol as a toponym, is Sèlèkùěr yǔ (色勒庫爾語). Speakers in China typically use Uyghur and Chinese to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. The rest are found in the Pakistani-controlled sector of Kashmir, closely hugging the Pakistan-Chinese international borders.
It is mutually unintelligible with the related Wakhi language.
The language has no official written form. Gawarjon, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary, while 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.
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Wikipedia