Sindhi language
327614
225745698
2008-07-15T05:22:35Z
202.61.35.204
/* Basic Phrases */
{{language
|name=Sindhi
|nativename = سنڌي सिन्धी ''Sindhī''
|states= [[Pakistan]], [[India]]. Also [[Hong Kong]], [[Oman]], [[Philippines]], [[Singapore]], [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]], [[United Kingdom|UK]], [[United States|USA]]
|region=[[South Asia]]
|speakers=54.3 million
|rank=23
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
|fam3=[[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|fam4=Northwestern Zone
|script=[[Arabic script|Arabic]], [[Devanagari]]
|nation= [[Pakistan]] [[India]]
|iso1=sd|iso2=snd|iso3=snd
|notice=Indic}}
'''Sindhi''' ([[Arabic script]]: سنڌي, [[Devanagari script]]: सिन्धी, ''Sindhī'') is the language of the [[Sindh]] region of [[South Asia]], which is a province of [[Pakistan]]. It is an [[Indo-Aryan language]] spoken by approximately 41 million people in [[Pakistan]], and 12 million in [[India]]; it is the second most spoken language of Pakistan, a recognized official language in Pakistan and also an official language in India. [[Government of Pakistan]] issues National Identity Cards to its citizens only in two languages, i.e. Sindhi and Urdu. Although the language is predominantly Indo-Aryan, it also shows signs of heavy [[Dravidian]] influence. Most Sindhi speakers in [[Pakistan]] are concentrated in the [[Sindh]] province. The remaining speakers are found in India and amongst the Sindhi diaspora community which are scattered throughout the world. The Sindhi language has spread as the Hindu Sindhis left [[Sindh]] during the [[Independence of Pakistan]] in 1947. The language is written in Devanagari script by Sindhi Hindus; however, with the conversion of most Sindhis to [[Islam]], a modified [[Arabic language|Arabic]] script was produced.<ref>[http://yangtze.cs.uiuc.edu/~jamali/sindh/sammelan/04.html]</ref> After the independence of both India and Pakistan from [[British Raj|British rule]], the Government of India introduced [[Devanagari]], alongside the modified [[Arabic language|Arabic]], for writing Sindhi. [http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=201]
==Geographical distribution==
Sindhi is taught as a first language in the schools of Sindh and second language in [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] in Pakistan.
In India, especially in the State of [[Maharashtra]], many educational institutions managed by Sindhi community and in the schools of such society Sindhi is taught either as the medium of instruction or as a subject.<ref>[http://www.thesindhuworld.com The Sindhu World]</ref> Sindhi has a vast vocabulary; this has made it a favourite of many writers and consequently much literature and poetry have been written in Sindhi. Dialects of Sindhi are spoken in southern [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]], [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]], Northwest province of Pakistan (NWFP), and also [[Gujarat]] as well as [[Rajasthan]] in India.
==History==
Arab and Persian travellers, specifically Abu-Rayhan [[Biruni]] in his book '[[Mal al-Hind]]', had declared that even before the advent of Islam in Sindh (711 A.D.), the language was prevalent in the region. It was not only widely spoken but written in different scripts. [[Biruni]] has described many Sindhi words leading to the conclusion that the Sindhi language was widely spoken and rich in vocabulary in his time.
The [[Qur'an]] was first translated into Sindhi in rhymatic format. This was the first ever translation of Qur'an in the 12th century or earlier.
Sindhi was a very popular literary language between the 14th and 18th centuries. This is when [[sufi]]s such as [[Shah Abdul Latif]], [[Sachal Sarmast]],[[Lal Shahbaz Qalandar]] (as well as numerous others) narrated their [[theosophical]] poetry depicting the relationship between humans and God.
Sindhi Culture is estimated to be about 4108 years old; When [[Mohenjo Daro]] ("Mound of the Dead", an ancient city of the [[Indus Valley civilization]]) was dug out, a statue was found covered in [[Ajrak]], which is one of the symbols of Sindhi culture.
==Basic Phrases==
* ''Keeyen aahyo''?- "how are you?" (general greeting)
* ''Aaoon theek aahiyan'' - "Very well".
* ''Meherbani'' - "Thank you"
* ''Ha'' - "Yes"
* ''Nain'' - "No"
* ''Kee ahyo/khiya haye'' - "How are you?"
* ''Maa'' / ''Aaon teekh ahyaan'' - "I'm fine"
* ''Allah wahi/beli'' - "Goodbye" (used to end a conversation)
* ''Tuhnjo naalo cha aahaye'' - "What's your name?"
* ''Munhjo naalo ______ aahaye.'' - "My name is _____."
* ''Hik'' - "One"
* ''Ba'' - "Two"
* ''Tray'' - "Three"
* ''Aaon Sindh jo aahya/ Maa Sindh maa ahyaa'' - "I am from Sindh"
* ''Aaon musulman'' / ''hindhu aahya'' - "I am Muslim / Hindu"
* ''Maa'' / ''Aaon Sindhi aahya'' / ''Assin Sindhi aahyoo'' - "I am Sindhi" / "We are Sindhi"
* ''Allah Wahi'' - "God bless you"
* ''Tawhan ghalat aahiyo'' - "you are wrong"
==Sounds==
Sindhi has a large sound inventory. It has 46 distinctive [[consonant]] [[phoneme]]s (more than all the phonemes of [[English language|English]] combined) and a further 16 [[vowel]]s. All [[plosive]]s, [[affricate]]s, [[nasal consonant|nasals]], the [[retroflex flap]] and the [[lateral approximant]] /l/ have [[Aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]] or [[breathy voice]]d counterparts. The language also features four separate [[implosive]]s.
===Consonants===
{| class="IPA wikitable"
!
! colspan="2" | [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! colspan="2" | [[Labiodental consonant|Labio-<br>dental]]
! colspan="2" | [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! colspan="2" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! colspan="2" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan="2" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! colspan="2" | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| colspan="2" | m<br />mʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | n<br />nʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | ɳ<br />ɳʱ
| colspan="2" | ɲ
| colspan="2" | ŋ
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
| p<br />pʰ
| b<br />bʱ
| colspan="2" |
| t<br />tʰ
| d<br />dʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| ʈ<br />ʈʰ
| ɖ<br />ɖʱ
| colspan="2" |
| k<br />kʰ
| g<br />gʱ
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Implosive consonant|Implosive]]
|
| ɓ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|
| ɗ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|
| ʄ ~ jˀ
|
| ɠ
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| t̠ɕ<br />t̠ɕʰ
| d̠ʑ<br />d̠ʑʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| colspan="2" |
| f
|
| colspan="2" |
| s
| z
| colspan="2" |
| ʂ
|
| colspan="2" |
| x
| ɣ
| h
|
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[tap consonant|Tap]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | r
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | ɽ<br />ɽʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | ʋ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | j
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|- class="IPA" align=center
! [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" | l<br />lʱ
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
| colspan="2" |
|}
The retroflex consonants are apical postalveolar, as they are throughout northern India, and so could be transcribed {{IPA|/t̠, t̠ʰ, d̠, d̠ʱ n̠ n̠ʱ s̠ ɾ̠ ɾ̠ʱ/}}. The affricates {{IPA|/t̠ɕ, t̠ɕʰ, d̠ʑ, d̠ʑʱ/}} are laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release. It is not clear if {{IPA|/ɲ/}} is similar, or truly palatal.<ref>The [[IPA Handbook]] uses the symbols {{IPA|c, cʰ, ɟ, ɟʱ}}, but makes it clear this is simply tradition and that these are neither palatal nor stops, but "laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release". [[SOWL]] confirms a transcription of {{IPA|[t̠ɕ, t̠ɕʰ, d̠ʑ, d̠ʑʱ]}} and further remarks that "{{IPA|/ʄ/}} is often a slightly creaky voiced palatal approximant" (p 83, caption of table 3.19).</ref> {{IPA|/ʋ/}} is realized as {{IPA|[w]}} or {{IPA|[ʋ]}} in [[free variation]]. {{IPA|/n/}} occurs, but is not common, except before a stop ({{IPA|/nd/}} etc).
===Vowels===
[[Image:Sindhi vowel chart.png|The vowel phonemes of Sindhi]]
The vowels are modal length {{IPA|/i e æ ɑ ɔ o u/}} and short {{IPA|/ɪ̆ ʊ̆ ɐ̆/}}. (Note {{IPA|/æ ɑ ɐ̆/}} are imprecisely transcribed as {{IPA|/ɛ a ə/}} in the chart.) Consonants following short vowels are lengthened: {{IPA|[pɐ̆tˑo]}} 'leaf' vs. {{IPA|[pɑto]}} 'worn'.
==Writing system==
===Arabic===
In [[Pakistan]], Sindhi is written in a variant of the [[Persian alphabet]], which was adopted under the encouragement of the British when Sindh fell to them in the 19th century. It has a total of 52 letters, augmenting the Persian with [[digraph]]s and eighteen new letters, <big>ڄ</big> ,<big>ٺ</big> ,<big>ٽ</big> ,<big>ٿ</big> ,<big>ڀ</big> ,<big>ٻ</big> ,<big>ڙ</big> ,<big>ڍ</big> ,<big>ڊ</big> ,<big>ڏ</big> ,<big>ڌ</big> ,<big>ڇ</big> ,<big>ڃ</big> ,<big>ڦ</big> ,<big>ڻ</big> ,<big>ڱ</big> ,<big>ڳ</big> ,<big>ڪ</big> for sounds particular to Sindhi and other Indo-Aryan languages. Some letters that are distinguished in Arabic or Persian are homophones in Sindhi.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! جھ
! ڄ
! ج
! پ
! ث
! ٺ
! ٽ
! ٿ
! ت
! ڀ
! ٻ
! ب
! ا
|-
| {{IPA|ɟʱ}}
| {{IPA|ʄ}}
| {{IPA|ɟ}}
| {{IPA|p}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|ʈʰ}}
| {{IPA|ʈ}}
| {{IPA|tʰ}}
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|bʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɓ}}
| {{IPA|b}}
| *
|-
! ڙ
! ر
! ذ
! ڍ
! ڊ
! ڏ
! ڌ
! د
! خ
! ح
! ڇ
! چ
! ڃ
|-
| {{IPA|ɽ}}
| {{IPA|r}}
| {{IPA|z}}
| {{IPA|ɖʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɖ}}
| {{IPA|ɗ}}
| {{IPA|dʱ}}
| {{IPA|d}}
| {{IPA|x}}
| {{IPA|h}}
| {{IPA|cʰ}}
| {{IPA|c}}
| {{IPA|ɲ}}
|-
! ق
! ڦ
! ف
! غ
! ع
! ظ
! ط
! ض
! ص
! ش
! س
! ز
! ڙھ
|-
| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}}
| {{IPA|f}}
| {{IPA|ɣ}}
| {{IPA|∅}}
| {{IPA|z}}
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|z}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|z}}
| {{IPA|ɽʱ}}
|-
! ي
! ه
! و
! ڻ
! ن
! م
! ل
! ڱ
! گھ
! ڳ
! گ
! ک
! ڪ
|-
| *
| {{IPA|h}}
| *
| {{IPA|ɳ}}
| {{IPA|n}}
| {{IPA|m}}
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|ŋ}}
| {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɠ}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
| {{IPA|kʰ}}
| {{IPA|k}}
|}
===Devanagari===
In [[India]], the [[Devanagari]] script is used. It was introduced by the Government of India in 1948; however, it did not gain full acceptance, so both the Sindhi-Arabic and Devanagari scripts are used [http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=201]. [[Diacritic]]al bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and [[dot (diacritic)|dots]] called ''[[nukta]]'' are used to form other additional consonants.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! अ
! आ
! इ
! ई
! उ
! ऊ
! ए
! ऐ
! ओ
! औ
|-
| ə
| a
| {{IPA|ɪ}}
| i
| {{IPA|ʊ}}
| uː
| e
| {{IPA|ɛ}}
| o
| {{IPA|ɔ}}
|-
! क
! ख
! ख़
! ग
! ग॒
! ग़
!
! घ
!
! ङ
|-
| {{IPA|k}}
| {{IPA|kʰ}}
| {{IPA|x}}
| {{IPA|ɡ}}
| {{IPA|ɠ}}
| {{IPA|ɣ}}
|
| {{IPA|ɡʱ}}
|
| {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
! च
! छ
!
! ज
! ज॒
! ज़
!
! झ
!
! ञ
|-
| {{IPA|c}}
| {{IPA|cʰ}}
|
| {{IPA|ɟ}}
| {{IPA|ʄ}}
| {{IPA|z}}
|
| {{IPA|ɟʱ}}
|
| {{IPA|ɲ}}
|-
! ट
! ठ
!
! ड
! ड॒
! ड़
!
! ढ
! ढ़
! ण
|-
| {{IPA|ʈ}}
| {{IPA|ʈʰ}}
|
| {{IPA|ɖ}}
| {{IPA|ɗ}}
| {{IPA|ɽ}}
|
| {{IPA|ɖʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɽʱ}}
| {{IPA|ɳ}}
|-
! त
! थ
!
! द
!colspan="3"|
! ध
!
! न
|-
| {{IPA|t}}
| {{IPA|tʰ}}
|
| {{IPA|d}}
|colspan="3"|
| {{IPA|dʱ}}
|
| {{IPA|n}}
|-
! प
! फ
! फ़
! ब
! ब॒
!colspan="2"|
! भ
!
! म
|-
| {{IPA|p}}
| {{IPA|pʰ}}
| {{IPA|f}}
| {{IPA|b}}
| {{IPA|ɓ}}
|colspan="2"|
| {{IPA|bʱ}}
|
| {{IPA|m}}
|-
! य
! र
! ल
! व
!colspan="6"|
|-
| {{IPA|j}}
| {{IPA|r}}
| {{IPA|l}}
| {{IPA|ʋ}}
|-
! श
! ष
! स
! ह
!colspan="6"|
|-
| {{IPA|ʃ}}
| {{IPA|ʂ}}
| {{IPA|s}}
| {{IPA|h}}
|colspan="6"|AMEERDDIN
|}
== See also ==
* [[Sindhology]]
* [[Institute of Sindhology]]
* [[Languages of Pakistan]]
* [[Languages of India]]
* [[List of national languages of India]]
* [[List of Indian languages by total speakers]]
== External links ==
{{InterWiki|code=sd}}
* [http://www.larkano.com/abro//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=50 Sindhi Tutorial]
* [http://www.sindhology.com.pk/ Institute of Sindhology], Pakistan
* [http://www.sindhi.org.uk Sindhi Tutorial and Keyboard Layout for Windows XP/2000]
* [http://www.ayazrb.wordpress.com SINDH REVIEW(website in sindhi language)]
* [http://www.sindhiana.com Sindhi Literature Magazine in Sindhi Language]
* [http://www.sindhology.org/ Indian institute of Sindhology]
* [http://www.sindhilanguage.com SindhiLanguage.com]
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sindhi.htm Sindhi Script History and Script]
* http://sindhipatrika.blogspot.com Complete Sindhi Tipno, Patrika, Almanac, listing festivities, rituals related to Hindu Sindhi Culture
* [http://www.sindhhyd.com Daily Sindh Hyderabad A Newspaper in sindhi Language]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
* International Phonetic Association (1999) ''Handbook of the International Phonetic Association'' ISBN 0-521-63751-1
* [http://www.larkano.com/abro//index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=51 Sindhi Alphabet with example words]
* [http://freenet-homepage.de/prilop/sindhi-alphabet.html Sindhi Alphabet] with Devanagari equivalents
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sindhi.htm]
* [http://www.webjournal.unior.it M. Qasim Bughio, ''The Diachronic Sociolinguistic Situation in Sindh'' in '''Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony ''' (Fabio Maniscalco ed.), vol. 1, January-June 2006]
* Trumpp P., Grammar of the Sindhi Language, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, Reprinted in 1970 (original edition 1872)
{{Languages of India}}
{{Indo-Iranian languages}}
[[Category:Indo-Aryan languages]]
[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Sindh]]
[[Category:Sindhi]]
[[br:Sindeg]]
[[bg:Синдхи]]
[[ca:Sindhi]]
[[da:Sindhi]]
[[de:Sindhi]]
[[es:Idioma sindhi]]
[[eo:Sinda lingvo]]
[[fr:Sindhi]]
[[ko:신디어]]
[[hi:सिंधी भाषा]]
[[id:Bahasa Sindhi]]
[[ka:სინდური ენა]]
[[ml:സിന്ധി ഭാഷ]]
[[nl:Sindhi (taal)]]
[[ja:シンド語]]
[[no:Sindhi (språk)]]
[[pl:Sindhi]]
[[pt:Língua sindi]]
[[ru:Синдхи (язык)]]
[[simple:Sindhi language]]
[[sd:سنڌي ٻولي]]
[[fi:Sindhi]]
[[sv:Sindhi]]
[[ta:சிந்தி மொழி]]
[[th:ภาษาสินธี]]
[[tr:Sindhî]]
[[ur:سندھی زبان]]
[[zh:信德语]]