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Sindhi language
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Sindhi (Arabic script: ????, Devanagari script: ??????, Sindhi) is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan. It is spoken by approximately 41 million people in Pakistan, and is also spoken by a minority 12 million in India; it is the third most spoken language of Pakistan, and the official language of Sindh in Pakistan. It has also been made an official language of India. The Government of Pakistan issues National Identity Cards to its citizens only in two languages, i.e.

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Sindhi (Arabic script: ????, Devanagari script: ??????, Sindhi) is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan. It is spoken by approximately 41 million people in Pakistan, and is also spoken by a minority 12 million in India; it is the third most spoken language of Pakistan, and the official language of Sindh in Pakistan. It has also been made an official language of India. The Government of Pakistan issues National Identity Cards to its citizens only in two languages, i.e. Sindhi and Urdu. Genealogically it is an Indo-Aryan language, though 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 to migrate to the Hindu-majority India, 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 script was produced. After the independence of both Pakistan and India from British rule, the Government of India introduced Devanagari, alongside the official Arabic script, for writing Sindhi.
Geographical distribution
Sindhi is taught as a first language in the schools of Sindh and second language in Balochistan in Pakistan.
In India, especially in the states of Maharashtra & Gujarat, 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. 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, Balochistan, Northwest province of Pakistan (NWFP), and also Gujarat, as well as in India (in the Rajasthan state).
History
The immediate predecessor of Sindhi was an Apabhramsha Prakrit named Vrachada. 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 three different scripts -- Ardhanagari, Saindhu and Malwari, all variations of Devanagari. Biruni has described many Sindhi words leading to the conclusion that the Sindhi language was widely spoken and rich in vocabulary in his time.
Sindhi was a very popular literary language between the 14th and 18th centuries. This is when sufis 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.
During the British period, traders and common people -- including Khojas and Memons -- were using Devanagari, Modi or Vanika scripts, without any vowels for writing Sindhi, while government employees used some kind of Arabic script.
In 1849 the first English-Sindhi dictionary was written in the Devanagari script.
Basic Phrases
- Keeyen aahyo?- "how are you?" (general greeting)
- Aaon/Maa theek aahiyan - "Very well".
- Tawhanjo naalo cha aahaye - "What is your name?"
- Munhenjo naalo ______ aahaye. - "My name is _____."
- Tawhan ker aahayo - "Who are you?"
- Meherbani - "Thank you"
- Meherbani karay - "Please"
- Ha - "Yes"
- Na - "No"
- Keeyen ahyo/Kehra haal aahin - "How are you?"
- Aaon/Maa teekh ahyaan - "I'm fine"
- Allah wahi - "Goodbye" (used to end a conversation by Muslim Sindhis)
- Theekh aahe- "Okay" (used to end a conversation by Hindu Sindhis)
- Hik - "One"
- Ba - "Two"
- Tey - "Three"
- Aaon/Maa Sindh jo aahya/ Aaon/Maa Sindh man ahyaa - "I am from Sindh"
- Aaon/Maa musulman aahyan / hindhu aahyan - "I am Muslim / Hindu"
- Aaon/Maa Sindhi aahya / Assin Sindhi aahyon - "I am Sindhi" / "We are Sindhis"
- Allah Hafiz - "God bless you"
- Ma thoke hik vado chamaat deendhus! - "I will give you a big slap"
- Jeay Sindh- "Long Live Sindh"
Sounds
Sindhi has a large sound inventory. It has 46 distinctive consonant phonemes (more than all the phonemes of English combined) and a further 16 vowels. All plosives, affricates, nasals, the retroflex flap and the lateral approximant /l/ have aspirated or breathy voiced counterparts. The language also features four separate implosives.
Consonants
The retroflex consonants are apical postalveolar, as they are throughout northern India, and so could be transcribed . The affricates are laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release. It is not clear if is similar, or truly palatal. is realized as labiovelar or labiodental in free variation. occurs, but is not common, except before a stop ( etc).
Vowels
The vowels are modal length and short . (Note are imprecisely transcribed as in the chart.) Consonants following short vowels are lengthened: 'leaf' vs. 'worn'.
Writing system
Arabic Script
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 digraphs and eighteen new letters, ? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? ,? for sounds particular to Sindhi and other Indo-Aryan languages. Some letters that are distinguished in Arabic or Persian are homophones in Sindhi.
| ?? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | * | | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ?? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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| * | | * | | | | | | | | | | |
Devanagari Script
In India, the Devanagari script is used. It was re-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 . Diacritical bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and dots called nukta are used to form other additional consonants.
| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? |
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| ? | a | | i | | u? | e | | o | | | ? | ? | ?? | ? | ?? | ?? | | ? | | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | | ? | ?? | ?? | | ? | | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | | ? | ?? | ?? | | ? | ?? | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | | ? | | ? | | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | ? | ? | ?? | ? | ?? | | ? | | ? |
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| | | | | | | | | | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
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| | | | | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
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See also
External links
- , Pakistan
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- Complete Sindhi Tipno, Patrika, Almanac, listing festivities, rituals related to Hindu Sindhi Culture
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Sources
- International Phonetic Association (1999) Handbook of the International Phonetic Association ISBN 0-521-63751-1*
- with Devanagari equivalents
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- Trumpp P., Grammar of the Sindhi Language, Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, Reprinted in 1970 (original edition 1872)
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