| Mankiyali | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Pakistan |
| Region | Mansehra District,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Ethnicity | Trawara |
Native speakers | 500 (2016)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | nlm |
| Glottolog | mank1256 |
  Mankiyali  Mankiyali | |
| Coordinates:34°28′56″N72°57′05.3″E / 34.48222°N 72.951472°E /34.48222; 72.951472 | |
Mankiyali is an endangeredIndo-Aryan language of theDardic[3][4] sub-branch spoken inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. It is spoken by a small community sometimes referred to as the Trawara[5] in the secluded village ofDanna (or Dana) located in theBandi Shungli union council ofMansehra District.[6] Some speakers of the language are also scattered in the neighbouring villages ofDamaka,Guldar,Arghaniya,Chamrasi andShoshni.[7] The whole community has been reported to be bilingual inHindko, thelanguage of wider communication inthe Hazara area.[6] The language is still being passed on to the next generation, but overall it islosing ground to Hindko.[8] The first study documenting the existence of the language was published only in 2015. The nameMankiyali is of recent origin, having been coined by members of the community to replace the older termsTarawara andTarawari, which are now seen as stigmatising.[9]
Mankiyali is notmutually intelligible with any of the surrounding languages. Lexical similarity tests have revealed that it shares a little over a third of its core vocabulary with the local varieties ofHindko andGojri, and a slightly higher percentage (41–42%) withGowro andBateri – two languages of the Kohistani group ofDardic.[10] The somewhat higher similarity with Bateri could indicate a common origin, which would be consistent with the oral traditions of the community.[11]
Mankiyali has been influenced by Hindko and Gojri, particularly in the development ofphonemic tone: a preliminary analysis indicated that its tonal system is of the Punjabi type, shared with Hindko and Gojri and contrasting with the systems found in northern Dardic languages.[12] Thevoiced aspirates have been lost, conditioning a low rising tone on the following vowel.[13] There are contrasting dental (/ts/) and palatal (/tʃ//tʃʰ/)affricates.[14]
