Khowar (کھووار)

Khowar is a member of the Dardic branch of the Indo-Aryan language family spoken by about 313,000 people in Pakistan. Its spoken particularly in the Gilgit district of Gilgit Baltistan province in the north of Pakistan.

Khowar at a glance

Native name: کھوار [kʰowaɾ]
Alternative names: Chitrali, Kashkari, Arniya
Language family: Indo-European, Indo-Aryan, Dardic
Number of speakers: 1 million
Spoken in: Pakistan
First written: 20th century
Writing systems: Perso-Arabic script and Latin script
Status: one of the regional languages of Pakistan

There are also Khowar speakers in cities such as Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Karachi, as well as in Hunza, where it is used as a second language. Speakers of Khowar call themselves Chetrari or Chitrali (چترالی).

Since the early 20th century Khowar has been written with the Nasta'liq style of the Perso-Arabic script. Before then it was unwritten. Khowar has also been written with a version of the Latin alphabet since the 1996, when the Khowar Academy created the Khowar Latin alphabet.

There is a fortnightly newspaper,Chitral Vision (چترال وژن), in Khowar and Urdu published by the Khowar Academy in Karachi. There are also occasional radio broadcasts in Khowar.

Khowar alphabet and pronunciation

Khowar consonants

Numerals and numbers

Khowar numerals

A recording of the Khowar numbers

Download a spreadsheet with the Khowar alphabets

Sample text in Khowar

Article 1 of the UDHR (Standard Khowar version)

سف انسان آزاد وا حقوق اوچے عزتو اعتبارو سورا برابار پیدا بیتی آسونی، ھیتانتے ضمیر اوچے عقل عطا کورونو بیتی شیر، ھے بچین ھیتان تان موژی برارگاریو سلوکو کوریلک۔ کھوار ترجمہ: رحمت عزیز چترالی

Article 1 of the UDHR (Khowar Latin alphabet)

Saf insān āzād wa ḥuqūq-ochay izzato ėʿtibāro sora barābaar paidā biti asuni. hetantey żamīr ôchay ʿaql ataa koronu biti sher. Hey bachen hetan taan muzhi brar gariyo sulūk korelik.

A recording of this text

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Corrections, additions and recordings by رحمت عزیز چترالی (Rehmat Aziz Chitrali) from پاکستان، ضلع چترال (Chitral, Pakistan)

Sample videos

Information about Khowar |Numbers

Links

Information about Khowar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khowar_language
http://wikitravel.org/en/Khowar_Script
http://merachitral.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/khowar-alphabets-characters-of-khowar.html
http://www.anusha.com/khowar.htm
https://www.webonary.org/rachitrali/en/overview/alphabet/

Khowar dictionaries
https://www.webonary.org/rachitrali/en/overview/introduction/
http://www.anusha.com/khow-lst.htm

Font and keyboard layout for Khowar
http://www.mahraka.com/khowar.html

Virtual Khowar keyboard
http://www.branah.com/khowar

Online Khowar news
http://kay2.tv
http://incubator.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wn/khw/Main_Page

Dardic languages

Dameli,Gawar Bati,Gawri,Indus Kohistani,Kalkoti,Kashmiri,Khowar,Palula,Sawi,Shina,Torwali,Ushoji

Languages written with the Arabic script

Adamaua Fulfulde,Aer,Afrikaans,Arabic (Algerian),Arabic (Bedawi),Arabic (Chadian),Arabic (Egyptian),Arabic (Gulf),Arabic (Hassaniya),Arabic (Hejazi),Arabic (Lebanese),Arabic (Libyan),Arabic (Modern Standard),Arabic (Moroccan),Arabic (Najdi),Arabic (Sudanese),Arabic (Syrian),Arabic (Tunisian),Arwi,Äynu,Azeri,Balanta-Ganja,Balti,Baluchi,Beja,Belarusian,Bosnian,Brahui,Chagatai,Chechen,Chittagonian,Comorian,Crimean Tatar,Dameli,Dargwa,Dari,Dhatki,Dogri,Domari,Gawar Bati,Gawri,Gilaki,Hausa,Hazaragi,Hindko,Humburi Senni,Indus Kohistani,Kabyle,Kalkoti,Karachay-Balkar,Karakalpak,Kashmiri,Kazakh,Khowar,Khorasani Turkic,Khwarezmian,Konkani,Kumzari,Kurdish,Kyrgyz,Lezgi,Lop,Luri,Maasina Fulfulde,Maba,Maguindanao,Malay,Malay (Terengganu),Mandinka,Marwari,Mazandarani,Mogholi,Morisco,Mozarabic,Munji,Noakhailla,Nubi,Ormuri,Palula,Parkari Koli,Pashto,Persian/Farsi,Punjabi,Qashqai,Rajasthani,Rohingya,Salar,Saraiki,Sawi,Serer,Shabaki,Shina,Shughni,Sindhi,Somali,Soninke,Tatar,Tausūg,Tawallammat Tamajaq,Tayart Tamajeq,Ternate,Torwali,Turkish,Urdu,Ushoji,Uyghur,Uzbek,Wakhi,Wanetsi,Wolof,Xiao'erjing,Yidgha

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