Sarikoli language Information & Sarikoli language Links at HealthHaven.com

Sarikoli
tujik ziv
Spoken in	People's Republic of China
Total speakers	approximately 20,500 (1990)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Southeastern Pamir Sarikoli; ; ; ; ; ;
Writing system	None, Arabic,
Language codes
ISO 639-1	None
ISO 639-2	ira
ISO 639-3	srh
	; Xinjiang province, the light blue are marks the place were Sarikoli is spoken.
	Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode.

The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Pamiris in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language" although it is different from the Persian dialect which is official in Tajikistan.

[edit] Nomenclature

Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (塔吉克语/Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China.^[1] However, it is not closely related to Tajik as spoken in Tajikistan.^[2] It is also referred to as Tashkorghani,^[3] after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom (now a county of Xinjiang); however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.

The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli".^[4]

[edit] Distribution of speakers

The number of speakers is nearly 100,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in southern Xinjiang Province, China. 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, also the mother tongue of a minority of Pamiris in China.^[5]

[edit] Orthography

The language has no official written form. Gawarjon, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary,^[2]^[6] while Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers.^[7]^[8] Because the majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction, some may be able to write their language using the Uyghur alphabet.

[edit] Phonology

[edit] Vowels

Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in bracelets):

a [a], e [e], ɛy [ɛi̯] (dialectal æy or ay [æi̯ / ai̯]), ɛw [ɛu̯] (dialectal æw or aw [æu̯ /au̯]), ə [ə], i [i], o [o / ɔ], u [u], ы [ɯ] (dialectal ů [ʊ]). In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄.

[edit] Consonants

Sarikoli has 29 consonants:

Sariqoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription (IPA values in bracelets): p /p/, b /b/, t /t/, d /d/, k /k / c/, g /ɡ ~ ɟ/, q /q/, c /ts/, ʒ /dz/, č /tɕ/, ǰ /dʑ/, s /s/, z /z/, x̌ /x/, γ̌ /ɣ/, f /f/, v /v/, θ /θ/, δ /ð/, x /χ/, γ /ʁ/, š /ɕ/, ž /ʑ/, w /w/, y /j/, m /m/, n /n / ŋ/, l /l/, r /r/

[edit] Stress

Most words receive stress on the last syllable; however, a minority receive stress on their first syllable. Also, several noun declensions and verb inflections regularly place stress on their first syllable, including the imperative and interrogative.^[2]

[edit] Vocabulary

Although to a large extent the Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, but a large number are words are special to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni, that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.

**Lexical comparison of seven Iranian languages together with an English translation**^[2]
English gloss	Persian	Tajik	Shughni	Sarikoli	Wakhi	Pashto	Avestan
son	pesær (پسر)	pisar (писар)	puts	pɯts	putr	zoj	putra
fire	atiʃ (اتش)	otaʃ (оташ)	joːts	juts	rɯχniɡ	wor	âtar
water	ab (اب)	ob (об)	xats	xats	jupk	obə	aiwyô, ap
hand	dæst (دست)	dast (даѕт)	ðust	ðɯst	ðast	lɑs	zasta
foot	pa (پا)	po (по)	poːð	peð	pɯð	pxa, pʂa	pad
tooth	dændan (دندان)	dandon (дандон)	ðinðʉn	ðanðun	ðɯnðɯk	ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ	?
eye	tʃæʃm (چشم)	tʃaʃm (чашм)	tsem	tsem	tʂəʐm	stərɡa	cashman
horse	æsb (اسب)	asp (асп)	voːrdʒ	vurdʒ	jaʃ	ɑs	aspa
cloud	æbr (ابر)	abr (абр)	abri	varm	mur	uriədz	?
wheat	gændom (گندم)	gandum (гандум)	ʒindam	ʒandam	ɣɯdim	ɣanəm	?
meat	ɡʉʃt (گوشت)	ɡʉʃt (гушт)	ɡuːxt	ɡɯxt	ɡuʂt	ɣwəxa, ɣwəʂa	?
many	besjar (بسيار)	bisjor (бисёр)	bisjoːr	pɯr	təqi	ɖer, pura	paoiri, paoirîsh, pouru
high	bolænd (بلند)	baland (баланд)	biland	bɯland	bɯland	lwəɻ	berezô, berezañt
far	dʉr (دور)	dur (дур)	ðar	ðar	ðir	ləre	dûra, dûrât
good	χʉb (خوب)	χub (хуб)	χub	tʃardʒ	baf	xə, ʂə	vohu
small	kʉtʃik (كوچك))	χurd (хурд)	dzul	dzɯl	dzəqlai	ləɡ, ləʐ	?
to say	goft (گفت)	guft (гуфт)	lʉvd	levd	xənak	wajəl	aoj-, mrû-, sangh-
to do	kærd (كرد)	kard (кард)	tʃiːd	tʃeiɡ	tsərak	kawəl	kar-
to see	did (ديد)	did (дид)	wiːnt	wand	winɡ	winəm	dî-

[edit] References

^ A wide variety of alternative transcriptions of the name "Sarikoli" are also used in linguistic discussions, such as 萨里库尔语/Sàlǐkùěryǔ, 萨雷阔勒语/Sàléikuòlèyǔ, 色勒库尔语/Sèlèkùěryǔ, or 撒里科里语/Sǎlǐkēlǐyǔ.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1985). Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì). Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House.
^ Rudelson, Justin Jon (January 2005). Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook: Languages Of The Silk Road. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1741046041.
^ Shaw, Robert (1876). "On the Ghalchah Languages (Wakhi and Sarikoli)". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Asiatic Society of Bengal) XIV.
^ Arlund, Pamela (2006). An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs.. Arlington, Texas: The University of Texas. p. 8.
^ Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1996). 塔吉克汉词典 (Tǎjíkè-Hàn Cìdiǎn). Sichuan: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House. ISBN 754091744X.
^ Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1966). The Sarikoli Language (Сарыкольский язык/Sarykol'skij Jazyk). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.
^ Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1971). Sarikoli-Russian Dictionary (Сарыкольско-русский словарь/Sarykol'sko-russkij slovar'). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.

[edit] Further reading

Arlund, Pamela S. (December 2006), An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs, Ph.D. dissertation, Arlington: University of Texas, http://repositories.tdl.org/tdl/handle/10106/438, retrieved 2009-03-27
Xiren Kurban; Zhuang, Shuping (January 2008), "中国塔吉克语色勒库尔方言概述/A Probe into China-Tajik Selekur Dialect" (PDF), Language and Translation: 13–19, ISSN 1001-0823, http://www.cqvip.com/qk/96956x/200801/26626879.html, retrieved 2009-03-27

[edit] External links

[0] A wide variety of alternative transcriptions of the name "Sarikoli" are also used in linguistic discussions, such as 萨里库尔语/Sàlǐkùěryǔ, 萨雷阔勒语/Sàléikuòlèyǔ, 色勒库尔语/Sèlèkùěryǔ, or 撒里科里语/Sǎlǐkēlǐyǔ.

[Gawarjon-1] Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1985). Outline of the Tajik language (塔吉克语简志/Tǎjíkèyǔ Jiǎnzhì). Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House.

[Rudelson-2] Rudelson, Justin Jon (January 2005). Lonely Planet Central Asia Phrasebook: Languages Of The Silk Road. Lonely Planet Publications. ISBN 1741046041.

[Shaw-3] Shaw, Robert (1876). "On the Ghalchah Languages (Wakhi and Sarikoli)". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Asiatic Society of Bengal) XIV.

[Arlund-4] Arlund, Pamela (2006). An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs.. Arlington, Texas: The University of Texas. p. 8.

[Gawarjon-dictionary-5] Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1996). 塔吉克汉词典 (Tǎjíkè-Hàn Cìdiǎn). Sichuan: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House. ISBN 754091744X.

[Pakhalina-6] Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1966). The Sarikoli Language (Сарыкольский язык/Sarykol'skij Jazyk). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.

[7] Pakhalina, Tatiana N. (1971). Sarikoli-Russian Dictionary (Сарыкольско-русский словарь/Sarykol'sko-russkij slovar'). Moscow: Akademia Nauk SSSR.

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