Sarikoli language
The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Tajiks in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the related Iranian language spoken in Tajikistan, which is considered a dialect of Persian.
| Sarikoli | |
|---|---|
| Tujik ziv (Тоҷик зив) | |
| Native to | People's Republic of China |
Native speakers | 16,000 (2000)[1] |
Indo-European
| |
| Uyghur Arabic alphabet (unofficial)[2] | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | srh |
| Glottolog | sari1246 |
| ELP | Sarikoli[3] |
| Linguasphere | 58-ABD-eb |
 Xinjiang Province. Light blue are areas where Sarikoli is spoken. | |
 |
Sarikoli language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |
Nomenclature
Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (Chinese: 塔吉克语, Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China.[4] However, it is not closely related to Tajik (a form of Persian) as spoken in Tajikistan, as Sarikoli it is an Eastern Iranian language, closely related to other Pamir languages largely spoken in the Badakshan regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, rather than the Western Iranian Farsi-Dari-Tajik polycentric language.[5] It is also referred to as Tashkorghani,[6] after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom (now Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China); however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.
The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli".[7] Modern Chinese researchers would often mention both Sarikoli and Tajik names in their papers.[8][2]
Distribution of speakers
The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Southern Xinjiang Province, China. The Chinese name for the Sarikoli language, as well as the usage of Sarikol as a toponym, is Sàléikuòlè yǔ (萨雷阔勒语). Speakers in China typically use Chinese and Uyghur 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.
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,[5][9] while Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers.[10][11] The majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction.
In recent years, Sarikoli speakers in China have used Uyghur Arabic alphabet to spell out their language.[2]
Phonology
Vowels
Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in brackets):
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. (citation?)
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/
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.[5]
Vocabulary
Although to a large extent the Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, there are a large number are words unique to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.
| English gloss | Persian | Tajik | Wakhi | Pashto | Shughni | Sarikoli | Ossetic | Avestan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | jæk (یک) | jak (як) | ji | jaw (يو) | jiw | iw | iw (иу) | aēuua- |
| meat | ɡuʃt (گوشت) | ɡuʃt (гушт) | ɡuʂt | ɣwaxa, ɣwaʂa (غوښه) | ɡuːxt | ɡɯxt | zizä (дзидза) | gao- (N. gāuš) |
| son | pesær (پسر) | pisar (писар) | putr | zoi (زوی) | puts | pɯts | fɪ̈rt (фырт) | puθra- |
| fire | ɒteʃ (آتش) | otaʃ (оташ) | rɯχniɡ | or (اور) | joːts | juts | ärt (арт) | ātar- |
| water | ɒb (اب) | ob (об) | jupk | obə (اوبه) | xats | xats | don (дон) | ap- |
| hand | dæst (دست) | dast (даѕт) | ðast | lɑs (لاس) | ðust | ðɯst | kʼuχ (къух) | zasta- |
| foot | pɒ (پا) | po (по) | pɯð | pxa, pʂa (پښه) | poːð | peð | fäd (фад) | paδa-, pāδa- |
| tooth | dændɒn (دندان) | dandon (дандон) | ðɯnðɯk | ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ (غاښ) | ðinðʉn | ðanðun | dəndäg (дӕндаг) | daṇtān- |
| eye | tʃæʃm (چشم) | tʃaʃm (чашм) | tʂəʐm | stərɡa (سترګه) | tsem | tsem | səʃt (цæст) | dōiθra-; caṣ̌man- |
| horse | æsb (اسب) | asp (асп) | jaʃ | ɑs (آس) | voːrdʒ | vurdʒ | bəχ (бӕх) | aspa- |
| cloud | æbr (ابر) | abr (абр) | mur | urjadz (اوريځ) | abri | varm | əvräʁ (æврагъ) / miʁ (мигъ) | abda-; aβra-, aβrā-; maēγa- |
| wheat | ɡændom (گندم) | ɡandum (гандум) | ɣɯdim | ɣanam (غنم) | ʒindam | ʒandam | mənəw (мæнæу) | gaṇtuma- |
| many | besjɒr (بسيار) | bisjor (бисёр) | təqi | ɖer, pura (ډېر، پوره) | bisjoːr | pɯr | birə (бирæ) | paoiri- |
| high | bolænd (بلند) | baland (баланд) | bɯland | lwaɻ (لوړ) | biland | bɯland | bərʒond (бӕрзoнд) | bərəzaṇt- |
| far | dur (دور) | dur (дур) | ðir | ləre (لرې) | ðar | ðar | därd (дард) | dūra- |
| good | χub (خوب) | χub (хуб) | baf | xə, ʂə (ښه) | χub | tʃardʒ | χorʒ (хорз) | vaŋha- |
| small | kutʃik (کوچک)) | χurd (хурд) | dzəqlai | ləɡ, ləʐ (لږ) | dzul | dzɯl | gɪ̈ssɪ̈ɫ (гыццыл) | kasu- |
| to say | ɡoft (گفت) | ɡuft (гуфт) | xənak | wajəl (ويل) | lʉvd | levd | zurɪ̈n (дзурын) | vac-; aoj-; mrū-; saŋh- |
| to do | kærd (کرد) | kard (кард) | tsərak | kawəl (کول) | tʃiːd | tʃeiɡ | kənɪ̈n (кæнын) | kar- |
| to see | did (ديد) | did (дид) | wiŋɡ | winəm (وينم) | wiːnt | wand | wɪ̈nɪ̈n (уынын) | dī-, viŋ- |
References
- Sarikoli at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- Yang, Yi-fang; Tursun, Abdurahman; Zangbek, Aray; Qian, Wei-liang (2017). "基于"一带一路"战略视角的中国塔吉克语言文字保护与传承问题分析" [Research of protection and inheritance of Sarikoli Tajik language and characters]. Journal of Juamjusi Education Institute (in Chinese). doi:10.3969/j.issn.1000-9795.2017.04.176.
近代以来,我国塔吉克族使用阿拉伯维吾尔文拼写高山塔吉克语
- Endangered Languages Project data for Sarikoli.
- A wide variety of transcriptions of the name "Sarikoli" are 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 (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 1-74104-604-1.
- Shaw, Robert (1876). "On the Ghalchah Languages (Wakhi and Sarikoli)". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Asiatic Society of Bengal. XIV.
- Kurban, Xiren; Zhuang, Shu-ping (2008). "中国塔吉克语色勒库尔方言概述" [A Probe into China-Tajik Selekur Dialect]. Language and Translation (in Chinese). doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-0823.2008.01.003. ISSN 1001-0823.
- Gawarjon (高尔锵/Gāo Ěrqiāng) (1996). 塔吉克汉词典 (Tǎjíkè-Hàn Cìdiǎn) Tujik ziv – Hanzu ziv lughot. Sichuan: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House. ISBN 7-5409-1744-X.
- 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.
Further reading
- Arlund, Pamela S. (December 2006). An Acoustic, Historical, and Developmental Analysis of Sarikol Tajik Diphthongs (PhD). Arlington: University of Texas. hdl:10106/438.
- Kurban, Xiren; Zhuang, Shu-ping (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 (in Chinese): 13–19. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1001-0823.2008.01.003. ISSN 1001-0823. Retrieved 2009-03-27.