Hindko and Gujari. c - SIL International

INTRODUCTION
Northern Pakistan is a land of geographic and ethnic
diversity, one of the most multilingual places on the face of the
earth. Spectacular mountain ranges and mighty rivers segment
the area, providing natural barriers which often serve as
isoglosses separating linguistic varieties. Centuries of people
movements across this crossroad of South and Central Asia have
left a complex pattern of languages and dialects, fertile ground
for sociolinguistic investigation.
Twenty-five named languages from within northern
Pakistan are dealt with in the volumes of the Sociolinguistic
Survey of Northern Pakistan. Most languages of the region have
been classified as part of the large Indo-Aryan (or Indic) family.
Two of these have been called members of the “Central Group”
according to the scheme established in Grierson’s Linguistic
Survey of India: Gujari, subgrouped with other Rajasthani
languages, and Domaaki, not even mentioned by Grierson, but
classified as Central by Fussman (1972) and Buddruss (1985). A
third named language, Hindko, was originally included within
the Northwestern Group of Indo-Aryan, among those varieties
which were given the label “Lahnda” (LSI VIII.1). The various
forms called Hindko have been particularly difficult to classify
(Shackle 1979, 1980), showing a wide geographic range, much
linguistic divergence, and some convergence with Panjabi, which
has been classified in the Central Group.
The largest number of Indo-Aryan languages dealt with in
these volumes belong to the Northwestern Group, Dardic branch:
Shina, and its historical relations, Phalura and Ushojo; Indus
Kohistani, and its smaller neighbors, Chilisso, Gowro, and,
presumably, Bateri (which has not been classified); the Swat
Kohistani varieties, Kalami and Torwali; the Chitral group of
Khowar and Kalasha; and the Kunar group, including Dameli
and Gawar-bati. The Nuristani branch accounts for some
languages spoken on the north-western frontier; within Pakistan
that group is represented by Eastern Kativiri and
Kamviri/Shekhani. This classification outline for members of the