Hindko and Gujari. c - SIL International

8
Calvin R. Rensch
Some added that a generation ago the language was called
Hindko. It seems clear that these differences of opinion indicate
not a linguistic difference but a difference in language naming.
On the whole, it appears that the speakers of this dialect who are
more influenced by the social movements of the region call it
Siraiki and relate their speech to Multani, at the same time
recognizing that their dialect is different from that of Multan,
which is generally recognized as the standard dialect of Siraiki. 9
Therefore, the speech of Dera Ismail Khan, even though called
Hindko by some, has not been systematically included in the
present study. 10
The relationship of the Hindko dialects to other Indic
dialects of northeastern Pakistan needs to be investigated,
especially from the standpoint of inherent and acquired
intelligibility. Such a study of “Greater Panjabi” would include
dialects called Panjabi, Siraiki, Pothohari and Pahari. An
investigation of the position of the dialect of Dera Ismail Khan
would naturally find its place in such a study. It is, of course,
possible that such a study could also refine our current
understanding of the internal and external relationships of the
dialects included in this study. 11
9 In commenting on matters of language identification in Dera Ismail
Khan, Addleton (1986:61) writes, “The situation in Dera Ismail Khan is more
problematic. According to the census figures, Hindko is limited to 3,200 (3.3
percent) of the households, while Siraiki represents a clear majority (64.9
percent).” Shackle (1985:327-8) provides further information and indicates a
more complicated scenario: “The ‘Hindko’ of Dera Ismail Khan is in fact a
northern variety of Siraiki, and — as a result of initiatives from Multan — is
now increasingly referred to as such locally.” The 1981 figures certainly
support this view and indicate that the majority of people in Dera Ismail Khan
identify with Siraiki rather than Hindko.
10 However, a comparison of lexical similarity between the language of
Dera Ismail Khan and Hindko dialects included in this study is presented in
section 4.1.
11 Although Grierson treated the so-called Lahnda dialects separately
from those he labeled Panjabi, he recognized the difficulty of making a clear
separation of the two groups: “Lahnda is the language of the Western Panjab.
To its east it has Panjabi … and it merges so gradually into that form of speech
that it is impossible to fix any clear dividing line between the two” (LSI
VIII.1:233). Commenting further on closely related dialects of this group which
have different names, he writes, “Pothwari is spoken over the whole of the
district of Rawalpindi except in the hill country to the north, where we find a
closely related dialect locally called Pahari …” (LSI VIII.1:477)