Aer is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 150 people in Sindh, Pakistan and Gujarat, India.[1] It is one of the smallest languages of Pakistan in terms of number of speakers,[2][3] and is spoken in rural areas of Sindh including Hyderabad, Kot Ghulam Muhammad, and Kunri. Some speakers are also reported to be living in Shaheed Benazirabad, but they have a different culture.[4]

Aer
آیر
Region	Sindh, Pakistan
Native speakers	150 (2017)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Western Indo-Aryan Gujarati Aer
Dialects	Jikrio Goth Jamesabad
Writing system	Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	aeq
Glottolog	aerr1238
ELP	Aer

History

After the Partition of India in 1947, the Muslim speakers of the language migrated to Pakistan, while the Hindu speakers stayed in India. Most of the Aer speakers in Pakistan live in Deh 333,[5] near Hyderabad in lower Sindh. The language was formed in the Indian subcontinent during the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire due to the influence of Persian, Arabic, and Turkish on Indian languages.[6]

A 1998 estimate concluded there were around 200 native speakers.[7] Current estimates, however, put the number of speakers at 150, further cementing its 'endangered' status.[1]

Classification

Aer has been classified as one of the Gujarati languages. Ethnologue reports that the closest language is Kachi Koli,[8] and that most Aer speakers are bilingual in Sindhi. Two varieties of Aer are Jikrio Goth Aer and Jamesabad Aer.[7]

Alphabet

Aer is commonly not written, but when it is, it is written in a variety of the Arabic script.[9]

References

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