lingvo.wikisort.org - Language

Kata-vari is a dialect of the Kamkata-vari language spoken by the Kata in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most used alternative names are Kati, Kativiri or Bashgali.

Kata-vari
Kati
Native to	Afghanistan, Pakistan
Region	Nuristan, Kunar, Chitral
Native speakers	134,010 (2017)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Nuristani Northern Kamkata-vari Kata-vari
Writing system	Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bsh
Glottolog	kati1270
ELP	Kati

It is spoken by approximately 40,000 people (mostly in Afghanistan, just over 3,700 in Pakistan), and its speakers are Muslim. Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language, and between 15% to 25% for people who have it as a second language.

There are two main sub-dialects: Eastern Kata-vari and Western Kata-vari. In Afghanistan, Western Kata-vari is spoken in the Ramgal, Kulam, Ktivi and Paruk valleys of Nuristan. Eastern Kata-vari is spoken in the upper Landai Sin Valley. In Pakistan, Eastern Kata-vari or Shekhani is spoken in Chitral District, in Gobor and the upper Bumboret Valley.

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Palato- alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		ʈ		k
	voiced	b	d		ɖ		ɡ
Affricate	voiceless		t͡s	t͡ʃ	t͡ʂ
	voiced			d͡ʒ	d͡ʐ
Fricative	voiceless	(f)	s	ʃ	ʂ		(x)
	voiced	v	z	(ʒ)	ʐ		(ɣ)
Nasal		m	n		ɳ		ŋ
Tap			ɾ		(ɽ)
Approximant	lateral		l
	central				ɻ	(j)

• Sounds /ʒ ɽ ɣ/ occur from neighboring languages. /f x/ are borrowed from loanwords.
• /ʈ/ can also be heard as an allophone [ɽ].
• [j] is heard as an allophone of /i/.
• /v/ can also be heard as bilabial [β] or a labial approximant [w].

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
High	i	ə	u
Mid	e		o
Low		a

• Mid /ə/ can be heard as a close central [ɨ].

Vocabulary

Pronouns:

1sg. uze (nominative), ie (accusative), iema (genitive)

1pl. imu (nominative/accusative/genitive)

2sg. tiu (nominative), tu (accusative), tuma (genitive)

2pl. šo (nominative/accusative/genitive)

Numbers:

1: ev

2: diu

3: tre

4: štavo

5: puč

6: ṣu

7: sut

8: uṣṭ

9: nu

10: duć

References

• Grjunberg, Aleksandr L. (1980). Jazyk Kati: Teksty, Grammatičeskij Očerk. Moskva: Glavnaya Redaktsija Vostočnoj Literatury.
• Strand, Richard F. (1973). Notes on the Nūristāni and Dardic Languages. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
• Strand, Richard F. (2010). "Nurestâni Languages". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Archived from the original on 2016-11-06. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
• Strand, Richard F. (2011). "Kâtʹa-vari Lexicon". Retrieved 2020-11-22.

External links

• Strand, Richard F. (1997–2013). "Nuristan: Hidden Land of the Hindu-Kush". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
• Strand, Richard F. (1997). "The kâtʹa, kʹom, mumʹo, kṣtʹo, biniʹo, ǰâmčʹo, and ǰâšʹa". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
• Strand, Richard F. (1998). "The kâtʹa". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
• Strand, Richard F. (2011). "Kâtʹa-vari Lexicon". Retrieved 2012-01-16.
• Strand, Richard F. (2011). "The Sound System of Kt'ivřâ·i vari". Retrieved 2012-01-16.

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