Sindhi language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2009) The verifiability of all or part of this article is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This article or section has been tagged since May 2009. Sindhi سنڌي, सिन्धी, Sindhī, سندھی Dialects of Sindhi Spoken in Pakistan, India. Also Hong Kong, Oman, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, UK, USA, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka Region South Asia Total speakers 21 million1 Language family Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northwestern Zone Sindhi Writing system Arabic, Devanagari, Laṇḍā scripts, particularly Gurumukhi2 Official status Official language in  Pakistan (Sindh)  India Regulated by Sindhi Language Authority (Pakistan), Indian Institute of Sindhology (India) Language codes ISO 639-1 sd ISO 639-2 snd ISO 639-3 snd Linguasphere – This page contains Indic text. Without rendering support you may see irregular vowel positioning and a lack of conjuncts. More... Sindhi (Sindhi: سنڌي , Urdu: سندھی , Devanagari script: सिन्धी, Sindhī) is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan and among 22 constitutionally recognized languages of India. It is spoken by an estimated 34,410,910 people in Pakistan. It is the third most spoken language in all of Pakistan and is the official language of the province of Sindh. It is also spoken in India by some 2,820,485 speakers.1 The government of Pakistan issues national identity cards to its citizens only in two languages, Sindhi and Urdu.

It is an Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It has influences from a local version of spoken form of Sanskrit and from Balochi spoken in the adjacent province of Balochistan. Most Sindhi speakers are concentrated in the Sindh province and in Kutch, India where Sindhi is a local language. The remaining speakers in India are composed of the Hindu Sindhis who migrated from Sindh and settled in India after partition and the Sindhi diaspora worldwide. Contents 1 Geographical distribution 2 History 3 Phonology 3.1 Consonants 3.2 Vowels 4 Dialects[8] 5 Writing 5.1 Arabic script 5.2 Devanagari Script 6 Vocabulary 7 Example extract 8 See also 9 Notes 10 Sources 11 External links Geographical distribution The earliest Sindhi manuscripts written during the Abbasid Era. Sindhi is spoken in Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Sindhi is taught as a first language in the state schools of interior Sindh and some in Karachi and as a second language in Karachi and Balochistan in Pakistan. It is also spoken by Sindhi tribes living in Kutch. Sindhi has a vast vocabulary and a very old literary tradition. This trend has made it a favourite of many writers and consequently a vastcitation needed volume of literature and poetry have been written in Sindhi. In India, especially in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra.It is also spoken in many states of India and Ulhasnagar near Mumbai is largest Sindhi enclave in India.3 History The first complete translation of the Qur'an was completed in 884 CE in Alwar (Sindh by the orders of Abdullah bin Umar bin Abdul Aziz on the request of the Hindu Raja Mehruk.4

The immediate predecessor of Sindhi was an Apabhramsha Prakrit named Vrachada. Arab and Persian travellers, specifically Abu-Rayhan Biruni in his book 'Tahqiq ma lil-Hind', had declared that even before the advent of Islam in Sindh (711 A.D.), the language was prevalent in the region. It was not only widely spoken but written in three different scripts -- Ardhanagari, Saindhu and Malwari. Biruni has described many Sindhi words leading to the conclusion that the Sindhi language was widely spoken and rich in vocabulary in his time. Over the course of centuries, Sindhi culture absorbed Arabic, Persian and Islamic words which further enriched its heritage. Sindhi became a very popular literary language between the 14th and 18th centuries. This is when mystics or Sufis such as Shah Abdul Latif, Sachal Sarmast, Lal Shahbaz Qalandar (as well as numerous others) narrated their theosophical poetry depicting the relationship between humans and Allah. In the year 1868, the Bombay Presidency assigned Narayan Jagannath Vaidya to replace the Abjad used in Sindhi, with the Khudabadi script; The script was decreed a standard script by the Bombay Presidency thus inciting anarchy in the Muslim majority region. A powerful unrest followed, after which Twelve Martial Laws were imposed by the British authorities.5 According to Islamic Sindhi tradition, the first translation of the Quran into Sindhi completed in the year 883/270 in Mansura, Sindh. The first extensive Sindhi translation was done by Akhund Azaz Allah Muttalawi (AH.1160-1240/AD.1147-1824). Phonology

Sindhi has a relatively large inventory of both consonants and vowels compared to other languages. Sindhi has 46 consonant phonemes and 16 vowels. The consonant to vowel ratio is around average for world's languages at 2.8.6 All plosives, affricates, nasals, the retroflex flap and the lateral approximant /l/ have aspirated or breathy voiced counterparts. The language also features four implosives. Consonants Consonants of Sindhicitation needed Labial Dental/ Alveolar Retroflex Palatoalveolar / Palatal Velar Glottal Nasal m mʱ n nʱ ɳ ɳʱ ɲ ŋ Plosive and affricate p pʰ b bʱ t̪ t̪ʰ d̪ d̪ʱ ʈ ʈʰ ɖ ɖʱ t̠ɕ t̠ɕʰ d̠ʑ d̠ʑʱ k kʰ g gʱ Implosive ɓ ɗ    ʄ ~ jˀ ɠ Fricative f   s z ʂ x ɣ h   Rhotic r ɽ ɽʱ Approximant ʋ l̪ l̪ʱ j The retroflex consonants are apical postalveolar, as they are throughout northern India, and so could be transcribed /t̠, t̠ʰ, d̠, d̠ʱ n̠ n̠ʱ s̠ ɾ̠ ɾ̠ʱ/. The dental implosive is sometimes realized as retroflex [ɗ̠]~[ᶑ] The affricates /t̠ɕ, t̠ɕʰ, d̠ʑ, d̠ʑʱ/ are laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release. It is not clear if /ɲ/ is similar, or truly palatal.7 /ʋ/ is realized as labiovelar [w] or labiodental [ʋ] in free variation. /n/ occurs, but is not common, except before a stop (/nd/ etc). Vowels The vowels are modal length /i e æ ɑ ɔ o u/ and short /ɪ̆ ʊ̆ ɐ̆/. (Note /æ ɑ ɐ̆/ are imprecisely transcribed as /ɛ a ə/ in the chart.) Consonants following short vowels are lengthened: [pɐ̆tˑo] 'leaf' vs. [pɑto] 'worn'. Dialects8 Dialects of Sindhi

i. Sindhi Siraiki,a version of siraiki regarded as a dialect of sindhi;spoken mainly in Upper Sindh. ii. Vicholi, in Vicholo, Central Sindh iii. Lari, in Laru, i.e. Lower Sindh iv. Lasi, in Lasa B’elo, a part of Kohistan in Baluchistan on the western side of Sindh v. Thari or Thareli, in Tharu, the desert region on the southeast border of Sindh and a part of the Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan vi. Kachhi, in the Kutch region and in a part of Kathiawar in Gujarat, on the southern side of Sindh Vicholi is considered as the standard dialect by all Sindhi speakers. Writing Before the standardisation of Sindhi orthography, numerous forms of the Devanagari and Lunda (Laṇḍā) scripts were used for trading, universally by all Sindhis. For literary and religious purposes, a modified form of Perso-Arabic known as Ab-ul-Hassan Sindhi and Gurmukhi (a subset of Laṇḍā) were used. Another two scripts, Khudawadi and Shikarpuri were attempts to reform the Landa script.9 During British rule in the late 19th century, an Arabic-based orthography was decreed standard, after much controversy, as the Devanagari script had also been considered. However, this script has since become accepted.10 Arabic script During British rule in India, a variant of the Persian alphabet was adopted for Sindhi in the 19th century. The script is used in Pakistan today. It has a total of 52 letters, augmenting the Persian with digraphs and eighteen new letters (ڄ ٺ ٽ ٿ ڀ ٻ ڙ ڍ ڊ ڏ ڌ ڇ ڃ ڦ ڻ ڱ ڳ ڪ) for sounds particular to Sindhi and other Indo-Aryan languages. Some letters that are distinguished in Arabic or Persian are homophones in Sindhi. جھ ڄ ج پ ث ٺ ٽ ٿ ت ڀ ٻ ب ا ɟʱ ʄ ɟ p s t̪ʰ t̪ tʰ t bʱ ɓ b * ڙ ر ذ ڍ ڊ ڏ ڌ د خ ح ڇ چ ڃ ɽ r ð ɖʱ ɖ ɗ dʱ d x ħ cʰ c ɲ ق ڦ ف غ ع ظ ط ض ص ش س ز ڙھ k pʰ f ɣ ∅ ʐ ʈ z ʂ ʃ s z ɽʱ ي ه و ڻ ن م ل ڱ گھ ڳ گ ک ڪ * h * ɳ n m l ŋ ɡʱ ɠ ɡ kʰ k Devanagari Script

In India, the Devanagari script is also used to write Sindhi. A modern version was introduced by the government of India in 1948; however, it did not gain full acceptance, so both the Sindhi-Arabic and Devanagari scripts are used. In India a person may write a Sindhi language paper for a Civil Services Examination in either script [1]. Diacritical bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and dots called nukta are used to form other additional consonants. अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ ə a ɪ i ʊ uː e ɛ o ɔ क ख ख़ ग ग॒ ग़ घ ङ k kʰ x ɡ ɠ ɣ ɡʱ ŋ च छ ज ज॒ ज़ झ ञ c cʰ ɟ ʄ z ɟʱ ɲ ट ठ ड ड॒ ड़ ढ ढ़ ण ʈ ʈʰ ɖ ɗ ɽ ɖʱ ɽʱ ɳ त थ द ध न t tʰ d dʱ n प फ फ़ ब ब॒ भ म p pʰ f b ɓ bʱ m य र ल व j r l ʋ श ष स ह ʃ ʂ s h Vocabulary In addition to a stock of native words inherited from Sanskrit, Sindhi has borrowed numerous words of Arabic and Persian origin. In addition, Sindhi has borrowed from Sanskrit, English, and Hindi-Urdu. Today, Sindhi in Pakistan is heavily influenced by Urdu, with more borrowed Perso-Arabic elements, while Sindhi in India is influenced by Hindi, with more borrowed tatsam Sanskrit elements.1112 Example extract The following extract is from the Sindhi Wikipedia about the Sindhi language and is written in the 52-letter Sindhi-Arabic script, Devanagari and transliterated to Latin.

Sindhi-Arabic script: سنڌي ٻولي انڊو يورپي خاندان سان تعلق رکندڙ آريائي ٻولي آھي، جنھن تي ڪجھه دراوڙي اھڃاڻ پڻ موجود ‏آهن. هن وقت سنڌي ٻولي سنڌ جي مک ٻولي ۽ دفتري زبان . Devanagari script: सुणी उली इदू ईओरपी ख़ानदान सान ताअलुक रकनद आरीआइई उली आ्ही, जन्हन ती झ्ह दरावी अ्हा प मौजूद ‏आ्हन. हन वकत सुणी उली सन जी मुक उली दफ़तरी ज़बान . Transliteration (IAST): suṇī ulī idū ī'ōrapī ḵẖānadāna sāna tā'aluka rakanada ārī'ā'i'ī ulī āhī, janhana tī jhha darāvī ahā pa maujūda ‏āhana. hana vakata suṇī ulī sana jī muka ulī dafatarī zabāna . See also Sindhology Institute of Sindhology List of Sindhi-language films Languages of Pakistan Provincial languages of Pakistan Languages of India Languages with official status in India Notes ^ a b Sindhi language at Ethnologue ^ http://www.sindhilanguage.com/script.html ^ The Sindhu World ^ http://www.monthlycrescent.com/understanding-the-quran/english-translations-of-the-quran/ ^ http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sindhi.htm ^ Nihalani, Paroo. (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association (Sindhi). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ^ The IPA Handbook uses the symbols c, cʰ, ɟ, ɟʱ, but makes it clear this is simply tradition and that these are neither palatal nor stops, but "laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release". Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:83) confirm a transcription of [t̠ɕ, t̠ɕʰ, d̠ʑ, d̠ʑʱ] and further remarks that "/ʄ/ is often a slightly creaky voiced palatal approximant" (caption of table 3.19). ^ http://tdil.mit.gov.in/sindhidesignguideoct02.pdf ^ Khubchandani (2003:633) ^ Cole (2001:648) ^ Cole (2001:652–653) ^ Khubchandani (2003:624–625) Sources Addleton and Brown (2010). Sindhi: An Introductory Course for English Speakers. South Hadley: Doorlight Publications. http://doorlightpubs.com/Doorlight/Sindhi.html.  Bughio, M. Qasim (January–June 2006). Maniscalco, Fabio Maniscalco. ed. "The Diachronic Sociolinguistic Situation in Sindh". Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony 1. http://www.webjournal.unior.it.  Cole, Jennifer S (2001). "Sindhi". In Garry, Jane; Rubino, Carl. Facts About the World's Languages. H W Wilson. pp. 647–653. ISBN 0824209702.  International Phonetic Association. 1999. ISBN 0521637511.  Khubchandani, Lachman M (2003). "Sindhi". In Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh. The Indo-Aryan Languages. Routledge. pp. 622–658. ISBN 9780415772945. http://books.google.com/?id=jPR2OlbTbdkC&pg=PA581&dq=indo-aryan+languages.  Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19814-8.  Trumpp, P (1872). Grammar of the Sindhi Language. London: Trübner and Co. ISBN 8120601009. http://books.google.com/?id=XKUIAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=sindhi+language&q=.  External links Sindhi phrasebook at Wikitravel Type in Sindhi online All about Sindhi language and culture Wals.info Sindhi computing resources at TDIL (Arabic Script) Sindhi computing resources at TDIL (Devanagari Script)