Sindhi Language

The Sindhi language is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of Pakistan and India. The Indo-Aryan group, also known as the Indic languages, is a subgroup of the Indo-Iranian language family and includes languages spoken primarily in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Sindhi is noted for its use of phenomes, sounds that change the meaning of a word. It also has numerous vowels that have both short and long sounds and nasalized counterparts, which are sounds produced by expelling air out of both the nose and the mouth. Sindhi has more consonants that most other Indo-Aryan languages.

The written form of Sindhi is known as the Khudabadi script. Khudabadi was declared the standard script for Sindhi by the Indian government in 1868 and was officially called Hindi Sindhi. The script includes sixty-nine characters representing letters and two characters representing sounds non-native to Sindhi.

The Khudabadi script was eventually replaced with an Arabic script known as the Sindhi-Arabic script. It was based on a Perso-Arabic script used to write Urdu. British colonial authorities adopted this script in 1852. It was written in a printed form called LINK "http://www.britannica.com/art/naskhi-script" naskhī as opposed to the cursive form HYPERLINK "http://www.britannica.com/art/nastaliq-script" nastaʿlīq used for Urdu. This Perso-Arabic script has fifty-two letters, but the Sindhi language has fifty-two consonants and ten vowels. Additional letters needed to be developed using diacritical marks above and below certain letters to modify basic shapes. Sindhi is written from right to left. In India, Sindhi is also written with a modified form of Devangari script. Some efforts have been made in India to encourage this script. Among many Sindhi speakers, the Sindhi-Arabic script is a matter of cultural pride and continues to be the most commonly used.

History and Classification

The name Sindhi comes from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, meaning "river." Sindhu is also the proper name of the Indus River. The Sindh Province, one of the four provinces of Pakistan, also derives its name from the word Sindhu. The Sindh Province is located in the southeastern region of the country and northwestern edge of India. It is bordered by the Sukkur Dam in the north, the Indus River and Arabian Sea in the south, the Great Indian Desert to the east, and the Kirthar Mountain Range to the west.

Because of its location, the people of Sindh were the first to suffer the attacks of invaders, including the Greeks, Arabs, Arghuns, Tarkhans, and Turks. Sindhi has been continuously altered by these foreign influences and their languages—Hindi, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and English. As a result, scholars continue to debate the origin of the language. One theory suggests it is descended from the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. Another suggests that it predates Sanskrit. Still another theory suggests Sindhi is a Dravidian language with roots in the Mohenjo-Daro civilization, which existed in Pakistan in the second millennium BCE.

The earliest trace of written Sindhi dates from the second century CE. Evidence from ninth century Persian texts indicates a Sindhi writing system was in place at that time. The earliest known translation of the Islamic holy text, the Koran, was made using Sindhi around the twelfth century CE. Between the fourteenth and eighteenth centuries, Sindhi was one of the most popular literary languages in the eastern world. One of the reasons for this popularity was its broad vocabulary that surpassed many of the other major languages of its time. Among the notable literary works in Sindhi are Shāh Jo Risālo (Shah’s Message), a collection of mystical poetry by eighteenth century writer Shah Abdul Latif; Sachal Jo Risālo (Sachal’s Message), a text of religious poetry by eighteenth century writer Sachal Sarmast; and Zeenat, a Sindhi novel by nineteenth century author Mirza Qalich Beg.

Geographic Distribution and Modern Usage

The Sindhi language is an official language of India and the Sindh Province in Pakistan. Estimates of the number of speakers range from 17 million to 29 million in Pakistan and 2.8 million to 3 million in India. Sindhi is also spoken in Oman, United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In these locations, Sindhi is often spoken as a second or third language or as a medium for instruction.

Sindhi has several dialects largely based on geography. Three main dialects are Central Sindhi (Vicholo Sindhi), Hindu Sindhi (Dukslinu Sindhi), and Muslim Sindhi (Sindhi Musalmani). Although the dialects are similar and can be mutually understood, they differ in some pronunciation and vocabulary. In particular, the Central and Muslim Sindhi dialects include more Arabic words in their vocabulary than the Hindu Sindhi dialect. The Hindu Sindhi dialect uses more Sanskrit words. Other important dialects of Sindhi include Kachchi, Lari, Lasi, Thareli, and Macharia.

Bibliography

Allana, G. A., et al. Papers on Sindhi Language and Linguistics. Jamshoro: Institute of Sindhology, University of Sindh, 1998. Print.

Cardona, George. The Indo-Aryan Languages. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.

Dalby, Andrew. Dictionary of Languages: The Definitive Reference to More than 400 Languages. New York: Columbia UP, 2004. Print.

Lalwani, Jagu. "History of Sindhi Language" Sindhishaan. Sindhishaan.com (India), Dec. 2005. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.sindhishaan.com/article/language/lang‗04‗04.html>.

Lewis, M. Paul, Simons, Gary F., and Fennig, Charles D., eds. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 16th ed. Dallas: SIL, 2009. Print.

"Sindhi." Omniglot. Simon Ager, 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.omniglot.com/writing/sindhi.htm>.

"Sindhi." The Language Gulper. Alejandro Gutman and Beatriz Avanzati, 2013. Web. 9 Oct. 2015. <http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Sindhi.html>.

Thompson, Irene. "Sindhi." About World Languages. Technology Development Group, 21 July 2015. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://aboutworldlanguages.com/sindhi>.