Sindhi
Online English to Sindhi Dictionary to visit click here
|
|
Sindhi (Sindhi: سنڌي , Urdu: سندھی , Devanagari script: सिन्धी) is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan that is spoken by the Sindhi people. In India, it is among 22 constitutionally recognized languages, where Sindhis are a sizeable minority. It is spoken by an estimated 36,410,910 people in Pakistan. It is the third most spoken and sometimes even also said as second 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 and abroad there are about 1.2 million Sindhis, out of which approximately 60% are Pakistani and 40% are Indian.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.
History Of Sindhi
Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sewan, Sindh, Pakistan
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 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.
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).
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.
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).
Dialects of Sindhi
- Sindhi Siraiki,A version of siraiki regarded as a dialect of sindhi;spoken mainly in Upper Sindh.
- Vicholi, in Vicholo,spoken mainly Central Sindh.Vicholi is considered as the standard dialect by all Sindhi speakers.
- Lari, in Laru, i.e. Lower Sindh.
- Lasi, in Lasa B’elo, a part of Kohistan in Baluchistan on the western side of Sindh.
- Thari or Thareli, in Tharu, the desert region on the southeast border of Sindh and a part of the Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan.
- Kachhi, in the Kutch region and in a part of Kathiawar in Gujarat, on the southern side of Sindh.
Writing System of Sindhi
Before the standardisation of Sindhi orthography, numerous forms of the Devanagari and Lunda 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 Lunda) were used. Another two scripts, Khudawadi and Shikarpuri were attempts to reform the Landa script.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.
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.
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.Diacritical bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and dots called nukta are used to form other additional consonants.
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.
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.Diacritical bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and dots called nukta are used to form other additional consonants.
Speakers and geographic distribution
It is spoken by an estimated 36,410,910 people in Pakistan and in India by some 2,820,485 speakers and abroad there are about 1.2 million Sindhis, out of which approximately 60% are Pakistani and 40% are Indian.
Sindhi is spoken in Sindh and Balochistan 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.
It it also spoken in India, especially in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra.It is also spoken in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai which is the largest Sindhi enclave in India.
Sindhi has a vast vocabulary and a very old literary tradition. This trend has made it a favourite of many writers and consequently a vast volume of literature and poetry have been written in Sindhi.
Sindhi is spoken in Sindh and Balochistan 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.
It it also spoken in India, especially in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra.It is also spoken in Ulhasnagar near Mumbai which is the largest Sindhi enclave in India.
Sindhi has a vast vocabulary and a very old literary tradition. This trend has made it a favourite of many writers and consequently a vast volume of literature and poetry have been written in Sindhi.
