# Kohistani Shina

Kohistani Shina is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Pakistan. According to Ethnologue, Kohistani Shina is mutually intelligible with the Shina variety of Chilas, but not with the standard dialect of Gilgit. Bateri and Kalkoti speakers speak Kohistani Shina as a second language. Indus Kohistani loanwords can be found in the language. A grammar and a dictionary of the language have been published.

## Alphabet

Shina is one of the few Dardic languages with a written tradition. However, it was an unwritten language until a few decades ago. Only in late 2010s has Shina orthography been standardized and primers as well as dictionaries have been published.
Since the first attempts at accurately representing Shina's phonology in the 1960s there have been several proposed orthographies for the different varieties of the language, with debates centering on how to write several retroflex sound not present in Urdu and whether vowel length and tone should be represented.
There are two main orthographic conventions now, one in Pakistani-controlled areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Kohistan, and the other in Indian-controlled area of Dras, Ladakh.
Below alphabet has been standardized, documented, and popularized thanks to efforts of literaturists such as Professor Muhammad Amin Ziya, Shakeel Ahmad Shakeel, and Razwal Kohistani, and it has been developed for all Shina language dialects, including Gilgit dialect and Kohistani dialect, which The Kohistani Shina alphabet differs slightly from the Gilgiti variety. For example, it includes one additional letter ڦ, and it includes several additional digraphs to represent additional aspirated consonants unique to Kohistani. Furthermore, variations and personal preferences can be observed across Shina documents. For example, it is common to see someone use سً instead of ݜ for [ʂ], or use sukun ◌ْ (U+0652) instead of small sideway noon ◌ࣿ (U+08FF) to indicate short vowels. However, these variations are no longer an issue. Another issue is that of how to write loanwords that use letters not found in Shina language, for example letters "س / ث / ص", which all sound like [s] in Shina. Some documents preserve the original spelling, despite the letters being homophones and not having any independent sound of their own, similar to orthographic conventions of Persian and Urdu. Whereas other documents prefer to rewrite all loanwords in a single Shina letter, and thus simplify the writing, similar to orthographic conventions of Kurdish and Uyghur.
Shina vowels are distinguished by length, by whether or not they're nasalized, and by tone. Nasalization is represented like other Perso-Arabic alphabets in Pakistan, with Nun Ghunna (ن٘ـ / ـن٘ـ / ں). In Shina, tone variation only occur when there is a long vowel. There are conventions unique to Shina to show the three tones. In Shina conventions, specific diacritics are shown in conjunction with the letters aliv, waaw, buṛi ye, and ye (ا، و، یـ، ی، ے), as these letters are written down to represent long vowels. The diacritics inverted damma ◌ٗ (U+0657) and superscript alef ◌ٰ (U+0670) represent a rising tone and a falling tone respectively. Another diacritic, a small sideway noon ◌ࣿ (U+08FF) is used to represent short vowels when need be.

### Consonants

Below table shows Shina consonants.
| Name | Forms | Forms | Forms | Forms | IPA | Transliteration | Unicode | Notes |
| Shina | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial | IPA | Transliteration | Unicode | Notes |
| الڦ aliv | ا | ـا | ـا | ا / آ | [ʌ], [∅], silent | – / aa | U+0627 U+0627 | At the beginning of a word it can either come with diacritic, or it can come in form of aliv-madda (آ), or it can be stand-alone and silent, succeeded by a vowel letter. Diacritics اَ اِ، اُ can be omitted in writing. |
| بےࣿ be | ب | ـب | ـبـ | بـ | [b] | b | U+0628 | |
| پےࣿ pe | پ | ـپ | ـپـ | پـ | [p] | p | U+067E | |
| تےࣿ te | ت | ـت | ـتـ | تـ | [t̪] | t | U+062A | |
| ٹےࣿ te | ٹ | ـٹ | ـٹـ | ٹـ | [ʈ] | ṭ | U+0679 | |
| ثےࣿ se | ث | ـث | ـثـ | ثـ | [s] | s | U+062B | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter siin س. |
| جوࣿم ǰom | ج | ـج | ـجـ | جـ | [d͡ʒ] | ǰ | U+062C | |
| چےࣿ če | چ | ـچ | ـچـ | چـ | [t͡ʃ] | č | U+0686 | |
| څےࣿ tse | څ | ـڅ | ـڅـ | څـ | [t͡s] | ts | U+0685 | Letter borrowed from Pashto alphabet. |
| ڇےࣿ c̣e | ڇ | ـڇ | ـڇـ | ڇـ | [ʈ͡ʂ] | c̣ | U+0687 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use حٍـ instead of ڇـ. |
| حےࣿ he | ح | ـح | ـحـ | حـ | [h] | h | U+062D | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter hay ہ. |
| خےࣿ khe | خ | ـخ | ـخـ | خـ | [x]~[kʰ] | kh | U+062E | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with digraph letter khe کھ. |
| دال daal | د | ـد | - | - | [d̪] | d | U+062F | |
| ڈال ḍaal | ڈ | ـڈ | - | - | [ɖ] | ḍ | U+0688 | |
| ذال zaal | ذ | ـذ | - | - | [z] | z | U+0630 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter ze ز. |
| رےࣿ re | ر | ـر | - | - | [r] | r | U+0631 | |
| ڑےࣿ ṛe | ڑ | ـڑ | - | - | [ɽ] | ṛ | U+0691 | |
| زےࣿ ze | ز | ـز | - | - | [z] | z | U+0632 | |
| ژےࣿ že / ǰe | ژ | ـژ | - | - | [ʒ]‍~[d͡ʒ]‍ | ž / ǰ | U+0632 | Only used in loanwords of Persian and European origin. Can be replaced with letter jom ج. |
| ڙےࣿ ẓe | ڙ | ـڙ | - | - | [ʐ] | ẓ | U+0699 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use رً instead of ڙ. |
| سِین siin | س | ـس | ـسـ | سـ | [s] | s | U+0633 | |
| شِین šiin | ش | ـش | ـشـ | شـ | [ʃ] | š | U+0634 | |
| ݜِین ṣiin | ݜ | ـݜ | ـݜـ | ݜـ | [ʂ] | ṣ | U+0687 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use سً instead of ݜ. |
| صواد swaad | ص | ـص | ـصـ | صـ | [s] | s | U+0635 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter siin س. |
| ضواد zwaad | ض | ـض | ـضـ | ضـ | [z] | z | U+0636 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter ze ز. |
| طوے tooy | ط | ـط | ـطـ | طـ | [t̪] | t | U+0637 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter te ت. |
| ظوے zooy | ظ | ـظ | ـظـ | ظـ | [z] | z | U+0638 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter ze ز. |
| عَین ayn | ع | ـع | ـعـ | عـ | [ʔ], silent | - | U+0639 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Can be replaced with letter aliv ا. |
| غَین gayn | غ | ـغ | ـغـ | غـ | [ɣ]~[ɡ] | g | U+063A | Only used in loanwords of Arabic and Turkic origin. Can be replaced with letter gaaf گ. |
| فےࣿ fe / phe | ف | ـف | ـفـ | فـ | [f]~[pʰ] | f / ph | U+0641 | Only used in loanwords. Can be replaced with digraph letter phe پھ. |
| ڦےࣿ ve | ڦ | ـڦ | ـڦـ | ڦـ | [v] | v | U+06A6 | Unique letter for Shina language. Some Shina literatures and documents use two horizontal lines instead of four dots, use ڡً instead of ڦ. |
| قاف qaaf / kaaf | ق | ـق | ـقـ | قـ | [q]~[k] | q / k | U+0642 | Only used in loanwords of Arabic and Turkic origin. Can be replaced with letter kaaf ک. |
| کاف kaaf | ک | ـک | ـکـ | کـ | [k] | k | U+0643 | |
| گاف gaaf | گ | ـگ | ـگـ | گـ | [ɡ] | g | U+06AF | |
| ڱاف / گاف گُنَہ ngaaf / gaaf gunna | ڱ | ـڱ | ـڱـ | ڱـ | /ŋ/ | ng | U+06B1 | Unique letter for Kohistani Shina language. |
| لام laam | ل | ـل | ـلـ | لـ | [l] | l | U+0644 | |
| مِیم miim | م | ـم | ـمـ | مـ | [m] | m | U+0645 | |
| نُون nuun | ن | ـن | ـنـ | نـ | [n] | n | U+0646 | |
| نُوݨ nuuṇ | ݨ | ـݨ | ـݨـ | ݨـ | [ɳ] | ṇ | U+0768 | |
| نُوں / نُون گُنَہ nū̃ / nūn gunna | ں / ن٘ | ـں | ـن٘ـ | ن٘ـ | /◌̃/ | ◌̃ | For middle of word: U+0646 plus U+0658 For end of word: U+06BA | |
| واؤ waaw | و / او | ـو | - | - | [oː] / [w] | w / ō | U+0648 | The letter waaw can either represent consonant ([w/v]) or vowel ([oo]). It can also act as a carrier of vowel diacritics, representing several other vowels. At the beginning of a word, when representing a consonant, the letter waaw will appear as a standalone character, followed by the appropriate vowel. If representing a vowel at the beginning of a word, the letter waaw needs to be preceded by an aliv ا. When the letter waaw comes at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [w], a hamza is used ؤ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. |
| ہَے hai | ہ | ـہ | ـہـ | ہـ | [h] | h | U+0646 | This letter differs from do-ac̣hi'ii hay (ھ) and they are not interchangeable. Similar to Urdu,do-chashmi hē (ھ) is exclusively used as a second part of digraphs for representing aspirated consonants. In initial and medial position, the letter hē always represents the consonant [h]. In final position, The letter hē can either represent consonant ([h]) or it can demonstrate that the word ends with short vowels a ◌َہ / ـَہ, i ◌ِہ / ـِہ, u ◌ُہ / ـُہ. |
| ہَمزَہ hamza | ء | - | - | - | [ʔ], silent | ’ | U+0621 | Used mid-word to indicate separation between a syllable and another that starts with a vowel. hamza on top of letters waaw and ye at end of a word serves a function too. When the letter waaw or ye come at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [w] or [y], a hamza is used ؤ / ئ / ـئ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. |
| یےࣿ / لیکھی یےࣿ ye / leekhii ye | ی | ـی | ـیـ | یـ | [j] / [e] / [i] | y / e / i | U+06CC | The letter ye can either represent consonant ([j]) or vowels ([e]/[i]). It can also act as a carrier of vowel diacritics, representing several other vowels. At the beginning of a word, when representing a consonant, the letter ye will appear as a standalone character, followed by the appropriate vowel. If representing a vowel at the beginning of a word, the letter ye needs to be preceded by an aliv ا. When the letter ye comes at the end of the word representing a consonant sound [j], a hamza is used ئ to label it as such and avoid mispronunciation as a vowel. When representing a vowel at the end of a word, it can only be [i]. For vowel [e], the letter buṛi ye ے is used. |
| بُڑیࣿ یےࣿ buṛi ye | ے | ـے | - | - | [e] / [j] | e / y | U+06D2 | The letter buṛi ye only occurs in final position. The letter buṛi ye represents the vowel "ē" [eː] or the consonant "y" [j]. |
| بھےࣿ bhe | بھ | ـبھ | ـبھـ | بھـ | [bʱ] | bh | U+0628 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| پھےࣿ phe | پھ | ـپھ | ـپھـ | پھـ | [pʰ] | ph | U+067E and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| تھےࣿ the | تھ | ـتھ | ـتھـ | تھـ | [t̪ʰ] | th | U+062A and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| ٹھےࣿ ṭhe | ٹھ | ـٹھ | ـٹھـ | ٹھـ | [ʈʰ] | ṭh | U+0679 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| جھوࣿم ǰhom | جھ | ـجھ | ـجھـ | جھـ | [d͡ʒʱ] | ǰh | U+062C and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| چھےࣿ čhe | چھ | ـچھ | ـچھـ | چھـ | [t͡ʃʰ] | čh | U+0686 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| څھےࣿ tshe | څھ | ـڅھ | ـڅھـ | څھـ | [t͡sʰ] | tsh | U+0685 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| ڇھےࣿ c̣he | ڇھ | ـڇھ | ـڇھـ | ڇھـ | [ʈ͡ʂʰ] | c̣h | U+0687 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| دھےࣿ dhe | دھ | ـدھ | ـدھـ | دھـ | [d̪ʱ] | dh | U+062F and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| ڈھےࣿ ḍhe | ڈھ | ـڈھ | ـڈھـ | ڈھـ | [ɖʱ] | ḍh | U+0688 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| رھےࣿ rhe | رھ | ـرھ | ـرھـ | رھـ | [rʱ] | rh | U+0631 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| زھےࣿ zhe | زھ | ـزھ | ـزھـ | زھـ | [zʱ] | zh | U+0632 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| ڙھےࣿ ẓhe | ڙھ | ـڙھ | ـڙھـ | ڙھـ | [zʱ] | ẓh | U+0699 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| کھےࣿ khe | کھ | ـکھ | ـکھـ | کھـ | [kʰ] | kh | U+0643 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| گھےࣿ ghe | گھ | ـگھ | ـگھـ | گھـ | [ɡʱ] | gh | U+06AF and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| لھےࣿ lhe | لھ | ـلھ | ـلھـ | لھـ | [lʱ] | lh | U+0644 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| مھےࣿ mhe | مھ | ـمھ | ـمھـ | مھـ | [mʱ] | mh | U+0645 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |
| نھےࣿ nhe | نھ | ـنھ | ـنھـ | نھـ | [nʱ] | nh | U+0646 and U+06BE | A digraph, counted as a letter. |

### Vowels

There are five vowels in Kohistani Shina language. Each of the five vowels in Kohistani Shina have a short version and a long version. Shina is also a tonal language. Short vowels in Shina have a short high level tone ˥. Long vowels can either have "no tone", i.e. a long flat tone ˧, a long rising tone [˨˦], or a long falling tone (/˥˩/.
All five vowels have a defined way of presentation in Kohistani Shina orthographic conventions, including letters and diacritics. Although diacritics can and are occasionally dropped in writing. Short vowels [a], [i], and [u] are solely written with diacritics. Short vowels [e] and [o] are written with letters waw and buṛi ye. A unique diacritic, a small sideway noon ◌ࣿ (U+08FF) is used on top of these letters to indicate a short vowel. Long vowels are written with a combination of diacritics and letters aliv, waaw or ye.
Below table shows short vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word.
Vowel at the beginning of the word :
| a | e | i | o | u |
| اَ‎ | ایࣿـ / اےࣿ‎ | اِ‎ | اوࣿ‎ | اُ‎ |
| Vowel at the middle of the word |||||
| ـَ‎ | یࣿـ / ـیࣿـ ‎ | ـِ‎ | وࣿ / ـوࣿ‎ | ـُ‎ |
| Vowel at the end of the word |||||
| ◌َہ / ـَہ‎ | ےࣿ / ـےࣿ ‎ | ◌ِہ / ـِہ‎ | وࣿ / ـوࣿ‎ | ◌ُہ / ـُہ‎ |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with "no tone", i.e. a long flat tone ˧.
Vowel at the beginning of the word :
| aa | ee | ii | oo | uu |
| آ‎ | ایـ / اے‎ | اِیـ / اِی‎ | او‎ | اُو‎ |
| Vowel at the middle of the word |||||
| ا / ـا‎ | یـ / ـیـ ‎ | ◌ِیـ / ـِیـ‎ | و / ـو‎ | ◌ُو / ـُو‎ |
| Vowel at the end of the word |||||
| ا / ـا‎ | ے / ـے‎ | ◌ِی / ـِی‎ | و / ـو‎ | ◌ُو / ـُو‎ |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with a long rising tone [˨˦].
Vowel at the beginning of the word :
| aá | eé | ií | oó | uú |
| آٗ‎ | ایٗـ / اےٗ‎ | اِیٗـ / اِیٗ‎ | اوٗ‎ | اُوٗ‎ |
| Vowel at the middle of the word |||||
| اٗ / ـاٗ‎ | یٗـ / ـیٗـ ‎ | ◌ِیٗـ / ـِیٗـ‎ | وٗ / ـوٗ‎ | ◌ُوٗ / ـُوٗ‎ |
| Vowel at the end of the word |||||
| اٗ / ـاٗ‎ | ےٗ / ـےٗ‎ | ◌ِیٗ / ـِی‎ | وٗ / ـوٗ‎ | ◌ُوٗ / ـُوٗ‎ |
Below table shows long vowels at the beginning, middle, and end of a word, with a long falling tone (/˥˩/.
Vowel at the beginning of the word :
| áa | ée | íi | óo | úu |
| آٰ‎ | ایٰـ / اےٰ‎ | اِیٰـ / اِیٰ‎ | اوٰ‎ | اُوٰ‎ |
| Vowel at the middle of the word |||||
| اٰ / ـاٰ‎ | یٰـ / ـیٰـ ‎ | ◌ِیٰـ / ـِیٰـ‎ | وٰ / ـوٰ‎ | ◌ُوٰ / ـُوٰ‎ |
| Vowel at the end of the word |||||
| اٰ / ـاٰ‎ | ےٰ / ـےٰ‎ | ◌ِیٰ / ـِیٰ‎ | وٰ / ـوٰ‎ | ◌ُوٰ / ـُوٰ‎ |