# Sarikoli language

The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by the Pamiris of Xinjiang, China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language", although it is different from the related Iranian language spoken in Tajikistan, which is a dialect of Persian.

## Nomenclature

Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (Chinese: 塔吉克语, Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China. However, it is distantly related to Tajik (a form of Persian) as spoken in Tajikistan because Sarikoli is an Eastern Iranian language, closely related to other Pamir languages largely spoken in the Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, whereas Persian is a Western Iranian language and the official language of Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan, having historically been the most dominant Iranian language. It is also referred to as Tashkorghani, after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom—now the Tashkurgan (or Taxkorgan) Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China. However, the usage of the term Tashkorghani is not widespread among scholars.
The earliest written accounts in English are from the 1870s which generally use the name "Sarikoli" to refer to the language, but some written accounts since that time may use a different pronunciation derived from transcribing Chinese phonetics of the term into English as "Selekur(i)". Modern Chinese researchers often mention Sarikoli and Tajik names in their papers.

## Distribution of speakers

The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Southern Xinjiang Province, China. The Chinese name for the Sarikoli language, as well as the usage of Sarikol as a toponym, is Sàléikuòlèyǔ (萨雷阔勒语). Speakers in China typically use Chinese and Uyghur to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. The rest are found in parts of the Pakistani-administered Kashmir, closely touching the Pakistan-Chinese international borders in the north east.

## Writing system

The language has no official written form. Linguist Gao Erqiang, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary, while Tatiana N. Pakhalina, publishing in Russia, used an alphabet similar to that of the Wakhi language in hers. The majority of Sarikoli-speakers attend schools using Uyghur as the medium of instruction.

### Uyghur alphabet

In recent years, Sarikoli speakers in China have used Uyghur Arabic alphabet to spell out their language.
Sarikoli Uyghur Arabic Alphabet :
| No. | Letter | IPA | Latin Eq. | No. | Letter | IPA | Latin Eq. |
| 1 | ئا | [ɔ] | O o | 20 | غ | [ʁ] | Gh gh |
| 2 | ئە | [ɑ]/[ɛ] | A a | 21 | ݝ | [ɣ] | Gc gc |
| 3 | ب | [b] | B b | 22 | ف | [f] | F f |
| 4 | پ | [p] | P p | 23 | ڤ | [v] | V v |
| 5 | ت | [t] | T t | 24 | ق | [q] | Kh kh |
| 6 | ث | [θ] | Ss ss | 25 | ك | [k]/[c] | K k |
| 7 | ج | [d͡ʑ] | J j | 26 | گ | [ɡ]/[ɟ] | G g |
| 8 | چ | [t͡ɕ] | Q q | 27 | ڭ | [ŋ] | Ng ng |
| 9 | خ | [χ] | H h | 28 | ل | [l] | L l |
| 10 | ݗ | [x] | C c | 29 | م | [m] | M m |
| 11 | څ | [t͡s] | Ts ts | 30 | ن | [n] | N n |
| 12 | ځ | [d͡z] | Dz dz | 31 | ھ | [h] | Hy hy |
| 13 | د | [d] | D d | 32 | ئۇ | [u] | U u |
| 14 | ذ | [ð] | Zz zz | 33 | ئۈ | [y] | Ü ü |
| 15 | ر | [r] | R r | 34 | ۋ | [w] | W w |
| 16 | ز | [z] | Z z | 35 | ئې | [e] | E e |
| 17 | ژ | [ʑ] | Zy zy | 36 | ئى | [i] | I i |
| 18 | س | [s] | S s | 37 | ي | [j] | Y y |
| 19 | ش | [ɕ] | X x |
| Letter | Latin Eq. |
| ئاي | Oi oi |
| ئاۋ | Ou ou |
| ئېي | Ei ei |
| ئېۋ | Eu eu |

### Latin alphabet variants
#### Gao Erqiang Sarikoli latin alphabet

In 1958, linguist Gao Erqiang studied Sarikoli in collaboration with Tajik linguists, using 37 symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet for the transcription of the language. In the 1996 Sarikoli–Han dictionary, Gao uses an alphabet of 26 letters and 8 digraphs based on Pinyin.
Sarikoli alphabet (Gao 1996) :
| Uppercase | A | B | C | D | DZ | E | F | G | GC | GH | H | HY | I | J | K | KH | L | M |
| Lowercase | a | b | c | d | dz | e | f | g | gc | gh | h | hy | i | j | k | kh | l | m |
| Pronunciation | a | b | x | d | d͡z | e | f | ɡ | ɣ | ʁ | χ | h | i | d͡ʒ | k | q | l | m |
| Uppercase | N | O | P | Q | R | S | SS | T | TS | U | Ü | V | W | X | Y | Z | ZY | ZZ |
| Lowercase | n | o | p | q | r | s | ss | t | ts | u | ü | v | w | x | y | z | zy | zz |
| Pronunciation | n | o | p | t͡ʃ | r | s | θ | t | t͡s | u | ɯ | v | w | ʃ | j | z | ʒ | ð |

#### Pakhalina Sarikoli Latin alphabet

In the Sarikoli Latin alphabet version by linguist Tatiana N. Pakhalina, the sounds are represented by these letters:
| Letter | А а | B b | C c | Č č | D d | δ δ | E e | Ɛ ε | Ə ə | F f | G g | Ɣ ɣ | Ɣ̆ ɣ̆ | I i | Ʒ ʒ | J̌ ǰ | K k | L l | М м |
| IPA | [a] | [b] | [t͡s] | [ʈ͡ʂ] | [d] | [ð] | [e] | [ɛ] | [ə] | [f] | [ɡ] | [ʁ] | [ɣ] | [i] | [d͡z] | [ɖ͡ʐ] | [k] | [l] | [m] |
| Letter | N n | O o | P p | Q q | R r | S s | Š š | T t | ϑ ϑ | U u | Ü ü | V v | W w | Х х | Х̌ х̌ | У у | Z z | Ž ž | Ы ы |
| IPA | [n] | [o] | [p] | [q] | [r] | [s] | [ʂ] | [t] | [θ] | [u] | [uː] | [v] | [w] | [χ] | [x] | [j] | [z] | [ʐ] | [ɯ] |

## Phonology
### Vowels

| | Front | Central | Back | Back |
| High | i ⟨i⟩ | | ɯ ⟨ы⟩ | u ⟨u⟩ |
| Near-high | i ⟨i⟩ | | ʊ ⟨ů⟩ | ʊ ⟨ů⟩ |
| High-mid | e ⟨e⟩ | ə ⟨ə⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ | o ⟨o⟩ |
| Low-mid | ɛ ⟨ɛ⟩ | ə ⟨ə⟩ | (ɔ) ⟨o⟩ | (ɔ) ⟨o⟩ |
| Low | | a ⟨a⟩ | | |
* /o/ may also be heard as [ɔ, ʌ].
Sarikoli vowel ɔ/o is an allophone with Uyghur vowel a. Sarikoli vowel a is an allophone with Uyghur vowel æ. Sarikoli vowels have undergone the same chain shift as Tajik, Uzbek, and other Central Asian Pamir languages. The vowel chain shift looks like the following:
* [a] → [a]/[æ]
* [aː] → [ɔ]
* [o] → [u]
* [u] → [ɵ]/[y]
Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works (IPA values in brackets):
a [a], e [e], ɛy [ɛi̯] (dialectal æy or ay [æi̯ / ai̯]), ɛw [ɛu̯] (dialectal æw or aw [æu̯ /au̯]), ə [ə], i [i], o [o / ɔ], u [u], ы [ɯ] (dialectal ů [ʊ]). In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄. (citation?)

### Consonants

Sarikoli has 30 consonants:
Sarikoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription (IPA values in slashes): p /p/, b /b/, t /t/, d /d/, k /k ~ c/, g /ɡ ~ ɟ/, q /q/, c /ts/, ʒ /dz/, č /tɕ/, ǰ /dʑ/, s /s/, z /z/, x̌ /x/, γ̌ /ɣ/, f /f/, v /v/, θ /θ/, δ /ð/, x /χ/, γ /ʁ/, š /ɕ/, ž /ʑ/, h /h/, w /w/, y /j/, m /m/, n /n, ŋ/, l /l/, r /r/
| | | Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m ⟨m⟩ | | n ⟨n⟩ | | (ŋ) ⟨n⟩ | | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p ⟨p⟩ | | t ⟨t⟩ | k ~ c ⟨k⟩ | k ~ c ⟨k⟩ | q ⟨q⟩ | |
| Plosive | voiced | b ⟨b⟩ | | d ⟨d⟩ | ɡ ~ ɟ ⟨g⟩ | ɡ ~ ɟ ⟨g⟩ | | |
| Affricate | voiceless | | | ts ⟨c⟩ | tɕ ⟨č⟩ | | | |
| Affricate | voiced | | | dz ⟨ʒ⟩ | dʑ ⟨ǰ⟩ | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f ⟨f⟩ | θ ⟨θ⟩ | s ⟨s⟩ | ɕ ⟨š⟩ | x ⟨x̌⟩ | χ ⟨x⟩ | h ⟨h⟩ |
| Fricative | voiced | v ⟨v⟩ | ð ⟨δ⟩ | z ⟨z⟩ | ʑ ⟨ž⟩ | ɣ ⟨γ̌ ⟩ | ʁ ⟨γ⟩ | |
| Approximant | Approximant | w ⟨w⟩ | | l ⟨l⟩ | j ⟨y⟩ | | | |
| Rhotic | Rhotic | | | r ⟨r⟩ | | | | |

### Stress

Most words receive stress on the last syllable; however, a minority receive stress on their first syllable. Also, several noun declensions and verb inflections regularly place stress on their first syllable, including the imperative and interrogative.

## Vocabulary

Although to a large extent the Sarikoli lexicon is quite close to those of other Eastern Iranian languages, there are a large number of words unique to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.
Lexical comparison of eight Iranian languages together with an English translation :
| English gloss | Persian | Tajik | Wakhi | Pashto | Shughni | Sarikoli | Ossetic | Avestan |
| one | jæk (یک) | jak (‍як) | ji | jaw (يو) | jiw | iw | iw (иу) | aēuua- |
| meat | ɡuʃt (گوشت) | ɡuʃt (гушт) | ɡuʂt | ɣwaxa, ɣwaʂa (غوښه) | ɡuːxt | ɡɯxt | zizä (дзидза) | gao- (N. gāuš) |
| son | pesær (پسر) | pisar (писар) | putr | zoi (زوی) | puts | pɯts | fɪ̈rt (фырт) | puθra- |
| fire | ɒteʃ (آتش) | otaʃ (оташ) | rɯχniɡ | or (اور) | joːts | juts | ärt (арт) | ātar- |
| water | ɒb (اب) | ob (об) | jupk | obə (اوبه) | xats | xats | don (дон) | ap- |
| hand | dæst (دست) | dast (даѕт) | ðast | lɑs (لاس) | ðust | ðɯst | kʼuχ (къух) | zasta- |
| foot | pɒ (پا) | po (по) | pɯð | pxa, pʂa (پښه) | poːð | peð | fäd (фад) | paδa-, pāδa- |
| tooth | dændɒn (دندان) | dandon (дандон) | ðɯnðɯk | ɣɑx, ɣɑʂ (غاښ) | ðinðʉn | ðanðun | dəndäg (дӕндаг) | daṇtān- |
| eye | tʃæʃm (چشم) | tʃaʃm (чашм) | tʂəʐm | stərɡa (سترګه) | tsem | tsem | səʃt (цæст) | dōiθra-; caṣ̌man- |
| horse | æsb (اسب) | asp (асп) | jaʃ | ɑs (آس) | voːrdʒ | vurdʒ | bəχ (бӕх) | aspa- |
| cloud | æbr (ابر) | abr (абр) | mur | urjadz (اوريځ) | abri | varm | əvräʁ (æврагъ) / miʁ (мигъ) | abda-; aβra-, aβrā-; maēγa- |
| wheat | ɡændom (گندم) | ɡandum (гандум) | ɣɯdim | ɣanam (غنم) | ʒindam | ʒandam | mənəw (мæнæу) | gaṇtuma- |
| many | besjɒr (بسيار) | bisjor (бисёр) | təqi | ɖer, pura (ډېر، پوره) | bisjoːr | pɯr | fyr (фыр) | paoiri- |
| high | bolænd (بلند) | baland (баланд) | bɯland | lwaɻ (لوړ) | biland | bɯland | bərʒond (бӕрзoнд) | bərəzaṇt- |
| far | dur (دور) | dur (дур) | ðir | ləre (لرې) | ðar | ðar | därd (дард) | dūra- |
| good | χub (خوب) | χub (хуб) | baf | xə, ʂə (ښه) | χub | tʃardʒ | χorʒ (хорз) | vaŋha- |
| small | kutʃik (کوچک)) | χurd (хурд) | dzəqlai | ləɡ, ləʐ (لږ) | dzul | dzɯl | gɪ̈ssɪ̈ɫ (гыццыл) | kasu- |
| to say | ɡoft (گفت) | ɡuft (гуфт) | xənak | wajəl (ويل) | lʉvd | levd | zurɪ̈n (дзурын) | vac-; aoj-; mrū-; saŋh- |
| to do | kærd (کرد) | kard (кард) | tsərak | kawəl (کول) | tʃiːd | tʃeiɡ | kənɪ̈n (кæнын) | kar- |
| to see | did (ديد) | did (дид) | wiŋɡ | winəm (وينم) | wiːnt | wand | wɪ̈nɪ̈n (уынын) | dī-, viŋ- |

## Sample Text

The following text is a paragraph from Gao Erqiang's "Tajik-Chinese Dictionary" (1996), talking about the significance of the development of a writing system for the language of Tajiks of Xinjiang, both in Chinese and Sarikoli. The Sarikoli text is written in the "Pinyin" developed by Gao Erqiang for use in the dictionary. Below, the text is also transcribed in an equivalent Persian alphabet.
| Latin script | Awal birinqi masala qi ter gap kayan. Tujik milat hüyan ziv yost. Yad ziv optunum noya ar doira khulanmix soud. Janubi Xinjongan Yurkond, Puskom, KHarghalegh, Pixan khatorlekh juiefan wi Tujik heil uhxox na yozzin, Di juienj Tujik heil asos az jat hü ziv khulanmix kayin, Hü milatan wi ziv khulanmix qeig wa a wi tarakhi qeig Asosi KHonün zzujenj hyukhukh. Agar i milatan ghov ziv vid, kitubi ziv tsa na vid, di rang zivan wi rafond wa tarakhiyot qaklimari diqur hird. M dos qeig levd alo k yü milat Asosi KHonün zzujenj az hyukhukh tulukh bahyrimand na sezzjenj soud. Yizekh levjenj a ziv hotirlamix qeigiquz balgü, yani i mi khati münosibatlig vezzjenj pinyin sestimo qi qer wezzd khati hyusil sezzjenj, dian hyiq rang sir nist, Pinyin loyayan wi tüzülüx mofekh tsa soud, hyiq rang alukat mas peidu na soud. Vizekhan at ziv mazzon vezzjenj zidiyat mas ubiktip hyolda i taraf set khati ter sawiya khati birligir yozzd. Müstakhil tarakhi qogcjenj i zivan Kyamon wiri mos yetiquz i yizekh vid karak. Ilim wa rafond az nuhto zoct alo yad douliri uighun qer. |
| Uyghur alphabet | ئەۋەل بىرىنچى مەسەلە چى تېر گەپ كەيەن. تۇجىك مىلەت خۈيەن زىڤ ياست. يەد زىڤ ئاپتۇنۇم نايە ئەر دايرە قۇلانمىش ساۋد. جەنۇبى شىنجاڭەن يۇركاند، پۇسكام، قەرغەلېغ، پىشان قەتارلېق جۇيېفەن ۋى تۇجىك خېيل ئۇخشاش نە ياذىن، دى جۇىېنج تۇجىك خېيل ئەساس ئەز جەت خۈ زىڤ قۇلەنمىش كەيىن، خۈ مىلەتەن ۋى زىڤ قۇلەنمىش چېيگ ۋە ئە ۋى تەرەقى چېيگ ئەساسى قانۈن ذۇجېنج ھۇقۇق. ئەگەر ئى مىلەتەن غاڤ زىڤ ڤىد، كىتۇبى زىڤ څە نە ڤىد، دى رەڭ زىڤەن ۋى رەفاند ۋە تەرەقىيات چەكلىمەرى دىچۇر خىرد. مداس چېيگ لېڤد ئەلا كيۈ مىلەت ئەساسى قانۈن ذۇجېنج ئەز ھۇقۇق تۇلۇق بەھرىمەند نە سېذجېنج ساۋد. يىزېق لېڤجېنج ئە زىڤ خاتىرلەمىش چېيگىچۇز بەلگۈ، يەنى ئى مى قەتى مۈناسىبەتلىگ ڤەذجېنج «پىن‌يىن» سېستىما چى چېر ۋەذد قەتى ھۇسىل سېذجېنج، دىەن ھىچ رەڭ سىر نىست، «پىن‌يىن» لايەيەن ۋى تۈزۈلۈش مافېق څە ساۋد، ھىچ رەڭ ئەلۇكەت مەس پېيدۇ نە ساۋد. ڤىزېقەن ئەت زىڤ مەذان ڤەذجېنج زىدىيەت مەس ئۇبىكتىپ ھالدە ئى تەرەف سېت قەتى تېر سەۋىيە قەتى بىرلىگىر یاذد. مۈستەقىل تەرەقى چاݝجېنج ئى زىڤەن كيەمان ۋىرى ماس يېتىچۇز ڤىد كەرەك. ئىلىم ۋە رەفاند ئەز نۇختا زاݗت ئەلا يەد داۋلىرى ئۇىغۇن چېر.‎ |
| Chinese | 先说第一个问题。塔吉克族有自己的语言。这种语言在自 治县通用,是无法用其他语言代替的。和南疆莎车、泽普、叶 城等地的塔吉克人不同,这里很多塔吉克人只使用或基本上 使用自己语言。使用和发展本民族语言是宪法赋予的权利。如果一个民族只有口头语而没有书面语,这个语言的使用和 发展实际上就受到限制,也就不能合理享受宪法给予的权 利。文字就是记录语言的符号,用的是相关的一套拼音系 统,其中没有什么神秘,拼音方案设计周到也不会产生繁 难。文和语之问可能具有的矛盾将会通过客观而明智的处理 达到很大程度上的一致。一个独立发展的语言总要有和他相适应的文字。这从学术上或实用上说是理所当然的。 |
| English | Let's talk about the first question first. The Tajiks have their own language. This language is commonly used in the autonomous county and cannot be replaced by other languages. Unlike the Tajiks in Yarkant, Poskam, Kargilik and other places in southern Xinjiang, many Tajiks here exclusively or largely exclusively use their own language. The use and development of the national language is a right conferred by the constitution. If a nation only has a spoken language but no written language, the use and development of this language will actually be restricted, and it will not be able to reasonably enjoy the rights granted by the constitution. Writing is a set of symbols that record language, and a related pinyin system is used. There is nothing mysterious about it, and a well-designed pinyin scheme will not cause any complications. Possible contradictions between text and language will be treated objectively and wisely to achieve a large degree of consistency. A language that develops independently must have a set of characters that are suitable for it. This is a matter of course from an academic or practical point of view. |