Khowar language
Khowar (), is an Indo-Aryan language of the Dardic group spoken primarily in the Chitral and Ghizer,Gilgit Division of Pakistan. Khowar is spoken by the Kho people in the whole of Chitral, as well as in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit, in parts of Upper Swat (Mateltan Village), and in a village of Tajikistan's Wakhan region called Vrang. Speakers of Khowar have also migrated heavily to Pakistan's major urban centres, with Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi having significant populations. It is also spoken as a second language by the Kalash people. Names . The native name of the language is "Khō-wār", meaning "language" ("wār") of the Kho people. During the British Raj it was known to the English as "Chitrālī" (a derived adjective from the name of the Chitral region) or "Qāshqārī". Among the Pashtuns and Badakhshanis it is known as "Kashkār". Another name, used by Leitner in 1880, is "Arnyiá" or "Arniya", derived from the Shina language name for the part of the Yasin (a valley in Gilgit-Baltistan) where Khowar is spoken. Lastly, the Wakhis and Sanglechis refer to the language and its speakers as "Kivi". History. Georg Morgenstierne noted , "Khowar, in many respects [is] the most archaic of all modern Indian languages, retaining a great part of Sanskrit case inflexion, and retaining many words in a nearly Sanskritic form". Phonology. Khowar has a variety of dialects, which may vary phonemically. The following tables lay out the basic phonology of Khowar. Vowels. Khowar may also have nasalized vowels and a series of long vowels , , , , and . Sources are inconsistent on whether length is phonemic, with one author stating "vowel-length is observed mainly as a substitute one. The vowel-length of phonological value is noted far more rarely." Unlike the neighboring  and related Kalasha language, Khowar does not have retroflex vowels. Consonants. Allophones of are heard as sounds . Tone. Khowar, like many Dardic languages, has either phonemic tone or stress distinctions. Writing system. Since the early twentieth century Khowar has been written in the Khowar alphabet, which is based on the Urdu alphabet and uses the Nasta'liq script. Prior to that, the language was carried on through oral tradition. Today Urdu and English are the official languages and the only major literary usage of Khowar is in both poetry and prose composition. Khowar has also been occasionally written in a version  of the Roman script called Roman Khowar since the 1960s. Media. Radio. These are not dedicated Khowar channels but play most programmes in Khowar. ″https://www.chitraltoday.net/2015/06/cultural-diversity-of-chitral/#:~:text=Chitral%20is%20also%20the%20most,lived%20together%20peacefully%20for%20centuries.