Sarikoli language
The Sarikoli language is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Tajiks in 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 considered a dialect of Persian.
Nomenclature
Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" in China. However, it is not closely related to Tajik as spoken in Tajikistan, as Sarikoli it is an Eastern Iranian language, closely related to other Pamir languages largely spoken in the Badakshan regions of Tajikistan and Afghanistan, rather than the Western Iranian Farsi-Dari-Tajik polycentric language. It is also referred to as Tashkorghani, after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom ; however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli". Modern Chinese researchers would often mention both Sarikoli and Tajik names in their papers.
Distribution of speakers
The number of speakers is around 35,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan 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 Sàléikuòlè yǔ. Speakers in China typically use Chinese and Uyghur to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. The rest are found in the Pakistani-controlled sector of Kashmir, closely hugging the Pakistan-Chinese international borders.Orthography
The language has no official written form. Gawarjon, publishing in China, used IPA to transcribe the sounds of Sarikoli in his book and dictionary, while 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.In recent years, Sarikoli speakers in China have used Uyghur Arabic alphabet to spell out their language.
Phonology
Vowels
Sarikoli vowels as used in Russian works :In some dialects also long variants of those vowels can appear: ā, ē, ī, ō, ū, ы̄, ǝ̄.
Consonants
Sarikoli has 29 consonants:Sariqoli consonants according to Russian Iranologist transcription :
p, b, t, d, k, g, q, c, ʒ, č, ǰ, s, z, x̌, γ̌, f, v, θ, δ, x, γ, š, ž, w, y, m, n, l, 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 are words unique to Sarikoli and the closely related Shughni that are not found in other Eastern Iranian languages like Wakhi, Pashto or Avestan.| English gloss | Persian | Tajik | Wakhi | Pashto | Shughni | Sarikoli | Ossetic | Avestan |
| one | iw | aēuua- | ||||||
| meat | zizä | gao- | ||||||
| son | fɪ̈rt | puθra- | ||||||
| fire | ärt | ātar- | ||||||
| water | don | ap- | ||||||
| hand | kʼuχ | zasta- | ||||||
| foot | fäd | paδa-, pāδa- | ||||||
| tooth | dəndäg | daṇtān- | ||||||
| eye | səʃt | dōiθra-; caṣ̌man- | ||||||
| horse | bəχ | aspa- | ||||||
| cloud | əvräʁ / miʁ | abda-; aβra-, aβrā-; maēγa- | ||||||
| wheat | mənəw | gaṇtuma- | ||||||
| many | birə | paoiri- | ||||||
| high | bərʒond | bərəzaṇt- | ||||||
| far | därd | dūra- | ||||||
| good | χorʒ | vaŋha- | ||||||
| small | ) | gɪ̈ssɪ̈ɫ | kasu- | |||||
| to say | zurɪ̈n | vac-; aoj-; mrū-; saŋh- | ||||||
| to do | kənɪ̈n | kar- | ||||||
| to see | wɪ̈nɪ̈n | dī-, viŋ- |