Contents

Munji language

Munji
منجاني ألڤزأن Munjoni ālavzān
Native to	Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
Ethnicity	Munji
Native speakers	5,300 (2008)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Munji–Yidgha? Munji
Writing system	Perso-Arabic script[2][circular reference]
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mnj
Glottolog	munj1244
ELP	Munji
Linguasphere	58-ABD-ba
Munji is classified as Severely endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)[3]

The Munji language (Persian: مونجی, Pashto: مونجی), also known as Munjani (Persian: مونجانی, Pashto: مونجی ژبه, Munjani: منجاني ألڤزأن), Munjhan (مونجهان), and the Munjiwar language,^[4] is a Pamir language spoken in the Munjan valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which is spoken in the Upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral, west of Garam ChashmainKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.^[5]

Historically, Munji displays the closest possible linguistic affinity with the now-extinct Bactrian language.^[6]

The Garam Chashma area became important during the Soviet–Afghan War. During the invasion, the Soviets were unable to stop the flow of arms and men back and forth across the Dorah Pass that separates Chitral, in Pakistan, from BadakshaninAfghanistan. The two dialects spoken in the area of Mamalgha Valley and the area of Munjan Valley differed, being the northern and southern dialects. The language has moved to parts of Chitral, after the War in Afghanistan forced the Munji-speaking people to flee to safer areas.^[7]

Despite Dari being the predominant language of the region, attitudes towards Munji are highly positive, and among speakers, few predict a decline in use.^[8]

Phonology[edit]

Vowels[edit]

Munji language has 8 vowel phonemes, these are [ə] ,[a] ,[ɔ] ,[ʊ] ,[u] ,[ɪ] ,[ɛ] ,[i]. Five of these vowels are lengthened in pronunciation, [i], [u], [ɛ], [ɔ], [a]. And the three central vowels [ɪ], [ʊ], [ə] are pronounced as short. The short vowels are neutralized in unstressed syllables, so that even native speakers are not aware of which specific vowel they are using.^[10]

As for orthography, native Munji words that have the 5 long vowels, these vowels are written with explicit letters, as defined in orthographic conventions of Munji. The three short vowels are written using diacritics which are dropped in most cases. Loanwords entering Munji via Persian (Dari) (which can be native Persian words, or Arabic or Turkic or European words) are written as they would in Persian.^[10]

Orthography[edit]

Attempts at compiling and standardizing an alphabet for Munji was first started in 2010. Samar linguistic institute, the Afghan branch of SIL International, an organization dedicated to preservation of language and development of literacy, has compiled a standardized orthography and various educational and linguistic material on Munji language. In 2017, the Munji orthography was given official confirmation by the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's official language regulator.^[11]

The alphabet is derived from Persian alphabet, but consists of 10 additional letters. Some of these letters are to represent phonemes that do not exist in Persian (Dari), while others are to clarify and specify vowel and consonant phonemes for better clarity and less ambiguity.^[12]

Vowels[edit]

Munji language has 8 vowel phonemes, these are A a [ə], Ā ā [a], O o [ɔ], U u [ʊ], Ū ū [u], Ə ə [ɪ], E e [ɛ], I i[i]. Five of these vowels are lengthened in pronunciation, [i], [u], [ɛ], [ɔ], [a]. And the three central vowels [ɪ], [ʊ], [ə] are pronounced as short.^[10]

As for orthography, native Munji words that have the 5 long vowels, these vowels are written with explicit letters, as defined in orthographic conventions of Munji. The three short vowels are written using diacritics which are dropped in most cases. Loanwords entering Munji via Persian (Dari) (which can be native Persian words, or Arabic or Turkic or European words) are written as they would in Persian.^[10]

Text sample[edit]

Below is a short passage of sample phrases.^[13]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]