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Also Known As:
Torwālī, Turvali, Dardu
Dialects & Varieties
- Bahrain
- Chail
An Overview of Linguistic Structures in Torwali, A Language of Northern Pakistan
Lunsford, Wayne A. An Overview of Linguistic Structures in Torwali, A Language of Northern Pakistan. Master thesis, University of Texas at Arlington, 2001.
Vulnerable
100 percent certain, based on the evidence available
80,000
Native Speakers Worldwide
Speaker Number Trends
Speaker Number Trend 0
Almost all members of the community or ethnic group speak the language, and the number of speakers is stable or increasing.
0
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 1
Used in most domains except for official ones such as government, mass media, education etc.
1
Transmission
Transmission -1
All members of the community, including children, speak the language.
-1
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
No results found.
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
Urdu is the national language and medium for instruction whereas Pashto is the lingua franca of the province. The frequency of incorporating Urdu terms for produce and numbers is increasing. Arabic words are borrowed for religion. English words such as hotel, taxi, etc. are also borrowed into Torwali.
Location and Context
Countries
Pakistan
Location Description
The Torwali people live in the Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province in norther Pakistan. The speakers of the Bahrain dialect live along the Swat River, from Madyan northward 20-25 miles to the village of Asret, south of Peshmal while the speakers of the Chail dialect is spoken in two villages about 3-5 miles east east of Madyan (p.2-3).
Government Support
no
Institutional Support
no
Speakers' Attitude
Torwali speakers are very proud of their language and culture. (p. 4)
Other Languages Used By The Community
Urdu; Pashto
Number of Other Language Speakers:
many
Domains of Other Languages:
None
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
No results found.
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
No results found.
Recent Resources
Language in Society
Language Documentation, Research, and Archiving
This is a research paper on the Dardic origin of Swat which is not known to many.
The areas where these languages are spoken comprise of the mountainous northern parts of the northwe
