Munji language

For the Sino-Tibetan language, see Mondzi language.
Munji
منجاني ألڤزأن
Munjoni ālavzān
Native toBadakhshan Province, Afghanistan
EthnicityMunji
Native speakers
5,300 (2008)[1]
Perso-Arabic script[2][circular reference]
Language codes
ISO 639-3mnj
Glottologmunj1244
ELPMunji
Linguasphere58-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), also known as Munjani (مونجانی, 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 Chashma in Khyber 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 Badakshan in Afghanistan. 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]

Munji Consonants[9]
Labial Dental/

Alveolar

Post-alv. Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ɲ
Stop voiceless p t ʈ c k q
voiced b d ɖ ɟ ɡ
Affricate voiceless t͡s t͡ʃ t͡ʂ
voiced d͡z d͡ʒ d͡ʐ
Fricative voiceless f s ʃ ʂ ç x χ h
voiced v z ʒ ʐ ʝ
Approximant l j w
Tap/Trill r ɽ

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]

Munji Vowels[10]
Front Central Back
Close i u
Near-close ɪ ʊ
Mid ɛ ə ɔ
Open ä

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]

Transliteration[10] IPA[10] Forms Unicode Notes
Isolated Final Medial Initial
O o [ɔ] آ / ا‎ ـا‎ - آ‎ U+0622
U+0627 		Vowel phoneme [ɔ] is represented with (آ‎) when at the beginning of a word, and with (ـا / ا‎) when in the middle or end of a word.
Ā ā [ä] أ‎ ـأ‎ - أ‎ U+0623 Unique to Munji, not used as such in Persian (Dari). Similar letter exists in Turkmen orthography.
Vowel phoneme [ä] is represented with (أ / ـأ‎) whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
- / A a / U u / I i [∅]
([ə][ʊ][ɪ]) 		ا‎ - - ا‎ U+0627 Letter alif at the beginning of a word can serve two functions. First, it precedes vowel letters (اؤ‎) [u], (ایـ / اي‎) [i], or (اېـ / اې‎) [ɛ]. Second, it acts as a vowel carrier for diacritics of the three short vowels of Munji, اَ‎ [ə], (اُ‎) [ʊ], and (اِ‎) [ɪ].
B b [b] ب‎ ـب‎ ـبـ‎ بـ‎ U+0628
P p [p] پ‎ ـپ‎ ـپـ‎ پـ‎ U+067e
T t [t]~[tʰ] ت‎ ـت‎ ـتـ‎ تـ‎ U+062a
S s [s] ث‎ ـث‎ ـثـ‎ ثـ‎ U+062b Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
J̌ ǰ [d͡ʒ] ج‎ ـج‎ ـجـ‎ جـ‎ U+062c
Č č [t͡ʃ] چ‎ ـچ‎ ـچـ‎ چـ‎ U+0686
H h [h]~[ʔ] ح‎ ـح‎ ـحـ‎ حـ‎ U+062d Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
X x [x] خ‎ ـخ‎ ـخـ‎ خـ‎ U+062e
C c [t͡s] څ‎ ـڅ‎ ـڅـ‎ څـ‎ U+0685 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Khowar, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies.
D d [d] د‎ ـد‎ - - U+062f
Z z [z] ذ‎ ـذ‎ - - U+0630 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
R r [ɾ] ر‎ ـر‎ - - U+0631
Z z [z] ز‎ ـز‎ - - U+0632
Ž ž [ʒ]~[ʐ] ژ‎ ـژ‎ - - U+0698
S s [s] س‎ ـس‎ ـسـ‎ سـ‎ U+0633
Š š [ʃ]‍ ش‎ ـش‎ ـشـ‎ شـ‎ U+0634
X̌ x̌ [ç] ښ‎ ـښ‎ ـښـ‎ ښـ‎ U+069a Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies.
S s [s] ص‎ ـص‎ ـصـ‎ صـ‎ U+0635 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
Z z [z] ض‎ ـض‎ ـضـ‎ ضـ‎ U+0636 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
T t [t] ط‎ ـط‎ ـطـ‎ طـ‎ U+0637U Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
Z z [z] ظ‎ ـظ‎ ـظـ‎ ظـ‎ U+0638 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
- [∅]/[ʔ] ع‎ ـع‎ ـعـ‎ عـ‎ U+0639 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin.
Gh gh [ɣ] غ‎ ـغ‎ ـغـ‎ غـ‎ U+063a
F f [f] ف‎ ـف‎ ـفـ‎ فـ‎ U+0641
V v [v] ڤ‎ ـڤ‎ ـڤـ‎ ڤـ‎ U+06a4 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Shughni, Wakhani, and other orthographies beyond Afghanistan, such as Kurdish.
Q q [q] ق‎ ـق‎ ـقـ‎ قـ‎ U+0642
K k [k] ک‎ ـک‎ ـکـ‎ کـ‎ U+06a9
Ḱ ḱ [cʲ]~[c͡ç] ݢ‎ ـݢ‎ ـݢـ‎ ݢـ‎ U+0762 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. No similar letter exists in any other orthography.
G g [ɡ] گ‎ ـگ‎ ـگـ‎ گـ‎ U+06af
Ǵ ǵ [ɟʲ]~[ɟ͡ʝ] ڱ‎ ـڱ‎ ـڱـ‎ ڱـ‎ U+06B1 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. No similar letter exists in any other orthography.
L l [l] ل‎ ـل‎ ـلـ‎ لـ‎ U+0644
M m [m] م‎ ـم‎ ـمـ‎ مـ‎ U+0645
N n [n] ن‎ ـن‎ ـنـ‎ نـ‎ U+0646
W w [w] و‎ ـو‎ - - U+0648
Ū ū [u] ؤ‎ ـؤ‎ - اؤ‎ U+0624 Unique to Munji, not used as such in Persian (Dari). Indicates a vowel, and when a word begins with this vowel phoneme, the letter needs to be preceded by alif (اؤ‎).
H h [h]~[ʔ] ه‎ ـه‎ ـهـ‎ هـ‎ U+0647
A a [ə] - - Only at the end of the word does this letter represent vowel phoneme [ə]. In the middle of words, this vowel is represented with diacritic (ـَ‎) which is usually dropped in writing. At the beginning of a word, the diacritic is placed on top of alif (اَ‎)
I i / Y y [i] / [j] ی‎ - ـیـ‎ ایـ / یـ‎ U+06cc Represents two phonemes based on context, [i] and [j].
If used at the beginning of a word, if representing consonant [j], it will be written standalone یـ‎, if representing a vowel [i], it will be preceded by alif ایـ‎.
Not used at the end of the word. Instead, either ( ۍ‎) or ( ي‎) are used for representing the phonemes [j] or [i] respectively.
Y y [j] ۍ‎ ـۍ‎ - - U+06CD Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto orthograpy. This letter is only used at the end of a word to represent the phoneme [j]. Elsewhere in a word, the letter ye یـ / ـیـ ‎ is used.
I i [i] ي‎ ـي‎ - - U+064A Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto orthograpy. This letter is only used at the end of a word to represent the phoneme [i]. Elsewhere in a word, the letter ye ( ایـ / یـ / ـیـ ‎) is used.
E e [ɛ] ې‎ ـې‎ ـېـ‎ اېـ / ېـ‎ U+06d0 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari). Similar letter exists in Pashto and Uzbek orthographies. Indicates a vowel, and when a word begins with this vowel phoneme, the letter needs to be preceded by alif (اېـ‎).

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]

A a Ā ā O o U u Ū ū Ə ə E e I i
[ə] [a] [ɔ] [ʊ] [u] [ɪ] [ɛ] [i]
Vowels at the beginning of a word
اَ / ا‎ أ‎ آ‎ اُ / ا‎ اؤ‎ اِ / ا‎ اېـ ‎ ایـ ‎
Vowels at the middle of a word
◌َ‎ أ / ـأ‎ ا / ـا‎ ◌ُ‎ ؤ / ـؤ‎ ◌ِ‎ ېـ / ـېـ‎ یـ / ـیـ ‎
Vowels at the end of a word
ه / ـه‎ أ / ـأ‎ ا / ـا‎ - ؤ / ـؤ‎ - ې / ـې‎ ي / ـي ‎

Text sample[edit]

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

Munji Arabic Alphabet أمینڱه جاند یؤ میوه به مزغه أست. نه صحتأن نه انسانأن جاند فایده لېت. ژه أمینڱین باید زیاد استفاده کنأم خصوصاً وختیکه وه ژنکي غارگي فرمأت باید زیاد خرأت. ڤه أمینڱه مݢي مردم بالرأت. واقعاً یؤ میوه بالزته أست.‎
Latin Transliteration Āminǵa jond yū məwa ba mazgha āst. Na səhatān na insonān jond foyda let. Ža āminǵin boyad zəyod əstəfoda kunām xusūson waxtika wažanki ghogi farmāj boyad zəyod xurāt. Va āminǵa maḱi mardum bolrāt. woqə’on yū məwa bolzəta āst.
Translation -

References[edit]

  1. ^ Munji at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ fa:زبان مونجی
  3. ^ "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". unesdoc.unesco.org. p. 42. Retrieved 2023-03-02.
  4. ^ "Did you know Munji is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2017-02-10.
  5. ^ Risley, H.H.; E.A. Gait (1903). Report on the Census of India, 1901. Calcutta: Superintendent of Government Printing. p. 294. Archived from the original on 2011-07-06.
  6. ^ Waghmar, Burzine K. (2001) 'Bactrian History and Language: An Overview.' Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 64. pp. 40-48.
  7. ^ Decker, Kendell D. (1992). Languages of Chitral. National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan and Summer Institute of Linguistics. p. 50.
  8. ^ Daniela Beyer; Simone Beck (2011). "A linguistics assessment of the Munji language in Afghanistan". Language Documentation and Conservation. 6: 38–103.
  9. ^ Moran, Steven; McCloy, Daniel; Wright, Richard (2012). "Revisiting population size vs. phoneme inventory size". Language. 88 (4): 877–893. doi:10.1353/lan.2012.0087. hdl:1773/25269. ISSN 1535-0665. S2CID 145423518.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Zabanha, Paul Williamson and Anna Williamson. Translated to Dari by Sani Marzban. Munji Phonological Analysis / تحلیل وتجزیه صدا زبان منجانی [1]
  11. ^ Zabanha, Introduction to the Munji Alphabet / "Munji | Zabanha".
  12. ^ Zabanha, Introduction to the Munji Alphabet / معرفی الفبای زبان منجانی [2]
  13. ^ [3]

Further reading[edit]

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