Shina language
Shina (ݜݨیاٗ,شِْنْیٛا Ṣiṇyaá, IPA: [ʂiɳjá]) is a Dardic language of Indo-Aryan language family spoken by the Shina people. In Pakistan, Shina is the major language in Gilgit-Baltistan spoken by an estimated 1,146,000 people living mainly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan. A small community of Shina speakers is also found in India, in the Guraiz valley of Jammu and Kashmir and in Dras valley of Ladakh. Outliers of Shina language such as Brokskat are found in Ladakh, Kundal Shahi in Azad Kashmir, Palula and Sawi in Chitral, Ushojo in the Swat Valley and Kalkoti in Dir.
| Shina | |
|---|---|
| ݜݨیاٗ زبان Ṣiṇyaá | |
| Pronunciation | [ʂiɳjá] |
| Native to | Pakistan, India |
| Region | Gilgit-Baltistan, Kohistan, Drass, Gurez |
| Ethnicity | Shina |
Native speakers | 720,200 Shina (2018) and Shina, Kohistani 458,000 (2018) |
Indo-European
| |
| Arabic script (Nastaʿlīq) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:scl – Standard Shinaplk – Kohistani Shina |
| Glottolog | shin1264 Shinakohi1248 Kohistani Shina |
Distribution of Shina language in Dark Orange | |
Until recently, there was no writing system for the language. A number of schemes have been proposed, and there is no single writing system used by speakers of Shina language. Shina is mostly a spoken language and not a written language. Most Shina speakers do not write their language.
Due to effects of dominant languages in Pakistani media like Urdu, Standard Punjabi and English and religious impact of Arabic and Persian, Shina like other languages of Pakistan are continuously expanding its vocabulary base with loan words. It has close relationship with other Indo-Aryan languages, especially Standard Punjabi, Western Punjabi, Sindhi, and the dialects of Western Pahari.