Shina language

Shina
Native to	Pakistan, India
Region	Northern Areas, Pakistan
Native speakers	100,000  (2010 censuses)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Dardic Shina
Writing system	Arabic script
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: scl – Shina plk – Kohistani Shina

Shina (Urdu: شینا‎ Šīnā) is a language from the Dardic sub-group of the Indo-Aryan languages spoken by the Shina people, a plurality of the people in the Gilgit–Baltistan region of Pakistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas of Pakistan.^[2] The valleys in which it is spoken include Astore, Chilas, Darel, Tangir, Gilgit, Ghizer, Gurez, Drass, Jalkot, Palas, Kolai, and Kohistan.

Dialects are Gilgiti (the prestige dialect), Astori, Chilasi Kohistani, Drasi, Gurezi, Jalkoti, Kolai, and Palasi. Related languages spoken by ethnic Shina are Brokskat (the Shina of Baltistan and Ladakh), Domaa, Kohistani Shina, Palula, Savi, and Ushojo. Shina is the language of 40% people of Gilgit Baltistan.

Phonology

Vowels

Consonants

Tone

Tshina has three contrasting tones, level and rising and low tone. Example: 1.the............2.thee.........3.thee 1. leveled "the" is Imperative meaning "Do". 2. The stress is on the first morel means "Will you do?" 3. The stress is on the last morel means "After having done". There are many minimal pairs in Tshina to prove that it contains three tones.

See also

• Shin of Hindukush

^[3]

References

1. ^ Shina at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
   Kohistani Shina at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
2. ^ "Mosaic Of Jammu and Kashmir". 
3. ^ Muhammad Amin Zia

• Calvin R. Rensch, Sandra J. Decker, Daniel G. Hallberg. (1992). Languages of Kohistan (Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 1). National Institute of Pakistani Studies, 263 pp. ISBN 969-8023-11-9.

• Backstrom, Peter C. (1992). Languages of Northern Areas (Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan, 2). 417 pp. ISBN 969-8023-12-7.

• Degener, Almuth. (2007). Shina-Texte aus Gilgit (Nord-Pakistan): Sprichwörter und Materialien zum Volksglauben, gesammelt von Mohammad Amin Zia. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. Contains a Shina grammar, German-Shina and Shina-German dictionaries, and over 700 Shina proverbs and short texts. Muhammad Amin Zia is a writer, poet and linguistic researcher from Gilgit–Baltistan. http://books.google.com/books?id=cOczIYoUKvwC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
• Zia, Muhammad Amin. (1986). Shina Grammar. First Shina grammar to be written in Shina.
• Zia, Muhammad Amin. Shina Lughat (Shina Dictionary). First available Shina dictionary, containing 15000 words plus material on the phonetics of Shina.
• Zia Muhammad Amin. Bayaak (Meeting Place) Shina Radio Features, translation and inter linear explanation in English by Prof. Dr. Gearg Buddruss and Almuth Degener. Published in Germany

External links

• 1992 Sociolinguistic Survey of Shina