Kata-vari is a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

of the

Kamkata-vari language Kamkata-vari (') is the largest Nuristani language. It contains the main dialects Kata-vari, Kamviri and Mumviri. Kata-vari and Kamviri are sometimes erroneously reckoned as two separate languages, but according to linguist Richard Strand they fo ...

spoken by the

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements made to be practised alone. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practised ...

in parts of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The most used alternative names are ''Kati'', ''Kativiri'' or ''Bashgali''. It is spoken by approximately 40,000 people (mostly in Afghanistan, just over 3,700 in Pakistan), and its speakers are

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

. Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...

, and between 15% to 25% for people who have it as a

second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language (first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a fo ...

. There are two main sub-dialects: Eastern Kata-vari and Western Kata-vari. In Afghanistan, Western Kata-vari is spoken in the Ramgal,

Kulam Filipino witches are the users of black magic and related practices from the Philippines. They include a variety of different kinds of people with differing occupations and cultural connotations which depend on the ethnic group they are associat ...

, Ktivi and Paruk valleys of

Nuristan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Dari: ; Kamkata-vari language, Kamkata-vari: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven Districts of Afghanistan, districts ...

. Eastern Kata-vari is spoken in the upper Landai Sin Valley. In Pakistan, Eastern Kata-vari or Shekhani is spoken in

Chitral District Chitral District ( ur, ) was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km², before splitting into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in 2018. Part of the Malakand Divis ...

, in Gobor and the upper

Bumboret Valley Bumburet (Kalasha: ', ur, وادی پمپوریت) is the largest valley of Kalasha Desh in Lower Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the province of Pakistan. The Bumburet valley joins the Rumbur valley at , and then joins the Kunar Valley ...

Phonology

Consonants

* Sounds /ʒ ɽ ɣ/ occur from neighboring languages. /f x/ are borrowed from loanwords. */ʈ/ can also be heard as an allophone � * is heard as an allophone of /i/. * /v/ can also be heard as bilabial �or a labial approximant

Vowels

* Mid /ə/ can be heard as a close central �

Vocabulary

Pronouns: 1sg. uze (nominative), ie (accusative), iema (genitive) 1pl. imu (nominative/accusative/genitive) 2sg. tiu (nominative), tu (accusative), tuma (genitive) 2pl. šo (nominative/accusative/genitive) Numbers: 1: ev 2: diu 3: tre 4: štavo 5: puč 6: ṣu 7: sut 8: uṣṭ 9: nu 10: duć

References

* * * *

External links

* * * * * {{Languages of Pakistan Nuristani languages of Afghanistan Languages of Afghanistan Languages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Languages of Chitral Nuristani languages