Jaḍgālī (also called Jatgali, Jatki, Zadjali, Zidgali) is an

Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...

spoken by the Jadgal, an ethno-linguistic group of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

also spoken by few hundreds in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

. It is a dialect of Sindhi language most closely related to Lasi. The majority of the Jadgali population is found in Pakistan, where a 2004 estimate placed it at 15,600, and in Iran, where according to a 2008 estimate it is at least 25,000. There are also immigrant communities in

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, where the Jadgal are known as ' or '. In Iran at least two varieties are spoken, which are reportedly not easily intercomprehensible. The term ''Jadgal'' is of Balochi origin, but it is nowadays used by the Jadgal themselves, alongside their earlier endonym ''Nummaṛ'', which is the source of the language names ''Nummaṛī'' and ''Nummaṛikī''. Jadgali is underdocumented. According to Emeneau, it is likely to have been the source of early Indo-Aryan influences on Balochi and Brahui and therefore studies of the language could help bring insights into the linguistic history of the area.

In Iran

In Iran, Jadgali is spoken in the Dashtyari region in the south and south-east of Sistan and Balochistan Province, particularly in Pullān, Pīr Suhrāb and Bāhū Kalāt; all neighbouring communities are Balochi-speaking. Most speakers of Jadgali ethnically self-identify as Jadgal, fewer Jadgal claim to be of Baloch origin and to have changed their language because of interactions with their neighbours at the time when they were settled in Las Bela, a region at the eastern end of Balochistan. According to this story, they left their homeland after a defeat from the ruler of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

and then moved westward, eventually settling in Dashtyari during the reign of Shah Abbas. Balochi is the language of wider communication, all male adults are bilingual in it, and it is more likely to be the one passed on to children in mixed marriages. However, attitudes to Jadgali are positive and the language is vital. Persian is used relatively often. In addition to Balochi TV programmes, some people also watch Sindhi-language broadcasts from Pakistan.

References

Bibliography

* * * * (access limited). * {{Indo-Aryan languages Languages of Iran Languages of Balochistan, Pakistan Western Indo-Aryan languages Dialects of Sindhi Indo-Aryan languages Languages of Oman Endangered Iranian languages