Wikitongues | The Torwali language, casually spoken | Wikitongues @Wikitongues | Uploaded May 2023 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
The Torwali language is spoken by about 110,000 people, primarily in Swat District, Pakistan. An Indo-European language, it is related to others across South Asia, and more distantly to many European languages. In this video, Torwali elder Inam speaks with Zubair, who has been working to safeguard and revitalize the language.
More from Wikipedia: "Torwali (Urdu: توروالی) is a Dardic language of the Northwestern Indo-Aryan family mainly spoken in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat District in Northern Pakistan. It is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim Dardic communities of Pakistan. It has two dialects (Bahrain and Chail). The language and its community, like other communities, Gawri in Swat and in Dir, and the ones in Indus Kohistan, is often referred to as ""Kohistani"" which is a name given by the Swat Pathans. Fredrik Barth says ""By the Swat Pathans, the people are known as Kohistanis, together with the other non-Pathan peoples given that name; together with the Torwalis, Kohistanis of Swat Kohistan"". The Afghans call them 'Kohistani'--a name everywhere given by Pathans to 'the Musulmans of Indic descent living' in the Hindu Kush. Close to 30-35% of its speakers have migrated permanently to the bigger cities of Pakistan where their language is either being replaced by the national language Urdu, or by other languages of wider communication such as Pashto or Punjabi. The language Torwali is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim Dardic communities of Swat. Endangerment: Torwali is among the 27 endangered languages according to UNESCO's Atlas of endangered languages. Glottolog categorizes it as 'vulnerable. Efforts to revitalize the Torwali language were started back in 2004 and mother-tongue community schools were planned and established by Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT). Zubair Torwali founded Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT)--the Institute for Education and Development. He and his team introduced mother tongue-based multilingual education in Bahrain Swat and started advocacy for its revitalization."
The Torwali language is spoken by about 110,000 people, primarily in Swat District, Pakistan. An Indo-European language, it is related to others across South Asia, and more distantly to many European languages. In this video, Torwali elder Inam speaks with Zubair, who has been working to safeguard and revitalize the language.
More from Wikipedia: "Torwali (Urdu: توروالی) is a Dardic language of the Northwestern Indo-Aryan family mainly spoken in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat District in Northern Pakistan. It is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim Dardic communities of Pakistan. It has two dialects (Bahrain and Chail). The language and its community, like other communities, Gawri in Swat and in Dir, and the ones in Indus Kohistan, is often referred to as ""Kohistani"" which is a name given by the Swat Pathans. Fredrik Barth says ""By the Swat Pathans, the people are known as Kohistanis, together with the other non-Pathan peoples given that name; together with the Torwalis, Kohistanis of Swat Kohistan"". The Afghans call them 'Kohistani'--a name everywhere given by Pathans to 'the Musulmans of Indic descent living' in the Hindu Kush. Close to 30-35% of its speakers have migrated permanently to the bigger cities of Pakistan where their language is either being replaced by the national language Urdu, or by other languages of wider communication such as Pashto or Punjabi. The language Torwali is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim Dardic communities of Swat. Endangerment: Torwali is among the 27 endangered languages according to UNESCO's Atlas of endangered languages. Glottolog categorizes it as 'vulnerable. Efforts to revitalize the Torwali language were started back in 2004 and mother-tongue community schools were planned and established by Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT). Zubair Torwali founded Idara Baraye Taleem-o-Taraqi (IBT)--the Institute for Education and Development. He and his team introduced mother tongue-based multilingual education in Bahrain Swat and started advocacy for its revitalization."
