Kalasha-ala language
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Kalasha-ala or simply Kalasha is a language spoken by the Kalasha of Nuristan in a few villages in the central part of the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. The most used alternative names are Waigali or Waigeli, which derive from Pashto.
Kalasha-ala belongs to the Indo-European language family, and is on the Nuristani group of the Indo-Iranian branch.
Its speakers have been estimated at 1,500 (2000, Van Driem) and are overwhelmingly Muslim. Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language, and between 15% to 25% for people who have it as a second language.
It has a lexical similarity of approximately 76% to 80% with the Tregami language.
Note, there is no closer connection between Kalasha-ala and Kalasha-mun. These two languages descend from different branches of the Indo-Iranian language. According to linguist Richard Strand the Kalasha of Chitral apparently adopted the term of the former Kafiristan Kalasha, who at some unknown time extended their influence into the region of Chitral.
References
- The Kalasha. Retrieved July 02, 2006, from Richard F. Strand: Nuristan, Hidden Land of the Hindu-Kush [link].
- Waigali. Retrieved June 13, 2006, from Ethnologue: Languages of the World, fifteenth edition. SIL International. [Online version].
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