Indus Kohistani

Indus Kohistani or simply Kohistani (کوستَیں ژیب, Kōstaiñ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Pakistan. The language was referred to as Maiyã (Mayon) or Shuthun by early researchers, but subsequent observations have not verified that these names are known locally.

The phonology of Indus Kohistani varies between its major dialects as shown below.

In the Kanyawali dialect, the back vowels /u/ and /o/ are described as variants of each other, as are the front vowels /i/ and /e/.

The consonant inventory of Indus Kohistani is shown in the chart below. (Consonants particular to the Kanyawali Dialect of Tangir and those found only in the Kohistan Dialects are color-coded respectively.)

The phonemes /x/, /ɣ/, and /q/ are mainly found in loan words. The status of /q/ in the Kanyawali Dialect is unclear. The sounds /f, v/ can also be bilabial [ɸ, β].

• Kohistan District, Pakistan
• Kohistani people
• Shina Kohistani
• Hazarewal

• Edelman, D. I. (1983). The Dardic and Nuristani Languages. Moscow: (Institut vostokovedenii︠a︡ (Akademii︠a︡ nauk SSSR).
• Zoller, Claus Peter (2005). A grammar and dictionary of Indus Kohistani. Vol. 1: Dictionary. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-017947-7.