Khowar | |
---|---|
کھووار زبان | |
Native to | Pakistan |
Region | Chitral District |
Ethnicity | Kho |
Native speakers | 580,000 (2020)[1] |
Khowar alphabet (In Nastaliq style.) | |
Official status | |
Regulated by | Association for the Promotion of Khowar[2] |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | khw |
Glottolog | khow1242 |
ELP | Khowar |
Linguasphere | 59-AAB-aa |
Khowar is a minor language of Pakistan which is mainly spoken in Chitral, it is given a space in this map. | |
Areas where Khowar is spoken. |
Khowar (Khowar: کھووار زبان, romanized: khowār, IPA: [kʰɔːwaːr]), or Chitrali, is a Dardic language of the Indo-Aryan language family primarily spoken in Chitral and surrounding areas in Pakistan.[3]
Khowar is the lingua franca of Chitral,[3] and it is also spoken in the Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, as well in the Upper Swat district.[4]
Speakers of Khowar have also migrated heavily to Pakistan's major urban centres, with Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi having significant populations. It is also spoken as a second language by the Kalash people.[5][6]