Luwati (Al-Lawatia, ; also known as Khoja, Khojki, Lawatiyya, Lawatiya, or Hyderabadi) 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 8,940 people known as the Lawatiya (also called the Khojas or Hyderabadis) in the country of

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 ...

. In total it has been estimated there are 20,000 to 30,000 Lawatiya people. Despite the various names, the Lawatiya refer to the language as Khojki. It is considered an endangered language because a portion of the Lawatiya do not speak Luwati, and it is not continuously passed down to younger generations.

Geographic distribution and status

The Luwati language is superficially similar to Kutchi, but retains sounds found in other

Sindhi languages The Sindhi languages or Sindhic include Sindhi and its dialects as well as Indo-Aryan languages closely related to it. Lasi and Sindhi Bhil are sometimes added, but are commonly considered dialects of Sindhi proper. It is not clear if Ja ...

and Saraiki but that have been lost from Kutchi. Luwati also bears similarities to other languages such as Sindhi, Gujarati, Hindustani and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. As with other languages located in Oman, Luwati is influenced by the Omani dialect of Arabic. Originating from the Pakistani province 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 ...

, the Luwati language has had a presence in

for nearly four centuries. The language and people were first mentioned historically by the Omani historian Ibn Ruzayq. The Lawatiya appeared to have settled in Oman in waves of immigration from Sindh between 1780 and 1880 bringing the language with them. A number of historians assign an

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

pedigree to the Luwatis. The Luwati speakers inhabited the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

until their displacement during the 8th century C.E. Others assert that the Luwati speakers originate in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

. The Luwatis entered

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

as prosperous merchants and insularized themselves, for the most part, in Sūr al-Luwātiyya in

Muttrah Muttrah, () administratively a province, is located in the Muscat Governorate of Oman. Before the discovery of oil in Oman, Muttrah was the center of commerce in Oman (Muscat). It is still a center of commerce as one of the largest seaports of ...

, preserving their language. Luwati is a minority language found in Oman specifically in the capital of

as well as in the coastal towns of

Saham Saham () is a coastal town in Al Batinah North Governorate, in northeastern 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 ...

, Barka, Khabura, and Musana. It is spoken by 5,000 to 10,000 people.

Phonology

Luwati phonology is simpler than that of Sindhi, having lost the breathy-voiced consonants and simplified the vowel system. All of the implosives, however, are retained.

Vowels

Consonants

Some consonants are restricted to borrowings, especially from Arabic and Persian, /x, ɣ, q, ħ, ʕ, z/.

Writing system

Luwati no longer has a writing system and is only a spoken language. Its script was used by Nizari Ismailis in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, and

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

to produce a religious corpus.

References

Endangered Indo-European languages Languages of Oman Western Indo-Aryan languages Sindhi language {{IndoAryan-lang-stub