Parachi (''Parāčī'') is an

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

language. Parachi is spoken by some 600 individuals of the Parachi ethnic group in eastern

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, mainly in the upper part of

Nijrab District Nijrāb District, (Pashto/Persian: نجراب), also called Nijrāw, is situated in the central part of Kapisa Province, Afghanistan. It is located in a valley about 120 km northeast of Kabul. It borders Mahmud Raqi District, Mahmud Raqi and ...

, northeast of

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, out of a total ethnic Parachi population of some 5,000. It is closely related to the

Ormuri language Ormuri (Ormuri: اورموړی Pashto: اورموړی) also known as ''Baraki, Ormur, Ormui or Bargista '' is an Eastern Iranian language spoken in the Waziristan region of Pakistan. It is primarily spoken by the Burki people in the town of Ka ...

Kaniguram Kānīgūram () is a town in the South Waziristan region of Pakistan. Kaniguram's population mainly consists of the Ormur or Burki tribes of Pashtuns. It is also the hometown of the sixteenth-century Pashtun revolutionary leader and warrior-poet ...

South Waziristan South Mahsud Waziristan District () was a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan D ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Parachi is usually classified as a member of the Southeastern group of the

Eastern Iranian languages The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, having emerged during the Iranian languages#Middle Iranian, Middle Iranian era (4th century BC to 9th century AD). The Avestan, Avestan language is often classified as early E ...

,Nicholas Sims-Williams
Eastern Iranian languages
in Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition, 2010 although this is an areal group rather than a genetical one.

References

Further reading