Parya (russian: язык Парья) is an isolated Central Indo-Aryan language spoken in the border region between

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

. There are several thousand speakers worldwide.

Classification and Status

Parya is classified as a Central Zone language in the Indo-Aryan language family. Tajuzbeki (or Tadj-Uzbeki) was an alternative name coined by Bholanath Tiwari for the same language. Much of the academic research in documenting and characterizing Parya was done by prominent

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

I. M. Oranski. The language may also be referred to as Afgana-Yi Nasfurush, Afghana-Yi Siyarui, Changgars, Laghmani, or Pbharya. SIL estimates that there may be between 2,500 and 7,500 speakers. The language is not officially recognized or used in schools and is categorized as severely endangered.

Speakers of Parya

Parya is spoken in the Hissor Valley of Tajikistan, west of Dushanbe, and the adjacent Surkhondaryo basin of Uzbekistan, including the towns of Hisor,

Shahrinav Shahrinav (Tajik: Шаҳринав, fa, شهر نو) is a village and jamoat in Tajikistan. It is located in Shahrinav District, one of the Districts of Republican Subordination tg, Ноҳияҳои тобеи ҷумҳурӣ , native_name_l ...

, Regar/Tursunzoda, Surchi, Afghonobod, Qalai Hisor, Pravda Vostok, Boloi Kanal, and Kolkhozi Leninism. The language is mostly spoken with ones family and relations, and it is almost always spoken in the homes of native speakers. Parya speakers tend to be bilingual in the dominant languages surrounding them, but tend to exclusively use Parya at home. The Tajik language has increasingly influenced the Parya language.

Phonology

Grammar

Vigesimal counting

Parya employs some

vigesimal vigesimal () or base-20 (base-score) numeral system is based on twenty (in the same way in which the decimal numeral system is based on ten). '' Vigesimal'' is derived from the Latin adjective '' vicesimus'', meaning 'twentieth'. Places In ...

numeral counting patterns.Jadranka Gvozdanović, "Numeral types and changes worldwide", Walter de Gruyter, 1999; , Iosef Mikhailovich Oranski, "Dva indoariyski dialekta iz Srednei Azii", Indiyskaya i Iranskaya Filologiya; Institut Narodov Azii, Nauka, 1964.

References

External links

The Indo-Aryan languages - a tour

{{Central Indo-Aryan languages Indo-Aryan languages Languages of Uzbekistan Languages of Tajikistan Hindi languages