A BRIEF OF PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY OF PAHARI LANGUAGE

Introduction of Pahari Language: Pahari, the phonetics and phonology of which we are going to discuss is put by linguistics in sub-group of a main group of Indo-Aryan dynasty of languages, named as “Pishacha or Dardi”, further dividing in three main groups known as Eastern Pahari being spoken in Nepal, Central Pahari being spoken in Garhwal and Daradoon area and Western Pahari being spoken in Western Jammu & Kashmir, besides several parts of Himachal Pardesh in India.

Pahari is known as “Pahari” because of its speakers residing in whole Himilian range of mountains (Pahar in urdu & Pahari) from Kashmir to Nepal. Its group, we have to dealt with is “Western Pahari” being spoken in Jammu & Kashmir State, about which the Grierson has said:

“Western Pahari consists of great number of dialects varying almost from hill to hill.” [1]

According to Grierson and his followers the Pahari belongs to Khasha tribes today known as “Khakhas” who after migrating from their original land Eastern Europe stayed hundreds of years in Eastern Iran and than again migrating from there they entered subcontinent and spread in Kashmir, Gilgit Baltistan (Dardistan), from where they continued their journey along Hamalian range and reached to Nepal.

Pahari Phonetics:

Though so many definitions of Phonetics have been made by linguists which no doubt are necessary to be known for a student of language but, we take 1^st its literary meaning and that is “Sound of spoken language”, whereas the general perception is that we learn a language from its written form when we see it in black and white in the shape of Alphabets ( in Urdu). Anyone who knows a language knows that there are sounds in language and how they are connected together and what these different sound sequences means. Every language of the world has its own sounds system but we cannot ignore this fact also that there are some common sounds in all languages of the world. The study of these speech sounds ( in Urdu) utilized by all human languages to represent meanings, is called Phonetics, whereas phonology is the broader study of major speech sounds and their organizations in a particular language. A spoken language is not dependent on any type of signs or shapes ( being called “haroof tahajji” in Urdu, Pahari & some other Indo-Aryan languages, especially those being written in Persian script), whereas the signs usually called alphabets are dependent on spoken sounds, termed as phonemes in terminology of linguistic.

Pahari like many other Indo-Aryan languages including our National language Urdu too has adopted Persian script and under the influence of its script it has not only lost the real pronunciation of several sounds, especially being written in Arabic Alphabets, such as _(hala:l) (hara:m) and__(hala:li), (hara:mi) etc. Meanings of these Pahari words in English respectively are legal, illegal, legitimate son and illegitimate son. The actual pronunciation of these words is__(laha:l),(raha:m), (laha:li) and (rahami). Similarly there are some local words such as (pharli), which mean a cow, a goat or any female animal that has passed her period of giving milk. Four more similar words are: _(birli), ( parli), __(pharlah) and __(pharl). English meaning of these words is: Creeping plant, a wild woman, an un-balanced wooden board and a balanceless thing or board.

This sound exists in Mesuri Urdu & Gojjri also but, in aforesaid languages this is being made by putting phoneme /__/(toey) in phoneme /__/(la:m) and in International Phonetic Alphabets (IPA) it has been written in the capital letter shape of English phoneme [L],^[2] whereas, in Pahari this sound has been modified by putting English phoneme “V” (being called in Urdu) on retroflex phoneme // (aray)following the rule adapted by Urdu writers and linguists in words // (Cha:nd), //(ma:nd) and // (pha:nd) etc. to reduce the weight of the voice of nazal sound of phoneme // (noon).

Though this writer is a layman in the field of computer skill but, as per his information received so far in this regard the computer is unable to write these sounds of Pahari language until the composer use the Corel system which is not only a much more labouring but also not commonly known to everyone.

An other problem in Pahari is being faced in writing a retroflex nazal sound, which is third shape of nazal sound // (noon) and is already existing in International Phonetic Alphabets in the shape of English phoneme η-like. This sound also exists in Mesuri dialect of Urdu^[3], Gojjri, Hindko, Pothohari and Saraiki. Several veteran linguists like Soniti Kumar Chatter Ji, Dr. Gopi Chand Narang, Dr. Masood Ahmed Khan, Dr. Abdul Ghafar Shakeel, Dr. Khalil Ahmed Siddiqi, Dr. Ismat Javed and Dr. Iqtedar Hussain has named this special nazal sound as (noon maqoosi) / / (retroflex nazal sound) and they write it putting phoneme // (toey) in phoneme /__/(noon). This sound is not in accessable to computer, until one go to its Corel system.

In addition to above special sounds, there is a semi-aspirated sound (being called _ / / in Urdu), which has really brought a reveolution in sound system of Pahari language, introducing 17 extra semi-aspirated sounds which are: All these sixteen aspirated phonemes have been tested on the touchstone of minimal pairs ( in Urdu), which are defined by the linguists in the following words:

“By minimal pair we mean two words in a language which differ from each other by only one distinctive sound (one phoneme) and which also differ in meaning. For example, in English words bear and pear are a minimal pair as they differ in meaning and in their initial phonemes /b/ and /p/. The term ‘minimal pair’ is also sometimes used for any two pieces of languages that are identical except for a specific feature of group of related features. For example, the sentences:

The boy is here

The boys are here

May be called a minimal pair because they are the same except for the contrast between singular and plural, expressed in both noun and verb. [4]

Including 39 phonemes of Persian script being used in Urdu number of Pahari phonemes or Alphabets reaches to 66 and with the grace of Almighty Allah all sounds being spoken in Pahari areas and wherever the Paharis are residing, especially in both the parts (free and occupied) of Jammu & Kashmir state can easily be written in black & white to the best and nearest of their pronunciation.

Not only this writer but all those want the faster development of Pahari language should be thankful to Urdu Department of Allama Iqbal Open University which get this phonetic problem of Pahari language solved in getting write M.Phil thesis entitled “Comparative study of Urdu & Pahari language”, by this writer under the guidance of a veteran Urdu scholar, author and famous personality of Urdu world, Prof. Dr. Sabir Hussain Cloorvi, at present Chairman Urdu Department Peshawar University.

Pahari is also very rich with regards to vowels and has two semi-vowels too as exists in Urdu. There are 19 vowels in Pahari, whereas according to some Hindi linguists, like Dr. Shiam Sundar Dass and Dr. Dhrander Warma Hindi too has 19 vowels. [5]

Before we mention the list of Pahari consonants and vowels we may give some example of minimal pairs out of 16 semi- aspirated phonemes mentioned above, for the knowledge of persons interested in phonetics and phonology of Pahari language which generally known as a developing language but, if we look into past history the Pahari was the most developed and a literary language among those twelve languages which were been taught in “Sharda script” during Ghandhara civilization in Budh University then known as “Sharda Mandal” established at “Sharda” in Neelam Valley of Azad Kashmir, in the regimes of Ashoka and Kanishka. But, after decline of Budhism all the literature of this language was destroyed. [6]

Sorry to divert your attention towards old history of Pahari language; in respect of minimal pairs of aforesaid semi-aspirated sounds of Pahari we first take phonemes // (ba^h) and // (pa^h) and will make the smallest speech sounds. //_(ba^hr) spring in English and / /(pa^hr) which mean load. In Pahari /__/ (ba^hr) there is no full use of Phoneme // (h). Similar position is in Pahari /_ / (pa^hr). On the other hand it is proved that these two words are a minimal pair. Let us take two more phonemes /__/ (pa^h) and /_/ (ka^h). With /_/ (pa^h) we make the word / / (pa^hr) and with /_/ (ka^h) /_/ (ka^hr). But, under the influence of Persian script we write these words respectively as /__/ (pahar) and /_/ (kahar). /_ / (pahar) in Urdu mean one forth time of a day, whereas /_/ (kahar) in Pahari means a home and in Urdu it is / / dhund (synonymous of / / ku^hr ) which in English means “fog”. Therefore one who has some knowledge about linguistic can easily realize that how far we are being detained from actual pronunciation of our spoken language, which by all means may be protected and preserved in its real form. To know more about semi-aspirated sounds of Paharia, we are meaning above mentioned 17 sounds too in words alphabetically. (ta^h), asking to a frightened or a passionless persons to run away to come out of fear (bahago) in Urdu. (tha:^h), come out, be insible, in Urdue (sa:nine a:o, mil ja:o). (ta^h), asking me to jallsome things. In Urdu (sina:o). (ja^h:l) , let one be seated, in urdu (bithe:o). (cha^h:l) rays. Or setthing sun. In Urdu (doobte soorej ki shoa) (cha^h:r), asking one to make vegitable, nice or any other thing out of just and warms etc. In Urdu (sa:f karo), (ra^h) released (especially from jail). In Urdu (reha) is fully aspirated and there come meaning as in Pahari (za^h:r) one thousand. In urdu it is (haza:r), (sa^h:r), asking one to take rest. In Urdu we can translate it as (zara dam lo) (sha^h:r) cleaver. In Urdu it is leasing pronounced as and have the same meaning as in Pahari. (ga^h:r), asking on to univiel his head or disclose his secrits. We can translate in Urdu as (sar nangah karo, jalan ha: t ka: ir:z lat: o). (le^h:r) a creeper, (bail) in Urdu. ma^h:) very of high level. In Urdu we can translate it as (bout bara:,) (oonchey darjey ka) (na^h:), asking one to the liatb. In Urdu (neha:o). As we observed in all these words semi-aspirates came in between two phonemes.

It may also be mentioned that in pahari as componed to semi-aspirates the full aspirates one used in very few words, especially when they come in between tow or more phonenes forming a wood such as (koha:ri). An are. In Urdu (Kulha:ri) and (reha:r), out of weeping of frightened chilled. In urdu we can translate it as

(us bachey kay roney ka: amal jis par jin bhoot ka: sa: ya^h para: ha)

In Pahari full aspirates almost come in the bregining of woods such as, (hor), (has), (huun) (ha:r) and (hola:). In English there aspirated words mean “more, laugh, just now, nackles and a persunhhaving? Less weight,” respectively.

Position of all the 17senci aspirated sounds with resped to their articulation is mentioned in schedule autitled “consonrutal sounds of Pahari language” attached herewith at page, whereas the position of phoneme (ha:ey Khaffi), the maker of 17 semi-aspirated sound is “viceless and spirsmt” with respect of manner of articulation and “glotrl” with respect to place of articulation hope this brief detail about testifying Pahari’s newly located 16 semi-aspirated sounds would have served the purpose of having more and more knowledge of linguistic, as it is the only guarantee of protection of our languages. But, it can only be possible when the computer technology will keep standing with the new challenges being faced by under developing languages like Pahari. According to this writer the computer has no system to write aforesaid semi- aspirated sounds of Pahari language.

Dipthongs and Tripthongs are also existing in Pahari like English, Urdu and other languages. With regards, to Tripthongs Pahari is also in danger under its present script. Which no doubt on the one hand is like a part of our Iman but, at the other hand if we don’t take the linguistic as a burning need of the day we will face an unavoidable loss in the development of our languages. Because an Urdu Tripthong is not necessary to be a Tripthong in Pahari also. For example we take an Urdu word _ (ao) which mean “come” is Dipthong in Urdu, whereas it is Tripthong in Pahari, because an Urdu _ (ao) comprises on two phonemes _(alif) and (wao), whereas in Pahari it is not (ao) but, (a^ho). There is semi-aspirated sound (being called _in Urdu) lying in between (alaf mad aa) and (wao).

(La:iey), (Pa^h:iey), (Khe:iey), (ra^h:iey) and many other such words are also trip thongs pahan as (Cha:iey), should (ja:iey), go (a:iey) com and several other such words one trip thongs in Urdu. English meanings of above mentioned one Panan words, known as trip thongs are: “ one should wear, done by brother, one should eat and one should sow” respectively. In Urdu these words mean” Pehn-na cha:hiey, bhaie nen, khana cha:hiey and be:jna Cha:heiy”

Categories and Kinds of Pahari Consonants:

Different methods and formulas are being used in dividing and categorizing the consonants of any language. Two of them known as “Manner of Articulation” and “Place of Articulation” are the most important.

Conclusion:

Though the space of 8 pages allotted by the authorities who are organizers of this Historical Conference was quite insufficient but, this writer has tried his best to introduce his language to this gathering of learned scholars of different languages revising his paper in the light of suggestions of learned revivers, which really enriched my knowledge with repect to phonetics and phonology. I am very thankful to team and hope that this conference will be proved as a miled stone in the development of Pakistani languages including Pahari. I congratulate the authorities of Peshawar University, especially Head of Computer Department and his colleagues for organizing such a successful and benefiting conference. It is also hoped that this process will be kept running in future also. We are here to discuss and introduce our respective languages to each other but, to what extent we will succeed here in our aims, it will be decided by the researcher of the future. Mr. George Bernard Shaw, has rightly said that: “No man fully capable of his own language ever masters another.”