The Munji language (, ), also known as Munjani (, , ), Munjhan (), and the Munjiwar language, is a Pamir language spoken in the Munjan valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which is spoken in the Upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral, west of Garam Chashma in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Speakers The Garam Chashma area became important during the Soviet–Afghan War. During the invasion, the Soviets were unable to stop the flow of arms and men back and forth across the Dorah Pass that separates Chitral, in Pakistan, from Badakshan in Afghanistan. The two dialects spoken in the area of Mamalgha Valley and the area of Munjan Valley differed, being the northern and southern dialects. The language has moved to parts of Chitral, after the War in Afghanistan forced the Munji-speaking people to flee to safer areas. Despite Dari being the predominant language of the region, attitudes towards Munji are highly positive, and among speakers, few predict a decline in use.

Classification Glottolog classifies the Munji language as a Central Eastern Iranian language belonging to the Yidgha-Munji subgroup. Historically, Munji displays the closest possible linguistic affinity with the now-extinct Bactrian language.Waghmar, Burzine K. (2001) 'Bactrian History and Language: An Overview.' Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 64. pp. 40-48.

Grammar Munji has partially preserved the Proto-Iranian grammatical gender system, maintaining the distinction between masculine and feminine. Although spoken in the easternmost periphery of the Iranian linguistic area, Munji marks the plural with the suffix -i, mirroring a morphological feature found in Zaza and Semnani, which are two Northwestern Iranian languages.

Numerals +Munji numeralsonetwothreefourfivesixseveneightninetentwentyMunjiyūlux̌'roričfurponžoxšoovdooškonāvdabīst/wīstYidgayūlohx̌'uroričšīrpanšoxšoavdooščonōuloswīsto

Phonology +Munji ConsonantsLabialDental/AlveolarPost-alv.RetroflexPalatalVelarUvularGlottalNasalStopvoicelessvoicedAffricatevoicelessvoicedFricativevoicelessvoicedApproximantTap/Trill

Vowels

Munji language has 8 vowel phonemes, these are [ə], [a], [ɔ], [ʊ], [u], [ɪ], [ɛ], [i]. Five of these vowels are lengthened in pronunciation, [i], [u], [ɛ], [ɔ], [a]. And the three central vowels [ɪ], [ʊ], [ə] are pronounced as short. The short vowels are neutralized in unstressed syllables, so that even native speakers are not aware of which specific vowel they are using.

As for orthography, native Munji words that have the 5 long vowels, these vowels are written with explicit letters, as defined in orthographic conventions of Munji. The three short vowels are written using diacritics which are dropped in most cases. Loanwords entering Munji via Persian (Dari) are written as they would in Persian.

+Munji VowelsFrontCentralBackCloseNear-closeMidOpen

Orthography Attempts at compiling and standardizing an alphabet for Munji was first started in 2010. Samar linguistic institute, the Afghan branch of SIL International, an organization dedicated to preservation of language and development of literacy, has compiled a standardized orthography and various educational and linguistic material on Munji language. In 2017, the Munji orthography was given official confirmation by the Academy of Sciences of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's official language regulator.

The alphabet is derived from Persian alphabet, but consists of 10 additional letters. Some of these letters are to represent phonemes that do not exist in Persian (Dari), while others are to clarify and specify vowel and consonant phonemes for better clarity and less ambiguity.

Transliteration IPAForms Unicode NotesIsolatedFinalMedialInitial O o - U+0622U+0627 Vowel phoneme [ɔ] is represented with () when at the beginning of a word, and with () when in the middle or end of a word. Ā ā - U+0623 Unique to Munji, not used as such in Persian (Dari). Similar letter exists in Turkmen orthography.Vowel phoneme [ä] is represented with () whether at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. - / A a / U u / I i() - - U+0627 Letter alif at the beginning of a word can serve two functions. First, it precedes vowel letters () [u], () [i], or () [ɛ]. Second, it acts as a vowel carrier for diacritics of the three short vowels of Munji, [ə], () [ʊ], and () [ɪ]. B b U+0628 P p U+067e T t~ U+062a S s U+062b Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. J̌ ǰ U+062c Č č U+0686 H h ~ U+062d Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. X x U+062e C c U+0685 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Khowar, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies. J j U+0681 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Khowar, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies. D d~ - - U+062f Z z - - U+0630 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. R r - - U+0631 Z z - - U+0632 Ž ž~ - - U+0698 Ǧ ǧ - - U+0696 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies. S s U+0633 Š š‍~ U+0634 X̌ x̌ U+069a Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto, Shughni, and Wakhani orthographies. S s U+0635 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Z z U+0636 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. T t U+0637U Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Z z U+0638 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. - / U+0639 Only used in loanwords of Arabic origin. Gh gh U+063a F f U+0641 V v U+06a4 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Shughni, Wakhani, and other orthographies beyond Afghanistan, such as Kurdish. Q q U+0642 K k U+06a9 Ḱ ḱ ~ U+0762 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. No similar letter exists in any other orthography. G g U+06af Ǵ ǵ ~ U+06B1 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. No similar letter exists in any other orthography. L l U+0644 M m U+0645 N n U+0646 W w - - U+0648 Ū ū - U+0624 Unique to Munji, not used as such in Persian (Dari). Indicates a vowel, and when a word begins with this vowel phoneme, the letter needs to be preceded by alif (). H h ~ U+0647 A a - - Only at the end of the word does this letter represent vowel phoneme [ə]. In the middle of words, this vowel is represented with diacritic () which is usually dropped in writing. At the beginning of a word, the diacritic is placed on top of alif () I i / Y y / - U+06cc Represents two phonemes based on context, [i] and [j].If used at the beginning of a word, if representing consonant [j], it will be written standalone , if representing a vowel [i], it will be preceded by alif .Not used at the end of the word. Instead, either () or () are used for representing the phonemes [j] or [i] respectively. Y y - - U+06CD Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto orthography. This letter is only used at the end of a word to represent the phoneme [j]. Elsewhere in a word, the letter ye is used. I i - - U+064A Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari) alphabet. Similar letter exists in Pashto orthography. This letter is only used at the end of a word to represent the phoneme [i]. Elsewhere in a word, the letter ye () is used. E e U+06d0 Unique to Munji, not part of Persian (Dari). Similar letter exists in Pashto and Uzbek orthographies. Indicates a vowel, and when a word begins with this vowel phoneme, the letter needs to be preceded by alif ().

Vowels

Munji language has 8 vowel phonemes, these are A a [ə], Ā ā [a], O o [ɔ], U u [ʊ], Ū ū [u], Ə ə [ɪ], E e [ɛ], I i[i]. Five of these vowels are lengthened in pronunciation, [i], [u], [ɛ], [ɔ], [a]. And the three central vowels [ɪ], [ʊ], [ə] are pronounced as short.

As for orthography, native Munji words that have the 5 long vowels, these vowels are written with explicit letters, as defined in orthographic conventions of Munji. The three short vowels are written using diacritics which are dropped in most cases. Loanwords entering Munji via Persian (Dari) (which can be native Persian words, or Arabic or Turkic or European words) are written as they would in Persian.

A a Ā ā O o U u Ū ū Ə ə E e I i [ə] [a] [ɔ] [ʊ] [u] [ɪ] [ɛ] [i] Vowels at the beginning of a word Vowels at the middle of a word Vowels at the end of a word - -

Text sample

Below is a short passage of sample phrases.

Munji Arabic Alphabet Latin Transliteration Translation "The āminǵa (apricot?) is a very tasty fruit. It is beneficial for human health. We should use it a lot, especially when one is very hungry, one should eat a lot of it. And āminǵa increases people's strength. Truly, it is a most excellent fruit." -

References

Cited works

Further reading