Thali dialect

Dialect of Punjabi

Thaḷī is a western dialect of the Punjabi language spoken in parts of the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has been classified within the Saraiki group of dialects by some linguists, as a northern dialect of Saraiki,^[1][2] although it has also been described as transitional between Multani and Shahpuri Punjabi.^[3] Its name derives from the Thal Desert.^[3]

Its area starts from Tank to Muzzafargarh on the eastern end of the Indus River and from Bannu running down to D I khan at the western end of the Indus River.^{[citation needed]}

In Dera Ismail Khan District, it goes by the name of Ḍerāwāl^[4] or Derawali,^[3] and in Mianwali and Bannu districts it is known as Hindko or Mulkī.^[3] A dialect of Thali spoken in the northeast is known as Kacchī.^[5] Inhabitants of Dera Ismail Khan District, presumably speakers of this dialect, variously identify their language as Saraiki or Hindko.^[6] Likewise for those living in Mianwali District, who identify their language as either Punjabi, general, or Saraiki.^[7]

Thali is spoken in the following districts of Punjab Province and districts of Kyber Pakhtunkha Province:^{[citation needed]}

• Layyah District
• parts of Muzaffargarh District
• Dera Ismail Khan District
• Tank District
• Lakki Marwat District
• Bhakkar District
• parts of Mianwali District

References

1. Wagha 1997, pp. 229–31.
2. Shackle 1976, p. 8.
3. Singh 1970, p. 142.
4. Masica 1991, p. 426.
5. Bahri 1963, pp. 16–17.
6. Rensch 1992, pp. 7–8, 57.
7. South Asia Partnership-Pakistan. Profile of district Mianwali (PDF). pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2013.

Bibliography

• Bahri, Hardev (1963). Lahndi Phonetics : with special reference to Awáṇkárí. Allahabad: Bharati Press.
• Grierson, George A. (1919). "Thali". Linguistic Survey of India. Vol. VIII, Part 1, Indo-Aryan family. North-western group. Specimens of Sindhī and Lahndā. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India.
• Masica, Colin P. (1991). The Indo-Aryan languages. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-23420-7.
• Rensch, Calvin R. (1992). "The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People". In O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin R.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (eds.). Hindko and Gujari. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Islamabad: National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 969-8023-13-5.
• Shackle, Christopher (1976). The Siraiki language of central Pakistan : a reference grammar. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
• Singh, Atam (1970). "An introduction to the dialects of Punjabi". Pākhā sanjam. 3 (1). ISSN 0556-4417. The account of Thali here is based entirely on Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India.
• Wagha, Muhammad Ahsan (1997). The development of Siraiki language in Pakistan (Ph.D.). School of Oriental and African Studies. (requires registration).