Shina language

 ( Dardic Languages ) 

It is one of the major regional languages of Pakistan, being the most-widely spoken one in Gilgit-Baltistan. It is also spoken outside of Gilgit-Baltistan and Kohistan by Shina communities in major metropolitan areas around the country, particularly Islamabad–Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.

Until recently, there was no writing system for the language. A number of schemes have been proposed, but presently, there is no single writing system used by speakers of Shina.

All vowels except /ɔ/ can be either long or nasalized, though no minimal pairs with the contrast are found. /æ/ is heard from loanwords.

• falling: ae̯, ao̯, eə̯, ɛi̯, ɛːi̯, ue̯, ui̯, oi̯, oə̯;
• falling nasalized: ãi̯, ẽi̯, ũi̯, ĩũ̯, ʌĩ̯;
• raising: u̯i, u̯e, a̯a, u̯u.

"The" () has a level tone and means the imperative "Do!"

When the stress falls on the first mora of a long vowel, the tone is falling. Thée () means "Will you do?"

When the stress falls on the second mora of a long vowel, the tone is rising. Theé () means "after having done".

Ziya, Muhammad Amin, Prof. (2010, October). Gilti Shina Urdu Dictionary / ݜِناٗ - اُردو لغت. Publisher: Zia Publications, Gilgit. ضیاء پبلیکبشنز، گلیٗتISBN 978-969-942-00-8 /a>

Razwal Kohistani. (Latest Edition: 2020)(First published: 1996) Kohistani Shina Primer, ݜݨیاٗ کستِین٘و قاعده. Publisher: Indus Kohistan Publications. /a>

Since the first attempts at accurately representing Shina's phonology in the 1960s, there have been several proposed orthographies for the different varieties of the language. Debates have centered on how to write several retroflex sounds not present in Urdu language, and whether vowel length and tone should be represented.

There are two main orthographic conventions now, one in Pakistani-controlled areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Kohistan, and the other in Indian-controlled area of Dras, Ladakh.

Below, the alphabet has been standardized, documented, and popularized thanks to the efforts of literaturists such as Professor Muhammad Amin Ziya, Shakeel Ahmad Shakeel, and Razwal Kohistani. The alphabet established by these individuals has been developed for all Shina language dialects, including the Gilgit dialect and the Kohistani Shina. Pamir Times (September 5, 2008), "Shina language gets a major boost with Shakeel Ahmad Shakeel's efforts" /a> There are minor differences, such as the existence of the letter ڦ in Kohistani Shina of Shina. Furthermore, variations and personal preferences can be observed across Shina documents. For example, it is common to see someone use سً instead of ݜ for , or use sukun ◌ْ (U+0652) instead of small sideway noon ◌ࣿ (U+08FF) to indicate short vowels. However, these variations are no longer an issue. Another issue is that of how to write loanwords that use letters not found in Shina language, for example letters "س / ث / ص", which all sound like s in Shina. Some documents preserve the original spelling, despite the letters being homophones and not having any independent sound of their own, similar to orthographic conventions of Persian language and Urdu language. Whereas other documents prefer to rewrite all loanwords in a single Shina letter, and thus simplify the writing, similar to orthographic conventions of Kurdish language and Uyghur language.

Shina vowels are distinguished by length, by whether or not they're nasalized, and by tone. Nasalization is represented like other Perso-Arabic alphabets in Pakistan, with Nun Ghunna (ن٘ـ / ـن٘ـ / ں). In Shina, tone variation only occur when there is a long vowel. There are conventions unique to Shina to show the three tones. In Shina conventions, specific diacritics are shown in conjunction with the letters alif, waw, buṛi ye, and ye (ا، و، یـ، ی، ے), as these letters are written down to represent long vowels. The diacritics inverted damma ◌ٗ (U+0657) and superscript alef ◌ٰ (U+0670) represent a rising tone and a falling tone respectively. Another diacritic, a small sideway noon ◌ࣿ (U+08FF) is used to represent short vowels when need be.Shakeel Ahmad Shakeel. (2008). Sheena language An overview of the teaching and learning system / شینا زبان نظام پڑھائی لکھائی کا جائزہ. /a>