Locality and Cultural Influences on Language: An Analytical Study of the Persian Documents of Chitral

Abstract:

Persian has long been the official language of the state of Chitral. The language took many forms here within two centuries and was influenced by other local languages, politically, administratively, religiously and culturally. The mixture of local terms in Chitral’s Persian has made the language unfamiliar with other dialects of the neighbourhood (Tajik, Dari, Pamiri and Iranian Persian). When translating official and non-official Persian documents into other languages, knowledge of the local culture, political and administrative setup and religious rites is essential. Without which translators can’t understand the meaning of these documents. This article sheds light on all the factors and influences on Persian here that distinguish it from the dialects of its neighbours.

Keywords:

Persian in Chitral, Cultural and Political impact on language, Lexical and Cultural Terms

Romanised References:

1. Official Letter, His Highness Mahtar Chitrāl, August 1922.
2. Qabālah Zamīn, Milkīyat, Dōst ‘Alī Baig.
3. Directorate of Archives, N.W.F.P. Peshawar, Chitral Records, File No. 748–50.
4. Mu‘āhadah fī mā bayn Shāh Ghulām wa Muḥy al-Dīn bābat tanāzu‘ wirāthat-i-padrī, milkīyat Ḥājī Ḥasan Khān; Sand Awwal bābat qaḍīyah arāḍī, qalbah wa makān 1928; Sand Dōm bābat jūy, rāh wa ḥāṣilāt 1941.
5. Khālid Maḥmūd Khān, Iṣṭilāḥāt-i Tarjumah, Fiction House, Lāhor, 2019, p. 41.
6. Qamar Ra’īs, Dāktor, Tarjumah kā Fun aur Riwāyat, in Maqālah Tarjumah wa Lisāniyāt by Naṣīr Aḥmad, City Book Point, 2016, p. 87.