| Also Known As: Sarykoly,Tajik,Tajiki,Tadzik,Salikur
Description:
The Sarikoli language (also Sariqoli, Selekur, Sarikul, Sariqul, Sariköli) is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Southeastern Iranian languages spoken by Pamiris in China. It is officially referred to in China as the "Tajik language" although it is different from the Persian dialect which is official in Tajikistan.
Sarikoli is officially referred to as "Tajik" (塔吉克语/Tǎjíkèyǔ) in China. However, it is not closely related to Tajik as spoken in Tajikistan. It is also referred to as Tashkorghani, after the ancient capital of the Sarikoli kingdom (now a county of Xinjiang); however, this usage is not widespread among scholars.
The earliest written accounts in English, from the 1870s, generally use the name "Sarikoli".
The number of speakers is nearly 100,000; most reside in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in southern Xinjiang Province, China. Speakers in China typically use Uyghur and Chinese to communicate with people of other ethnic groups in the area. The rest are found in the Pakistani-controlled sector of Kashmir, closely hugging the Pakistan-Chinese international borders.
It is mutually unintelligible with the related Wakhi language, also the mother tongue of a minority..... full article at Wikipedia |
