Notes on Kalkoti: A Shina Language with Strong Kohistani Influences

• Main Author: Henrik Liljegren
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dartmouth College Library 2013-01-01
• Series: Linguistic Discovery
• Subjects: convergence; Dir; Kalkoti; aspect; tense; Indo-Aryan; tonogenesis; Kohistani; Shina; Dardic; grammaticalization
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.423

This paper presents some novel and hard-to-access data from Kalkoti, an Indo-Aryan language spoken in northern Pakistan. The particular focus is on showing how this Shina variety in a relatively short time span has drifted apart from its closest known genealogical relatives and undergone significant linguistic convergence with a Kohistani variety in whose vicinity Kalkoti is presently spoken. Among other features, we explore what seems like an ongoing process of tonogenesis as well as structural ?copying? in the realm of tense and aspect.