Waṇetsi, commonly called Tarīno , and sometimes Tsalgari , is a distinct variety of Pashto and is considered by some to be a different language. In some cases, Wanetsi shares similarities with the Pamir language of Munji, being a sort of bridge between the former and Pashto. It is perhaps a representation of a more archaic, or very early, form of Pashto. It is spoken by the Tareen, Mashwani and other Pashtun tribes in Balochistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, primarily in Harnai (هرنای) (Harnai District) and Chawter (چوتېر) area in Sanjawi, Northern Balochistan, Pakistan. The language is at risk due to lack of attention and not liking it as a language by foreigners.

History

Professor Prods Oktor Skjærvø states: "'The Pashto area split into two dialect groups at a pre-literary period, represented today on the one hand by all the dialects of modern Pashto and on the other by Waṇeci and by archaic remains in other Southeast dialects'" According to Encyclopædia Iranica Waṇetsi branched off from the other Pashto dialects in the Middle Iranian stage: "Some of Waṇetsi's particularities (e.g. šwī “twenty,” mōš “we,” [a]γa “of;” the pres. endings; retention of rž; loss of -t-) prove that it must have split off from Paṣ̌to at an early Middle Iranic stage, considerably before the constitution of a standard Paṣ̌to. They can scarcely have developed after the arrival of the Waṇetsi speakers in their present home, which is in no way topographically cut off from the rest of Paṣ̌to territory. These speakers must rather represent the forerunners of the main Paṣ̌tūn movement towards the east, but when and where they split off is at present impossible to say."

Research

The first known linguistic research was conducted in 1929 by Georg Morgenstierne on Waṇetsi. Since then linguists like Josef Elfenbein have worked and researched on this archaic Pashto dialect. In his book, Syed Khair Muhammad Arif, "Tarin aw Tarīno" has also included a small dictionary of Waṇetsi. ٙBut much work remains to be done on understanding Waṇetsi.

Poetry

The Waṇetsi Poet Nizamuddin Nizami Tarin, a Spin Tarin from Chawter, has also compiled poetry in the language. An excerpt from his poem in Waṇetsi:

Music

The singer Khayam Tareen (خيام ترين) has also sung songs in Waṇetsi.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Nasalisation

Waṇetsi also has vowel nasalisation which is transcribed as / ̃/ or ں in the Pashto alphabet.

Stress

Verbs

Like Pashto, verbs have final stress in the imperfective aspect and initial stress in the perfective aspect. Examples:

Words

Stress can also change the meaning of words, as in Pashto. Example:

Subdialects

Tarīno is subdivided into the Harnāi variety and the Chawter variety.

Grammatical comparison with general Pashto

Adpositions

Possessive

The possessive postposition غه is used instead of د Example:

Idiomatic Expression

Tareeno also varies from Pashto in idiomatic expression. Example: نهير /nahī́r/ “thought” - used with the verb to hit

Verbal Suffixes

First Person Suffix

The first person verbal suffixes also change:

Second Person Suffix

Some verbal suffixes like the feminine third person suffix [ه and ې] are the same:

Third Person Suffix

Past Suffix

Like standard Pashto the third person suffix for verbs with the root وتل the third person past suffix is different for the singular and plural.

Comparison with general Pashto

Poetry

The following is provided by Zamir Gulbahar (ظمير ګلبهار), a Tareeno poet from Harnai:

Lexical Comparison

The following list has been provided by the Waṇetsi poet Nizamuddin Nizami

Sentence Comparison

Sample 1

The following examples have been provided by Nizamuddin Nizami

Sample 2

The following examples have been provided by Nizamuddin Nizami

Sample 3

The following examples have been provided by Nizamuddin Nizami

Sample 4

The following examples have been provided by Nizamuddin Nizami

Grammar

Nouns - Morphology

Class 1

Class 2

Class 3

Class 4

Class 5

Agglutinative Formation

The (e)ya case is agglutinative.

Demonstratives

In Waṇetsi اغه [aɣa] functions for both Pashto دغه (this) and هغه (that).

Verb Infinitive

Where as General Pashto employs the ل [ә́l] to the past stem to make it infinitive, Waṇetsi employs نګ [ang] to the past stem to make it infinitive.