1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Written Language & Literacy
  4. Volume 21, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 21, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1387-6732
  • E-ISSN: 1570-6001
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

The Sindhī language has been written in numerous scripts throughout its history. However, in the twentieth century, Perso-Arabic and Devanāgarī emerged as the dominant scripts for the language. Today, Perso-Arabic is the sole official script for Sindhī in Pakistan, while both Perso-Arabic and Devanāgarī are in concurrent use for the language in India. This paper identifies and analyses areas of orthographic standardisation and variation in the Perso-Arabic and Devanāgarī scripts for Sindhī, focusing primarily on practices in the Indian context. It first classifies orthographic variation into that stemming from phonological ambiguity, and that which is purely graphematic. The former includes the representation of reduced vowels, gemination, vocalic endings, loanwords, consonant clusters and sounds of unclear phonemic status. The latter includes the shapes and positioning of diacritics, allographs, derivative graphemes and collation orders. The paper concludes by summarising the possible pedagogical implications of such orthographic standardisation and variation.

© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
2019-04-24
2025-04-26

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Addleton, Hubert F., & Pauline A. Brown
    (2010) Sindhi: An introductory course for English speakers. South Hadley, MA: Doorlight Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Advani, Bherumal M.
    (1963 [1941]) Sindhī b̄olīa jī tārīk͟ha [History of the Sindhī language]. University of Delhi.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Awami Awaz
    Awami Awaz (2017) Tikhiyū̃ miṭhiyū̃ ḡālhiyū̃ [Tough and sweet talk]. Retrieved from Awami Awaz: awamiawaz.com/tmg/
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Baloch, Nabi Bux Khan
    (1962) Sindhī b̄olīa jī mukhtasiru tārīkha [A short history of the Sindhī language]. Hyderabad, Pakistan: Pioneer Press.
  5. Bauer, Thomas
    (1996) Arabic writing. InPeter. T. Daniels & William Bright (eds.), The world’s writing systems, 559–564. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bright, William
    (1996) The Devanagari script. InP. T. Daniels, & William Bright (eds.), The world’s writing systems, 384–390. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Bughio, M. Qasim
    (2001) A comparative sociolinguistic study of urban and rural Sindhi. Munich, Germany: Lincom Europa.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. (2006) The diachronic sociolinguistic situation in Sindh (before and after the emergence of Pakistan). Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony, 1: 89–106.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Bunčić, Daniel
    (2016) Introduction. InDaniel Bunčić, Sandra L. Lippert & Achim Rabus (eds.), Biscriptality: A sociolinguistic typology, 1–26. Heidelberg, Germany: Universitätsverlag Winter.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Cole, Jennifer S.
    (2001) Sindhi. InJane Garry, & Carl Rubino (eds.), Facts about the world’s languages: An encyclopedia of the world’s major languages, past and present, 647–653. New York, NY: The H.W. Wilson Company.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. (2006) Sindhi. InK. Brown (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and linguistics, 2.), Vol.11, 384–386. Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier. 10.1016/B0‑08‑044854‑2/02241‑0
     https://doi.org/10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/02241-0 [Google Scholar]
  12. (n.d.-a). Notes on Sindhi spelling. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, from SindhiOnline: sindhi.linguistics.illinois.edu/script/script-basics/spelling.html
     [Google Scholar]
  13. (n.d.-b). Letter h. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, from SindhiOnline: sindhi.linguistics.illinois.edu/script/50-h2/index.html
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Constitution of India
    Constitution of India (n.d.). RetrievedMay 15, 2017, fromlawmin.nic.in/olwing/coi/coi-english/coi-4March2016.pdf
  15. Coulmas, Florian
    (2014) Writing systems and language contact in the Euro- and Sinocentric worlds. Applied Linguistics Review, 5: 1, 1–21. doi:  10.1515/applirev‑2014‑0001
     https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2014-0001 [Google Scholar]
  16. Daniels, Peter T., & William Bright
    (1996) Abbreviations, conventions, and definitions. InPeter T. Daniels & William Bright (eds.), The world’s writing systems, xxxix–xlv. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Daswani, Chander J.
    (1979) Movement for the recognition of Sindhi and for the choice of a script for Sindhi. InE. Annamalai (Ed.), Language movements in India, 60–69. Mysore, India: Central Institute of Indian Languages.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. (1989) Multilingualism and language decay: the case of Indian Sindhi. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 75, 55–60. doi:  10.1515/ijsl.1989.75.55
     https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.1989.75.55 [Google Scholar]
  19. Daswani, Chander J., & Sundri Parchani
    (1978) Sociolinguistic survey of Indian Sindhi. Mysore, India: Central Institute of Indian Languages.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Deshpande, P.
    (2016, February6). Shuddhalekhan: Orthography, community and the Marathi public sphere. Economic and Political Weekly, LI: 6, 72–82.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Falzon, Mark-Anthony
    (2004) Cosmopolitan connections: The Sindhi diaspora, 1860–2000. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Fishman, Joshua A.
    (1997) In praise of the beloved language: A comparative view of positive ethnolinguistic consciousness. Berlin, Germany: Mouton de Gruyter. 10.1515/9783110813241
     https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110813241 [Google Scholar]
  23. Grierson, George A.
    (1903) Linguistic survey of India: Indo-Aryan family, eastern group: Specimens of the Bihārī and Oṛiyā languages, Vol.V, Part II. Calcutta, India: Government of India.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. (1919) Linguistic survey of India: Indo-Aryan family, north-western group: Specimens of Sindhī and Lahndā, Vol.VIII, Part I. Calcutta, India: Government of India.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Gumperz, John J.
    (1958, April-June). Phonological differences in three Hindi dialects. Language, 34: 2, 212–224. Retrieved fromwww.jstor.org/stable/410824
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Hardwani, Lachman P.
    (1991) Marāṭhī-Sindhī shabdakosh [Marāṭhī-Sindhī dictionary]. Mumbai, India: Maharashtra State Board for Literature and Culture.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Hussain, Sarmad & Nadir Durrani
    (2010) PAN localization: A study on collation of languages from developing Asia. National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences. Lahore, Pakistan: Center for Research in Urdu Language Processing.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Jaffe, Alexandra
    (2000) Introduction: Non-standard orthography and non-standard speech. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 4: 4, 497–513. 10.1111/1467‑9481.00127
     https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9481.00127 [Google Scholar]
  29. Jhangiani, Santdas M.
    (1992) Alphabet (Sindhi). InAmaresh Datta (ed.), Encyclopedia of Indian Literature, Vol.I, 143–144. New Delhi, India: Sahitya Akademi.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Keerio, Ayaz, Naveed Channa, Bhargav Mitra, Rupert Young & Chris Chatwin
    (2014) Acoustics of isolated vowel sounds of Sindhi. Sindh University Research Journal (Science Series), 46: 2, 249–256.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Kew, Jonathan
    (2005, April21). Notes on some Unicode Arabic characters: recommendations for usage. RetrievedMarch 24, 2017, from SIL International: https://goo.gl/kj5wQY
     [Google Scholar]
  32. Khubchandani, Lachman M.
    (2007) Sindhi. InGeorge Cardona & Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan languages, 683–721. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. King, Robert D.
    (2001) The poisonous potency of script: Hindi and Urdu. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 150, 43–59.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Lakhani, Rakesh
    (2011, October7). Sindhī b̄olīa je lipīa jo masalo aĩ romanāīzeshani [The problem of a script for Sindhī and romanisation]. RetrievedMarch 27, 2017, fromRākesha Lakhāṇīa jo blāga [Rakesh Lakhani’s blog]: https://goo.gl/X3wRRR
     [Google Scholar]
  35. (2012, February8). Ḡālhi Sindhī sūbe jī [The topic of a Sindhī province]. RetrievedMarch 27, 2017, fromRākesha Lakhāṇīa jo blāga [Rakesh Lakhani’s blog]: https://goo.gl/Cz6Mla
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Lekhwani, Kanhaiyalal P.
    (1996) Basic Sindhi-English-Hindi dictionary. Pune, India: Prakash Publications.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. (1997) An intensive course in Sindhi. Mysore, India: Central Institute of Indian Languages.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. (2011) Sindhī b̄olī aĩ adaba jī tārīk͟ha [History of Sindhī language and literature]. Mysore, India: Central Institute of Indian Languages.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, & Charles D. Fennig
    (eds.) (2016) Ethnologue: Languages of the world (19th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, fromwww.ethnologue.com/language/snd
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research
    Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (2009) Prastāvanā [Foreword]. InSindhī Sindhūbhāratī: Darjo Aṭhõ [Sindhī Sindhūbhāratī: Standard Eight] (p.v). Pune, India: Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research. Retrieved fromwww.balbharati.in/downloadbooks/8th-Sindhubharati-Sindhi-D.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Masica, Colin P.
    (1991) The Indo-Aryan languages. Cambridge, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Mewaram, Parmanand
    (1910) A Sindhi-English dictionary. Hyderabad, Sindh, India: The Sind Juvenile Co-operative Society.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Microsoft Corporation
    Microsoft Corporation (2013) Sindhi (Pakistan) style guide. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, fromhttps://www.microsoft.com/Language/en-US/StyleGuides.aspx
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Monier-Williams, M.
    (1851) A dictionary, English and Sanscrit. London, United Kingdom: W.H. Allen and Co.
     [Google Scholar]
  45. National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL)
    National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL) (2005) Sindhi Reader – III. Vadodara, India: National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL)
    National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL) (2014) Sindhi Reader – I. Delhi, India: National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL)
    National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language (NCPSL) (2015) Sindhi Reader – II. Delhi, India: National Council for Promotion of Sindhi Language.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Nihalani, Paroo K.
    (1978) The Phonetics of Sindhi (Doctoral thesis). University of Edinburgh.
  49. (1999) Sindhi. InHandbook of the International Phonetic Association: a guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, 131–134. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  50. Pandey, Anshuman
    (2010) A Roadmap for Scripts of the Landa Family. RetrievedMarch 30, 2014, from The Unicode Standard: www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10011r-landa.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  51. Salomon, Richard G.
    (2007) Writing Systems of the Indo-Aryan Languages. InGeorge Cardona & Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Languages75–114. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  52. Shackle, Christopher
    (2014, July30). Sindhi language. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, from Encyclopædia Britannica: www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/545670/Sindhi-language
     [Google Scholar]
  53. Shahaney, Anandram T.
    (1906/1967) Sindhi Self-Instructor. Bombay, India: Bombay School & College Bookstall.
     [Google Scholar]
  54. Shapiro, Michael C.
    (2007) Hindi. InGeorge Cardona & Dhanesh Jain (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Languages, 276–314. Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  55. Share, David L., & Peter T. Daniels
    (2016) Aksharas, alphasyllabaries, abugidas, alphabets and orthographic depth: reflections on Rimzhim, Katz and Fowler (2014). Writing systems research, 8: 1, 17–31. doi:  10.1080/17586801.2015.1016395
     https://doi.org/10.1080/17586801.2015.1016395 [Google Scholar]
  56. SIL International
    SIL International (2017) Smart font Features – Lateef. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, from SIL International: software.sil.org/lateef/support/smart-font-features/
     [Google Scholar]
  57. Sindhi Language Authority
    Sindhi Language Authority (2015) Alphabets: Learn Sindhi basic alphabets. RetrievedMay 15, 2017, from Sindhi Language Authority: learn.sindhila.edu.pk/#alphabets
     [Google Scholar]
  58. Stack, George
    (1849b) A Grammar of the Sindhí Language. Bombay, India: American Mission Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  59. Trumpp, Ernst
    (1872) Grammar of the Sindhi language. London, United Kingdom: Trübner & Co.
     [Google Scholar]
  60. Varyani, Pritam & Pitamber Thakwani
    (2003) Sindhi Script Book. Mysore, India/Adipur, India: Central Institute of Indian Languages/Indian Institute of Sindhology.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
Loading
Variation in Perso-Arabic and Devanāgarī Sindhī orthographies
Written Language & Literacy 21, 169 (2018); https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
/content/journals/10.1075/wll.00014.iye
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Devanagari; orthography; Perso-Arabic; script; Sindhi; standardisation

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error