Kohistanispeaking

Kohistanispeaking refers to the languages and speech varieties spoken by communities in the Kohistan region of northern Pakistan. The Kohistan region lies in the foothills along the Indus River, with communities concentrated in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and, in some classifications, neighboring areas. The languages grouped as Kohistani form a cluster within the Indo-Aryan family. The precise classification varies among languages scholars, with some placing Kohistani varieties in the Dardic subgroup of Northwestern Indo-Aryan, while others treat them as a distinct branch within Indo-Aryan. The most widely documented language is Indus Kohistani, spoken by communities along the Indus valley, and there are several other Kohistani varieties spoken by smaller groups. In some areas these varieties are not mutually intelligible, leading scholars to describe Kohistani as a language continuum rather than a single language.

Sociolinguistically, Kohistanispeaking communities are often multilingual, using Urdu or Pashto for formal education, media, and interethnic communication. Language maintenance is uneven across varieties, with some Kohistani languages having relatively robust transmission and others facing endangerment due to shifting to more dominant languages. Cultural traditions in Kohistan, including oral storytelling, music, and customary practices, are closely linked with the linguistic landscape and the mountainous environment.

There is no single standardized literary form for Kohistani languages; various orthographic practices, including Arabic-based and Latin-based scripts, have been used in linguistic work and local literature.