Can Eastern Iranics Understand Each Other?

Can Eastern Iranic language speakers understand each other? In this episode we showcase some of the similarities and test the degree of mutual intelligibility between three of the many Eastern Iranian (Iranic) languages; Shughni, Pashto, and Wakhi. Shughni and Wakhi belong to the Pamir language group, while Pashto, which has the highest number of native speakers out of all the living Eastern Iranian languages, is believed, by some linguists, to have descended from Avestan or a variety very similar to it and shares characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian and Sogdian.

Ozar (Shughni speaker), Hashima (Pashto speaker), and Kamram (Wakhi speaker) will each read sentences and paragraphs in their respective languages to see how well they can understand one another.

I would like to thanks my friend Ebrahim Riaz for his assistance in putting this video together!

For those who might be interested, I was recently invited by Roqe Media to appear in one of their shows. We had a wonderful interview focusing on this channel, including previous videos and potential future ones! Check out the full video here if you get the chance:    • Roqe - Ep #97 - Bahador Alast  

Please follow and contact us on Instagram if you have any suggestions or if you speak a language that has not been featured before and would like to participate in a future video:   / bahadoralast  

The Eastern Iranian (Iranic) languages are believed to have separated from the Western Iranian (Iranic) languages in the 2nd millennium BCE. They consist of many different languages, with Pashto being the largest of the living ones. Most living Eastern Iranian languages are native to southern and eastern Afghanistan, western Pakistan, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of eastern Tajikistan, and the far west of Xinjiang region of China, in addition to the Yaghnobi language of northwestern Tajikistan, which comes from the extinct Sogdian languages, and the Ossetian (Ossetic) language spoken in the Caucasus.

Shughni or Khughni (xuǧnůne ziv) and Wakhi (x̌ik zik) are both Pamir languages. Shughni is primarily spoken in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan and Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan, while Wakhi is spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and China. In Afghanistan, the language is native to the the Wakhan District of the Badakhshan Province. In addition to that it's spoken in the Gilgit-Baltistan region administered by Pakistan in the northernmost valleys of Hunza, Gojal, Ishkoman, Yasin, Gupis and Yarkhun, whith the Hunza valley having the largest Wakhi population in Pakistan. In China, Wakhi is native to the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Xinjiang.

The Pashto language is primarily spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan, being one of the two official languages of Afghanistan. The language has several dialects, but mainly divided into two major varieties of Northern and Southern, with Northern Pashto being spoken in eastern and northeastern Afghanistan (including Kabul), and in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, including Peshawar where, along with Hindko, are the primary native languages. Southern Pashto is spoken in southern and western Afghanistan (including Kandahar), southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Balochistan (including Quetta). A major part of Pashtun culture consists of literature and poetry. Some of the best known writers and poets of the Pashto language include Amir Kror Suri (امير کروړ سوري‎), also known as Jahan Pahlawan; Pir Roshan (بايزيد پير روښان‎), also known as Bāyazīd Pīr Rōshān; Khushal Khattak (خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba; Rahman Baba (رحمان بابا), Khan Abdul Ghani Khan (خان عبدالغنی خان), Afzal Khan (افضل خان), Ajmal Khattak (اجمل خټک‎), Khan Roshan Khan (خان روشن خان), Ameer Hamza (امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (حمزه بابا); Kabir Stori (کبیر ستوری‎), and numerous others.

Other Eastern Iranian (Iranic) languages include Scythian languages and Old Saka, which, along with Avestan, are classified as Old Iranian languages; Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian, and Sogdian.

It is interesting to note, that despite its geographical location, the Ossetian language is also classified as an Eastern Iranian language. The Ossetians are the descendants of the Alans, an ancient Iranian nomadic pastoral people. Many of the Alans migrated westwards along with various Germanic tribes and eventually assimilated into different European nations, but a small number of those who remained and survived the Mongol invasions are said to be the modern Ossetians. The Alans spoke an Eastern Iranian language which in turn evolved into the modern Ossetian language that shares a lot of similarities with other Iranian languages.