Parya
[aka Asiatic Romany, Afghana-Yi Nasfurush, Afghana-Yi Siyarui]Classification: Indo-European
·threatened
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Threatened
80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
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<7,500
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"The total number of speakers in all countries is no more than 7,500, at the very most... Based on our research, the present population of this group seems likely to be closer to 3,000–4,000 in Tajikistan alone. We estimate a further population of anywhere between 400–3,000 Parya in Uzbekistan, and perhaps another 240–300 Parya in Afghanistan. "
- DATE OF INFO
- 2003-2004
- DOMAINS OF USE
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- TRANSMISSION
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- MORE ON VITALITY
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"Our research into language use by the Parya of Afghonobod indicates that their language remains vital... Overall, Parya is only used with kin. Our respondents used at least some Parya with 99 percent of their ethnically Parya kin contacts, and they used only Tajik or Uzbek with fully 100 percent of their non-kin contacts... while Parya is the dominant language in the home, it gives way to Tajik or Uzbek whenever a first-language Tajik or Uzbek speaker is present. In this situation, individuals choose Tajik or Uzbek even when speaking to other Parya... On every occasion observed by the researchers, all individuals present during interviewing, including young children, consistently used Parya between themselves."
- SPEAKER ATTITUDE
- "[The Parya language is] the most important defining factor for the Parya in their ethnic identity."
- OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
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Tajik
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Uzbek
- LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS
"The Parya live among other ethnicities, who easily outnumber them. Within Tajikistan, the Parya live among
both Tajik and Uzbek speakers, the villages towards the east of the Hisor Valley being ethnically and
linguistically Tajik, while further west, towards the border with Uzbekistan, the majority of inhabitants are
ethnically and linguistically Uzbek... In work domains, Tajik or Uzbek predominate."
- PLACES
- Tajikistan; Uzbekistan; Afghanistan;
- LOCATION DESCRIPTION
"The Parya people are an ethnolinguistic community living in scattered villages and towns along the
Hisor Valley of western Tajikistan, further west in the upper Surkhandarya Valley (which is a continuation
of the Hisor Valley) of Uzbekistan and in the Kunduz region of Afghanistan... In Tajikistan, the largest Parya
communities are found in the villages of Afghonobod, Qalai Hisor, Pravda Vostok, Boloi Kanal, and
Kolkhozi Leninism in the Hisor administrative region, in the villages of Qahramon and Kolkhozi Moskva
in the Shahrinav administrative region, and in the villages of Javrat and Okhtosh in the Tursunzoda
administrative region."