Waigali language

Infobox Language
name= Waigali
familycolor= Indo-European
states= Afghanistan
region= Kunar Province
speakers= 1,500 (2000, Van Driem)
fam2=Indo-Iranian
fam3=Nuristani
nation="none"
iso1="none"|iso2="none"|iso3= wbk

Waigali or Waigeli is a language spoken by the Kalasha of Nuristan in a few villages in the central part of the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. The native name is "Kalasa-Alâ" or simply "Kalasa".

Waigali belongs to the Indo-European language family, and is on the Nuristani group of the Indo-Iranian branch.

Its speakers have been estimated at 1,500 (2000, Van Driem) and are overwhelmingly Muslim. Literacy rates are low: below 1% for people who have it as a first language, and between 15% to 25% for people who have it as a second language.

It has a lexical similarity of approximately 76% to 80% with the Tregami language.

Note, there is no closer connection between Kalasha-ala and Kalasha-mun. These two languages descend from different branches of the Indo-Iranian language. According to linguist Richard Strand the Kalasha of Chitral apparently adopted the term of the former Kafiristan Kalash, who at some unknown time extended their influence into the region of Chitral.

References

* The Kalasha. Retrieved July 02, 2006, from "Richard F. Strand: Nuristan, Hidden Land of the Hindu-Kush" [http://users.sedona.net/~strand/Nuristani/Kalasha/kalasha.html] .
* Waigali. Retrieved June 13, 2006, from "Ethnologue: Languages of the World", fifteenth edition. SIL International. [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=wbk Online version] .