Balochi languge...........
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Balochi Language
Balochi is spoken in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, the Arab Gulf States, Turkmenistan and East Africa. It is classified as a member of the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family which includes Kurdish, Persian (Farsi), Pashto, Dari, Tajik, Ossetian. Balochi is closely related to Kurdish and Persian.
There are two main dialects: Eastern and Western. It is difficult to estimate the total number of Balochi speakers, but there are probably around six million, most of whom speak Western Balochi, which is also the dialect that has been most widely used in Balochi literature. Within the Western dialect are two further dialects, Rakhshani (in the northern areas) and Makrani (in the south). The areas where Eastern Balochi dialects are spoken (the north-eastern areas of Pakistani Balochistan, Punjab and Sindh) are in many ways less cdeveloped, espeically when it comes to education, than other parts of Balochistan, which accounts for why it is little used in the written form.
Balochi was used only as an oral language until the post-colonial period. Before that it was generally regarded as a dialect of Persian and there was no tradition of using it in writing. Although some works in Balochi had appeared before then, the Balochi literary movement got fully under way only after the creation of Pakistan in 1947.
The status of Balochi in Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan (1973), states that "any section of citizens having a disticnt language, script or culture shall have the rifht to preserve and promote the same and, subject to law, establish institutions for that purpose", and "a Provincial Assembly may by law prescribe measures for the teaching, promotion and use of a provincial language in addition to the national language".
In 1989, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto gave permission for the use of local languages (Balochi, Pushto, Brahui) in primary education in Balochistan, however there have been several problems associated with this program of mother-tongue education, namely: other language groups also seeking to have their language taught; the lack of teachers who are capable of implementing the program; and the fact that many parents want their children to learn Urdu and English, not a language that will be of little use outside of the immediate community. There is a Balochi Studies section at the Balochistan University in Quetta which teaches and researches the Balochi language and literature. In addition there is a Balochi Academy, also located in Quetta, which both publishes literary works in Balochi and supports the work of literary organisations. The Academy receives limited government funding. There are several Balochi language publications in Pakistan, the two most prominent being Balochi (published in the provincial capital, Quetta) and Labzank (published in Karachi).
The problems of language policy in Pakistan are described by a Baloch student:
"Go and visit all the schoosl in Lyari [an area of Karachi inhabited by many Baloch] and give a language test to the children. You will find that they cannot speak good Urdu or good English. It is due to their mother tongue. If you get education in your mother tongue, you can understand everyhthing. If you don't, you cannot understand anything." (Titus, 1996)
The status of Balochi in Iran
According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1980), "the official language and script of Iran, the lingua franca of its people, is Persian... The use of regional and national languages in the press and mass media, however, as well as for teaching in schools the literatures written in them, is permitted in addition to Persian". The reality, however, is quite different.
At present there are no publications in the Balochi language. A number of magazines emerged after the Islamic revolution in 1979, but were closed down soon after, due to pressure from the authorities. There is no provision to teach Balochi literature in the schools of Iranian Balochistan. Radio Zahedan broadcasts a daily Balochi language program from the capital of Sistan-va-Balochistan province, Zahedan.
Many Baloch in Iran are concerned about the strong Persian influence on Balochi, as all education takes place in Persian/Farsi.
Discussion on the use of Baloch and Balochi as nouns and/or adjectives
What is the adjective of "Baloch" in English? Our country is called Balochistan, that point is clear. We live in Balochistan. We speak Balochi, we have several Balochi dialects, we weave Balochi carpets, we ride Balochi camels, we (hopefully!) give Balochi names to our children. We read Balochi poetry which is published at the Balochi Academy.
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