The Kalasha-Ala Alphabet

Q: Is Kalasha-Ala the same as Kalasha from Pakistan?

No. Kalasha-Ala (ISO 639-3: wbk) from Afghanistan and Kalasha (ISO 639-3: kls) from Pakistan are entirely different languages that happen to share a similar name. Kalasha-Ala is a Nuristani language of the Kalasha-Ala Valley in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan. It is the same language as Waigali — both names refer to closely related varieties with the shared code wbk. Kalasha-Ala belongs to the Eastern Nuristani sub-group of Indo-Iranian. Kalasha (kls) from Pakistan is spoken in the Kalash valleys (Birir, Bumburet, Rumbur) of Chitral district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kalasha is a Dardic language , not a Nuristani one. Despite their shared name, the two languages are not closely related and belong to different branches of the Indo-Iranian family.

Q: What is the relationship between Kalasha-Ala and Waigali?

Kalasha-Ala and Waigali are two names for closely related varieties of the same Nuristani language , both assigned the ISO 639-3 code wbk . The name "Waigali" comes from the Waigal Valley where the language is predominantly spoken, while "Kalasha-Ala" refers to the variety spoken in the Kalasha-Ala Valley. The two varieties are closely related and largely mutually intelligible, functioning as dialects of a single language community rather than as separate languages. Both use the same Latin romanization for academic documentation and share the same phonological inventory of retroflex consonants, aspirated stops, and vowel length contrasts. In linguistic literature, the language is most commonly referred to as Waigali , while Kalasha-Ala is the local valley name for the variety spoken there.

Q: What language family does Kalasha-Ala belong to?

Kalasha-Ala belongs to the Nuristani branch of the Indo-Iranian sub-family of the Indo-European language family. Nuristani is the third primary branch of Indo-Iranian — distinct from the Indo-Aryan branch (Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali) and the Iranian branch (Persian, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi). Within Nuristani, Kalasha-Ala belongs to the Eastern Nuristani sub-group together with Waigali, Ashkun, and Prasuni. The Eastern sub-group is contrasted with Kati, the largest Nuristani language, which occupies a different branch. Nuristani languages preserve archaic Indo-Iranian features — including retroflex consonants and aspirated stops — lost in both the Iranian and Indo-Aryan branches, making them valuable for understanding the early history of Indo-European languages.

Q: Does Kalasha-Ala have its own writing system?

No. Kalasha-Ala is primarily an oral language with no traditional native writing system. Like all Nuristani languages, it has been transmitted through speech and oral tradition, not through a community-developed script. For academic documentation, scholars use a Latin-based romanization system developed by Georg Morgenstierne in his fieldwork across Nuristani languages from the 1920s onward. This system uses diacritical marks to represent sounds absent from standard European alphabets: macrons (ā, ī, ū) for long vowels; dots below (ṭ, ḍ, ṣ, ṇ) for retroflex consonants; and special letters (š, ž, č, γ) for postalveolar and velar fricatives. In everyday literacy, Kalasha-Ala speakers write in Dari (Afghan Persian) using the Perso-Arabic script, as Dari is the primary language of education in Afghanistan.

Q: Where is Kalasha-Ala spoken?

Kalasha-Ala is spoken in the Kalasha-Ala Valley of Nuristan Province in northeastern Afghanistan, as part of the broader Waigali-speaking region of the province. The Kalasha-Ala Valley is a side valley within the Hindu Kush mountain range. Nuristan Province is geographically remote, sharing borders with Kunar and Laghman provinces to the south and west, and with Pakistan's Chitral District to the east. The geographic isolation of Nuristan has historically helped preserve its distinct Nuristani languages. Together with Waigali speakers from the main Waigal Valley, the total Waigali-Kalasha-Ala speaking community is estimated at approximately 15,000–20,000 people .

Q: Is Kalasha-Ala an endangered language?

Yes. Kalasha-Ala (as part of the Waigali language community) is classified as Endangered by the Endangered Languages Project. The language faces significant pressure from Dari (Afghan Persian) as the dominant language of education and government in Afghanistan. Formal education in Nuristan Province is conducted in Dari and Pashto, not in Kalasha-Ala, which means intergenerational transmission is weakened as younger generations develop stronger competency in Dari. Decades of conflict in Afghanistan have also caused population displacement and disrupted community cohesion in Nuristan. Like other Nuristani languages, Kalasha-Ala has benefited from Georg Morgenstierne's early linguistic documentation, but there is no active literacy or revitalization programme specifically for the Kalasha-Ala variety.

Kalasha-Ala Alphabet at a Glance

Kalasha-Ala and Waigali are two names for the same Nuristani language of Nuristan, Afghanistan, both sharing the ISO 639-3 code wbk ^[2]
Kalasha-Ala has no traditional native writing system — it uses the Latin-based academic romanization developed by Georg Morgenstierne in the 1920s–1960s
Kalasha-Ala is a Nuristani language — the third primary branch of Indo-Iranian, distinct from both Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches ^[1]
Spoken in the Kalasha-Ala Valley of Nuristan Province, northeastern Afghanistan, as part of the broader Waigali-speaking community with approximately 15,000–20,000 speakers ^[3]
This Kalasha-Ala should not be confused with Kalasha (ISO 639-3: kls), a different Dardic language spoken in the Kalash valleys of Chitral, Pakistan
Nuristani languages including Kalasha-Ala were formerly called "Kafiri" languages — renamed "Nuristani" after Kafiristan became Nuristan in 1896 ^[4]
Kalasha-Ala preserves archaic Indo-Iranian features including retroflex consonants (ṭ, ḍ, ṣ, ṇ) and aspirated stops (ph, th, kh) lost in Iranian branches ^[5]

Kalasha-Ala Vowel Letters

Kalasha-Ala has a rich vowel system with 10 vowel sounds — five basic vowel qualities (a, i, u, e, o), each in short and long forms. Long vowels are marked with a macron (ā, ī, ū, ē, ō) following Morgenstierne's academic romanization system.

The vowel length contrast is phonemically meaningful in Kalasha-Ala and is shared across all Nuristani languages, reflecting conservatism from Proto-Indo-Iranian.

Kalasha-Ala Vowel Letters

[AH]

[AH-long]

[EH]

[EH-long]

[EE]

[EE-long]

[OH]

[OH-long]

[OO]

[OO-long]

[AH]

Short open front unrounded vowel /a/, like "a" in "father". One of the five basic vowel qualities in Kalasha-Ala, appearing throughout native vocabulary and grammatical suffixes.

[AH-long]

Long open front unrounded vowel /aː/, a prolonged "a". Phonemically distinct from short /a/ — the length contrast carries meaning in Kalasha-Ala as in all Nuristani languages.

[EH]

Short mid front unrounded vowel /e/, like "e" in "bed". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in grammatical morphology.

[EH-long]

Long mid front unrounded vowel /eː/, a prolonged "e". The long counterpart of short /e/, phonemically distinguished by duration in the Kalasha-Ala vowel system.

[EE]

Short close front unrounded vowel /i/, like "i" in "machine" (short). Present in native Kalasha-Ala roots and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[EE-long]

Long close front unrounded vowel /iː/, like "ee" in "feet". Phonemically distinct from short /i/; the macron follows Morgenstierne's romanization convention for Nuristani languages.

[OH]

Short mid back rounded vowel /o/, like "o" in "note" (short). Found in native Kalasha-Ala words and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[OH-long]

Long mid back rounded vowel /oː/, a prolonged "o". The long counterpart of short /o/; the macron is standard in Morgenstierne's romanization for Nuristani languages.

[OO]

Short close back rounded vowel /u/, like "oo" in "book" (short). Appears in native Kalasha-Ala roots and in borrowed vocabulary from surrounding languages.

[OO-long]

Long close back rounded vowel /uː/, like "oo" in "food". Phonemically distinct from short /u/ and one of the ten vowel phonemes of Kalasha-Ala.

Kalasha-Ala Consonant Letters

Kalasha-Ala has an extensive consonant inventory of approximately 31 consonant phonemes typical of Nuristani languages. Key features include retroflex stops (ṭ, ḍ), a retroflex nasal (ṇ), a retroflex fricative (ṣ), and aspirated stops (ph, th, kh).

The retroflex series is a defining trait of all Nuristani languages, setting Kalasha-Ala apart from Iranian language branches which lack these sounds entirely.

Kalasha-Ala Consonant Letters

[PEH]

[PH]

[BEH]

[TEH]

[TH]

[DEH]

ṭ

[T-retroflex]

ḍ

[D-retroflex]

[KEH]

[KH]

[GEH]

[QAF]

[FEH]

[SEH]

[ZEH]

ṣ

[S-retroflex]

[SH]

[ZH]

[KH-fricative]

[GH]

[HEH]

[TS]

[CH]

[JEH]

[MEH]

[NEH]

ṇ

[N-retroflex]

[REH]

[LEH]

[WEH]

[YEH]

[PEH]

Voiceless bilabial stop /p/, like "p" in "pen". One of the basic stops in Kalasha-Ala phonology.

[PH]

Aspirated bilabial stop /pʰ/, like "p" in English "pen" with a puff of air. Kalasha-Ala preserves the Indo-Iranian distinction between plain and aspirated stops.

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". Common in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[TEH]

Voiceless alveolar stop /t/, like "t" in "top". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in grammatical morphemes.

[TH]

Aspirated alveolar stop /tʰ/, like "t" with a strong puff of air. Kalasha-Ala preserves this aspiration distinction inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian.

[DEH]

Voiced alveolar stop /d/, like "d" in "dog". One of the fundamental consonants in Kalasha-Ala phonology.

ṭ

[T-retroflex]

Voiceless retroflex stop /ʈ/, pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Retroflex consonants are a defining feature of all Nuristani languages including Kalasha-Ala.

ḍ

[D-retroflex]

Voiced retroflex stop /ɖ/, pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. A hallmark of the Nuristani branch of Indo-European.

[KEH]

Voiceless velar stop /k/, like "k" in "king". A basic velar consonant present throughout Kalasha-Ala vocabulary.

[KH]

Aspirated velar stop /kʰ/, like "k" with a puff of air. Part of the three-way stop contrast (plain, aspirated, voiced) preserved from Proto-Indo-Iranian.

[GEH]

Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". Present in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in loanwords from surrounding languages.

[QAF]

Voiceless uvular stop /q/, pronounced deeper in the throat than /k/. Appears in loanwords from Arabic and Dari.

[FEH]

Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/, like "f" in "fan". Occurs primarily in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[SEH]

Voiceless alveolar fricative /s/, like "s" in "sun". A common consonant in Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and grammatical morphology.

[ZEH]

Voiced alveolar fricative /z/, like "z" in "zebra". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala words and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

ṣ

[S-retroflex]

Voiceless retroflex fricative /ʂ/, with the tongue tip curled back, producing a sound between "s" and "sh". Part of the retroflex series unique to Nuristani languages.

[SH]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Used in native Kalasha-Ala words and in loanwords; romanized as š in the Morgenstierne tradition.

[ZH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like the "s" in "measure". Appears in loanwords from Dari and Pashto and in some native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary.

[KH-fricative]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like the "ch" in Scottish "loch". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[GH]

Voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, a deep throaty "g" sound. Present in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary; romanized as γ (gamma) in Morgenstierne's system.

[HEH]

Voiceless glottal fricative /h/, like "h" in "hat". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala words and in loanwords from Arabic and Dari.

[TS]

Voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/, like "ts" in "cats". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary; romanized as c in the Morgenstierne tradition.

[CH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church". Common in Kalasha-Ala vocabulary; romanized as č in the standard Nuristani system.

[JEH]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jump". Appears in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in loanwords from Dari and Pashto.

[MEH]

Voiced bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "mother". One of the most common consonants in Kalasha-Ala, appearing in native vocabulary and grammatical morphemes.

[NEH]

Voiced alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "night". Very common in Kalasha-Ala phonology, appearing throughout the vocabulary and in suffixes.

ṇ

[N-retroflex]

Voiced retroflex nasal /ɳ/, pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Part of the retroflex series that characterizes Nuristani languages.

[REH]

Alveolar trill or tap /r/, like a rolled "r". Present in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and in loanwords.

[LEH]

Voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "light". Common in Kalasha-Ala phonology, appearing in native roots and loanwords.

[WEH]

Voiced bilabial approximant /w/, like "w" in "water". Present in native Kalasha-Ala vocabulary; preserved from Proto-Indo-Iranian.

[YEH]

Voiced palatal approximant /j/, like "y" in "yes". Used in Kalasha-Ala vocabulary and as a glide in diphthongs.

ṭ

ḍ

ṣ

ṇ

Digits (0–9)

Zero — standard Western numeral used in Kalasha-Ala romanization and in all written contexts.

One — standard Western numeral.

Two — standard Western numeral.

Three — standard Western numeral.

Four — standard Western numeral.

Five — standard Western numeral.

Six — standard Western numeral.

Seven — standard Western numeral.

Eight — standard Western numeral.

Nine — standard Western numeral.

Expand All Collapse All

Is Kalasha-Ala the same as Kalasha from Pakistan?

What is the relationship between Kalasha-Ala and Waigali?

What language family does Kalasha-Ala belong to?

Does Kalasha-Ala have its own writing system?

Where is Kalasha-Ala spoken?

Is Kalasha-Ala an endangered language?

References:

[1] Hammarström, Harald et al. "Waigali [waig1243]". Glottolog 5.3. Retrieved from Glottolog: Waigali
[2] SIL International. "Waigali — ISO 639-3 Language Code: wbk". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: wbk
[3] Endangered Languages Project. "Waigali". Retrieved from Endangered Languages Project: Waigali
[4] Encyclopaedia Iranica (Columbia University). "NURESTĀNI LANGUAGES". Retrieved from Encyclopaedia Iranica: Nuristani Languages
[5] Morgenstierne, Georg. "Report on a Linguistic Mission to Afghanistan". Instituttet for Sammenlignende Kulturforskning, Series C, Vol. 1 (1926). Foundational linguistic survey documenting Nuristani languages including Ashkun