The Vasi-vari Alphabet

Q: Does Vasi-vari have its own writing system?

No. Vasi-vari is an oral language documented with a Latin romanization developed by Georg Morgenstierne, using macrons (ā, ī, ū) for long vowels and dots below (ṭ, ḍ, ṣ, ṇ) for retroflex consonants. Literate speakers write in Dari (Afghan Persian).

Q: What language family does Vasi-vari belong to?

Vasi-vari belongs to the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian — the third primary branch, distinct from both Indo-Aryan and Iranian. Within Nuristani, it belongs to the Eastern Nuristani sub-group , most closely related to Prasuni (sharing ISO 639-3 code prn). Other Nuristani languages include Kati, Waigali, Ashkun, and Tregami.

Q: Where is Vasi-vari spoken?

Vasi-vari is spoken in the Vasi-vari Valley , Nuristan Province, northeastern Afghanistan. Also known as Wasi-veri or Vasikun , it has a very small speaker population; precise counts are often combined with those of Prasuni due to the shared ISO code.

Q: How does Vasi-vari relate to Prasuni?

Vasi-vari and Prasuni are very closely related Eastern Nuristani languages sharing ISO 639-3 code prn , spoken in adjacent Nuristan valleys. Both share retroflex consonants, aspirated stops, and a vowel length contrast. Glottolog distinguishes them separately: wasi1238 (Vasi-vari) and pras1239 (Prasuni).

Q: Is Vasi-vari an endangered language?

Yes. Vasi-vari is classified as endangered , confined to the small Vasi-vari Valley in conflict-affected Nuristan Province. Education in Dari and Pashto, displacement from decades of conflict, and limited documentation — primarily Morgenstierne's early 20th-century fieldwork — all threaten its survival.

Q: Why do Vasi-vari and Prasuni share the same ISO code?

ISO 639-3 assigned both languages the code prn when they were not yet fully distinguished in the standardisation process — a known limitation for closely related varieties. Glottolog distinguishes them separately as pras1239 (Prasuni) and wasi1238 (Vasi-vari); speaker counts are often combined in surveys due to the shared code.

Vasi-vari Alphabet at a Glance

Vasi-vari has no traditional native writing system — it is an oral language documented using a Latin-based romanization pioneered by Georg Morgenstierne in the 1920s–1960s
Vasi-vari is a Nuristani language — part of the third primary branch of Indo-Iranian, distinct from both Indo-Aryan and Iranian; it belongs to the Eastern Nuristani sub-group alongside Prasuni ^[1]
Spoken in the Vasi-vari Valley of Nuristan Province, northeastern Afghanistan, with a very small speaker population; the language shares the ISO 639-3 code prn with Prasuni ^[2]
Classified as Endangered by the Endangered Languages Project due to pressure from Dari and Pashto as the dominant languages of education and government in Nuristan ^[3]
Nuristani languages including Vasi-vari were formerly called "Kafiri" languages — the name changed after Kafiristan was renamed Nuristan ("Land of Light") in 1896 following conversion to Islam ^[4]
Vasi-vari preserves ancient Indo-Iranian features including retroflex consonants (ṭ, ḍ, ṣ, ṇ) and aspirated stops (ph, th, kh) lost in most Iranian languages ^[5]
Vasi-vari is also known as Wasi-veri, Vasikun, or Vasi — it is most closely related to Prasuni within the Eastern Nuristani sub-group, and together they share many archaic Indo-Iranian features

Vasi-vari Vowel Letters

Vasi-vari 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 Georg Morgenstierne's academic romanization system.

The vowel length contrast is phonemically meaningful in Vasi-vari and is a shared feature of all Nuristani languages, reflecting conservatism inherited from Proto-Indo-Iranian.

Vasi-vari 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 Vasi-vari.

[AH-long]

Long open front unrounded vowel /aː/, a prolonged "a". Phonemically distinct from short /a/ — the length contrast is meaningful in Vasi-vari as in all Nuristani languages.

[EH]

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

[EH-long]

Long mid front unrounded vowel /eː/, a prolonged "e". Phonemically distinguished from short /e/ by duration.

[EE]

Short close front unrounded vowel /i/, like "i" in "machine" (short). Present in native Vasi-vari roots and loanwords.

[EE-long]

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

[OH]

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

[OH-long]

Long mid back rounded vowel /oː/, a prolonged "o". The long counterpart of short /o/ in Vasi-vari.

[OO]

Short close back rounded vowel /u/, like "oo" in "book" (short). Appears in native Vasi-vari roots and borrowed vocabulary.

[OO-long]

Long close back rounded vowel /uː/, like "oo" in "food". Phonemically distinct from short /u/ in Vasi-vari.

Vasi-vari Consonant Letters

Vasi-vari 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 Nuristani languages shared with neighbouring Indo-Aryan languages, distinguishing Nuristani from all Iranian branches.

Vasi-vari 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". A basic stop in Vasi-vari phonology.

[PH]

Aspirated bilabial stop /pʰ/, like "p" with a puff of air. Vasi-vari preserves the Indo-Iranian aspiration distinction.

[BEH]

Voiced bilabial stop /b/, like "b" in "bed". Common in native Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[TEH]

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

[TH]

Aspirated alveolar stop /tʰ/, like "t" with a strong puff of air. Preserved from Proto-Indo-Iranian in Vasi-vari.

[DEH]

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

ṭ

[T-retroflex]

Voiceless retroflex stop /ʈ/, pronounced with the tongue tip curled back against the palate. A defining feature of all Nuristani languages.

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 Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[KH]

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

[GEH]

Voiced velar stop /g/, like "g" in "go". Present in native Vasi-vari vocabulary and loanwords.

[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 Vasi-vari vocabulary and grammatical morphology.

[ZEH]

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

ṣ

[S-retroflex]

Voiceless retroflex fricative /ʂ/, pronounced with the tongue tip curled back. Part of the retroflex series unique to Nuristani languages.

[SH]

Voiceless postalveolar fricative /ʃ/, like "sh" in "ship". Romanized as š following Morgenstierne's tradition.

[ZH]

Voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/, like the "s" in "measure". Appears in loanwords and some native Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[KH-fricative]

Voiceless velar fricative /x/, like the "ch" in Scottish "loch". Appears in native Vasi-vari vocabulary and Dari loanwords.

[GH]

Voiced velar fricative /ɣ/, a deep throaty "g" sound. Romanized as γ (gamma) in Morgenstierne's system.

[HEH]

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

[TS]

Voiceless alveolar affricate /ts/, like "ts" in "cats". Romanized as c in the Morgenstierne tradition.

[CH]

Voiceless postalveolar affricate /tʃ/, like "ch" in "church". Common in Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[JEH]

Voiced postalveolar affricate /dʒ/, like "j" in "jump". Appears in native Vasi-vari vocabulary and loanwords.

[MEH]

Voiced bilabial nasal /m/, like "m" in "mother". One of the most common consonants in Vasi-vari.

[NEH]

Voiced alveolar nasal /n/, like "n" in "night". Very common in Vasi-vari phonology and 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 Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[LEH]

Voiced alveolar lateral approximant /l/, like "l" in "light". Common in Vasi-vari phonology.

[WEH]

Voiced bilabial approximant /w/, like "w" in "water". Present in native Vasi-vari vocabulary.

[YEH]

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

ṭ

ḍ

ṣ

ṇ

Digits (0–9)

Zero — standard Western numeral used in Vasi-vari romanization.

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

Does Vasi-vari have its own writing system?

What language family does Vasi-vari belong to?

Where is Vasi-vari spoken?

How does Vasi-vari relate to Prasuni?

Is Vasi-vari an endangered language?

Why do Vasi-vari and Prasuni share the same ISO code?

References:

[1] Hammarström, Harald et al. "Vasi-vari [wasi1238]". Glottolog 5.3. Retrieved from Glottolog: Vasi-vari
[2] SIL International. "Prasuni (Vasi-vari) — ISO 639-3 Language Code: prn". Retrieved from SIL ISO 639-3: prn
[3] Endangered Languages Project. "Vasi-vari (Vasikun)". Retrieved from Endangered Languages Project: Vasi-vari
[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