The Ishkashimi language is one of the Pamir languages

Pamir languages

The Pamir languages are a group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries. This includes the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of eastern Tajikistan...

 of the Southeastern Iranian language group. Its distribution is in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province is an autonomous, mountainous province in the east of Tajikistan. Located in the Pamir Mountains, it makes up 45% of the land area of the country but only 3% of the population....

 in Tajikistan

Tajikistan

Tajikistan , officially the Republic of Tajikistan , is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and China to the east....

, Badakhshan Province

Badakhshan Province

Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...

 in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 and Chitral

Chitral

Chitral or Chetrar , translated as field in the native language Khowar, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Kunar River , in Pakistan. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, high...

 region of Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

.

The total number of speakers is c. 2500, most of them are now dispersed throughout Tajikistan and Russia. About 400 still live in the village of Ryn on the border with Afghanistan near the town of Ishkoshim

Ishkoshim, Tajikistan

Ishkoshim , also Ishkashim , is the capital of Ishkoshim District in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in south-east Tajikistan. It lies on the Panj River, at a point where its direction turns sharply north...

. Ishkashimi is closely related to Zebaki and Sanglechi (in Afghanistan). Nevertheless, there are considerable differences between this subgroup, the Wakhi language

Wakhi language

Wakhi is an Indo-European language in the branch of Eastern Iranian language family and is intimately related to other Southeastern Iranian languages in the Pamir languages group.-Classification and Distribution:...

 and the other subgroup of the Pamir languages

Pamir languages

The Pamir languages are a group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries. This includes the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan and the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province of eastern Tajikistan...

 formed by Shughni

Shughni language

Shughni is one of the Pamir languages of the Southeastern Iranian language group. Its distribution is in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan....

, Rushani, Sarikoli, Yazgulyam

Yazgulyam language

The Yazgulyam language is a member of the Pamir subgroup of the Iranian languages, spoken by ca. 4,000 native speakers along the Yazgulyam River, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. Together with Shugni, it is classified as the Shugni-Yazgulami subgroup of the Pamir languages...

, etc.

External links

• Ishkashimi story with English translation recorded by George Abraham Grierson
  George Abraham Grierson
  Sir George Abraham Grierson OM KCIE was born to a prominent Dublin family in 1851. His father and grandfather, both also named George, were well-known printers and publishers.-Biography:Educated at St...
  
  (1920)
• Ishkashimi-English Vocabulary List
• English-Ishkashimi- Zebaki-Wakhi-Yazghulami Vocabulary