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Luwati Language
The Luwati Language (also known as lawatiyya, lawatiya, hyderabadi, khoja, or khojki) is an Indo-Iranian Language spoken by 5,000 to 10,000 people known as the Lawatiya (also called the Khojas or Hyderabadis) in the country of Oman. In total it is has been estimated there are 20,000-30,000 Lawatiya people. Despite the various names, the Lawatiya refer to the language as Khojki. It is considered an endangered language because a portion of the Lawatiya do not speak Luwati and it is not continuously passed down to younger generations.

Classifications
Luwati is an Indo-Iranian Language that bares similarities with other languages such as Sindhi, Kachichi, Gujarati, Hindustani, and Persian. Luwati, Sindhi, and Kachichi are spoken as distinct varieties. As with other languages located in Oman, Luwati is influenced by the Omani dialect of Arabic.

History
Originating from Sindh, this language has had a presence in Oman for nearly four centuries. The language and people were first mentioned historically by the Omani historian Ibn Ruzayq. Today, the Lawatiyya are the most educated Shi'ite group in Oman.

Geographic Distribution
Luwati is a minority language found in Oman specifically in the capital of Muscat as well as in the coastal towns of Saham, Barka, Khabura, and Musana. It is spoken by 5,000 to 10,000 people.

Phonology
At one point Luwati was a written language but is now only a spoken language. It consists of 37 consonants, 10 vowels, and 3 dipthongs. Usually the world-level stress falls on the first syllable however in loan words from Arabic, it retains its original stress position.

Consonants
Below is a chart of Luwati consonants.

Luwati Consonants Luwati words with the following consonants :

/p/ pənd ‘walk’   /b/ bənd ‘closed’    /рʰ/ pʰar ‘tear (v.)’     /ɓ/ ɓərjo ‘it got burnt’    /m/ marwə ‘people’    /f/ suf ‘apple’     /t/ tər ‘fry/float’     /d/ dər ‘door’     /tʰ/ tʰəkko ‘he got tired’    /ɗ/ ɗənd ‘tooth’    /n/ narwə ‘rain gutters’

/r/ rəsso ‘rope’   /s/ səri as in “/səripjo/” ‘worn out’    /z/ zəri ‘metallic thread’    /l/ ləsso ‘smooth’    /ʈ/ ʈəkko ‘rotten’    /ɖ/ ɖoro ‘puddle’    /ʈʰ/ pʊʈʰ ‘back (body)’     /ʤ/ ʤiro ‘cumin seeds’    /ʧʰ/ ʧʰa͡ ɪ ‘butter milk’

/ʄ/ ʄari ‘net’   /ɲ/ məɲo ‘he agreed’    /ʃ/ ʃərab ‘alcoholic drink’    /j/ təjar ‘ready’    /k/ kər ‘do’    /ɡ/ ɡər ‘house’    /kʰ/ kʰən ‘take’    ɠ/ ɠəro ‘heavy’    /ŋ/ əŋŋaro ‘charcoal’    /x/ xərab ‘spoiled/bad’    /Ɣ/ ɣərib ‘poor person’

/w/ təwar ‘sound’   /q/ qəwi ‘strong’    /ħ/ ħəbib ‘beloved’    /ʕ/ ʕadi ‘normal’    /h/ hərjo ‘wet’

Vowels
Luwati consists of ten oral long and short vowels: /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, a, ɘ, ə, u, ʊ, o/.

Here are examples of each vowel:

/i/ weʈʰi ‘she sat’

/o/ weʈʰo ‘he sat’

/ɪ/ ʈɪkko ‘dot’

/ə/ ʈəkko ‘rotton’

/e/ peʈ ‘stomach’

ʊ/ pʊʈ ‘son’

/ɛ/ nɛ ‘and’

/ɘ/ ũdɘr ‘rat’

/a/ ũdar ‘darkness’

/u/ unu ‘deep’

Luwati consists of three diphthongs as well. They are: /a͡ɪ, a͡ʊ, ɔ͡ɪ/.

Here are examples of each diphthong:

/a͡ɪ/  ʧa͡ɪ ‘tea’

/a͡ʊ/  ʧa͡ʊ ‘say (v. imp.pl.)

/ɔ͡ɪ/  pɔ͡ɪ 'later'

Writing System
Luwati no longer has a writing system and is only a spoken language.