Padri dialect

{{Short description|Bhadarwahi dialect of Padar}}

{{ Infobox language

| name = Padri

| nativename = {{lang|bhd|पाडरी}}

| states = India

|region = Padar

|coordinates = {{coord|33.26|76.16}}

|pushpin_map = India Jammu and Kashmir#India

|speakers = 10,000

|date = 1981

|ref= {{sfn|Kaul|2006a|p=64}}

|ethnicity=

|familycolor= Indo-European

|fam2= Indo-Iranian

|fam3= Indo-Aryan

|fam4= ? Northern

|fam5= Western Pahari

|iso3 =

|isoexception=dialect

|glotto = pada1256

|glottorefname=Padari

}}

Padderi ({{lang|bhd|पाडरी}} {{lang|bhd-Latn|pāḍrī}}) is a dialect spoken in the Padar valley in Kishtwar district in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It belongs to the Bhadarwahi group of dialects, and is classified as a member of the Western Pahari branch of the Indo-Aryan languages.{{sfn|Kaul|2006a|pp=63, 85}} It is very similar to the Pangwali language of Pangi, Himachal Pradesh. This language has been influenced heavily by the neighbouring Kashmiri language.

The Padar valley is about 80 km long, the terrain is rugged and mountainous, and the population is found mainly in scattered hamlets, with the main village being Atholi.{{sfn|Kaul|2006a|p=63}} The number of speakers, as of the 1981 census, stood at {{sigfig|10039|2}}.{{sfn|Kaul|2006a|p=64}}

Padri shares a large proportion of its vocabulary with other Western Pahari varieties (like Bhadarwahi, Pangwali and Siraji).{{sfn|Kaul|2006a|p=67}} There are two genders: masculine and feminine (there is no neuter). Nouns change for case, but not normally for number. However, some nouns do have plurals, which are formed using a variety of strategies:{{sfn|Kaul|2006a|pp=67–69}}

• {{lang|bhd|koā -> koi|italic=yes}} 'boys'
• {{lang|bhd|panna -> pannë|italic=yes}} 'leaves'
• {{lang|bhd|zebbh -> zibb|italic=yes}} 'tongues'
• {{lang|bhd|koi -> kui|italic=yes}} 'girls'
• {{lang|bhd|thaṛo -> thenë|italic=yes}} 'walnuts'