Sindhi language#Vowels

File:Dodo Chanesar Khudabadi script.png written in Hatvanki Sindhi or Khudabadi script.]]{{Sindhis}}

The name "Sindhi" is derived from the Sanskrit síndhu, the original name of the Indus River, along whose delta Sindhi is spoken.{{cite web |url=http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Sindhi.html |title=Sindhi |work= The Languages Gulper|access-date=January 29, 2013}} In the Bronze Age ({{circa|3300|1200 BCE}}), the primary language of this region was likely the Harappan language, but no records exist indicating when or how that language was replaced by the Indo-Aryan languages.{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Jennifer |title=The Sindhi language |url=http://www.linguistics.uiuc.edu/jscole/Sindhi_Elsevier_encyl.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106015921/http://www.linguistics.uiuc.edu/jscole/Sindhi_Elsevier_encyl.pdf |archive-date=January 6, 2007 |access-date=2025-06-02}}

Like other languages of the Indo-Aryan family, Sindhi is descended from Old Indo-Aryan (Sanskrit) via Middle Indo-Aryan (Pali, secondary Prakrits, and Apabhramsha). 20th century Western scholars such as George Abraham Grierson believed that Sindhi descended specifically from the Vrācaḍa dialect of Apabhramsha (described by Markandeya as being spoken in Sindhu-deśa, corresponding to modern Sindh){{cite journal |last1=Grierson |first1=G. A. |title=Apabhramsa According to Markandeya and "Dhakki" Prakrit |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1913 |pages=875-883 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25189069 |access-date=3 June 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Grierson |first1=G. A. |title=Vrācaḍa and Sindhī |journal=The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |date=1902 |pages=47-48 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25208372 |access-date=6 June 2025}} but later work has shown this to be unclear.{{cite journal |last1=Wadhwani |first1=Y. K. |title=The Origin of the Sindhi Language |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute |date=1981 |volume=40 |pages=192–201 |jstor=42931119 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/42931119.pdf |access-date=9 April 2021}}

The sound changes that characterise the development of Sindhi from Middle Indo-Aryan are:

• Development of implosives from geminate and initial stops (e.g. g-, -gg > ɠ); this is a highly distinctive sound change in NIA{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=209}}
• Shortening of geminates (e.g. MIA akkhi > Sindhi akhi "eye"){{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=198}}
• Voicing of post-nasal consonants (e.g. MIA danta > Sindhi ɗ̣andu "tooth"){{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=198}}{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=203}}
• Debuccalization of intervocalic -s- > -h- (shared with Saraiki and some Punjabi varieties){{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=194}}
• Intervocalic -l- > -r- (likely via intermediate retroflex -ḷ-), -ll- > -l-,{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=193}} -ḍ- > -ṛ-
• Fronting of r from medial clusters to initial (e.g. OIA dīrgha > Sindhi ḍrigho "long"){{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=209}}

Additionally, the following retentions distinguish Sindhi from other New Indo-Aryan languages:

• Retention of MIA -ṇ-{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=193}}
• Retention of final short vowels -a, -i, -u,{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=196}} but also insertion of these into loanwords{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=197}}
• Retention of long vowels before geminates (more archaic than e.g. Prakrit){{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=198}}
• Retention of stop + r clusters but with retroflexion, e.g. tr- > ṭr-{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=201}}{{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=210}}
• Retention of v- {{sfnp|Masica|1999|p=202}}

Literary attestation of early Sindhi is sparse. The earliest written evidence of Sindhi as a language can be found in a translation of the Qur’an into Sindhi dating back to 883 A.D.{{cite journal |last1=Cole |first1=J. |editor1-last=Brown |editor1-first=Keith |title=Sindhi |journal=Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition) |date=2006 |pages=384–387 |doi=10.1016/B0-08-044854-2/02241-0 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080448542022410 |publisher=Elsevier|url-access=subscription }} Historically, Isma'ili religious literature and poetry in India, as old as the 11th century CE, used a language that was closely related to Sindhi and Gujarati; at this point in time, Sindhi was not clearly established as an independent literary language. Much of this work is in the form of ginans (a kind of devotional hymn).{{Britannica|1550738|Sindhi literature|Christopher Shackle}}{{cite web |title=Sacred Literature-Ginans |url=http://heritage.ismaili.net/ginan_view |website=Ismaili.NET |publisher=Heritage Society |access-date=2 August 2022}}

Sindhi was the first Indo-Aryan language to be in close contact with Arabic and Persian following the Umayyad conquest of Sindh in 712 CE. Arabic sources thus do mention the language of Sindh in various instances. The following excerpts are translated from The History of India, as Told by Its Own Historians by Henry Miers Elliot.{{cite book |last1=Elliot |first1=Henry Miers |editor1-last=Dawson |editor1-first=John |title=The History Of India As Told By Its Own Historians |date=1867–1877 |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.448955}}

{{Blockquote

|text=The language of Sind is different than that of India. Sind is the country which is nearer the domains of the Moslims, India is farther from them.

|author=al-Masudi ({{circa|lk=no|896}}–956 CE)

|source=The Meadows of Gold

}}

{{Blockquote

|text=The language of Mansúra, Multán, and those parts is Arabic and Sindian. In Makrán they use Persian and Makranic.

|author=Ibn Hawqal

|source=Surat Al-Ard (977 CE)

}}

Medieval Sindhi literature is of a primarily religious genre, comprising a syncretic Sufi and Advaita Vedanta poetry, the latter in the devotional bhakti tradition. The format of this poetry is the bayt, indicating significant influence from Arabic and Persian. The earliest known Sindhi poet of the Sufi tradition is Qazi Qadan (1493–1551). Other early poets were Shah Inat Rizvi ({{circa}} 1613–1701) and Shah Abdul Karim Bulri (1538–1623). These poets had a mystical bent that profoundly influenced Sindhi poetry for much of this period.

Another famous part of Medieval Sindhi literature is a wealth of folktales, adapted and readapted into verse by many bards at various times and possibly much older than their earliest literary attestations. These include romantic epics such as Sassui Punnhun, Sohni Mahiwal, Momal Rano, Noori Jam Tamachi, Lilan Chanesar, and others.{{cite journal |last1=Schimmel |first1=Annemarie |title=Sindhi Literature |journal=Mahfil |date=1971 |volume=7 |issue=1/2 |pages=71–80 |jstor=40874414 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40874414}}

The greatest poet of Sindhi was Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689/1690–1752), whose verses were compiled into the Shah Jo Risalo by his followers. While primarily Sufi, his verses also recount traditional Sindhi folktales and aspects of the cultural history of Sindh.

The first attested Sindhi translation of the Quran was done by Akhund Azaz Allah Muttalawi (1747–1824) and published in Gujarat in 1870. The first to appear in print was by Muhammad Siddiq in 1867.{{cite web|url=http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=1391|title=The Holy Qur'an and its Translators – Imam Reza (A.S.) Network|website=Imamreza.net|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115045637/http://www.imamreza.net/eng/imamreza.php?id=1391|archive-date=15 January 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}

In 1843, the British conquest of Sindh led the region to become part of the Bombay Presidency. Soon after, in 1848, Governor George Clerk established Sindhi as the official language in the province, removing the literary dominance of Persian. Sir Bartle Frere, the then commissioner of Sindh, issued orders on August 29, 1857, advising civil servants in Sindh to pass an examination in Sindhi. He also ordered the use of Sindhi in official documents.{{cite web |url= http://tns.thenews.com.pk/declaring-major-languages-as-national-languages/#.U0oQ-VWSygQ |title= The language link |first= Naseer |last= Memon |date= April 13, 2014 |work= The News on Sunday |access-date= April 13, 2014 |archive-date= April 13, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140413143150/http://tns.thenews.com.pk/declaring-major-languages-as-national-languages/#.U0oQ-VWSygQ |url-status= dead }} In 1868, the Bombay Presidency assigned Narayan Jagannath Vaidya to replace the Abjad used in Sindhi with the Khudabadi script. The script was decreed a standard script by the Bombay Presidency thus inciting anarchy in the Muslim majority region. A powerful unrest followed, after which Twelve Martial Laws were imposed by the British authorities. The granting of official status of Sindhi along with script reforms ushered in the development of modern Sindhi literature.

The first printed works in Sindhi were produced at the Muhammadi Press in Bombay beginning in 1867. These included Islamic stories set in verse by Muhammad Hashim Thattvi, one of the renowned religious scholars of Sindh.

The Partition of India in 1947 resulted in most Sindhi speakers ending up in the new state of Pakistan, commencing a push to establish a strong sub-national linguistic identity for Sindhi. This manifested in resistance to the imposition of Urdu and eventually Sindhi nationalism in the 1980s.{{cite journal |last1=Levesque |first1=Julien |title=Beyond Success or Failure: Sindhi Nationalism and the Social Construction of the "Idea of Sindh" |journal=Journal of Sindhi Studies |date=2021 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–33 |doi=10.1163/26670925-bja10001 |s2cid=246560343 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/joss/1/1/article-p1_1.xml?language=en |access-date=2 August 2022|doi-access=free }}

The language and literary style of contemporary Sindhi writings in Pakistan and India were noticeably diverging by the late 20th century; authors from the former country were borrowing extensively from Urdu, while those from the latter were highly influenced by Hindi.{{cite web |title=Sindhi language {{!}} Britannica |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/545670/Sindhi-language |access-date=6 October 2022 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica}}

Sindhi is the official language of the Pakistani province of Sindh{{cite web |url= http://pu.edu.pk/images/journal/pols/Currentissue-pdf/Gulshan3.pdf|title=Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict in Pakistan|first=Gulshan |last=Majeed |work=Journal of Political Studies|access-date=December 27, 2013}} and one of the scheduled languages of India, where it does not have any state-level status.{{cite web |url=http://www.rajbhasha.nic.in/en/languages-included-eighth-schedule-indian-constution |title=Languages Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constution |publisher=Department of Official Language, Ministry of Home Affairs |access-date=2018-04-09}} Prior to the inception of Pakistan, Sindhi was the national language of Sindh.{{cite journal|last1=Language and Politics in Pakistan|title=The Sindhi Language Movement |url=https://www.academia.edu/7588035|website=academia.edu|access-date=12 September 2015}}{{cite news|title=The Imposition Of Urdu|url=http://nation.com.pk/editorials/10-Sep-2015/the-imposition-of-urdu|access-date=12 September 2015|publisher=NAWAIWAQT GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS|date=September 10, 2015|archive-date=11 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911082914/http://nation.com.pk/editorials/10-Sep-2015/the-imposition-of-urdu|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.apnaorg.com/research-papers-pdf/rahman-3.pdf |title=Microsoft Word - Teaching of Sindhi & Sindhi ethnicity.doc|website=Apnaorg.com |access-date=2018-08-13}}{{Cite web |title=The Sindhi Language Movement |url=http://www.tariqrahman.net/content/scholorly_articles/sindhi_lang_mov.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905005418/http://www.tariqrahman.net/content/scholorly_articles/sindhi_lang_mov.pdf |archive-date=2014-09-05 |access-date=2015-09-12}}

Sindhi is additionally spoken by many members of the Sindhi diaspora, particularly in Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, UAE, USA and UK.

In Pakistan, Sindhi is the first language of 34.40 million people, or {{sigfig|14.57|3}}% of the country's population as of the 2023 census. 33.46 million of these are found in Sindh, where they account for {{sigfig|60.14|2}}% of the total population of the province.{{cite web |title=Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban, Census–2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220005033/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2024|website=pbs.gov.pk |publisher=Pakistan Bureau Statistics}} There are 0.55 million speakers in the province of Balochistan, especially in the Kacchi Plain.

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The Pakistan Sindh Assembly has ordered compulsory teaching of the Sindhi language in all private schools in Sindh.{{Cite web |last=Samar |first=Azeem |date=13 March 2019 |title=PA resolution calls for teaching Sindhi as compulsory subject in private schools |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/443160-pa-resolution-calls-for-teaching-sindhi-as-compulsory-subject-in-private-schools |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=The News International |language=en}} According to the Sindh Private Educational Institutions Form B (Regulations and Control) 2005 Rules, "All educational institutions are required to teach children the Sindhi language.{{Cite web |last=PakistanToday |date=25 September 2018 |title=Sindhi to be made compulsory in all private schools across province {{!}} Pakistan Today |url=https://archive.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/09/25/sindhi-to-be-made-compulsory-in-all-private-schools-across-province/ |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Pakistan Today |language=en-GB}} Sindh Education and Literacy Minister, Syed Sardar Ali Shah, and Secretary of School Education, Qazi Shahid Pervaiz, have ordered the employment of Sindhi teachers in all private schools in Sindh so that this language can be easily and widely taught.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2018-09-25 |title=Private schools directed to make Sindhi compulsory subject |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1434751 |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Dawn |language=en}} Sindhi is taught in all provincial private schools that follow the Matric system and not the ones that follow the Cambridge system.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2018-09-24 |title=Sindh private schools told to teach Sindhi as compulsory subject |url=http://www.samaaenglish.tv/news/1556672 |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Samaa TV |language=en}}

At the occasion of 'Mother Language Day' in 2023, the Sindh Assembly under Culture minister Sardar Ali Shah, passed a unanimous resolution to extend the use of language to primary level{{Cite web |date=2023-02-20 |title=Call for using local languages at primary level |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2402116/call-for-using-local-languages-at-primary-level |access-date=2023-02-28 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}} and increase the status of Sindhi as a national language{{Cite web |date=2023-02-21 |title=Members decry delay in declaring Sindhi a national language |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2402560/members-decry-delay-in-declaring-sindhi-a-national-language |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Siddiqui |first=Tahir |date=2023-02-22 |title=Govt, opposition demand national language status for Sindhi |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1738443 |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Pakistan: Members of Sindh Assembly demand national language status for Sindhi |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/pakistan-members-of-sindh-assembly-demand-national-language-status-for-sindhi20230223134703/ |access-date=2023-02-23 |website=ANI News |language=en}} of Pakistan.

There are many Sindhi language television channels broadcasting in Pakistan such as Time News, KTN, Sindh TV, Awaz Television Network, Mehran TV, and Dharti TV.

The Indian Government has legislated Sindhi as a scheduled language in India, making it an option for education. Despite lacking any state-level status, Sindhi is still a prominent minority language in the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.{{cite web |url=http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM47thReport.pdf |title=National Committee for Linguistic Minorities |access-date=2018-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513161847/http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM47thReport.pdf |archive-date=2012-05-13 |url-status=dead }} In India, Sindhi mother tongue speakers were distributed in the following states:

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In Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore (where Sindhi has no official status), ethnics Sindhis are largely shifting to English as their first language, excepting some monolingual first-generation immigrants and second-generation speakers who use Sindhi at home. Codeswitching of varying degrees is observed in some speakers, usually with English but also with Malay and Indonesian.{{cite journal |last1=Khemlani-David |first1=Maya |title=Language shift, cultural maintenance, and ethnic identity; a study of a minority Community: the Sindhis of Malaysia |journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language |date=1998 |issue=130 |url=https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl.1998.130.67/html |access-date=6 June 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Khemlani-David |first1=Maya |title=Language shift amongst the Sindhis of Malaysia |journal=South Pacific Journal of Psychology |date=1999 |volume=10 |issue=1}}{{cite journal |last1=Khemlani-David |first1=Maya |title=The Sindhis of Singapore–Language Maintenance or Language Shift? |journal=Migracijske i etničke teme |date=2000 |volume=16 |issue=3 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/159556 |access-date=6 June 2025}}{{cite journal |last1=Cook |first1=Matthew A. |last2=Khemlani-David |first2=Maya |title=Language Shift and Identity Reproduction among Diaspora Sindhis in India and Southeast Asia |journal=Modern Asian Studies |date=2020 |access-date=6 June 2025 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X20000013 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/language-shift-and-identity-reproduction-among-diaspora-sindhis-in-india-and-southeast-asia/678711394095029BE7AC10943ADA6946}} Similar shift to English is found in the smaller Hong Kong Sindhi community.{{cite journal |last1=Lock |first1=Graham |last2=Detaramani |first2=Champa |title=Being Indian in post-colonial Hong Kong: Models of ethnicity, culture and language among Sindhis and Sikhs in Hong Kong |journal=Asian Ethnicity |date=2006 |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=267-284 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14631360600926972#page=12.27 |access-date=6 June 2025}}

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File:The dialects of Sindhi language.png

Sindhi has many dialects, and forms a dialect continuum at some places with neighboring languages such as Saraiki to the north and Gujarati to the south, but not with Marwari to the east.{{Linguistic Survey of India|8|3|chapter=Sindhi}} Some of the documented dialects of Sindhi are:{{e19|Sindhi}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q3tAqIU0dPsC|title=One Thousand Languages: Living, Endangered, and Lost|last1=Austin|first1=Peter|last2=Austin|first2=Marit Rausing Chair in Field Linguistics Peter K.|date=2008|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520255609|language=en}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KYLpvaKJIMEC|title=Medieval Indian Literature: Surveys and selections|last=Paniker|first=K. Ayyappa|date=1997|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|isbn=9788126003655|language=en}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xC7mfihnTcAC&q=sindhi+tribe |title=Gazetteer of the Province of Sind |date=1907 |publisher=Government at the "Mercantile" Steam Press |pages=188–519 |language=en}}

• Vicholi: The prestige dialect spoken around Hyderabad and central Sindh (the Vicholo region), on which the literary standard is based.
• Uttaradi: The dialect of northern Sindh (Uttaru, meaning "north"), with minor differences in Larkana, Shikarpur and in parts of Sukkur and Kandiaro.{{Cite web |date=1919 |title=Uttaradi |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=8-1&pages=600#page/1/mode/1up}}
• Lari: The dialect of southern Sindh (Lāṛu) spoken around areas like Karachi, Thatta, Sujawal, Tando Muhammad Khan and Badin districts.
• Siroli (also Siraiki, Ubheji): The dialect of northernmost Sindh (Siro, meaning "head").{{sfnp|Shackle|2007|p=114}} Spoken in smaller number all over Sindh but mainly in Jacobabad and Kashmore districts, it may be transitional with the Saraiki language of South Punjab{{sfnp|Masica|1991|p=443}} and has variously been treated either as a dialect of Saraiki or as a dialect of Sindhi.{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Tariq |date=1995 |title=The Siraiki Movement in Pakistan |journal=Language Problems & Language Planning |volume=19 |issue=1 |page=3 |doi=10.1075/lplp.19.1.01rah}}
• Lasi: The dialect of Lasbela, Hub and Gwadar districts in Balochistan, closely related to Lari and Vicholi, and in contact with Balochi.
• Firaqi: The dialect of the Kachhi plains the north eastern districts of Balochistan, where it is referred to as Firaqi Sindhi or commonly just Sindhi.{{Cite web |title=Fraki Sindhi |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360206034 |quote=Sindhi spoken at Sibi is known as Fraki.}}{{Cite web |date=2016-11-30 |title=Firaqi Sindhi |url=https://iaoj.wordpress.com/2016/11/30/dialects-of-sindhi-language/comment-page-1/ |website=Indus Asia Online Journal}}
• Thareli (also Tharechi): Spoken in the northeastern Thar desert of Sindh, but mainly spoken in the western part of Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, India by many Sindhi Muslims.{{Cite web |title=Linguistic Survey of India |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/lsi/lsi.php?volume=9-2&pages=494#page/122/mode/1up |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=dsal.uchicago.edu}}{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/onethousandlangu0000unse |title=One thousand languages : living, endangered, and lost |date=2008 |location=Berkeley |publisher= University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-25560-9}}
• Sindhi Bhili: Spoken in Sindh by the Sindhi Meghwars and Bhils.{{Cite web |title=Sindhi bhil language |url=https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1706816.html?page=3 |website=LotsOfEssays.com}}{{Cite web |title=Sindhi Bhil |url=https://globalrecordings.net/en/language/16734 |website=Global Recordings Network}}{{Cite web |title=Sindhi bhil |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/sbn/ |website=Ethnologue}}

Furthermore, Kutchi and Jadgali are sometimes classified as dialects of Sindhi rather than independent languages.

Sindhi has a relatively large inventory of both consonants and vowels compared to other Indo-Aryan languages.{{cite web | url=https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/sindhi/ | title=Sindhi Language - Structure, Writing & Alphabet - MustGo }} Sindhi has 46 consonant phonemes and 10 vowels.{{Cite web |last1=Raza |first1=Sarfraz |last2=Zahid |first2=Agha Furrukh |last3=Raza |first3=Usman |title=Phonemic Inventory of Sindhi and Acoustic Analysis of Voiced Implosives |url=https://uogenglish.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/sindhi-phonemic-inventory.pdf |access-date=29 October 2023 |website=uogenglish.files.wordpress.com}} The consonant to vowel ratio is around average for the world's languages at 2.8.Nihalani, Paroo. (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association (Sindhi). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. All plosives, affricates, nasals, the retroflex flap, and the lateral approximant /l/ have aspirated or breathy voiced counterparts. The language also features four implosives.

The retroflex consonants are apical postalveolar and do not involve curling back of the tip of the tongue,{{sfnp|Nihalani|1974|p=207}} so they could be transcribed {{IPA|[t̠, t̠ʰ, d̠, d̠ʱ n̠ n̠ʱ ɾ̠ ɾ̠ʱ]}} in phonetic transcription. The affricates {{IPA|/tɕ, tɕʰ, dʑ, dʑʱ/}} are laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release. It is not clear if {{IPA|/ɲ/}} is similar, or truly palatal.The IPA Handbook uses the symbols {{IPA|c, cʰ, ɟ, ɟʱ}}, but makes it clear this is simply tradition and that these are neither palatal nor stops, but "laminal post-alveolars with a relatively short release". Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996:83) confirm a transcription of {{IPA|[t̠ɕ, t̠ɕʰ, d̠ʑ, d̠ʑʱ]}} and further remarks that "{{IPA|/ʄ/}} is often a slightly creaky voiced palatal approximant" (caption of table 3.19). {{IPA|/ʋ/}} is realized as labiovelar {{IPA|[w]}} or labiodental {{IPA|[ʋ]}} in free variation, but is not common, except before a stop.File:Sindhi vowel chart.svg]]

Sindhi nouns distinguish two genders (masculine and feminine), two numbers (singular and plural), and five cases (nominative, vocative, oblique, ablative, and locative). This is a similar paradigm to Punjabi. Almost all Sindhi noun stems end in a vowel, except for some recent loanwords. The declension of a noun in Sindhi is largely determined from its grammatical gender and the final vowel (or if there is no final vowel). Generally, -o stems are masculine and -a stems are feminine, but the other final vowels can belong to either gender.

The different paradigms are listed below with examples.{{cite thesis |last1=Jetley |first1=Murlidhar Kishinchand |title=Morphology of Sindhi: A descriptive analysis of Vicholi, the standard Sindhi dialect |date=1964 |publisher=Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute Pune |hdl=10603/145755 |url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/10603/145755}} The ablative and locative cases are used with only some lexemes in the singular number and hence not listed, but predictably take the suffixes -ā̃ / -aū̃ / -ū̃ ({{gcl|ABL}}) and -i ({{gcl|LOC}}).

A few nouns representing familial relations take irregular declensions with an extension in -r- in the plural. These are the masculine nouns {{Naskh|ڀاءُ}} bhāu "brother", {{Naskh|پِيءُ}} pīu "father", and the feminine nouns {{Naskh|ڌِيءَ}} dhīa "daughter", {{Naskh|نُونھَن}} nū̃hã "daughter-in-law", {{Naskh|ڀيڻَ}} bheṇa "sister", {{Naskh|ماءُ}} māu "mother", and {{Naskh|جوءِ}} joi "wife".

Like other Indo-Aryan languages, Sindhi has first and second-person personal pronouns as well as several types of third-person proximal and distal demonstratives. These decline in the nominative and oblique cases. The genitive is a special form for the first and second-person singular, but formed as usual with the oblique and case marker جو jo for the rest. The personal pronouns are listed to the right.{{sfnp|Khubchandani|2003}}{{cite web |date=April 21, 2024 |title=Structure of Sindhi Language |url=http://lisindia.ciil.org/Sindhi/sindhi_struct.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241028182548/http://lisindia.ciil.org/Sindhi/sindhi_struct.html |archive-date=28 October 2024 |website=Central Institute of Indian Languages |location=India Mysore}}

The third-person pronouns are listed below. Besides the unmarked demonstratives, there are also "specific" and "present" demonstratives. In the nominative singular, the demonstratives are marked for gender. Some other pronouns which decline identically to {{script/Arabic|ڪو}} ko "someone" are {{script/Arabic|ھَرڪو}} har-ko "everyone", {{script/Arabic|سَڀڪو}} sabh-ko "all of them", {{script/Arabic|جيڪو}} je-ko "whoever" (relative), and {{script/Arabic|تيڪو}} te-ko "that one" (correlative).{{sfnp|Khubchandani|2003}}

|

|}

Most nominal relations (e.g. the semantic role of a nominal as an argument to a verb) are indicated using postpositions, which follow a noun in the oblique case. The subject of the verb takes the bare oblique case, while the object may be in nominative case or in oblique case and followed by the accusative case marker کي khe.{{cite book |last1=Trumpp |first1=Ernest |title=Grammar of the Sindhi language |date=1872 |publisher=Trübner and Co. |location=London |url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofsindhil00trum}}

The postpositions are divided into case markers, which directly follow the noun, and complex postpositions, which combine with a case marker (usually the genitive جو jo).

The case markers are listed below.{{r|trumpp|p=399}}

The postpositions with the suffix -o decline in gender and number to agree with their governor, e.g. {{script/Arabic|ڇوڪِرو جو پِيءُ}} chokiro j-o pīu "the boy's father" but {{script/Arabic|ڇوڪِر جِي مَاءُ}} chokiro j-ī māu "the boy's mother".

There are several ablative case markers formed from the spatial postpositions and the ablative ending -ā̃. These indicate complex motion such as "from inside of".{{r|trumpp|p=400}}

Finally, some case markers are found in medieval Sindhi literature and/or modern poetic Sindhi, and otherwise not used in standard speech.

The complex postpositions are formed with a case marker, usually the genitive but sometimes the ablative. Many are listed below.{{r|trumpp|p=405}}

According to historian Nabi Bux Baloch, most Sindhi vocabulary is from ancient Sanskrit. However, owing to the influence of the Persian language over the subcontinent, Sindhi has adapted many words from Persian and Arabic. It has also borrowed from English and Hindustani. Today, Sindhi in Pakistan is slightly influenced by Urdu{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}, with more borrowed Perso-Arabic elements, while Sindhi in India is influenced by Hindi{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}, with more borrowed tatsam Sanskrit elements.{{sfnmp|Cole|2001|1pp=652–653|Khubchandani|2003|2pp=624–625}}

Sindhis in Pakistan use a version of the Perso-Arabic script with new letters adapted to Sindhi phonology, while in India a greater variety of scripts are in use, including Devanagari, Khudabadi, Khojki, and Gurmukhi.{{Cite web |last=Nair |first=Manoj R. |date=2018-07-30 |title=The dispute over script still endures among Sindhis |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/the-dispute-over-script-still-endures-among-sindhis/story-vCiMcJEBCrlgoKO1hLponN.html |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}} Perso-Arabic for Sindhi was also made digitally accessible relatively earlier.{{Cite web |date=Dec 7, 2020 |title=Sindhi becomes the first language from Pakistan to be selected for digitization. |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/322814-sindhi-becomes-first-language-from-pakistan-to-be-selected-for-digitisation |website=Geo News}}

The earliest attested records in Sindhi are from the 15th century. Before the standardisation of Sindhi orthography, numerous forms of Devanagari and Laṇḍā scripts were used for trading. For literary and religious purposes, a Perso-Arabic script developed by Abul-Hasan as-Sindi and Gurmukhi (a subset of Laṇḍā) were used. Another two scripts, Khudabadi and Shikarpuri, were reforms of the Landa script.{{sfnp|Khubchandani|2003|p=633}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.ancientscripts.com/landa.html |title=Archived copy |access-date=2016-05-07 |archive-date=2016-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307104920/http://www.ancientscripts.com/landa.html |url-status=dead }} During British rule in the late 19th century, the Perso-Arabic script was decreed standard over Devanagari.{{sfnp|Cole|2001|p=648}}

{{Arabic-script sidebar|Sindhi}}

During the British Raj, a variant of the Persian alphabet was adopted for Sindhi in the 19th century. The script is used in Pakistan and India today. It has a total of 52 letters, augmenting the Persian with digraphs and eighteen new letters ({{lang|sd|{{Naskh|ڄ ٺ ٽ ٿ ڀ ٻ ڙ ڍ ڊ ڏ ڌ ڇ ڃ ڦ ڻ ڱ ڳ ڪ}}}}) for sounds particular to Sindhi and other Indo-Aryan languages. Some letters that are distinguished in Arabic or Persian are homophones in Sindhi.

Below table presents Sindhi Perso-Arabic alphabet. Letters shaded in yellow are solely used in writing of loanwords, and the phoneme they represent are also represented by other letters in the alphabet. Letters and digraphs shaded in green aren't usually considered as part of the base alphabet. They are either commonly used digraphs representing aspirated consonants, or are ligatures serving a grammatical function. These ligatures include the {{script/Arabic|۽}}, which is pronounced as [ãĩ̯] and represents and, and the {{script/Arabic|۾}}, which is pronounced as [mẽ] and it creates a locative relationship between words.

The orthography of the letter hāʾ in Sindhi, especially as it comes to typing as opposed to handwriting, has been a source of confusion for many. Especially because whereas in Arabic and Persian, there exists one single letter for hāʾ, in Urdu, the letter has diverged into two distinct variants: gol he ("round he") and do-cašmi he ("two-eyed he"). The former is written is written round and zigzagged as "{{Nastaliq|ہـ ـہـ ـہ ہ}}", and can impart the "h" ({{IPA|/ɦ/}}) sound anywhere in a word, or the long "a" or the "e" vowels ({{IPA|/ɑː/}} or {{IPA|/eː/}}) at the end of a word. The latter is written in Arabic Naskh style (as a loop) ({{Nastaliq|ھ}}) , in order to be used in digraphs and to create the aspirate consonants.

For most aspirated consonants, Sindhi relies on unique letters as opposed to the Urdu practice of digraphs. However, this doesn't apply to all aspirated consonants. Some are still written as digraphs. The letter hāʾ is also used in Sindhi to represent the sound [h] in native Sindhi words, in Arabic and Persian loanwords, and to represent vowels ({{IPA|/ə/}} or {{IPA|/əʰ/}}) at the end of the word. The notations and conventions in Sindhi are different from either Persian or Arabic and from Urdu. Given the variety of the types of hāʾ across these languages for which Unicode characters have been designed, in order for the letters to be displayed correctly when typing, a correct and consistent convention needs to be followed. The following table will present these in detail.Kamal Mansour (2023), Handling of the Heh in Sindhi Text, L2-23/17 [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23117-sindhi-heh.pdf https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23117-sindhi-heh.pdf] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20240509150748/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23117-sindhi-heh.pdf Archive])Lorna Priest Evans (2021), Regarding the Sindhi Heh, L2-22/052 [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22052-regarding-sindhi-heh.pdf https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22052-regarding-sindhi-heh.pdf] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20240114104153/https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2022/22052-regarding-sindhi-heh.pdf Archive])

The punctuation of Sindhi Perso-Arabic script differs slightly from that of Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. Namely, instead of using the typical inverted comma ({{script/Arabic|،}} [U+060C]) common in these mentioned alphabet, a reversed comma ({{script/Arabic|⹁}} [U+2E41]) is used. Although many documents do indeed incorrectly use Urdu punctuations.[https://r12a.github.io/scripts/arab/sd.html https://r12a.github.io/scripts/arab/sd.html]

File:Sindhi alphabet.png

In India, the Devanagari script is also used to write Sindhi. A modern version was introduced by the government of India in 1948; however, it did not gain full acceptance, so both the Sindhi-Arabic and Devanagari scripts are used. In India, a person may write a Sindhi language paper for a Civil Services Examination in either script.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=201 |title=UCLA Language Materials Project: Language Profile |access-date=2007-10-06 |archive-date=2014-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022024834/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?menu=004&LangID=201 |url-status=dead }} Devanagari was seen as the most practical option for Sindhi language in India. Diacritical bars below the letter are used to mark implosive consonants, and dots called nukta are used to form other additional consonants.

Laṇḍā-based scripts, such as Gurmukhi, Khojki, and the Khudabadi script were used historically to write Sindhi.

{{Infobox writing system

| name = Khudabadi
or Sindhi

| sample =

| caption =

| imagesize =

| type =

| languages =

| unicode = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U112B0.pdf U+112B0–U+112FF]

| iso15924 = Sind

| note = none

}}

The Khudabadi alphabet was invented in 1550 CE, and was used alongside other scripts by the Hindu community until the colonial era, where the sole usage of the Arabic script for official purposes was legislated.

The script continued to be used on a smaller scale by the trader community until the Partition of India in 1947.{{cite web |url = http://sindhilanguage.com/script.html |title = Sindhi Language: Script |website = Sindhilanguage.com |access-date = 15 May 2012 |archive-date = 19 April 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120419105333/http://www.sindhilanguage.com/script.html |url-status = dead }}

{{clear}}

Khojki was employed primarily to record Muslim Shia Ismaili religious literature, as well as literature for a few secret Shia Muslim sects.{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/wg2/docs/n3871.pdf|title=Proposal to Encode the Sindhi Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |publisher=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 |date=2010-09-10 |access-date=2024-06-25}}

{{cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/wg2/docs/n3978.pdf|title=Final Proposal to Encode the Khojki Script in ISO/IEC 10646 |publisher=ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 |date=2011-01-28 |access-date=2024-06-25}}

The Gurmukhi script was also used to write Sindhi, mainly in India by Hindus.

{{See also|Romanisation of Sindhi}}

The Sindhi-Roman script or Roman-Sindhi script is the contemporary Sindhi script usually used by the Sindhis when texting messages on their mobile phones.{{Cite web|url=http://www.romanizedsindhi.org/|title=Romanized Sindhi is teaching reading speaking writing sindhi language globally under alliance of sindhi association of Americas Inc|website=Romanizedsindhi.org|access-date=1 March 2022}}{{cite web|title=CHOICE OF SCRIPT FOR OUR SINDHI LANGUAGE|url=http://www.chandiramani.com/choiceofascript.html|website=Chandiramani.com|access-date=7 May 2016}}

{{See also|1972 Sindhi Language Bill}}In 1972, an bill was passed by the provincial assembly of Sindh which saw Sindhi, given official status thus becoming the first provincial language in Pakistan to have its own official status.

• Sindhi language was made the official language of Sindh according to Language Bill.
• All Educational institutes in Sindh are mandated to teach Sindhi as per the bill.

By 2001, Abdul-Majid Bhurgri{{failed verification|date=December 2022}} had coordinated with Microsoft to develop Unicode-based Software in the form of the Perso-Arabic Sindhi script which afterwards became the basis for the communicated use by Sindhi speakers around the world.{{Cite journal |last=Ismaili |first=Imdad Ali |title=Design & Development of the Graphical User Interface for Sindhi Language |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257947564 |quotation=The idea is to provide a software platform to the people of Sindh as well as Sindhi diasporas living across the globe to make use of computing for basic tasks such as editing, composition, formatting, and printing of documents in Sindhi by using GUISL. The implementation of the GUISL has been done in the Java technology to make the system platform independent. |journal=Mehran University Research Journal of Engineering and Technology |year=2011 |language=en}} In 2016, Google introduced the first automated translator for Sindhi language.{{Cite web |title=Google Translate now speaks Sindhi, Pashto |url=https://india.googleblog.com/2016/02/google-translate-now-speaks-sindhi.html |access-date=2023-03-19 |website=Official Google India Blog |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=ANI |date=2016-02-18 |title=Google adds Sindhi to its translate language options |work=Business Standard India |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/google-adds-sindhi-to-its-translate-language-options-116021800706_1.html |access-date=2023-03-19}} Later on in 2023 an offline support was introduced by Google Translate.{{Cite news |date=2023-01-16 |title=Google Translate brings offline support for Oriya, Sindhi and 31 other languages |work=The Times of India |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/google-translate-brings-offline-support-for-oriya-sindhi-and-31-other-languages/articleshow/97031560.cms |access-date=2023-03-23 |issn=0971-8257}}{{Cite web |last=Ghazi |first=Zain |date=2023-01-18 |title=Google Translate Sindhi Offline |url=https://pakistanijournal.com/google-translate-rolls-out-support-for-33-new-offline-languages-including-sindhi/ |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Pakistani Journal |language=en-US}} Which was followed by Microsoft Translator strengthening support in May of same year.{{Cite web |last=Stories |first=Microsoft |date=2023-05-19 |title=Microsoft Translator adds four new languages – Konkani, Maithili, Sindhi, and Sinhala |url=https://news.microsoft.com/en-in/microsoft-translator-adds-four-new-languages-konkani-maithili-sindhi-and-sinhala/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=Microsoft Stories India |language=en-IN}}{{Cite web |last=Team |first=C. R. N. |date=2023-05-18 |title=Microsoft Translator adds 4 new languages – Konkani, Maithili, Sindhi, and Sinhala |url=https://www.crn.in/news/microsoft-translator-adds-4-new-languages-konkani-maithili-sindhi-and-sinhala/ |access-date=2023-05-19 |website=CRN - India |language=en-US}}

In June 2014, the Khudabadi script of the Sindhi language was added to Unicode, However as of now the script currently has no proper rendering support to view it in unsupported devices.

{{Portal|Languages}}

• 1972 Sindhi Language Bill
• Institute of Sindhology
• Sindhi Transliteration
• Languages of India
• Languages of Pakistan
• Languages with official status in India
• List of Sindhi-language films
• Provincial languages of Pakistan
• Sindhi literature
• Sindhi poetry

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{cite journal |last=Nihalani |first=Paroo |title=Lingual Articulation of Stops in Sindhi |journal=Phonetica |date=1974 |doi=10.1159/000259489 |pmid=4424983 |issn=1423-0321 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=197–212 |s2cid=3325314 }}
• {{cite book |last=Addleton and Brown |year=2010 |title=Sindhi: An Introductory Course for English Speakers |url=http://doorlightpubs.com/Doorlight/Sindhi.html |location=South Hadley |publisher=Doorlight Publications |access-date=2010-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828112103/http://doorlightpubs.com/Doorlight/Sindhi.html |archive-date=2010-08-28 |url-status=dead}}
• {{cite journal |last=Bughio |first=M. Qasim |date=January–June 2006 |title=The Diachronic Sociolinguistic Situation in Sindh |journal=Web Journal on Cultural Patrimony |url=http://www.webjournal.unior.it |editor1-last=Maniscalco |editor1-first=Fabio Maniscalco |volume=1}}
• {{cite book |last=Cole |first=Jennifer S |year=2001 |chapter=Sindhi |editor1-last=Garry |editor1-first=Jane |editor2-last=Rubino |editor2-first=Carl |title=Facts About the World's Languages |publisher=H W Wilson |isbn=0-8242-0970-2 |pages=647–653 }}
• {{cite book |year=1999 |title=International Phonetic Association |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-63751-1}}
• {{cite book |last=Khubchandani |first=Lachman M |year=2003 |chapter=Sindhi |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jPR2OlbTbdkC&q=indo-aryan+languages&pg=PA581 |editor1-last=Cardona |editor1-first=George |editor2-last=Jain |editor2-first=Dhanesh |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-77294-5 |pages=622–658 }}
• {{SOWL}}
• {{Cite book |last=Masica |first=Colin P. |title=The Indo-Aryan languages |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-23420-7 |series=Cambridge language surveys |page=443}}
• {{cite book |last=Shackle |first=Christopher |title=Language and national identity in Asia |chapter=Pakistan |editor-last=Simpson |editor-first=Andrew |series=Oxford linguistics Y |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-922648-1 |date=2007 }}
• {{cite book |last=Trumpp |first=Ernest |year=1872 |title=Grammar of the Sindhi Language |url=https://archive.org/details/grammarofsindhil00trum |location=London |publisher=Trübner and Co |isbn=81-206-0100-9 |language=en }}
• {{cite book |last1=Chopra |first1=R. M |title=The rise, growth, and decline of Indo-Persian literature |year=2013 |publisher=Iran Culture House |location=New Delhi |edition=2nd |oclc=909254259 |chapter=Persian in Sindh |language=en}}

{{refend}}

{{InterWiki|code=sd}}

{{Wikivoyage|Sindhi phrasebook}}

{{commons category}}

{{EB1911 poster|Sindhi and Lahnda|Sindhi language}}

• [http://www.sindhila.org/ Sindhi Language Authority]
• [http://www.ijunoon.com/sindhi/ Sindhi Dictionary]
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831155410/http://www.sindhilanguage.com/ |date=August 31, 2015 |title=All about Sindhi language and culture }}
• [https://dsalsrv04.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/mewaram/ Mewaram's 1910 Sindhi-English dictionary]

{{Sindhi language}}

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