Torwali language
| Torwali | |
|---|---|
| توروالی | |
Torwali written in Perso-Arabic in Nastaliq style. | |
| Region | Swat District |
| Ethnicity | Torwali people |
Native speakers | 130,000 (2020) |
| Arabic script (primarily Nastaliq) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | trw |
| Glottolog | torw1241 |
| ELP | Torwali |
Torwali is a minor language of Pakistan which is mainly spoken by Torwali nation of Central Swat District, it is given a space in this map. | |
Torwali (Torwali: توروالی), also known as Bahrain Kohistani, is an Indo-Aryan language of Kohistani group spoken by the Torwali people in the Bahrain and Chail areas of the Swat Kohistan region in northern Pakistan. It has been proposed to be the closest modern Indo-Aryan language still spoken today to Niya dialect of Gāndhārī, a Middle Indo-Aryan language spoken in the ancient region of Gandhara. Torwali and Gawri languages are collectively classified as "Swat Kohistani".
The Torwali language is said to have originated from the pre-Muslim communities of Swat. Torwali is an endangered language: it is characterised as "vulnerable" by the Catalogue of Endangered Languages. There have been efforts to revitalise the language since 2004, and mother tongue community schools have been established by Idara Baraye Taleem wa Taraqi (Institute for Education and Development) (IBT).