The Conjugation of the Transitive Verb in the Principal Dialects of Shina

Extract

The paradigms given below are the result of efforts to obtain what may be regarded as standard conjugational forms of the Transitive Verb in the chief dialects of Shina.

Shina (Ṣiṇ'a) is the principal language of the Gilgit Political Agency. It is the sole or primary language of the people inhabiting:—

1. The portion of the Indus Valley lying within the Gilgit Agency, i.e. from the neighbourhood of Haramosh to Thor; including the whole Chilas District;

2. The Gilgit Valley from Dahimal, 14 miles west of Gupis, to the junction of the Gilgit River with the Indus;

3. The lower portions of the Ishkoman and Hunza-Nagir Valleys;

4. The valley of the Astor River and its tributaries;

5. The Gurez Valley in Kashmir proper.

6. It is also the language of the people inhabiting the Darel and Tangir Valleys, situated in Independent Territory to the south of the mountain range that forms the southern boundary of the mid portion of the Gilgit Valley. These valleys drain southwards into the Indus. The use of Shina does not stop here, but extends further down the Indus Valley, according to Dr. Grahame Bailey, to a point more than halfway from Chilas to Amb.