BALOCHI READER

Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir

BALOCHI READER

Dr. Abdul Razzaq Sabir

Balochi Reader
Copyright 2011 by AECOM.
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior
written permission from the copyright owner.
First Edition: November 2010
Second Impression: January 2011
All inquiries should be directed to:
Dunwoody Press
6525 Belcrest Rd., Suite 460
Hyattsville, MD 20782
U.S.A.
ISBN: 978-1-931546-79-9
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010938135
Printed and bound in the United States of America

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated

to my teacher
and prominent Balochi scholar
Prof. Abdullah Jan Jamaldini

Table of Contents
Preface ............................................................................................... i
The Balochi Language ..................................................................... ii
Balochi Grammar ........................................................................... iv
Morphology ...................................................................................... v
Abbreviations Used in the Reader ................................................. x
The Balochi Alphabet ..................................................................... xi
Sources of Reading ....................................................................... xiii
Bibliography................................................................................... xv
Selections
.......................................................................... 1
..................................................................... 7
................................................................. 13
............................................................................. 18
............................................................................... 23
.............................................................................. 27
......................................................................... 31
............................................................. 35
.......................................................................... 39
..................................................................... 43
...................................................................... 48
........................................................................... 52
....................................................................................... 56
............................................................... 60
................................................................. 63
..................................................................... 67
....................................................................... 72
.................................................................... 75

.............................................. 78
.................................................................... 83
........................................................ 86
......................................... 90

................................................................... 94
................................................................. 98
............................................................... 102

1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
11:
12:
13:
14:
15:
16:
17:
18:
19:
20:
21:
22:
23:
24:
25:

26:
27:
28:
29:
30:
31:
32:
33:
34:
35:
36:
37:
38:
39:
40:
41:
42:
43:
44:
45:
46:

.............................................................. 105
......................................................................... 110
.................................................. 113
............................................................ 117
...................................................................... 122
.......................................................... 127

.................................................................... 131
......................................................................... 135
........................................................................... 137
........................................... 141

.................................................. 144
............................................... 148
............................................................. 152
..................................................................... 155
......................................................... 158
.............................................................. 163
............................................... 167
................................................................................ 171
.............................................................. 176
.......................................................................... 180
................................................................................ 184

Translations
Selection 1:
Selection 2:
Selection 3:
Selection 4:
Selection 5:
Selection 6:
Selection 7:
Selection 8:
Selection 9:
Selection 10:
Selection 11:
Selection 12:
Selection 13:
Selection 14:
Selection 15:

Madam Zubaida Jalal .......................................... 191

National Games (Editorial) .................................. 191
Father of the Nation ............................................. 192
Baloch and the Media .......................................... 193
Baloch Women .................................................... 193
Mir Dad Shah ....................................................... 194
Malik Faiz Muhammad ........................................ 195
Earthquake in Pakistan........................................ 196
The Betterment of Quetta .................................... 197
Pakistan Television .............................................. 198
The Tourist Sites of Balochistan .......................... 199
Abdul Ghaffar Nadeem ........................................ 200
Education ............................................................. 201
Major Problems in Balochistan ............................ 202
Baloch in Scandinavia ......................................... 203

Selection 16:
Selection 17:
Selection 18:
Selection 19:
Selection 20:
Selection 21:
Selection 22:
Selection 23:
Selection 24:
Selection 25:
Selection 26:
Selection 27:
Selection 28:
Selection 29:
Selection 30:
Selection 31:
Selection 32:
Selection 33:
Selection 34:
Selection 35:
Selection 36:
Selection 37:
Selection 38:
Selection 39:
Selection 40:
Selection 41:
Selection 42:
Selection 43:
Selection 44:
Selection 45:
Selection 46:

Mir Gul Khan Naseer ........................................... 204

One Party for Baloch ........................................... 205
The Development of Balochistan ........................ 206
Ustad Noor Khan Bizinjo: A Bright Star of
Balochi Music....................................................... 206
Gawadar Port and Baloch ................................... 207
Employment for Mekran Youth ............................ 208
Education is our most important
National Need. ..................................................... 209
The Political Leader of Balochistan: Mir Sher
Mohammed Marri ................................................ 210
Baloch in Turkmenistan ....................................... 211
The Resources of Balochistan............................. 212
A Deaf Nation ...................................................... 213
Me and the Computer .......................................... 215
Balochi: Our sweet language............................... 216
The Rights of the Baloch in Afghanistan ............. 217
The Baloch in Kenya ........................................... 218
Syed Hashmi Reference Library.......................... 218
Aamen (The Date Harvesting Season) ............... 220
Water and Lack of Water ..................................... 221
The Miri Fort ........................................................ 221
Protecting and Caring for Pakistans Forests ...... 222
Kehn or Karez: An Irrigation System
in Balochistan ...................................................... 223
The Historic Role of Mir Nasir Khan Noori ............ 224
The Modern Age and Baloch Women ................. 225
The Donors Conference ...................................... 226
Hazar Ganji Chiltan National Park ....................... 227
Fisheries in Balochistan....................................... 228
The Social and Historical Status of
Baloch Woman .................................................... 229
Khuzdar ............................................................... 230
The History of Karachi and the Baloch ................ 231
A Lifestyle ............................................................ 232
Mehrgarh ............................................................. 233

Glossary ........................................................................................ 237

Preface
This book provides an advanced beginner or intermediate student
of Balochi with a variety of mostly Western dialect selections published in
different magazines and newspapers in Balochistan. A few selections have
been obtained from radio and television broadcasts at Television Centre
Quetta and Radio Pakistan Quetta. The selected material was published and
broadcast between 1996-2006.
The work presented in this book is divided into three parts. The
first part is a very brief sketch of Balochi grammar. Its purpose is to serve
as a brief reference for the readers. The second part consists of 46 sample
selections. The selections collected from different magazines, newspapers,
and audio/video voices represent a broad range of subjects including social
life, history, politics, economy, agriculture, nature, education, language and
literature, archaeology, industry, fisheries, and many other areas that reflect
Balochistan and Baloch society and life. The articles are reproduced mostly
as they were with the exception that obvious typical mistakes and some
structural errors have been corrected. A few lengthy articles were shortened
to better fit the need and demands of the readers. The audio and video
selections have been transcribed in the common Balochi script. An English
translation accompanies the transcriptions. A glossary follows each
selection with new words and phrases that occurred for the first time in the
selection. There are also some notes that provide information about
linguistic and cultural features related to each selection that may be unclear
to the readers. The third part of the Balochi Reader is a general glossary of
items. It is a list of words and phrases that occur in the selections. The
glossary follows Balochi alphabetical order.
I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support provided
by Tom Creamer Director Language Research Center AECOM, for
providing me with the opportunity to work on this project. Mel Deatherage
is the person from Dunwoody Press with who, besides professional
collaboration, I always worked as a personal colleague and friend.
Acknowledgements to all those at AECOM, Inc for their assistance,
especially their patience in putting up with my tardiness. This book
benefited greatly from a critical reading and editing of its English and
Balochi versions by Ms. Erin Gyomber and Dr Timothy Farrell. I would
like further to thank my team members, particularly Dr. Munir Ahmed
Baloch, Dr. R.B Raisani, Mr. Abdul Saboor Baloch, Naseebullah Baloch,
M. Tahir Baloch, Mr. Yousaf Mengal, A. Razziq, Waheed Razzaq, and Mr.
Naveed Sarparra, for their valuable devotion during the project work.
Dr. Abdul Razzaq Abdul Samad Sabir
University of Balochistan
Quetta-Pakistan
October 2010
i

The Balochi Language

Balochi is a member of the Iranian group of the Indo-European
language family. Balochi is the language of the Baloch, a mainly tribal
people, the great majority of whom live in the Balochistan province of
Pakistan. Smaller populations also live in Punjab, interior Sindh, and
Karachi Pakistan, southeast Iran in the province of Sistan-o-Balochistan,
the Helmand and Nimruz provinces of Afghanistan, the Gulf states, and
some parts of the Mari Province in Turkmenistan.
Balochi has been classified as part of the West Iranian Group of
the Iranian (Iranic) branch of the Indo-European language family. The most
related languages to Balochi from this group are Kurdish, Sughdi, Dari, and
other northwest Iranian languages, and Persian (Farsi), Pashto, Tajiki,
Ossetian, and other east Iranian languages. The number of speakers is very
difficult to estimate because there are no census figures provided by the
governments where language is spoken. The main Baloch populations are
in Pakistan and Iran and an upper estimate is seven million and a lower
estimate is four million.
The Balochi language has three major dialects, Eastern Balochi,
Western Balochi and Southern or Rakhshani Balochi. There is a noticeable
difference in infinitive verbs between the Rakhshani and Western or
Mekrani dialects.
There are probably around six million Balochi speakers around the
world, most of whom speak the Western dialect. It is worth mentioning that
this dialect has been most widely used in Balochi literature. The eastern
Balochi dialect is spoken in the northeast parts of Balochistan (Pakistan),
some parts of south Punjab, and in Sindh. The Eastern dialect is less
developed in many ways and it is most influenced by the Sindhi and Siraiki
languages spoken close to it.
Most linguists are of the opinion that Balochi was more widely
spoken in the 19th and early 20th centuries than nowadays. Especially in
Punjab and Sindh there are many people today who recognize themselves
as Baloch but speak other Indo-Arian languages like Siraiki, Sindhi, and
Punjabi. There are also Baloch both in the Gulf States and Africa who have
switched over from speaking Balochi to speaking and writing Arabic and
Swahili languages respectively.
Balochi was used only as an oral language until the post-colonial
period in Balochistan. There was no tradition of Balochi as a medium of
instruction or as a written language. The first printed book on Balochi was
written by Major E. Mockler, an Englishman, and published by Henry S.
King & Co. in 1877. Another early manuscript, a language teaching book,
was written by Kamalan Gichki, a native writer of Balochi in Mekran in the
same period. The most well-known book of its kind is M. Longworth
Dames A Textbook of the Balochi Language (grammar, dialogue,
stories, legends, poems) published in 1901 with a revised edition in 1922
ii

from Lahore. Hathu Ram, an important historian and author of many books
on Balochistan and Baloch history and an Indian official, wrote his book
Balochi Nama in Persian and Urdu at the end of the nineteenth century.
The British army officers in India learned Balochi in order to project their
power and authority over the native people.
The first institution where Balochi and Brahui were introduced as
mediums of instruction at the end of nineteenth century was the Madrasae-Durkhan, or Durkhani Religious Institution, established in 1880 near the
village of Durkhan near Dhadar (Balochistan). The efforts made by the
Madrasa-e-Durkhani can be mentioned as a literary and religious
movement for spreading religious awareness among the Baloch people
through their native languages. According to an estimate, 91 books,
including a translation of the Holy Quran in Balochi, were published here.
When we look at the status of Balochi in Iran, we can see that the
constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran 1980 clearly mentions that the
official language and script of Iran, the lingua franca of its people, is
Persian. The use of regional and national languages in the press and mass
media, however, as well as for teaching in schools the literatures written in
them, is permitted in addition to Persian. But on the ground the reality is
quietly different. At present there are no publications in the Balochi
language. A few magazines emerged after the Islamic revolution in 1979,
but, due to pressure from the authorities, these were closed down soon.
There is no provision to teach Balochi in the schools of Iranian
Balochistan. Radio Zahedan broadcasts a daily Balochi language program
from the capital of the Sistan-o-Balochistan province, Zahedan. Many
Baloch in Iran are concerned about the strong Persian influence on Balochi,
as all education takes place in Persian and Balochi are rapidly adopting the
Persian language.
There are countries, including Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan, and the Arab Gulf states, in which Balochi is spoken, but it
is considered neither an official language nor a medium of instruction for
Balochi-speaking areas. In Pakistan in 1989, the government of Nawab
Akbar Khan Bugti in Balochistan adopted the use of Balochi as the medium
of primary education in the province until the desolation of his government
in 1992. At present, courses in Balochi language and literature are offered
at colleges in Balochistan and at the University of Balochistan in Quetta at
the degree and masters levels. There are also several Balochi newspapers
and magazines published in Balochi in Pakistan. The Balochi Academy
Quetta, however, receives limited government funding and is working on
various profile-raising projects on Balochi including a Standard Balochi
Dictionary. The radio stations at Quetta, Turbat, and Khuzdar broadcast in
Balochi. Besides Pakistan, Radio Iran Zahedan, Radio Kabul and New
Delhi also broadcast Balochi programs. Balochi programs are telecast from
Television Centre, Quetta, and Kabul, but a separate private Balochi
television channel is the need of the hour.
iii

Balochi Grammar
Phonology
The phonetic system of Balochi is characterized by a phoneme
inventory consisting of eight vowels, (five long A, I, U, E, O, and three
short a, i, u), two diphthongs ( ai and au ) and twenty-five native
consonants. A reasonable number of loan sounds are also present. Among
the vowels, a long/short distinction exists and is contrastive in the
language. The use of retroflex articulations is a characteristic property of
the Balochi sound system influenced by the Indio Aryan languages of
India.
Vowels
Front

Central

Closed

ee i, ()

Half closed

Back
oo ) (u
o

Half open

Open

aa

Affricates
Nasals

Lateral
approximants

Trill
Retroflex trill

Approximants

(semi-vowels)

iv

Glottal

Fricatives

Uvular

Velar

Palatal

Alveolar

Postalveolar

Labio-dental

Stops

Bilabial

Consonants

In Balochi, the retroflex phonemes are borrowed from neighboring

Indian languages. The nazal phoneme /n/ is found only in Eastern
Balochi. The phonemes // , // , and // are found in Western Balochi as
in loan words. The phoneme // is found only in learned pronunciation.
While the Arabic phonemes // ,// ,// ,/ / ,// ,//, and // are not
found in Balochi, but are present in the orthography in Arabic and Persian
loan words.

Morphology
Noun
The formation of Balochi nouns corresponds closely with Persian.
Balochi has two numbers singular, and plural, and four cases. There is no
grammatical gender or historical stem in Balochi. Noun inflection is given
below for mard man.
Singular

Plural

Nominative

mard ( man)

Mard

( men)

Genitive

marde ( mans)

mardaanee

( mens)

Accusative/dative

mardaa ( to man)

mardaan

( to men)

Oblique

mardaa ( to man)

mardaan

( to men)

Adjectives
All adjectives in the attributive position must take the suffix /en/. The attributive adjectives take / en/ and precede the noun they
qualify.
peeren mard
washen naa

the old man

delicious dates

The predicative adjectives do not take / en/.

aa mard shar na int
e janik shar int

That man is not good.

This girl is good.

Comparative adjectives in Balochi are made by adding the endings

- tir and - tiren to the positive form. However, adjectives in the
positive can also be used for comparison.
v


My pen is the best of all
manee

kalam

sha

drustaan

shartir

int

my
pen
from
(nom.sg.)
(obl.pl)

all
best
is
(positive)
(pres.ind.3p.sg)

bachak

sha

jinik

mastir

int

boy

from

girl

elder

is

The interrogative adjectives are /

: chunt/ how many /
chinkas/ how much. The main quantity adjectives are / baaz/ many,
several; / cheezen/ few, a little, some; / or / all, all of;
/ kam/ little, few.

Pronouns
The personal pronouns have the following forms.
lst person

2nd person

3rd person

Nominative

man

tau (ta)

aa

Genitive

manee(maee,minee)

tahee(tee)

aahee

taraa

aa, aairaa

tau,ta,to

aahee

Singular

Accusative/dative
Oblique

manaa
man

Plural
Nominative

maa

shumaa

aa

Genitive

maee
maaraa

shumae,shumee
shumaaraa

aawaanee

Accusative/dative
Oblique

maa

shumaa

aawaan

aawaanaa

There is no third person pronoun. The demonstrative pronouns are

used in its place. The demonstrative pronouns have the following forms.
The proximate demonstrative pronouns are:

vi

Singular

Plural

Nominative

e or esh

eshaan

Genitive

eshee

eshaanee

Oblique

eshee

eshaan

The remote demonstrative pronouns are:

Nominative
Genitive
Accusative/dative
Oblique

aa
aahee
aaheearaa
aayaa

aayaan
aayaanee
aawaanaaraa
aayaan

Interrogative pronouns

che (what)

kay (who)

kujaam (which)

The verb system in Balochi

Verbal categories in Balochi are person, number, tenses, mood,
and voices. Persons are first, second, and third. Numbers are singular and
plural. Tenses are present, past, and future. There are two voices, active and
passive and the moods are indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.
Negation in Balochi is expressed with the help of the prefixial
particle /na / with the verb while the negative prefix /ma / is used in
the imperative and the subjunctive. The modal imperative prefix is /bi /
or /pi /, but this prefix is dropped in the compound verbs.

Personal endings
The personal endings in Balochi for present tense are:
1
2
3

Singular
een
ay
t

Plural
an
it
ant

( I do)
( You do)
( He/She do)

( We do)
( You do)
( They do)

The personal endings in Balochi for preterit tenses are:

1
2
3

Singular
un
ay
Zero

( I did)
( You did)
( He/She did)
vii

Plural
an
it
ant

( We did)
( You did)
( They did)

The verbal system of Balochi, like that of other Iranian languages,

is based on two stems, present and past. The present tense is formed by
present stem + personal endings.

(He does)
(I eat food)
(We go)

Imperative
The imperative in Balochi is used only in the second person
singular and plural. The modal imperative prefix is /bi / or /pi /, but
this prefix is dropped in the compound verbs.

pikan
buzoor

(do)
(take)

Compound verbs
Compound verbs in Balochi are formed from nouns, adjectives, or
adverbs plus the colorless verbs like knang (to do) or boohag (to
become), for example.

hisab kanag
tawaar kanag
bahaa kanag

(to count)
(to call)
(to sell)

In the Rakhshani dialect, instead of kanag, kurtin, and

boohag butin is used.

Syntax
Word order in Balochi, like in many other Indo-Iranian languages, is
Sub + Obj + Verb (SOV). The order between direct and indirect object is also
quite free, the more emphasized object preceding the other one for example.
The verbal system of the language is comprised of two voices (active and
passive), four moods (indicative, interrogative, imperative, and subjunctive),
and two tenses (past and present/future. Morphologically, there is no formal
distinction between present and future forms in all verb forms with the singular
exception of the copula to be), and two aspects (perfect, imperfect/
continuative). Verbs agree with their subjects in person and number. Complex
or so-called light verb constructions are productive in the language. In this
construction, a nominal, adjectival, or verbal element is followed by an
auxiliary verb such as come, become, do, etc.
viii

Data

zarr

Taraa

biraat

Manee

gave

money

You

brother

My

(gen.sg.)

(nom.pl.)

(dat.sg.)

(nom.sg.)

(gen.sg.)

Orthography
Balochi has a very short writing system history. Prior to the 19th
century, Balochi was an unwritten language. The British introduced Balochi in
written form during the 19th century with a Roman script. In the late 19th
century, a substantial sect of scholars adopted the Naskh or Arabic script, thus
dividing the language community. Today, there is no standard orthography and
every school of thought has its own pattern, but among all these a standard
orthography is also coming out. In Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan, Balochi is
written using the Arabic/Urdu orthography. The Roman script is widely
employed by Balochi speakers outside these countries.

ix

Abbreviation Used in the Reader

Grammar
Adj
Adv
Conj
Interj
Inf
Imp
N
Prep
Pron
V

Adjective
Adverb
Conjunction
Interjection
Infinitive
Imperative
Noun
Preposition
Pronoun
Verb

Languages
A
Br
E
P
Pash
U

Arabic
Brahui
English
Persian
Pashto
Urdu

The Balochi Alphabet

aa or
a
b
p
t
th or t
s
j

See also vowels.

See also vowels.

ch or

h
kh or x
d
dh or
z
r

Found only in Arabic loanwords.

Found only in Arabic loanwords.

rh,
z
zh or
s
sh and
s
zh or
t
z
h
gh or
f
q
k
g
l
m
n

Found only in Arabic loanwords.

Found only in Arabic loanwords.
Found only in Arabic loanwords.
Found only in Arabic loanwords.
Found only in Arabic loanwords.

Found only in Arabic loanwords.

Represents a preceding nasalized

vowel.
xi

v
h
h

) or i, a, o)
ee or
y/i

See also vowels.

See also vowels.
See also vowels.
See also vowels.
See also vowels.

In Balochi orthography, Arabic letters with the same sounds in

Balochi are represented by different symbols; therefore, the reader can
relate the phonemic transcription with the Arabic/Balochi script with out a
problem.
1.

/t/ Represents , and .

2.

/h/ Represents , , and .

3.

/s/ Represents , , and .

4.

/z/ Represents , , , and .

xii

Sources of Readings
1

Balochi labzank Hub-Balochistan, March-April, 2000, p. 6-7.

Chagird Quetta, September, 2004, p. 2.

Balochi Labzank Hub, Balochistan June-July, 1990, p. 24-25.

Balochi Zind Nushki, March, 2005, p. 5.

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, June-July, 1990, p. 24-25.

Balochi Quetta-Balochistan. p. 33-35.

Balochi Zind Nushki, September, 2005, p. 5-6.

Balochi Zind Nushki, October, 2005, p. 5-6.

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 2 November, 2005, p. 2.

10

Balochi Quetta, February, 2004, p. 6.

11

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 26 November, 2005, p. 3.

12

Balochi Zind Nushki, June, 2005, p. 4.

13

Kech Turbat, Degree College Turbat 1993, p. 12.

14

Balochi Zind Nushki, July, 2005, pp. 41-42.

15

Balochi Quetta Balochistan, December 1999, p. 33-34.

16

Balochi Zind Nushki, November, 2003, p. 21-23.

17

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 6 September, 2005, p. 3.

18

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 2 November, 2005, p. 2.

19

Chagird Quetta-Pakistan, August, 2003, p. 16-17.

20

Balochi Zind Nushki-Pakistan, March, 2005, p. 38-40.

21

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta-Pakistan, 12 July, 2005, p. 3.

22

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, July-August, 1991, p. 67-68.

23

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 24 October, 2005, p. 2.

24

Balochi Zind Nushki-Pakistan, January, 2002, p. 8.

25

Balochi Quetta, February, 2004, p. 26-27.

26

Balochi Quetta, February, 2004, p. 5.

27

Balochi Quetta, June, 1999, p. 19-20.

28

Balochi Quetta, December, 2003, p. 5.

29

Balochi Zind Nushki-Pakistan, January, 2002, p. 35-36.

30

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, Sep-Oct ,1994, p. 62-64.

xiii

31

Nidkaar Gawadar, August, 2005 p. 21-22.

32

Saarten Sameen Turbat-Balochistan, September, 2002, p. 25-26.

33

Balochi Quetta, February, 2004, p. 25-26.

34

Balochi Quetta, January, 1994, p. 46-48.

35

Ulus February-March, 1985, p. 25-26.

36

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, August, 1991, p. 71-72.

37

Balochi Zind August, 2005, p. 38-39.

38

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, June-July, 1990, p. 26-27.

39

Nawa-i-Watan Quetta, 19 November, 2005, p. 2.

40

Qadam ba Qadam PTV Quetta Center, 3 January, 2006, 1630 Pm.

41

Sachaan PBC Quetta, 2 August, 2005, 1630.Pm Voice:

Muhammad Tahir

42

Balochi Labzank Hub-Balochistan, June-July, 1990, p. 24-25.

43

Ulus Balochi, Quetta, July, 1984, pp. 20-22.

44

Balochi Labzank Hub, July-August, 1991, p. 29-31.

45

Balochi Zind Nushki-Balochistan, January, 2002, p. 12-13.

46

Qadam ba Qadam PTV Quetta Center, 10 January, 2006, 1930

Pm.

xiv

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Quetta. Balochi Academy, Sariab Road.
Ahmedzai Baloch Mir Naseer. 1988. English/Urdu/Balochi Brahui
Bolchaal Quetta. Balochi Academy, Sariab Road.
Dames, M.Longworth. 1922. A Textbook of the Balochi Language. Punjab.
Superintendent Government Printing Press.
Jahani Carina. The Balochi Language. Encyclopedia of the Worlds Major
Languages.
J.H. Elfenbein. 1980. THE BALUCHI LANGUAGE a dialectology with
text. Karachi. Indus Publications.
Josef Elfenbein, Mainz. 1989. Baloi. Compendium Linguarum
Iranicarum, Herausgegeben von Rdiger Schmitt. Edited by Wiesbaden. p.
350-362.
M.A.R. Barker and A.K. Mengal. 1969. A Course in Baluchi Vol. l-ll.
Montreal.
Mumtaz Ahmed. 1985. BALOCHI GLOSSARY. Maryland, USA.
Dunwoody Press/Kensington.
Serge Axenov. 2006. The Balochi Language of Turkmenistan. UppsalaSweden. Uppsala Universitet.
Tetsuo, NAWATA. 1981. BALUCHI. Tokyo. Institute for the Study of
Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, Tokyo University of Foreign
Studies.
Magazines, journals, newspapers and voice sources/references
Daily Nawa-i-Watan. Quetta-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Kech. Degree College Turbat magazine.
Balochi Labzank. Hub-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Balochi. Quetta-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Balochi Zind. Nushki-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Chagird. Quetta-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Nidkar. Gawadar-Balochistan.
Saarten Sameen. Turbat-Balochistan, Pakistan.
Ulus. Balochi Quetta- Pakistan.
Saachaan. Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation Quetta Centre.
Qadam-pa-qadam. Pakistan Television Quetta Centre.
xv

Selections

Selection One

Selection 1

Vocabulary
(V) To exploit; to

(N) Human being; person; man.

(Pron) To the.
(Pron) To them.
To him.
(Pron) To him/her.
(Pl) To them.
; (A)(N) Exploitation

acquire.

(N) School.
; (N) The Almighty Allah
God.

; (V) We hope; we expect

we trust.
; (N) Hope; expectation
trust.

acquisition.

Selection One
or( N) To be a

parts of Afghanistan and the

Gulf states and elsewhere.
( V-Past) Became; occurred.
( Inf) To become; to occur.
( V) Should be; may be.
( Inf) To become; to occur.
( V-inf) To open; to untie; to
unfold; to reveal; to display; to
expose.
( N) Open; surface; to
disclose.
( N) Dresses; clothes;
costumes.
( N) Cloth.
( Adj) Fifty.
( Adj) Fifty-two.
( Prep) For; in order to.
( Prep) Why.
Because; that is why.
( N) History; era; date.
( N) Chapter; a page; a leaf.
( N) Chapter; page; leaf;
issue.
( N) Development; change.
( N)
Development; prosperity;
change.
( A)(Adj) All; entire; whole;
complete; finish; all over the.
( A)(N) Education; knowledge.
( Prep) In; inside; within; among; at.
( N) Woman; female.
( N) Woman; female.
Also
( N)(RB) Woman; female.
( N) Female; a lady;
womenfolk.
Ladies; women;
womenfolk.
( V) He/she may struggle.
( Inf) To struggle; to
try; to attempt; to labor; to
make an effort.
( Prep) From; by; of; out of.
( A)(N) Right(s); true; justice;
claim.
( Pl) Rights; claim.
( P)(N) God; Almighty Allah.

candidate; to expect.
( V-Inf) To hope; to
expect; to trust.
( N) Expectations; hopes.
( N) Expectation
( N) Wish.
( V) Is.
( V)(Pl) Are.
( V) Make together; may
collect.
( Adv) Together; with;
along with; side by side; mix
( N) Union; alliance;
collection.
( Inf) To make
together; to collect; to mix.
( Adj) First; firstly.
( N) First time; for the
first time.
( Pron) This; these.
( Pron) That; those.
( N) Madam (title for respected
lady).
( Adv) Must; it is necessary.
( V) Will keep; will hold; will
take.
(Inf) To keep; to put; to
hold; to take.
( N) Time; moment; turn.
( Adj) Continue; alive.
( Inf) To keep alive;
to retain; to continue.
( V-Fut) Will keep
alive; retain; will continue.
( Adv) You know; that is; to say.
( Inf) To know.
( V) May keep; may do.
( Inf) To do; to keep.
( N) Baloch.
( N)(Pl) Balochs.
( N)(Sing) Baloch.
( N) Balochistan.
( N) Balochi; an Iranian
language spoken in Pakistani
Balochistan, Sindh; Punjab;
Iranian Balochistan, and some

Selection One
( A)(Adv) Particularly;

( V-Past) Reached; arrived;

specially.

came.

( Adj) Particular;

( Inf) To reach; to

special; noble; proper; secret.

( V) They keep; they expect;
they put.
( Inf) To keep; to expect;
to put.
( P)(N) Daughter of.
( N) Daughter.
( N) Request.
( Inf) To request;
to submit.
( N) Hand.
( N) Close.
( N) Blessing; pray; wish.
( Inf) To pray; to bless.
( N) World; globe; wealth. See
also
.
( Adj) Two.
( N) Customs; traditions;
culture.
( V-Inf) To give; to present.
( V-Past) Gave.
( N) Gift; revenge; praise.
( V-Inf) To bring forward.
( N) Front; face.
( Inf) To to put forward; to
bring; to carry over; to make.
( N) Area; land; territory;
country; region.
( V-Past) Arrived; reached;
found;
( Inf) To arrive; to reach;
to gained; achieved; find; to
gain; to get; to be available.
( V) I/We know.
( Inf) To know; to be
aware.
( N) Language; tongue.
( N) Zubaida Jalal (the
former education Minister of
Pakistan).
( Adj) Alive; living.
( N) Life.
( N) Year.

arrive; attained; to come; to

attain.
( A)(N) Department; section;
branch.
( Adj) Provincial.
( N) Province; state.
( A)(N) Need; demand;
compulsion.
( N) Necessary;
imperative; want; necessity;
compulsory.
( A)(Adj) Poor; needy.
( N) Poverty; lowliness.
( V) Nations.
( Sing) Nation; tribe.
( Adj) Happy; successful;
satisfied.
( N) Success; happiness;
prosperity.
( Adj) Smaller; little;
younger.
( Adj) Small; little; young.
( V) We make; we do.
( Inf) To do; to make.
( Rel-Pron) That; which; who.
(Conj) Because; as; if.
( Adv) Step by step;
degrees.
( N) Foot; step; every step;
slowly.
( N) Talk; saying; news.
( Inf) To talk; to
speech; say; to speak.
( Adj) Pleasure; happy;
gladness.
( V-Past) Listened.
( N) Ear.
( V-Inf) To listen; to
watch.
( Prep) With; together; in the
possession of; accompanying.
( N) Development; change;
prosperity.

Selection One
( N) Loot; robbing of; havoc.
( V) To loot.
( V) To devastation; snatch.
( Pron) We.
(Pron) I.
( Adj) Mothers; ancestral.
( N) Mother (in Eastern

unwilling; displeased; angry;

displeasure; discontent.
( P)(N) Representation;
deputation.
or ( N) Agent;
representative.
( V-Past) Has been
written.
( Inf) To write.
( N) Writing; luck;
fortune.
( Adj) New; modern; recent;
fresh.
( Adj) Old; conservative.
( V) Not become; not occur.
( Past) Became; occurred.
( N) Middle rank; middle
class.
( N) Middle; center; interval.
(Prep) During; between; in the
course of.
( Adj) Central; middle;
medium.
( N) Rank; group.
( Conj) Then; rather; but; on the
other hand.
( Prep) For; cause; for the sake
of; reason; in order to.
( N) Reading places;
schools.
( Sing) Reading place;
school.
( Inf) To read.
( N) Place; general place.
( Pron) Ones self;
herself/himself.
( Pron&Adj) His/her; its; self;
ones own; personal; belonging
to self.
( N) Ministry.
( N) Minister.
( N) Good news.
( N) Happy; happiness;
good; pleasure; gladness;
delight.
( N) Haal (a traditional
Balochi style of exchanging
news with guests, newcomers
and strangers).

Balochi). traditional. See also

.
( N) Mother tongues;
native languages.
( N) Tongue; language;
promise.
( N)(Sing) Mother
tongue.
( V-Inf) To remember; to
take along; to accept.
( N) Schools; religious
schools.
( Sing) School; religious
institutions; religious school.
( N) People; human beings.
People; man; human
being.
( Adj) Bigger; larger; huge.
( N) Big thing; main
thing; important thing.
( Adj) Big; large; huge.
( Adj) Ministry; leadership;
headship.
( Adj) Big; large; huge;
elder; rich; old; superior.
( Adj) Bigger; larger; greater;
elder
( Adj) Big; large; great;
elder.
( N) Country; homeland.
( A)(N) Designation; rank;
status.
( V) Let him/her not do.
( Inf) To do; to make.
( N) People; folk; mankind.
( Pron) Our.
( Pron)(Sing) My; mine.
( N) Small town; village; camp.
( Adj) Disappoint;
dissatisfied.
( N) Disappointment;

Selection One
( Adj) Federal; central.
( N) Federation; center.
( Adv) Any; at all; at any time;

( Prep) On: over; upon; on the; at; a

participle affixed to the name of
the agent with a transitive verb
in the past tense.
( Prep) Of; of the; belonging (to).
( Pl) Of them; concerning;
adjectival termination.
( Conj) And. See also and
( Adj) One; a; single.

never.
( Adv) At any time; never.
( Adv) Anyone; anybody.
( Adv) Anytime.
( Adj) Every; any; each; all.
( Pron) That; those.
( Adv) Also; too; even; as well as;
as well; moreover.

Notes
1. ( N) A well-educated and dynamic lady from a far-flung area of
Mekran, Balochistan. She is well-known for her social mobilization and educational
reforms in the country, particularly in Mekran. She was Federal Minister of
Education during the years 2002-2004 and she is now Federal Minister for
Pakistans Special Education.
2. ( N) The Persian word used for daughter and e is a preposition that
means of. The complete term means daughter of Balochistan.
3. ( Fifty-two) In Balochi, a digit within a decade is expressed by the word
for the decade + the connective // and + the digit, e.g, ( forty-four);
( eighty-three). Multiples such as hundred and thousand are indicated by
the digit denoting the multiple + the larger unit. For example
( three lac sixty-two thousand nine hundred fifty-six).
4. ( Adj) Big thing or big news. In Balochi the attributive adjectives take
the suffix and precede the noun they qualify, e.g, the old man or the
prominent man, the red water.
5. For the first time. Ordinal numerals are formed by the addition of the
suffix / / to the numeral stem. There are only three irregularities. a) First is
expressed by a completely separate word derived from the Persian . b)
First after a decade is expressed by the decade + /w . c) The stem / / two
has an alternate form / / before / / e.g. / / second.
6. Like in Persian, God is called in Balochi with a phonetic change of into .
The Southern Balochi dialect does not have , thus, they say for the Persian
word .
7. In Balochi or mothers means traditional and
means dress or dresses. The combined meaning of the word is ancestral;
traditional; cultural.
8. Request with folded hands. / or / means hands and / /
folded. Together they mean to make a sincere request.

Selection One
9. ( N) News. A traditional Balochi style to welcome wherein the newcomer
or stranger to a home or village is asked to state his purpose and tell his travel story.
In exchange, an elder will tell him the latest news or event. According to Baloch
tradition, if a host does not do this, he does not care about his guest.
10. RB, The Rakhshani Dialect of Balochi spoken in the Western region of
Balochistan.
11. EB; EHB, The Eastern Hill Dialect of Balochi spoken in Eastern Balochistan.

Selection Two

Selection 2

Logo

Selection Two

Vocabulary
( V) Comforts; facilities.
( Adj) Prosperity; comfort;

( Adj) Various; many; most of

the; numerous; too much; high;
huge; more.
( Adv) Only; enough; finish.
( Inf) To finish; to stop.
( Conj) But; yet; however.
( N) Start; beginning; opening.
( Inf) To start; to launch;
to begin; to open; to inaugurate.
( Adj) Inaugural.
( V) Would be.
( Inf) To be.
( N) Center; meeting point;
center (of a circle).
( Adj) Opening; inaugural.
( Adj) Opening
session; inaugural session;
opening ceremonies.
( N) Opening; inauguration.
( N) Inaugural
session; opening ceremony.
( N) Base; route.
( V) Have been; have been
made.
( Inf) To be.
( V) They have been.
( Inf) To be.
( Adj) Better; good; very good.
( V) They will take part.
( N) Part; share.
( Inf) To participate.
( V) It/This will be.
( Inf) To be.
( N) Flag; little flags made of
paper or cloth.
( Adj) Twenty
) 29th) Twentyninth. Twenty. EB .

rich; well-to-do; wealthy.

( Pron) That; his/her/its.
( Prep) From.
( N) Leader; guide.
( N) Religious scholar;
mullah.
( N) Expectation(s).
It is expected that.
( V) We expect.
( Inf) To expect.
( N) Hope; expectation. See also
or .
( V) Are; have been.
( A)(N) Management;
administration; arrangements;
organization.
( N) Management;
administration.
( A)(N) Management;
arrangements; organization;
administration.
( Adj) Human; humanitarian.
( N-Adj) Human
civilization.
( N) Human being.
( Pron) This; it.
( Pron) Its; of these.
( Pron) This; its.
( N) Ayub Khan (president of
Pakistan from 1958-1968).
( N)Ayub Stadium
(the main stadium in Quetta
named after Ayub Khan.
Stadium is also known as
Nauroz Stadium).
( Prep) Regard; connection.

Selection Two
( N) Distinction; logo;

( V-Inf) To arrange; to keep.

( Inf) To organize; to

identification.
( N) Monogram; sign
of distinction; logo.
( N) Arrival.
( Inf) To reach; to arrive.
( V-Inf) To prove; to clear; to
disclose.
( E)(N) Program(s).
( E)(N) P.T (Physical
Training/exercise) show.
( Adj) Fully. See also
( Adj) Complete; full.
( Prep) Till; to; up to; until.
( N) Preparation.
( Inf) To be alert; to
be prepared; to be ready (for).
( Adj) Ready; finished;
complete.
( N) Arrangements.
( N)(Sing) Arrangement.
( N) Civilization.
( A)(Adj) Cultural.
( N) Culture.
( N) Jaam; a tribal title of the
former rulers of the Lasbela
State in Balochistan.
( Adj) Wild; forests.
( N) Forest; jungle.
( N) Banner; flag.
( Adj) Four.
( Adj) All four.
( Adj) Four.
( Adj) Fourth.
( Adj) Special; particular;
main.
( Prep) For.
( N) Efforts; services.
( A)(N) Truth; fact; reality;
condition.
( N) Government.
( N) Expenditure;
expenses.
( Inf) To spend.
( N) Care; look after;
preservation.

arrange; to keep.

( V) Will be kept; will be

held.

( N) Show.
( N) World; globe. See also
( N) World; globe.
( Adj) Custom;
traditional; cultural.
( N) Custom;
tradition; culture. See also
.
( N) Period; times; era.
( Adj) Two; both.
( V-Past) Has been
taken; has been
( Inf) To take; to catch;
caught.
( N) Beauty.
( V-Inf) To arrange; to
launch.
( N) Time; occasion.
( Adv) Presently;
forthwith.
( N) Day; sun; daylight.
( N) Animals.
( N) Animal.
( V-Inf) To compete; to
complete; to
( N) Completion; finish;
finish; to perform;
performance.
( N) Perfectness;
completeness.
( Inf) To complete; to
accomplish; to finish.
( A)(N) Due to; reason; cause.
( N) September.
( E)(N) Stadium; playground.
( Adj) Entire; whole; all
around; perfect; complete.
( Pl) Heads.
( N)(Sing) Head; end;
corner.
( V) To decorate; to arrange
in order.

Selection Two
( N) Victory; success;

( V) They make; they will

conquest.
( N) Day; sun; victory;
success; conquest.
( N) Morning; daylight;
( N) Morning and
night; success; continuously;
regularly.
( N) Entertainment;
happiness.
( N) Evening; night.
( N) Night; evening; dark.
( N) Day and night;
continuously.
( Adj) Better; second degree of
( Adj) Good; very good.
( Adj) Six.
( N) Editorial (Balochi
newspapers and magazines use
this combined word for
editorial. ( A)(N)
Development; promotion;
advancement; increase;
progress.
( N) Word; poetic verses.
( N) City; town.
( N) Thing(s); article(s).
( Adj) Hundred.
( N)(Pl) Provinces.
( N)(Sing) Province.
( Adj) National.
( N) National level.
( N) Success; victory.
( V) They will come.
( Inf) To come.
( N) Level; measurement.
( Adj) Level;
standard.
( V-Past) Have done; did;
made.
( Inf) To do; to make.
( Adj) Shortage; lack of.
( V)(Pl) Committees.
( Sing) Committee.
( V) He/she/it does; it can.
( Inf) To do; to make.
( V-Inf) To do; to make.

make;
( Inf) To do; to make; do;
will do.
( N) Labor; hard work;
( V-Inf) To make
an effort; work hard; to make
an effort; labor.
( N) Labor and
hard work.
( N) Quetta (the capital of
Balochistan).
( Adj) Mountainous.
( N) Mountain sheep.
( Adj) Most ancient; very
old.
( Adj) Old; ancient.
( N-Adj) Ancient
civilization.
( N) Estimate; approximate.
( Adj) Last; end; after.
( Adv) In the end; at least; at
length.
( N) Sheep.
( V) They will catch; they will
( V) Participate; take
part.
( V-Inf) To participate.
( V-Inf) To see; to watch; to
look; to wait.
( N) Games; sports.
( Adj) Past; previous;
ancient; old.
( N) Past time;
previous times; ancient period.
( E)(N) Logo; monogram; sign
of distinction.
( A)(N) Game; sports.
( Pl) Games
( Sub) Player.
Of the games.
( N) Games.
( Pl) Games
( Sub) Player; athlete.
( N) Player(s).
( N) Athletes.
( Sub) Player; athlete.
( E)(N) Level.

10

Selection Two
( V) They stay; they will stay;

( N) Gathering; function;

they retain; they will retain.

( N) Departments.
( N)(Sing) Department.
( N) Muhammad Yousaf
(the former Chief Minister of
Balochistan).
( N) Gathering; function;
ceremony.
( N) Male; man. (Adj) Hero;
brave and strong man.
( A)(Adj) Famous; wellknown; noted.
( Adj) Famous; wellknown; noted.
( N) Renown; famous;
rumor.
( A)(N) Competition; contest;
( Inf) To compete;
confrontation; facing; to face.
( N) Mehrgarh (a 9,000 yearold Neolithic archaeological
site in Balochistan).
( Adj) Hosting;
entertaining.
( N) Guest.
( N) Host; entertainer.

ceremony.

( N) Name; famous; publicity.

( Adj) Nine.
( Adj) Ninth.
( Adj) Nine.
( N) Side; corner; direction.
( N) Everywhere.
( Conj) And.
( N) Sir; Mr; respected; His
Excellency.

( N) Waiting; looking out for.

( Inf) To expect; to
await; to look out for.

( N) Chief Minister (of a

province).

( N) Word; saying; talk; subject;

matter; news; point.
( Inf) To say; to talk.
( N) Services; duties;
functions.
( N) Service; duty.
( Adj) Thousand.
( Pron) This; it.
( Conj) Or; either.

Notes
1. ( N) Quetta is the capital city and headquarters of the Balochistan province
of Pakistan. The old name of the city was Shalkot. The Baloch and Brahui tribes
living in and around the city call it Shalkot even today.
2. ( N) Games, of the. Balochi has a three case system, all with singular and
plural, direct, genitive, and oblique. The genitive plural ending is /ee / from
(Games) ( Games, of the).
3. ( N) is a Balochi construction that means inauguration or opening, but
in Balochi means root and or ( Inf) means to put. The word for
meaning of the word is to put the root and it has the general meaning of
opening or inauguration.
4. In Balochi, sometimes a compound noun is constructed by two words with the
same meaning in different languages, one being Balochi and the other from a
neighboring language such as Arabic, Persian, or Urdu. For example, ( N)
level; standard. in Balochi sometimes means measurement, distance, and
space, while means estimate. When these words are joined with , the
combined word means level, standard. The same thing happens with

11

Selection Two
which means success, but is from Urdu and Persian while
is the original Balochi word meaning success.
5. ( Mehrgarh) is a 9,000 year-old Neolithic archaeological site near Bolan
Pass (Balochistan) that contains the signs of an old civilization of South Asia. The
discoveries at Mehrgarh near Sibi at the foot of the Bolan Pass have proved beyond
any doubt that a well-developed agricultural system existed here as far back as
7,000 BC. The domestication of animals is also thought to have begun in Mehrgarh.
6. Another artifact worth mentioning is a stamp with a rising sun on it which was
also discovered by French archaeologists at Mehrgarh. This sun is popular in
Balochistan which is why it was selected as the logo of the 29th National Games at
Quetta in 2004.

12