Dameli

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A language of Pakistan

ISO 639-3
dml
Alternate Names
Damedi, Damel, Damia, Damiabaasha, Gidoji, Gudoji
Population

5,000 (Cacopardo and Cacopardo 2001), increasing.

Location

Kunar river east side, south Chitral district, south of Drosh, Damel valley. 4 main and several smaller villages.

Language Maps
Language Status

6a (Vigorous).

Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Northwestern zone, Dardic, Kunar
Dialects

2 groups: Shinteri-Dondideri and Swati-Aspar, but no significant dialect variation. Lexical similarity: 44% with Gawar-Bati [gwt], Savi [sdg], and Palula [phl]; 33% with Kamviri [xvi]; 29% with Kati [bsh].

Language Use

Vigorous. Home, community. All ages. Most adult men, and many women, are bilingual in a Pashto variety. Some also use Khowar [khw] or Shekhani [xvi].

Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 0%. Urdu [urd] is used in schools. Poetry.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Dameli
Other Comments

Speakers probably of mixed origin. Language influenced by Nuristani languages. Muslim (Sunni).