View source for Hindko

{{Short description|Indo-Aryan language spoken in Pakistan}}
{{For|the people|Hindkowans|Hazarewal}} 
{{Distinguish|Hindki}}
{{pp-move-indef|small=yes}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Hindko
| altname          = 
| nativename       = {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ہندکو}}}}
| image            = Hindko.svg
| imagescale       = 0.5
| imagecaption     = ''Hindko'' in [[Shahmukhi alphabet|Shahmukhi]]
| states           = [[Languages of Pakistan|Pakistan]]
| region           = [[Hazara Division]], [[Peshawar]], [[Kohat]], [[Pothohar Plateau]]
| speakers         = 5{{ndash}}7 million
| date             = 2017{{ndash}}2020
| ref              = <ref name=e26hno/>
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
| fam3             = [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
| fam4             = [[Northwestern Indo-Aryan languages|Northwestern]]
| fam5             = [[Punjabi dialects and languages|Punjabi]]
| fam6             = [[Lahnda]]
| dia1             = Peshawari
| dia2             = [[Kohati]]
| dia3             = [[Awankari dialect|Awankari]], [[Ghebi]], [[Chacchi]]
| dia4             = Hazara Hindko
| dia5             = 
| script           = [[Shahmukhi alphabet|Shahmukhi]]
| lc1              = hnd
| ld1              = Southern Hindko
| lc2              = hno
| ld2              = Northern Hindko
| glotto           = hind1271
| glottorefname    = Hindko
| map              = Hindko-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg
| mapcaption       = The proportion of people with Hindko as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]
| ethnicity        = [[Punjabis]] and [[Pashtuns]]{{efn|collectively referred to as ''[[Hindkowans]]''}} <!-- Do not add Hindkowans as ethnicity as it is a term to refer to the ethnicities, collectively, and not an ethnicity on its own -->
}}
[[File:Zaeem speaking Hindko.MTS.webm|thumb|A Hindko speaker.]]
'''Hindko''' ({{lang|hno|{{Nastaliq|ہندکو}}}}, <small>romanized:</small> {{transliteration|hno|Hindko}}, {{IPA|ur|ˈɦɪndkoː|IPA}}) is a cover term for a diverse group of [[Lahnda]] dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern [[Languages of Pakistan|Pakistan]], primarily in the province of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and northwestern regions of [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]].<ref>For the heterogeneity of the dialects, see {{harvtxt|Rensch|1992|p=53}}; {{harvtxt|Masica|1991|pp=18–19}}; {{harvtxt|Shackle|1980|p=482|ps=: the term ''Hindko'' is a "collective label" which "embraces dialects of very different groups, not all of which are even geographically contiguous."}}. For the ethnic diversity, see {{harvtxt|Rensch|1992|pp=10–11}}</ref>

The name "Hindko" means "the Indian language" or "language of Hind",{{efn|"Indian" here refers to the historic meaning of India as the northern Indian subcontinent, which was known as ''[[Hindustan]]'' or ''[[Names_for_India#Hind_.2F_Hindustan|Hind]]'', the word from which the term "Hindko" is derived.<ref name="Venkatesh2019"/><ref name="West2010">{{cite book |last1=West |first1=Barbara A. |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania |date=2010 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=9781438119137 |page=285 |language=English |quote=The term ''Hindko'' as used in Pakistan refers to speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the primarily Iranian Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The origins of the term refer merely to "Indian speaking" rather than to any particular ethnic group.}}</ref><ref name="Sumra1992">{{cite book |last1=Sumra |first1=Mahar Abdul Haq |title=The Soomras |date=1992 |publisher=Beacon Books |page=36 |language=English |quote=The India of the ancient times extended from the Hindukush (Hindu meaning Indian, Kush meaning Koh or a mountain)... Apart from the names of places and streams there are many other words also which have 'Hind' as their adjectival parts. ... Hindko (the language of Peshawar and Abbotabad), Hindwana (water-melon), Indi maran (a wrestling skill), Hindvi (language other than Persian and Arabic spoken or written by locals) etc.}}</ref>}}{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=482}}<ref name="Venkatesh2019"/><ref name="Jaffrelot2004">{{cite book |author1=[[Christophe Jaffrelot]] |title=A History of Pakistan and Its Origins |date=2004 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=9781843311492 |language=English |quote=''Hindko'' could mean 'Indian language' as opposed to Pashto, which belongs to the Iranian group.}}</ref><ref name="West2010"/> and refers to the Indo-Aryan speech forms spoken in the northern Indian subcontinent,<ref name="Venkatesh2019">{{cite web |last1=Venkatesh |first1=Karthik |title=The strange and little-known case of Hindko |url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/the-strange-and-little-known-case-of-hindko-1562400834033.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630202558/https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/the-strange-and-little-known-case-of-hindko-1562400834033.html|archivedate=30 June 2022 |publisher=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |accessdate=10 October 2019 |language=English |date=6 July 2019 |quote=The south and west of Lahnda territory he identified as the Seraiki region (though he didn’t use the word Seraiki, his description of the tongue matches it), and the northern half as the Hindko region. This was the area, he stated, where the “language of the Hindus" (that is what he interpreted Hindko to mean) was spoken. Hindko, Grierson stated, was the main language of the [[Hazara division]] and was also spoken in Peshawar. ... Also, scholars post-Grierson understood Hindko to mean the “language of the people of Hind, i.e. India" and not the Hindus, which was a term used for a religious community.}}</ref><ref name="GeijbelsAddleton"/><ref name="Sumra1992"/> in contrast to the neighbouring [[Pashto]], an [[Iranian language|Iranic language]] spoken by the Pashtun people.<ref name="West2010"/><ref name="GeijbelsAddleton"/><ref>{{harvnb|Shackle|1980|p=482}}; {{harvnb|Rensch|1992|pp=3–4}}</ref> An alternative local name for this language group is ''Hindki''.{{efn|The term ''Hindki'' normally refers to a Hindko speaker.}}{{sfn|Rensch|1992|p=4}} A speaker of Hindko may be referred to as ''Hindki'', ''Hindkun'', or ''[[Hindkowan]]'' (''Hindkuwan'').<ref>{{harvnb|Nawaz|2014|p=5}}; {{harvnb|Shackle|1980|p=482}}.</ref>

Like other Lahnda varieties, Hindko is derived from the [[Shauraseni Prakrit]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mesthrie |first=Rajend |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eUEiEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA15 |title=Language in Indenture: A Sociolinguistic History of Bhojpuri-Hindi in South Africa |date=2018-09-14 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-78579-5 |pages=15 |language=en |quote=The outer languages descend from various sources: The Eastern group from Magadhi Prakrit, Marathi from Maharastri Prakrit (which was a sub-division of Ardha-Māgadhi Prakrit, leaning more towards Māgadhi than Sauraseni), while Sindhi and Lahnda, whose early histories are not entirely clear, seem to be derived from Apabhramsas which show Sauraseni influence . |access-date=2022-08-13 |archive-date=2023-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831165529/https://books.google.com/books?id=eUEiEAAAQBAJ&dq=en&pg=PA15 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Kudva |first=Venkataraya Narayan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=lahnda+shauraseni |title=History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats |date=1972 |publisher=Samyukta Gowda Saraswata Sabha |pages=218 |language=en |quote=The Outer branch includes Lahnda spoken in West Punjab, Sindhi, Marathi, Briya Bahari (including its dialect Maithili), Bengali and Assamese. They are derived from Sauraseni Prakrit. |access-date=2022-08-05 |archive-date=2023-08-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831165457/https://books.google.com/books?id=x0NuAAAAMAAJ&q=lahnda+shauraseni |url-status=live }}</ref> Hindko to some extent is mutually intelligible with [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]],{{sfn|Rahman|1996|p=211}} and has more affinities with the latter than with the former.{{sfn|Shackle|1979|pp=200–1}} 

There is a nascent language movement,{{sfn|Shackle|1979|p=198}} and in recent decades Hindko-speaking intellectuals have started promoting the view of Hindko as a separate language.{{sfn|Rahman|1996|p=211}} There is a literary tradition based on '''Peshawari''',{{sfn|Shackle|1980|pp=486, 497, 509|ps=: Peshawari is the basis of "an incipient literary standard for the different varieties of [[North-West Frontier Province (1901–2010)|NWFP]] 'Hindko'".}} the urban variety of [[Peshawar]] in the northwest, and another one based on the language of [[Abbottabad]] in the northeast.{{sfn|Rahman|1996|pp=211–14}} In the 2023 census of Pakistan, {{sigfig|5.59|2}} million people declared their language to be Hindko,<ref name="2023 census2">{{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]]}}</ref> while a 2020 estimate placed the number of speakers at 7 million.<ref name=e26hno>{{e26|hno|Hindko, Northern}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution and dialects==
Varieties of Hindko are primarily spoken in a core area in the district of [[Attock District|Attock]] in the northwestern corner of the province of Punjab, and in two neighbouring regions: in Peshawar to the north-west, and [[Hazara region|Hazara]] to the north-east, both in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province). The Hindko of Hazara also extends east into nearby regions of [[Azad Kashmir]].

The central dialect group comprises [[Kohati]] (spoken in the city of [[Kohat]] and a few neighbouring villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and the three closely related dialects of Attock District, Punjab: [[Chacchi]] (spoken in [[Attock Tehsil|Attock]] and [[Haripur Tehsil]]s), [[Ghebi]] (spoken to the south in [[Pindi Gheb Tehsil]]) and [[Awankari dialect|Awankari]] (spoken in [[Talagang Tehsil]], now part of [[Chakwal District]]).{{sfn|Shackle|1980|pp=484–86}}{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=57, 85}} Rensch's classification based on lexical similarity{{efn|Lexical similarity was calculated on the basis of a 210-item wordlist elicited in the following localities:
*the city of [[Peshawar]]
*rural [[Peshawar District]]: [[Wad Pagga]] and [[Pakha Gholam]]
*Kohati: the city of [[Kohat]]
*Attock: [[Attock]] City and [[Talagang]]
*Hazara: three settlements of [[Mansehra District]]: [[Balakot]], [[Sherpur, Mansehra|Sherpur]] and [[Mansehra]] City; two in [[Haripur District]]: [[Singo Di Garhi]] and [[Jammun]] (near [[Ghazi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|Ghazi]]) {{harv|Rensch|1992|pp=53–58}}
}} also assigns to this group the rural dialects of [[Peshawar District]].{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=55–56}} Shackle, however, sees most{{efn|The exception is the divergent ''Khālsavī'' dialect of the Tappa Khālsā group of villages east of the city.}} of them as closely related to the urban variety of Peshawar City.{{sfn|Shackle|1980|pp=497–98}}

In a group of its own is Peshawari,{{efn|The local pronunciation is {{IPA|[pɪʃʌori]}}) {{harv|Shackle|1980|p=497}}.}} the [[Prestige (sociolinguistics)|prestigious]] urban variety spoken in the city of Peshawar and the one that is promoted as a standardised literary language.<ref>For its literature and status in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, see {{harvtxt|Shackle|1980|pp=486, 509}}; for the emerging prestige of Peshawari in Hazara, see {{harvtxt|Rensch|1992|pp=76–77}}.</ref> It has a wide dialectal base{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=497}} and has undergone the influence of [[Urdu]] and [[Standard Punjabi]].{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=55–56}}{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=509}}

A separate group is formed in the northeast by the relatively homogeneous dialects of the [[Hazara region]],{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=485}}{{sfn|Rensch|1992|p=56}} which are collectively known as ''Hazara Hindko'' or ''Northern Hindko'', with the variety spoken in [[Kaghan Valley]] known as ''Kaghani'',<ref name=e26hno/> and the variety of [[Tanawal Tehsil|Tanawal]] known variously as ''Tanoli Hindko'', ''Tanoli'' or ''Tinauli''.{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|pp=1–4}}
Hindko is also spoken further east into Kashmir. It is the predominant language of the [[Neelum Valley]], in the north of Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir, where it is locally known as ''Parmi'' (or ''Pārim''; the name likely originated in the Kashmiri word {{lang|ks-Latn|apārim}} 'from the other side', which was the term used by the Kashmiris of the [[Vale of Kashmir]] to refer to the highlanders, who spoke this language).{{sfn|Akhtar|Rehman|2007|pp=68–69}} This variety is also spoken across the [[Line of Control]] into Indian-administered [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].{{sfn|Sohail|Rehman|Kiani|2016}}

The whole dialect continuum of Hindko is partitioned by ''[[Ethnologue]]'' into two languages: Northern Hindko ([[ISO 639-3]] code: hno)<ref name=e26hno/> for the dialects of Hazara, and Southern Hindko (ISO 639-3: hnd)<ref name=e26hnd>{{e26|hnd|Hindko, Southern}}</ref> for the remaining varieties. This grouping finds support in the results of the intelligibility testing done by Rensch, which also found out that the southern dialects are more widely understood throughout the Hindko area than are the northern ones.{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=58–62}}

Hindko dialects gradually transition into other varieties of Lahnda and Punjabi to the south. For example, to the southwest across the [[Salt Range]] are found dialects of Saraiki,{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=484}} and at least one of these – the one spoken in the [[Dera Ismail Khan District]] – is sometimes also referred to as "Hindko".{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=7–8, 57}} To the southeast, Hindko is in a dialect continuum with [[Pahari–Pothwari]], with the [[Galyat]] region of Abbottabad district and the area of [[Muzaffarabad]] in Azad Kashmir approximately falling on the boundary between the two.{{sfn|Lothers|Lothers|2010|ps =. The speech of Muzaffarabad is locally called "Hindko", but in its vocabulary it is closer to Pahari.}}

There are Hindko [[diaspora]]s in major urban centres like [[Karachi]],<ref>See {{harvtxt|Pierce|2011}} for a study of a community of Hazara Hindko speakers in Karachi.</ref> as well as in some neighbouring countries. 

Before [[partition of India]] in 1947, a substantial population of Hindkowans were [[Hindus]] and [[Sikh]]. This population migrated en masse to India.<ref name="GeijbelsAddleton">{{cite book |title=The rise and development of Urdu and the importance of regional languages in Pakistan |publisher=Christian Study Centre |page=38 |quote=Shackle suggests Hindko simply means "Indian language" and describes it as a "collective label for the variety of Indo-Aryan dialects either alongside or in vicinity of Pushto in the northwest of the country". Hindko is the most significant linguistic minority in the NWFP, represented in nearly one-fifth (18.7%) of the province's total households. ... The Influence of Pushto on Hazara appears to have become more pronounced, due in part to an Influx of Pashtuns replacing the Hindko-speaking Sikhs and Hindus who formerly held key trading positions and who departed at independence.}}</ref><ref name="DT2003">{{cite web|url = http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-12-2003_pg7_25|title = Peshawarites still remember the Kapoor family|publisher = Daily Times|date = 29 December 2003|access-date = 10 October 2019|archive-date = 24 July 2012|archive-url = https://archive.today/20120724145202/www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-12-2003_pg7_25|url-status = live}}</ref> These Hindkowans have completely assimilated into larger Punjabi-speaking and [[Hindi|Hindi-speaking speakers]] in India, with only few elders identifying as hindokowans.<ref name="KVenkatesh">{{cite web |last1=Venkatesh |first1=Karthik |title=The strange and little-known case of Hindko |url=https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/the-strange-and-little-known-case-of-hindko-1562400834033.html |publisher=[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]] |access-date=24 September 2019 |language=en |date=6 July 2019 |quote=In India, Hindko is little known, and while there are Hindko speakers in parts of Jammu and Kashmir as well as among other communities who migrated to India post Partition, by and large it has been absorbed under the broad umbrella of Punjabi...There is also a strong sense of a Hindko identity, as the Pakistani state realized when the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) was renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2010. The loudest opposition to the renaming came from Hindkowans who feared being submerged in the Pashtun identity of the newly named state. It also prompted calls for a separate state for Hindko speakers. |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630202558/https://www.livemint.com/mint-lounge/features/the-strange-and-little-known-case-of-hindko-1562400834033.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

There was also a small Sikh and Hindu Hindkowans diaspora in [[Indians in Afghanistan|Afghanistan]], who became established there during the Sikh Empire in the first half of the 19th century. Most of them emigrated to India or western countries since the war and subsequent rise of the Taliban, and the total population, being not more than 60 (as of 2024).{{sfn|Wyeth|2018}}

==Social setting==
There is no generic name for the speakers of Hindko because they belong to diverse ethnic groups and tend to identify themselves by the larger families or [[Caste|castes]]. However, the Hindko-speaking community belonging to the [[Hazara Division]] of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is sometimes recognised collectively as [[Hazarewal]], while the urban settlers in the cities of Peshawar and Kohat are simply known as [[Peshawaris|Pishoris]] and Kohatis, respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-04-12 |title=Four years on, the voice of Hazara 'martyrs' still resonates |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/694407/four-years-on-the-voice-of-hazara-martyrs-still-resonates |access-date= |website=The Express Tribune |language=en |archive-date=2016-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305035016/http://tribune.com.pk/story/694407/four-years-on-the-voice-of-hazara-martyrs-still-resonates/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A large number of Hindko speakers in the Hazara Division are Pashtuns.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Rensch |first1=Calvin Ross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XRxiAAAAMAAJ |title=Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan: Hindko and Gujari |last2=O'Leary |first2=Clare F. |last3=Hallberg |first3=Calinda E. |date=1992 |publisher=National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University |pages=10–11 |language=en |quote=Members of a variety of ethnic groups speak the language called Hindko. A large number of Hindko speakers in Hazara Division (Mansehra and Abbottabad Districts) are Pashtoons. Some of those speak Hindko as a second language; many others speak it as their mother tongue. These include the Tahir Kheli Pashtoons, who claim to have migrated to Hazara Division from Afghanistan during the eighteenth century. Many other mother- tongue speakers of Hindko are Swati Pathans, who are said to have formerly spoken Pashto while living in the lower Swat valley. After migrating across the Indus River into Hazara Division, which Ahmed dates around A.D. 1515, the Swatis adopted the Hindko language. There are also Pashtoons belonging to three other groups, the Yusufzai, the Jadun and the Tarin, who have replaced Pashto with Hindko. Many speakers of Hindko belong to groups other than the Pashtoons: Some of these are Saiyids, said to have come to the area in the early centuries of Islamic history, many of whom live in the Peshawar area. Large numbers of Hindko speakers are Avans, particularly in Attock District and Hazara Division. Still others belong to groups of Moughals, Bulghadris, Turks and Qureshis. In Jammun significant numbers of Gujars have adopted Hindko as their first language. |access-date=2022-07-28 |archive-date=2024-08-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805020727/https://books.google.com/books?id=XRxiAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Some of those speak Hindko as their mother tongue while others as a second language.<ref name=":0" /> These include the [[Tahirkheli|Tahirkhelis]], [[Swati (Pashtun tribe)|Swatis]], [[Yusufzai|Yusufzais]], [[Jadoon|Jadoons]] and [[Tareen|Tareens]].<ref name=":0" /> The other Hindko speakers include the [[Sayyid|Sayyids]], [[Awan (tribe)|Awans]], [[Mughal tribe|Mughals]], [[Tanoli|Tanolis]], Turks, [[Qureshi (surname)|Qureshis]] and [[Gurjar|Gujjars]].<ref name=":0" />

The most common second language for Hindko-speakers in Pakistan is Urdu and the second most common one is Pashto.{{sfn|Rensch|1992|p=80}} In most Hindko-speaking areas, speakers of Pashto live in the same or neighbouring communities (although this is less true in Abbottabad and Kaghan Valley). The relationship between Hindko and its neighbours is not one of stable bilingualism. In terms of [[Language domain|domains of use]] and number of speakers, Hindko is dominant and growing in the north-east; in Hazara for example, it is displacing Pashto as the language in use among the Swati Pathans,{{sfn|Rensch|1992|pp=4–5}} and in the Neelam Valley of Azad Jammu & Kashmir it is gaining ground at the expense of the minority languages like Kashmiri.{{sfn|Akhtar|Rehman|2007|p=69}} In the cities of Kohat and Peshawar, on the other hand, it is Hindko that is in a weaker position. With the exodus of the Hindko-speaking Hindus and Sikhs after Partitition and the consequent influx of Pashtuns into the vacated areas of the urban economy, there have been signs of a shift towards Pashto.<ref>{{harvnb|Rensch|1992|pp=4–5}}; {{harvnb|Shackle|1983}}.</ref><ref name="GeijbelsAddleton2">{{cite book |title=The rise and development of Urdu and the importance of regional languages in Pakistan |publisher=Christian Study Centre |page=38 |quote=Shackle suggests Hindko simply means "Indian language" and describes it as a "collective label for the variety of Indo-Aryan dialects either alongside or in vicinity of Pushto in the northwest of the country". Hindko is the most significant linguistic minority in the NWFP, represented in nearly one-fifth (18.7%) of the province's total households. ... The Influence of Pushto on Hazara appears to have become more pronounced, due in part to an Influx of Pashtuns replacing the Hindko-speaking Sikhs and Hindus who formerly held key trading positions and who departed at independence.}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
=== Consonants ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Awankari and Kohati
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|pʰ}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|tʰ}}
| {{IPA link|ʈ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ʈʰ}}
| {{IPA link|c}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|cʰ}}
| {{IPA link|k}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|kʰ}}
|
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPA link|b}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|bʱ}}
|{{IPA link|d̪|d}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|dʱ}}
|{{IPA link|ɖ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ɖʱ}}
|{{IPA link|ɟ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ɟʱ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ɡʱ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|z}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɕ}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| {{IPA link|ɦ}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|ɳ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
| {{IPA link|ɽ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|ʋ}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Hazara Hindko <br/>{{nobold|(parentheses indicate phonemes found only in some dialects)}}
|-
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-alv.]]/<br/>[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive consonant|Plosive]]
!<small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPA link|p}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|pʰ}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|tʰ}} 
| {{IPA link|ʈ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ʈʰ}} 
| {{IPA link|tʃ}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|tʃʰ}} 
| {{IPA link|k}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|kʰ}}
|
|-
!<small>voiced</small>
|{{IPA link|b}}
|{{IPA link|d̪|d}}
|{{IPA link|ɖ}}
|{{IPA link|dʒ}}
|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
| {{IPA link|f}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|s}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|z}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{nbsp}} {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| {{IPA link|ɦ}}
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| ({{IPA link|ɳ}})
|
| ({{IPA link|ŋ}})
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
| {{IPA link|ɽ}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
|
|
|}

Hindko contrasts [[stop consonants]] at the [[labial consonant|labial]], [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]], [[retroflex consonant|retroflex]], [[palatal consonant|palatal]] and [[velar consonant|velar]] places of articulation. The [[Palatal consonant|palatals]] have been described as pure stops (/{{IPAlink|c}} {{IPAlink|ɟ}}/) in Awankari,{{sfn|Bahri|1963| pp=108–9}} but as [[affricates]] ({{IPA|/tʃ dʒ/}}) in the varieties of Hazara.<ref>{{harvnb|Nawaz|Afsar|2016}}; {{harvnb|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015a}}.</ref> For the stop consonants of most varieties of Hindko there is a three-way contrast between voiced ({{IPA|b d ɖ dʒ ɡ}}), voiceless ({{IPA|p t ʈ tʃ k}}) and [[Aspirated consonant|aspirated]] ({{IPA|pʰ tʰ ʈʰ tʃʰ kʰ}}).<ref>{{harvnb|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=22}}; {{harvnb|Nawaz|2014}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b}}.</ref> Awankari,{{sfn|Bahri|1963|pp=21–22, 26|ps =. In some subdialects there is a tendency for the loss of the aspiration.}} Kohati,{{sfn|Shackle|1980|pp= 487, 498}} and the varieties of Neelum Valley of Kashmir also distinguish [[voiced aspirated]] stops ({{IPA|bʱ dʱ ɖʱ dʒʱ ɡʱ}}).{{sfn|Kiani|Bukhari|Ahmed|Hameed|2012}} The disappearance of the voiced aspirates from most Hindko varieties has been linked to the development of tone (see [[#Tone|below]]).

Fricatives like {{IPA|/f/}}, {{IPA|/x/}} and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} are found in loans (for example from Persian), but also in native words, often as positional allophones of the corresponding stop.{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=487}} Some documented instances include:
*before other consonants in Kohati ({{IPA|/ɑːxdɑː/}} 'saying' versus {{IPA|/ɑːkhɑː/}} 'said'),
*in the middle or end of words in Peshawari ({{IPA|/nɪɣʊl/}} 'swallow (verb)'),{{sfn|Shackle|1980|pp=487, 499}}
*word-medially after stressed vowels in Abbottabad Hindko ({{IPA|/deːxɽ̃ɑː/}} 'to look'),{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=27}}
*at the ends of words after vowels in the Hindko of Kashmir ({{IPA|/lɪx/}} 'write').{{sfn|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|p=25}}
Generally, the fricatives can be found in all positions: at the start, the middle, or at the end of the word (Tanoli Hindko: {{IPA|/xrɑːb/}} 'spoilt', {{IPA|/ləxxət/}} 'small stick', {{IPA|/ʃɑːx/}} 'branch'),{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|p=149}} with relatively few exceptions (one being the restriction on word-final {{IPA|/ɦ/}} in the Hindko of Kashmir).<ref>{{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Khan|2014|p=73}}. There is no such restriction in the Hindko of Tanawal: {{IPA|/rɑ:ɦ/}} 'plough' {{harv|Nawaz|2014|p=149}}.</ref> The [[labio-dental]] has been explicitly described as the fricative {{IPA|/v/}} for the Hindko of Kashmir,{{sfn|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Khan|2014}} and Tanawal,{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|pp=150–153}} but as the [[approximant]] /{{IPAlink|ʋ}}/ in Awankari.{{sfn|Bahri|1963}}

Apart from {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}, Hindko dialects distinguish a varying number of other [[nasal consonant]]s.
The [[retroflex nasal]] is overall shorter than the other nasals,<ref>See for example {{harvtxt|Nawaz|2014|p=130}}.</ref> and at least for the Hindko of Abbottabad it has been described as a nasalised [[Flap consonant|flap]]: {{IPA|/ɽ̃/}}.{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=26}} For the Hindko of Kashmir it has been asserted to be an allophone of the alveolar nasal {{IPA|/n/}},{{sfn|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|pp=28–29|ps =, but see also {{harvtxt|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015a|p=199}} for the nasalised flap. }} but it is phonemic in Awankari{{sfn|Bahri|1963|pp=113–5}} and Tanoli; in both dialects it can occur in the middle and at the end of a word, as illustrated by the following examples from Tanoli: {{IPA|/tɑːɳɑ̃ː/}} 'straight', {{IPA|/mɑːɳ/}} 'pride'.{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|pp=128–129}} The [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|/ŋ/}} is phonemic in Tanoli: {{IPA|/bɑːŋ/}} 'prayer call', {{IPA|/mɑːŋ/}} 'fiancée',{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|pp=128–30|ps =. Word-finally, the velar nasal contrasts with nasal + stop sequences: {{IPA|/kə̃ŋɡ/}} 'annoyance', and with other nasals: {{IPA|/tʃənn/}} 'moon'. }} and in the Hindko of Kashmir, and in both cases it is found only in the middle or at the end of the word.{{sfn|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|p=28}} In the main subdialect of Awankari, the velar nasal is only found before velar stops,{{sfn|Bahri|1963|pp=113–5}} and similarly, it is not among the phonemes identified for the Hindko of Abbottabad.{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=22}}

Hindko varieties have a single [[lateral consonant]]: the alveolar {{IPA|/l/}}, unlike Punjabi, which additionally has a [[retroflex lateral]] {{IPA|/ɭ/}}.<ref>{{harvtxt|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=26}} for Hazara Hindko, {{harvtxt|Shackle|1980|p=487}} for Kohati.</ref> The Awankari dialect, as spoken by Muslims (and not Hindus) and described by Bahri in the 1930s, has a distinctive retroflex lateral, which, however, appears to be in [[complementary distribution]] with the alveolar lateral.{{sfn|Bahri|1963|pp= 116–7, 143}} There are two rhotic sounds in Hindko: an [[alveolar trill]] {{IPA|/r/}} (with a varying number of vibrations dependent on the phonetic context), and a [[retroflex flap]] {{IPA|/ɽ/}}.<ref>{{harvnb|Nawaz|2014|pp=180–84}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015a|pp=198–200}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|p=29}}.</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{|
|+ '''Vowels'''<ref>{{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Akhtar|2012}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Akhtar|2013|pp=73–78}}. {{harvtxt|Nawaz|2014|pp=212–13}} states that phonetically the most accurate IPA symbol for the central vowel is not {{IPA|/ə/}} but {{IPA|/ɐ/}}.</ref>
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
! 
![[Central vowel|Central]]
! 
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-align=center
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|iː}} || || || || {{IPA link|uː}}
|-align=center
! 
| {{IPA link|ɪ}} || || || {{IPA link|ʊ}} ||
|-align=center
!rowspan="2" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|eː}} || || || || {{IPA link|oː}}
|-align=center
| {{IPA link|æː}} || || || ||
|-align=center
!
| || || {{IPA link|ə}} || ||
|-align=center
![[Open vowel|Open]]
| || || {{IPA link|ɑː}} || ||
|}

Hindko has three short vowels {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, {{IPA|/ʊ/}} and {{IPA|/ə/}}, and six long vowels: {{IPA|/iː/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}}, {{IPA|/æː/}}, {{IPA|/ɑː/}}, {{IPA|/oː/}} and {{IPA|/uː/}}. 
The vowels can be illustrated with the following examples from Tanoli: {{IPA|/tʃɪpp/}} 'big stone', {{IPA|/dʊxx/}} 'pain', {{IPA|/kəll/}} 'yesterday', {{IPA|/biːɽɑː/}} 'button', {{IPA|/keː/}} 'what', {{IPA|/bæːrɑː/}} 'piece of meat', {{IPA|/tɑːr/}} 'Sunday', {{IPA|/tʃoːr/}} 'thief', {{IPA|/kuːɽɑː/}} 'filth'.{{sfn|Nawaz|2014|p=199}}
Length is strongly contrastive and the long vowels are generally twice as long as the corresponding short vowels.<ref>{{harvnb|Nawaz|2014|pp=207–10}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|pp=76–79}}; {{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Akhtar|2012}}; {{harvtxt|Bahri|1963|pp=48–53}} has a more elaborate classification of vowels by length.</ref>
The Awankari dialect distinguishes between open and close "o" ({{IPA|/poːlɑː/}} 'soft' vs. {{IPA|/pɔːlɑː/}} 'shoe').{{sfn|Bahri|1963|pp=40–46}}

Varieties of Hindko also possess a number of [[diphthongs]] (like {{IPA|/ai/}}). Which of the many (typically around a dozen) overt vowel combinations should be seen as representing an underlying single segment (a diphthong) rather than simply a sequence of two separate underlying vowels, has varied with the analysis used and the dialect studied.<ref>{{harvtxt|Nawaz|2014|pp=220ff}} features a phonemic analysis for the Hazara Hindko of Tanawal; a similar analysis with different conclusions is carried out by {{harvtxt|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Akhtar|2012|pp=71–73}} for a variety of Azad Kashmir; {{harvtxt|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|pp=100–11}} presents an acoustic analysis of the same variety with yet different results. An exhaustive catalogue of vowel sequences is found in {{harvtxt|Bahri|1963}}.</ref>

==== Nasalised vowels ====
Hindko dialects possess phonemic [[nasal vowels]] (here marked with a tilde above the vowel: {{IPA|ɑ̃}}). For example, in the Hindko of Azad Kashmir {{IPA|/bɑː/}} 'animal disease' contrasts with {{IPA|/bɑ̃ː/}} 'arm', and {{IPA|/toːkeː/}} 'meat cutters' with {{IPA|/toːkẽː/}} 'hindrances'.{{sfn|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|p=94}} In this variety of Hindko, as well as in the Hindko of Tanawal, there are nasal counterparts for all, or almost all,{{efn|There is uncertainty about the phonemic status of {{IPA|/æ͂ː/}}: it is absent according to {{harvtxt|Nawaz|2014}} (for Tanawal) and {{harvtxt|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|Akhtar|2012|pp=70, 74}} (for Azad Kashmir), but an example is adduced by {{harvtxt|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b}}.}} of the long vowels, but none for the short vowels.<ref>{{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|pp=92–95}}; {{harvnb|Nawaz|2014|pp=227–32}}.</ref> In Awankari and the Hindko of Abbottabad, on the other hand, there is contrastive nasalisation for short vowels as well: {{IPA|/kʰɪɖɑː/}} 'make one play' contrasts with {{IPA|/kʰɪ̃ɖɑ/}} 'scatter' (in Awankari),{{sfn|Bahri|1963|p=61}} {{IPA|/ɡəɖ/}} 'mixing' contrasts with {{IPA|/ɡə̃́ɖ/}} 'knot').{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|pp=44–45}}
Peshawari and Kohati presumably follow the pattern of Awankari but have historically lost nasalisation from the round vowels (like {{IPA|/u/}} or {{IPA|/o/}}) at the end of the word.{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=500}}

Additionally, vowels get nasalised [[allophonic]]ally when adjacent to a nasal consonant. In the varieties of Tanawal and Kashmir both long and short vowels can be nasalised in this way, but only if they precede the nasal consonant: {{IPA|[dõːn]}} 'washing', {{IPA|[bẽːn]}} 'crying'.<ref>{{harvnb|Haroon-Ur-Rashid|2015b|pp=92–93}}; {{harvnb|Nawaz|2014|pp=227–32}}</ref> In the Hindko of Abbottabad, a vowel at the end of some words can be nasalised if it follows a nasal consonant.{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|p=44}} In the Awankari dialect, vowels can be allophonically nasalised both before and after a nasal consonant, but in either case the effect will depend on the position of stress (see {{slink|Awankari dialect|Vowels}} for more details).{{sfn|Bahri|1963|p=61}}

=== Tone ===
Unlike many Indo-Aryan languages, but in common with other Punjabi varieties, Hindko dialects have a system of [[pitch accent]], which is commonly referred to as ''tone''.<ref>For the characterisation of Punjabi tone as pitch accent, see {{harvtxt|Bhardwaj|2016|pp=67–70}}.</ref> In Punjabi, pitch accent has historically arisen out of the loss of voiced aspirates ({{IPA|/bʱ dʱ ɖʱ dʒʱ ɡʱ ɦ/}}. Thus in [[Punjabi language#Standard Punjabi|Standard Punjabi]], if a voiced aspirate preceded the stressed vowel, it would lose its aspiration and cause the appearance of a high tone on that vowel: {{IPA|/dʒiːbʱ/}} > {{IPA|/dʒíːb/}} 'tongue'. If it followed the stressed vowel, then it would lead to a high tone and lose its aspiration and, if word-initial, its voicing: {{IPA|/ɡʱoːɽaː/}} > {{IPA|/kòːɽaː/}} 'horse'.{{sfn|Bhardwaj|2016|pp=71–72}} The same pattern has been reported for Hazara Hindko, with a low rising tone after historically voiced aspirates ({{IPA|/kòːɽaː/}} 'horse' < {{IPA|/ɡʱoːɽaː/}}), a high falling tone before historic voiced aspirates ({{IPA|/kóːɽaː/}} 'leper' <  {{IPA|/kóːɽʱaː/}}), and level tone elsewhere ({{IPA|/koːɽaː/}} 'bitter'). According to preliminary observations on the Hazara Hindko variety of Abbottabad, the low tone is less prominent than in [[Majhi dialect|Majhi Punjabi]], and a trace of the aspiration is preserved: for example 'horse' would be {{IPA|/k{{sup|(h)}}òːɽaː/}}.{{sfn|Bashir|Conners|2019|pp=47–48}}

The variety spoken to the north-east, in Neelam Valley, has preserved voiced aspirates at the start of the word, so presumably the low tone is not established there. However, there are observations of its appearance in the speech of the residents of the main villages along the highway, likely under the influence of Majhi and Hazara Hindko,{{sfn|Akhtar|Rehman|2007|p=69}} and it has similarly been reported in the villages on the Indian side.{{sfn|Sohail|Rehman|Kiani|2016|p=109}}<!--not a solid source -->

The southern Hindko varieties have similarly developed tone, but only when the voiced aspirate followed the stressed vowel; voiced aspirates preceding the stress have remained unchanged: thus {{IPA|/ʋə́d/}} 'more' (< {{IPA|vədʱ}}), but {{IPA|/dʱiː/}} 'daughter'.{{sfn|Shackle|2003|pp=593–94}} This tone is realised as high falling in Kohati{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=487}} and the eastern subdialect of Awankari, but as high in the northwestern Awankari subdialect.<ref>In the analysis by {{harvtxt|Bahl|1957}}. But see also {{harvtxt|Bahri|1963|pp=189–91}}.</ref> Like Kohati, the variety of Peshawar has high falling tone before historic voiced aspirates. However, it has also developed a distinct tone on stressed vowels after historic voiced aspirates, like northern Hindko and Majhi, with a similar loss of aspiration and voicing. But in contrast to Majhi, this tone is also high falling, and it is distinguished by the accompanying [[glottalisation]]: {{IPA|/tˀîː/}} 'daughter', {{IPA|/vəˈtˀɑ̂ːiː/}} 'congratulations'.<ref>This is the interpretation in {{harvtxt|Shackle|1980|pp=498–99}}. {{harvtxt|Awan|1974}} presents a different, much more detailed analysis, where tone is treated as a feature of the whole phrase, not the individual word, and where the exact phonetic realisation may vary significantly.</ref>

== Alphabet  ==
[[File:HinkoVaf.svg|thumb|right|"Vaf" is a unique letter of Hindko, and many Indo-Aryan language.  ''Vaf'' is used from loanwords of Pashto origin.]]

Hindko is generally written in a variety of the [[Nastaliq|Punjabi alphabet]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://dokumen.tips/documents/hindko-qaida-by-rehmat-aziz-chitrali-published-by-khowar-academy-chitral.html | title=Hindko Qaida by Rehmat Aziz Chitrali published by Khowar Academy Chitral | access-date=2022-07-21 | archive-date=2022-07-21 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721204124/https://dokumen.tips/documents/hindko-qaida-by-rehmat-aziz-chitrali-published-by-khowar-academy-chitral.html | url-status=live }}</ref>  It was created by [[Rehmat Aziz Chitrali]] at [[Khowar Academy Chitral]].

{| class="wikitable"
|+Hindko Perso-Arabic alphabet
! Letter !! Name of Letter !! Transcription !! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|آ}}}} || ''waḍḍi alif'' || ā || {{IPA|/ə/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ا}}}} || ''alif'' || a || {{IPA|/a/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ب}}}} || ''be'' || p || {{IPA|/b/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|پ}}}} || ''pe'' || b || {{IPA|/p/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ت}}}} || ''te'' || t || {{IPA|/t/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ٹ}}}} || ''ṭe'' || ṭ || {{IPA|/ʈ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ث}}}} || ''se'' || s || {{IPA|/s/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ج}}}} || ''jīm'' || j || {{IPA|/d͡ʒ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|چ}}}} || ''če'' || č || {{IPA|/t͡ʃ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ح}}}} || ''he'' || h || {{IPA|/h/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|خ}}}} || ''xe'' || x || {{IPA|/x/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ڇ}}}} || ''ʄe'' || ʄ || {{IPA|/ʄ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|د}}}} || ''dāl'' || d || {{IPA|/d/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ڈ}}}} || ''ḍāl'' || ḍ || {{IPA|/ɖ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ذ}}}} || ''zāl'' || (z) || {{IPA|/z/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ر}}}} || ''re'' || r || {{IPA|/r/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ڑ}}}} || ''ṛe'' || ṛ || {{IPA|/ɽ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ز}}}} || ''ze'' || z || {{IPA|/z/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ݬ}}}} || ''ce'' || c || {{IPA|/ɕ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|س}}}} || ''sīn'' || s || {{IPA|/s/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ش}}}} || ''šīn'' || š || {{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ص}}}} || ''svād'' || (s) || {{IPA|/s/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ض}}}} || ''zvād'' || (z) || {{IPA|/z/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ط}}}} || ''to'e'' || (t) || {{IPA|/t/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ظ}}}} || ''zo'e'' || (z) || {{IPA|/z/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ع}}}} || ''‘ain'' || (‘/'), (a), (e), (ē), (o), (i), (u) || {{IPA|/∅/}}, {{IPA|/ə/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}}, {{IPA|/ʊ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|غ}}}} || ''ǧain'' || ǧ || {{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ف}}}} || ''fe'' || f || {{IPA|/f/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ق}}}} || ''qāf'' || q || {{IPA|/q/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ڨ}}}} || ''vāf'' || v || {{IPA|/v/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ک}}}} || ''kāf'' || k || {{IPA|/k/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|گ}}}} || ''gāf'' || g || {{IPA|/g/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ل}}}} || ''lām'' || l || {{IPA|/l/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|م}}}} || ''mīm'' || m || {{IPA|/m/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ن}}}} || ''nūn'' || n || {{IPA|/n/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ں}}}} || ''ñun'' || ñ || {{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ݩ}}}} || ''ñun'' || ñ || {{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ݩگ}}}} || ''ngun'' || ng || {{IPA|/ŋ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ݨ}}}} || ''ṇūn'' || ṇ || {{IPA|/ɳ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|و}}}} || ''wāw'' || w || {{IPA|/ʋ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ؤ}}}} || ''waw-e-hamza'' || 'w || {{IPA|/ʔu/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ٷ}}}} || ''waw-e-humza-e-dumma'' || u || {{IPA|/ʊ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ہ}}}} || ''coṭī he'' || h || {{IPA|/ɦ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ھ}}}} || ''do cašmī he'' || _h || {{IPA|/◌ʰ/}}, {{IPA|/◌ʱ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ء}}}} || ''hamza'' || ' || {{IPA|/ʔ/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ی}}}} || ''coṭī ye'' || y, ī || {{IPA|/j/}}, {{IPA|/i/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ئ}}}} || ''hamza-e-yeh'' || ai || {{IPA|/æː/}}
|-
| style="font-size:150%" | {{lang|hnd|{{nq|ے}}}} || ''waḍḍi ye'' || e, ē || {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
|}

==Literature==
The Gandhara Hindko Board is a leading organisation that has been active in the preservation and promotion of the Hindko and culture since 1993.  The board was launched in Peshawar in year 1993 to preserve and promote Hindko —the second most spoken of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan.  It brings out four regular publications— ''Hindkowan'', ''The Gandhara Voice'', " Sarkhail" and "Tarey" and a number of occasional publications.  Late professor Zahoor Ahmad Awan of Peshawar city, the author of 61 books and publications, was the founding-chairman of the board.  Now the board is headed by Ejaz Ahmad Qureshi.  The board has published first Hindko dictionary and several other books on a variety of topics.  With head office in Peshawar, the organisation has regional offices in other cities of the province where Hindko is spoken and understood.

In 2003 the Gandhara Hindko Board published first a Hindko dictionary which was compiled by a prominent linguists from Abbottabad, Sultan Sakoon. The board published a second more comprehensive Hindko dictionary in 2007 prepared by Elahi Bakhsh Awan of the [[University of London]].  He is the author of Sarzamin e Hindko, and Hindko Sautiyat.  His three booklets on Hindko [[phonology]] were published by the [[University of Peshawar]] in the late 1970s.

The Idara-e-Faroghe Hindko based in Peshawar is another body that is promoting Hindko. [[Riffat Akbar Swati]] and Aurangzeb Ghaznavi are main people of this organisation.  The Idara has published the first Hindko translation of the Quran by Haider Zaman Haider and the first Ph.D. thesis on Hindko by E.B.A. Awan.  A monthly magazine ''Faroogh'' is also published regularly from Peshawar under supervision of Aurangzeb Ghaznavi.  In Karachi Syed Mehboob is working for the promotion of Hindko.  His articles are frequently published in ''Farogh'' monthly.  He is <!--[one of] the???--> organiser of Hindko Falahi Forum.

Many organisations like Bazm-e-Ilm-o-Fun Abbottabad and Halqa-e-Yaraan Shinkyari promote Hindko and literature.  Asif Saqib, Sufi Abdur Rasheed, Fazal-e-Akbar Kamal, Sharif Hussain Shah, Muhammad Farid, Yahya Khalid, Nazir Kasalvi, and Muhammad Hanif have contributed a lot in this regard.  Sultan Sakoon has written the First Hindko dictionary that has been published by Gandhara Hindko Board.  Sultan Sakoon stands out for his literary contribution as he is a prolific writer and his books including those on Hindko proverbs and Hindko riddles have been published.

===Poetry example===
An excerpt from the ''Kalām'' of [[Ahmad Ali Saayein]]:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJRi_eVdMMU |title=الف اول ہے عالم ہست سی او |website=[[YouTube]] |date=26 January 2019 |access-date=2019-06-16 |archive-date=2020-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424132909/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJRi_eVdMMU&gl=US&hl=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{lang|hnd|size=big|2={{Nastaliq| الف اول ہے عالم ہست سی او <br />
ہاتف آپ پکاریا بسمہ اللہ
<br />فیر قلم نوں حکم نوشت ہویا
<br />ہس کے قلم سر ماریا بسمہ اللہ
<br />نقشہ لوح محفوظ دے وچ سینے
<br />قلم صاف اتاریا بسمہ اللہ
<br />اس تحریر نوں پڑھ کے فرشتیاں نے 
<br />سائیاں شکر گزاریا بسمہ اللہ}}}}

'''Transliteration:''' ''Alif-Awal hai Alam e hast sī o''
<br />''Hātif āp pukārā Bismillah''
<br />''Fīr Qalam nū̃ hukum e Nawišt hoyā''
<br />''Hus ke qalam sir māriyā Bismillah''
<br />''Naqšā Loh e Mahfūz dai wic sine''
<br />''Qalam sāf utāriyā Bismillah''
<br />''Is Tahrīr nū̃ paṛah ke Farištiyā̃ ne''
<br />''Sāiyā̃ Šukar guzāriyā Bismillah''

'''Translation:''' "He is the foremost from the world of existence<br />
Voice of the unseen exclaimed Bismillah
<br />The pen was ordered to write
<br />Pen carried out the order to write Bismillah
<br />When angels read this composition
<br />Saaieaan, they showed their thankfulness with Bismillah"

===Proverbs===
Hindko has a rich heritage of proverbs (Hindko ''matlaan'', sg. ''matal'').<ref>{{cite book |last=Hindko |first=Matlaan |author-link=Zia Ud Din |year=2015 |title=Hindko Matlaa'n: 151 Hindko Proverbs |publisher=Gandhara Hindko Board |url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/291243-hindko-language-proverbs-published-in-dictionary-form |access-date=2019-06-16 |archive-date=2019-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616103658/https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/291243-hindko-language-proverbs-published-in-dictionary-form |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| title = The Gandhara Hindko Academy Launched an App of the Hindko language proverbs| year = 2018| url = https://www.ilmkidunya.com/edunews/the-gandhara-hindko-academy-launched-an-app-of-the-hindko-language-proverbs-22848.aspx| access-date = 2019-06-16| archive-date = 2019-06-16| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190616103702/https://www.ilmkidunya.com/edunews/the-gandhara-hindko-academy-launched-an-app-of-the-hindko-language-proverbs-22848.aspx| url-status = live}}</ref> An example of a proverb:

{{lang|hnd|2={{Nastaliq|جدھر سر ادھر سرہانڑا}}}}

Transliteration: ''Jidur sir udur sarhanra''

Translation: "Good person gains respect everywhere."

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

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{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* 2004: Hindko Sautiyat, Dr E.B.A. Awan, published by Gandhara Hindko Board Peshawar in 2004.
* 2005: Hindko Land - a thesis presented by Dr E.B.A. Awan at the World Hindko Conference at Peshawar in 2005.
* 1978: "Rival linguistic identities in Pakistan Punjab." Rule, protest, identity: aspects of modern South Asia (ed. P. Robb & D. Taylor), 213–34. London: Curzon
* Monthly Farogh Peshawar Hindko magazine March 2010.
* Karachi main Hindko zaban o adab Dr.Syed Mehboob ka kirdar " by Kamal Shah
* {{Cite book| last = Toker| first = Halil| title = A practical guide to Hindko Grammar| date = 2014| publisher = Trafford Publishing| isbn = 978-1-4907-2379-2| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_oADAwAAQBAJ}} (based on the Hindko of Peshawar)

== External links ==
{{Incubator|code=hno|lang=Northern Hindko|prefix=Wp}}
{{Incubator|code=hnd|lang=Southern Hindko|prefix=Wp}}
* [https://gandharahindko.com/ Gandhara Hindko Board]

{{Punjabi varieties}}
{{Indo-Aryan languages}}
{{Languages of Pakistan}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greater Punjabi languages and dialects]]
[[Category:Punjabi dialects]]
[[Category:Languages of Punjab, Pakistan]]
[[Category:Languages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]
[[Category:Languages of Azad Kashmir]]
[[Category:Languages of Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Hindko language]]
[[Category:Tonal languages in non-tonal families]]