Indus Kohistani or simply Kohistani (کوستَیں ژیب, Kōstaiñ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the former Kohistan District of Pakistan.[3] The language was referred to as Maiyã (Mayon) or Shuthun by early researchers, but subsequent observations have not verified that these names are known locally.[4]
The phonology of Indus Kohistani varies between its major dialects as shown below.[5]
In the Kanyawali dialect, the back vowels /u/ and /o/ are described as variants of each other, as are the front vowels /i/ and /e/.
The consonant inventory of Indus Kohistani is shown in the chart below. (Consonants particular to the Kanyawali Dialect of Tangir and those found only in the Kohistan Dialects are color-coded respectively.)
The phonemes /x/, /ɣ/, and /q/ are mainly found in loan words. The status of /q/ in the Kanyawali Dialect is unclear. The sounds /f, v/ can also be bilabial [ɸ, β].[6]