Editing Balochi language (section)

== Dialects ==
{{Main|Rakhshani dialect | Makrani dialect|Eastern Balochi (dialect)}}
These dialects are broadly categorized into three main groups:<ref name=":Uppsala">{{cite web |title=The Balochi Language Project|url=https://www.uu.se/en/department/linguistics-and-philology/research/proj/the-balochi-language|website=[[Uppsala University]] |date=25 November 2024 |access-date=December 17, 2024}}</ref>

*'''[[Eastern Balochi (dialect)|Eastern group]]''' (the Soleimani dialect group): Found mainly in [[eastern Balochistan]], covering parts of Pakistan, particularly in areas like [[Quetta]], [[Kalat, Balochistan|Kalat]], and [[Khuzdar]].
*'''Southern group or [[Makrani dialect]]''' (part of the Makrani dialect group): Spoken in the southern parts of Balochistan, including coastal areas like [[Gwadar]], [[Chabahar]], and southern Pakistan.<ref name=":Uppsala"/>
*'''Western group''' (part of the [[Rakhshani dialect]] group) : Predominantly spoken in western Balochistan, including parts of Iran and Afghanistan. Commonly spoken in [[Sistan and Baluchestan province|Sistan and Balochestan]] province and [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]] in Iran.<ref name=":Anousha"/><ref name=":Uppsala"/>

[[Koroshi dialect|Koroshi]] is also  classified as Balochi.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_family.asp?subid=90021 Ethnologue report for Southwestern Iranian languages]</ref>

Elfenbein divides the dialects of the Balochi language into six categories: Rakhshani (subdialects: Kalati and Sarhaddi), Panjguri, Saravani, Lashari, Kechi, and Coastal Dialects.<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" />

'''Rakhshani''' <ref name="Elfenbein 1988" />
*Kalati (areas between [[Lasbela District|Las Bela]] in the north of Karachi to [[Mastung District|Mastung]] in the south of Quetta [[Chagai District|Chaghi]] and [[Kharan District|Kharan]] (northern areas of Balochistan, Pakistan, including [[Nushki|Noshki]], [[Dalbandin]], Kharan, and Kalat).
*Panjguri(southern and southwestern areas of Afghanistan, mainly the areas around the Helmand River).
*Sarhadhi (an area that extends from the east to Dalbandin in Pakistan and from the northeast to [[Chahar Burjak District|Chahar Burjak]] in Afghanistan, and includes [[Merv]] in the Republic of Turkmenistan and Sistan in Iran, with [[Nosratabad]] in Balochistan, Iran, forming its southernmost part).

'''Panjguri'''<ref name=":The Iranian Languages">{{cite book |last= Windfuhr |first=Gernot |year=2013 |title=The Iranian Languages|publisher= Taylor & Francis |page=637 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QtpQZ1DD6tEC|isbn=9781135797041}}</ref><ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours" />
It includes most of the Kharan region, with the [[kech River]] forming its southern border and the [[Rakshan River|Rakhshan River]] its northern border, and Kolwa located to its east.<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" />

'''Saravani'''<ref name=":The Iranian Languages" />
[[Saravan, Iran|Saravan]] and its surrounding areas, with [[Khash, Iran|Khash]] as its northern border and Espidan as its western border. In later works, Elfenbein, [[Iranshahr, Iran|Iranshahr]], and [[Bampur]] are also considered to be within the Saravani dialect area.<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" /><ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours" />

'''Kechi'''<ref name=":The Iranian Languages" />
Kich region in Balochistan, including [[Turbat]].<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" /><ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours" />

'''Lashari'''<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" />
centered on the village of Lashar, south of Iranshahr where Balochi close to Persian and Baskardi.<ref name=":The Baloch and Their Neighbours" />

'''Coastal dialects'''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jahani |first1=Carina |title=Standardization and Orthography in the Balochi Language |date=1989|publisher=Uppsala University|isbn=978-91-554-2487-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XEbAQAAIAAJ}}</ref><ref name=":Agnes">{{cite book |last1=Korn|first1=Agnes|title=Towards a Historical Grammar of Balochi |publisher=Reichert|date=2005 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHoLAQAAMAAJ&q=Coastal%20dialects|isbn=9783895003677}}</ref>
Including [[Qasr-e Qand]], Nikshahr, [[Rask, Iran|Rask]] and the southern coastal areas of Balochistan from near [[Bandar Abbas]] to Karachi Port, including the ports of [[Chabahar|Chahbahar]], [[Gwadar]], [[Pasni (city)|Pasni]].<ref name="Elfenbein 1988" />

There are two main dialects: the dialect of the Mandwani (northern) tribes and the dialect of the Domki (southern) tribes.<ref name="Dames1">{{harvnb|Dames|1922|p=1}}.</ref> The dialectal differences are not very significant.<ref name="Dames1" /> One difference is that grammatical terminations in the northern dialect are less distinct compared with those in the southern tribes.<ref name="Dames1" /> An isolated dialect is [[Koroshi dialect|Koroshi]], which is spoken in the Qashqai tribal confederation in the [[Fars province]]. Koroshi distinguishes itself in grammar and lexicon among Balochi varieties.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |date=December 2014 |title=The Balochi dialect of the Korosh |url=https://www.academia.edu/8651533 |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |volume=67 |issue=4 |pages=453–465 |doi=10.1556/AOrient.67.2014.4.4}}</ref>

The [[Balochi Academy Sarbaz]] has designed a [[Balochi Standard Alphabet|standard alphabet]] for Balochi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-16 |title=Main Balochi Language( Rèdagèn Balòci Zubàn ) |url=http://www.balochiacademy.ir/en/2023/02/16/main-balochi-language-redagen-baloci-zuban/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=[[Balochi Academy Sarbaz]]}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2023}}

[[Uppsala University]] offers a course titled Balochi A, which provides basic knowledge of the phonetics and syntax of the Balochi language.<ref name=":Uppsala"/> [[Carina Jahani]]  is a prominent Swedish [[Iranian studies|Iranologist]] and professor of [[Iranian languages]] at Uppsala University, deeply researching in the study and preservation of the Balochi language.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jahani |first1=Carina |title=Standardization and Orthography in the Balochi Language |date=1989|publisher=Uppsala University|isbn=978-91-554-2487-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3XEbAQAAIAAJ&q=balochi}}</ref>