Munji language

The Munji language (Persian: مونجی), also known as Munjani (مونجانی), Munjhan (مونجهان), and the Munjiwar language,[4] is a Pamir language spoken in Munjan valley in Badakhshan Province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which is spoken in the Upper Lotkoh Valley of Chitral, west of Garam Chashma in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.[5]

Munji
مونجى
Native to	Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
Ethnicity	Munji
Native speakers	5,300 (2008)[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Iranian Eastern Munji–Yidgha? Munji
Writing system	Perso-Arabic script[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mnj
Glottolog	munj1244
ELP	Munji
Linguasphere	58-ABD-ba
Munji is classified as Severely endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010)[3]

Historically, Munji displays the closest possible linguistic affinity with the now-extinct Bactrian language.[6]

The Garam Chashma area became important during the Soviet–Afghan War. During the invasion, the Soviets were unable to stop the flow of arms and men back and forth across the Dorah Pass that separates Chitral, in Pakistan, from Badakshan in Afghanistan. The two dialects spoken in the area of Mamalgha Valley and the area of Munjan Valley differed, being the northern and southern dialects. The language has moved to parts of Chitral, after the War in Afghanistan forced the Munji-speaking people to flee to safer areas.[7]

Despite Dari being the predominant language of the region, attitudes towards Munji are highly positive, and among speakers, few predict a decline in use.[8]