It Is Unique Official: revise

2025-08-18T23:34:42Z

revise

>BattyBot: /* History */Removed/fixed incorrect author parameter(s), performed general fixes

2021-01-06T16:57:31Z

History: Removed/fixed incorrect author parameter(s), performed general fixes

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{{Infobox language
|name=Hijra Farsi
|state=[[India]], [[Pakistan]]
|speakers=Unknown
|date= 2017
|familycolor=Indo-European
|fam2=[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]
|fam3=[[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|fam4=[[Hindi languages|Central Zone (Hindi)]]
|fam5=[[Western Hindi]]
|fam6=[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]<ref name=ELL2>{{ELL2|Hindustani}}</ref>
|script=
|iso3=none
|glotto=none
}}

'''Hijra Farsi''' is a [[Cant (language)|secret language]] spoken by South-Asian [[Hijra (South Asia)|hijra]] and [[Kothi (gender)|koti]] communities. Hijras are a marginalized [[transgender]] community that lives in sequestered groups in many cities of India and Pakistan. The language, also known as ''Koti Farsi'', is spoken by the hijra community throughout Pakistan and North India (except [[West Bengal]]). The language is based on [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] and not [[Persian language|Farsi]], as suggested by the name.<ref name=Hall2001>{{cite web|url=http://www.stanford.edu/dept/linguistics/colloq/prev/2001/2001feb09.html|title=Stanford Linguistics Colloquium|work=stanford.edu|accessdate=16 February 2016}}</ref> The sentence structure is similar to [[Urdu]], but noticeable distinctions exist.<ref name="SheerazAfsar2011">Sheeraz, Muhammad, and Ayaz Afsar. "Farsi: An Invisible But Loaded Weapon for the Emerging Hijraism in Pakistan." Kashmir Journal of Language Research 14, no. 2 (2011).</ref> Hijra Farsi is mainly spoken by Muslim Hijras; Hindu Hijras speak the Gupti language and its regional dialects.<ref>{{cite news |title=Queer language|url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/queer-language/article5407840.ece |date=30 November 2013|newspaper=The Hindu |department=City: World |agency=TNN |access-date=27 January 2020}}</ref>

Even though the language is not actually based on Persian (Farsi), the hijras consider the language to be related to the language of the [[Mughal Empire]], which they associate with the origin of hijra identity. Hijra Farsi is most similar to Hindi, but is not intelligible to Hindi speakers due to distinctive intonation and a large amount of distinctive vocabulary.<ref name=Hall2001/>

After the partition of India, the language has come to include words of local languages including [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] and other languages.

== History ==
Hijra Farsi is believed to have originated more than 200 years ago. Hijras enjoyed a high status during the Mughal empire, which may be the reason why the language is named after 'Farsi' despite its dissimilarity with Persian. With the fall of the Mughal empire and start of British colonial rule, eunuchs were pushed into a more marginalized position. Colonial laws criminalized their choice of dress, as well as the public dancing they regularly engaged in. The crackdown caused hijras to become protective of their language, which then evolved into a survival tool.<ref name="qz">{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/india/662917/the-secret-language-of-south-asias-transgender-community/|title=The secret language of South Asia's transgender community|last=Rehman|first=Zehra|website=Quartz India|language=en|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref>

That the language is still in use may have to do with the fact that the community continues to be persecuted in independent India. "Seventy-four percent of the Hijra community has suffered violence and harassment,” says Simran Shaikh, who works with Alliance India, an NGO that works on AIDS prevention.<ref name="toi">{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hijra-Farsi-Secret-language-knits-community/articleshow/23618092.cms|title=Hijra Farsi: Secret language knits community - Times of India|website=The Times of India|access-date=2019-01-26}}</ref>

== Community-building tool ==
Hijra Farsi began and has continued as a learned, as opposed to a mother, tongue. The language is introduced to newcomers when they enter the hijra community, together with the group’s alternative family structure, cultural norms, and other traditions. Having a language that creates a sense of a community is a necessity for hijras, who typically give up a great deal when they join the community. Hijras see the language as something that is truly theirs, and speak about it with pride.<ref name="qz"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite thesis| last = Hall| first = Kira| year = 1995| title = Hijra/Hijrin: Language and Gender Identity| type = PhD| institution = UC Berkeley| url = https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6m5744jx}}

[[Category:Languages of India]]
[[Category:Languages of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Transgender in Asia]]
[[Category:Cant languages]]
[[Category:LGBT linguistics]]

Hijra Farsi - Revision history

It Is Unique Official: revise

>BattyBot: /* History */Removed/fixed incorrect author parameter(s), performed general fixes