Indus Kohistani or simply Kohistani (, Kà Âstaiñ) is an Indo-Aryan language of Kohistani group spoken by the Indus Kohistani people in the former Kohistan District of Pakistan. 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.
Indus Kohistani is spoken on the west bank of the Indus River, down from but not including Dasu until Ranolia along the Indus valley. The major Indus Kohistani speaking settlements include Pattan, Ranolia, Jijal, Duber, Kandia, Seo, Komila and Bankad. A closely related dialect or language variety called Bateri is also spoken in Kolai-Palas Kohistan, on the east bank of Indus.
The phonology of Indus Kohistani varies between its major dialects as shown below.
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 <span style="background:#EEE8AA">Kanyawali Dialect</span> of Tangir and those found only in the <span style="background:#CAFF70">Kohistan Dialects</span> are color-coded respectively.)
The phonemes /x/, /ã/, and /q/ are mainly found in loan words. The status of /q/ in the <span style="background:#EEE8AA">Kanyawali Dialect</span> is unclear. The sounds /f, v/ can also be bilabial [ø, ò].
Until recently Indus Kohistani did not have a written tradition. The Forum for Indus Kohistani Research & Culture Development (FIKR&CD) is a Non-Governmental Organization working for standardisation of its script and literature of Indus Kohistani. Shaari (ÃÂçñÃÂ) is the first digital journal of Indus Kohistani. Other notable works include "çèçóÃÂàéÃÂÃÂóêæÃÂú ìÃÂèàààùÃÂàèÃÂçúê âú ùÃÂàèÃÂçÃÂ" (The art of rhetoric and elocution in the Indus Kohistani language), written by Ahmad Rashid Faizi and published by the Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI).