Elena Bashir, Senior Lecturer and COSAS Emerita in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations had her Khowar-English Lexicon published in the online, open-access journal Himalayan Linguistics. 

“This is a roman-based Khowar-English vocabulary/glossary/dictionary/lexicon, which includes contextual and cultural notes when such information was supplied by the people who contributed to it. Each entry consists of a headword, English gloss or explanation, and sources. Many entries include example sentences with English translations and derivational or etymological notes. Sources are given for each entry, i.e. names of the persons who have contributed the item. The two main target audiences for this work are speakers of Khowar and other Pakistani languages, and all kinds of linguists.”

Khowar is a Northwest Indo-Aryan language that is spoken primarily in the Upper and Lower Chitral Districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. The language is often spoken in the home but is rapidly being influenced by the more dominant languages of Pakistan. Bashir says that this lexicon is a way to document some of the words that are likely to fall into disuse through changing culture and technologies.

Congratulations, Dr. Bashir, on this great achievement!