A diachronic analysis of Sindhi multiscriptality

Abstract

Recent debates in modern India on which script to use for the Sindhi language in the country present the situation as a binary choice between Perso-Arabic and Devanagari. However, such debates almost always fail to take into account the fact that the Sindhi language has, for most of its written history, been written in multiple scripts by different user groups and for different purposes. This study investigates the rich history of multiscriptality in the Sindhi language by analysing data on the use of various scripts for the language from the tenth century to the present day. I show that, historically, the Sindhi community chose and used scripts based on utilitarian and pragmatic principles, rather than on ideology or prejudice. I also demonstrate that script choice in the Sindhi community was determined by religio-occupational needs, one’s gender affiliation as well as the purpose and function of writing. In doing so, I argue that the case of Sindhi multiscriptality makes significant contributions to our understanding of the sociolinguistics of writing, of script choice, and of the paradigm of biscriptality (Bunčić, Daniel, Sandra L. Lippert & Achim Rabus (eds.). 2016. <i>Biscriptality: A sociolinguistic typology</i>. Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter).