Alternate Names: Eshkashimi, Ishkashim, Ishkashmi
Dialects: None known. Ishkashimi intelligible to Sanglechi , speakers, but Sanglechi not intelligible to Ishkashimi speakers. Lexical similarity: 70% with Sanglechi ,.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 2,500 in Afghanistan (2009 S. Beck), decreasing. Population total all countries: 3,000. 0 monolinguals.
Language Use: Some parents used Dari [prs] with their children to provide them with better chances in school. Only now do the people realize that this might cause the language to become endangered. About half the households use Ishkashimi with the younger generation. Home, village. Older and middle generations; some younger people only speak Dari [prs]. Positive attitudes. 100% also use Dari [prs].
Language Development: Literacy rate in L2: 15%–25%. Most children now become literate in Dari [prs] because they attend school.
Writing System: Unwritten
Nation of Origin: Afghanistan
Other Comments: Most Sanglechi , have a positive attitude toward Ishkashimi and consider it closely related, whereas the Ishkashimi do not have a good attitude toward Sanglechi. Muslim (Ismaili).