TRANSLATION OF SHINA QUATRAINS OF JAN ALI JAN INTO ENGLISH

Abstract

This study is relevant to the pressing problem of language endangerment in Pakistan, and it is particularly concerned with Shina, a Dardic language spoken in Gilgit Baltistan and Indian-occupied Kashmir, which is on the verge of extinction due to a lack of documentation and a limited number of speakers. The study translates and documents 74 selected songs of Jan Ali Jan, a renowned Shina poet and singer whose work is representative of the indigenous literary tradition but has not been documented yet. The study uses a qualitative research methodology and a three-step approach: romanization of the Shina script, English translation, and analysis using digital hermeneutics and Poemage visualization software. The study has found that the major themes in Jan Ali Jan’s poetry are love, nature, satire against the elite class and the orthodox clergy, sectarianism, patriotism, socio-political commentary on the constitutional status of Gilgit Baltistan, and autobiographical notes that reflect his military background. The translations show the richness of imagery, symbolism, and poetic devices typical of the Shina oral tradition. This documentation has a dual function: it preserves a language on the verge of extinction through written documentation and makes Shina literature accessible to non-Shina speakers. The study adds to the efforts of preserving endangered languages because it shows how poetic traditions are a reflection of cultural conceptions of reality that are at risk of being lost with the language. The study provides a basis for future studies by including both the romanized and translated texts.