ABSTRACT
Substantial numbers of nomadic or semi-nomadic Brahui speakers inhabit the Afghan Sorawak desert northwest of Nushki, in an area extending west along the Hilmand River into Iranian Sistan. The main habitat of Brahui tribesmen, extends continuously over a narrow north-south belt in Pakistan from north of Quetta southwards through Mastung and Kalat as far south as Las Bela, just inland from the Arabian sea coast. Only two of the nuclear tribes are primary speakers of Brahui one consists of primary speakers of Balochi four are bilaterally bilingual in Brahui and Balochi and one is bilaterally bilingual in Brahui and Siraiki. Language use among the approximately 300,000 secondary speakers of Brahui is extraordinary. Bilaterally bilingual in two genetically unrelated Ianguages, Brahui and Balochi, the speakers use both languages every day, but consciously keep them apart. Brahui has two diphthongs, /ay/, /aw/, as in Balochi. Other apparent diphthongs are sequences of two vowels.
