Language

Burushaski is a linguistic isolate (i.e., it is unrelated to or unlike any known language of the world), spoken in the Hunza, Nagar and Yasin valleys in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, and (by a small number of people) in Srinagar, the summer capital of the Indian administered state of Jammu & Kashmir. The language is primarily preserved orally and literacy in the first language has been practically non-existent although attempts are being made in this direction. Because the speakers are largely multilingual, rapidly shifting to other dominant languages, such as Urdu, the survival of the different varieties of Burushaski, therefore, is greatly threatened. The language has a very rich story-telling tradition which is yet to be fully explored. This project aims to serve towards that end.