Irshad A. Naikoo

A Descriptive Study of Balti Verb Morphology: Descriptive Linguistics Irshad A. Naikoo

The region stretching along the Kashmir province of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India and the Northern Areas region of Pakistan is home to great ethno-linguistic diversity. A long history of language contact has often obscured the original linguistic differences between various languages spoken in the region, and sometimes it is almost impossible to tell which language has influenced which language. As is the case in other parts of the subcontinent, multilingualism is a norm in this region. Balti is the prevailing language all over Baltistan. Although the real home of Balti is Baltistan, formerly constituting a part of the Jammu and Kashmir State, but now its greater part has gone to Pakistan. But so far as Balti speakers are concerned a good number of them are settled in the Kargil district of the Ladakh region. The book is about Balti spoken in Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir.