Burushaski

Burushaski (Urdu: بروشسکی‎ burū́šaskī), is a language isolate (that is, not known to be related to any other language of the world) of Pakistan. It is spoken by some 87,000 (as of 2000) Burusho people in the Hunza, Nagar, Yasin, and Ishkoman valleys, and some parts of the Gilgit valley, in Gilgit–Baltistan; and by about 300 in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Other names for the language are Brugaski, Kanjut (Kunjoot), Boorishki, Brushas (Brushias), Verchikwār, and Miśa:ski.

Today, Burushaski contains numerous loanwords from Urdu (including English, Persian and Sanskrit words received via Urdu), and from neighbouring Dardic languages such as Shina and Khowar, as well as a few from Turkic languages, and from the neighboring Sino-Tibetan language Balti, and Wakhi and Pashto. However, the original vocabulary remains largely intact. The Dardic languages also contain large numbers of loanwords from Burushaski.

There are three dialects, named after the main valleys: Hunza, Nagar, and Yasin (also called Werchikwār). Yasin dialect is the most divergent and is the least affected by contact with neighboring languages. All three dialects are mutually intelligible.