The Ladakhi–Balti languages (ལ་དྭགས་དང་སྦལ་ཏི་སྐད)or Western Archaic Tibetan languages are a subgroup of the

Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...

spoken in the

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

region of India and in the

Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory, and constituting the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region which has been the subject of a dispute bet ...

territory of Pakistan. The Ladakhi, Zangskari, Changthang skat is easily mutually intelligible to each other. The Purgi language is intermediate between Balti language and the Ladakhi language and the Purgi language is intelligible to both Ladakhi and Balti speakers. The Purgi language and the Shamskat are very close to each other among these language groups. However, the Ladakhi and Balti languages are slightly lesser intelligible to each other because of the accent, however the vocabulary is the same among these two languages. The group includes: * Ladakhi or Bauti/Bhoti (Ladakh) * Zangskari (Ladakh) * Purgi (Ladakh, Baltistan) * Balti (Baltistan, Ladakh) * Chorbat Skad (Baltistan) *

Changthang The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and g ...

(Tibet, Ladakh, Baltistan) * Skardu Skad (Baltistan) *

Shamskat The Shamskat dialect ( lbj, ) of the Ladakhi language is spoken in the Sham region of Ladakh, a region administered by India as a union territory. Along the Indus, there is a clear geographical boundary between two dialects of Shamskat and K ...

dialect of

Ladakhi language The Ladakhi language is a Tibetic language spoken in the Indian union territory of Ladakh. It is the predominant language in the Buddhist-dominated district of Leh. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible wi ...

(Ladakh) * Khaplu Skad dialect of

Balti language Balti (Nastaʿlīq script: , Tibetan script: སྦལ་ཏི།, ) is a Tibetic language natively spoken by the ethnic Balti people in the Baltistan region of Gilgit−Baltistan, Pakistan, Nubra Valley of the Leh district and in the Karg ...

(Baltistan)

Classification and dialects

The separation between Ladakhi and Balti community has happened hundreds of year ago. This lead to drastic changes in the phonology and intonation of the languages, however most of the vocabulary is same among this group of languages. The dialects of Ladakhi and Balti are : # The Western Ladakhi dialects of Lower Leh and the Sham and Nubra valleys (Shamskatic) # The Balti dialect of Skardu,

Shigar Shigar () is the headquarter of its namesake district and tehsil in the Baltistan division of Gilgit–Baltistan in northern Pakistan. It is located at the bank of Shigar River in the most remote and dramatic part of the region. It is a popular ...

and Rondu. # The Eastern Ladakhi dialects of Upper Leh, Zanskar and the Changthang region (Kenhatic) # The Central dialect of Khaplu valley # The Southern dialects of Upper

Kharmang The Kharmang Valley (), also known as Kartaksho, is one of the five main valleys situated in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The area became an individual district in 2015, with its temporary headquarters set at the town of Tolti. The valley is loc ...

and

Kargil Kargil ( lbj, ) is a city and a joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, India. It is also the headquarters of the Kargil district. It is the second-largest city in Ladakh after Leh. Kargil is located to the east of Srinagar in Ja ...

also called Purgi dialect.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladakhi-Balti languages Languages of Ladakh Languages of Gilgit-Baltistan Languages of Pakistan Tibetic languages of Pakistan Bodish languages

Classification and dialects

See also

References