Regional Languages of Gilgit Baltistan, Northern Areas of Pakistan

Today, in this post, we are going to discuss all the spoken languages in Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan. There are approximately 17 different languages spoken in Gilgit Baltistan to date.

List of All the Spoken Languages in Gilgit Baltistan

1. Balti

2. Burushaski

3. Shina

4. Wakhi

5. Khowar

6. Kahasha

7. Domaaki

8. Pashto

There are languages that are spoken in the remote area of Baltistan, especially near the Pak-Ind border in the Kharmang District.

We don’t know the exact name of the language that they speak. But we know that they also speak and understand Balti Language just like all other Balti people do.

We have already written a detailed article on the Balti Language. But in this post, we will do a detailed and comprehensive overview of all the major languages spoken in the region of Gilgit Baltistan, their history, and other historical facts about these languages.

We also try to learn a few basic words in all these languages that are used by the people of the region on a daily basis in their daily life. In fact, learning these few basic words can help you in basic communication with the people of this region if you ever visit this region.

There are also some benefits of always learning a second language.

Benefits of Learning a Second Language

• It can make you a multitasking person
• Improve your performance in studies
• Improve your vocabulary
• Make good connections with others
• Advance in your career
• Improve confidence
• Power your brain
• Better decision-making power
• Increase information about things by reading books in another language

Balti Language

The Balti Language is widely spoken in the region of Skardu, Baltistan. Apart from the region, Balti is also spoken in India and a few parts of Nepal and China.

Because the region has a border with India and China, and before the partition of India and Pakistan, they were in the same area, even though they were from the same family.

But unfortunately, due to the war between Pakistan and India, families were separated forever.

Because Balti was also the mother language of all those people who are living across the border, they also didn’t forget their language and culture. So we can find thousands of Balti-origin people in India also.

Burushaski Language

The people of Gilgit Baltistan who speak the Burushaski language are known as the Burusho people. There were no Burushaski speakers in the Baltistan region, but in Gilgit.
Villages Where Burushaski Language Speakers Are
• Hunza
• Nagar
• Yasin
These three villages are popular in Gilgit Baltistan.
According to historians, the language is very similar to a language that is spoken in Spain and France, called the Pyrenees.

Burushaski Language Writing Standard

There is no proper writing standard in the Burushaski language. The Urdu alphabet is used to write the language.