Burushaski

Burushaski /bʊrʊˈʃæski/ (Burushaski: burū́šaskī / بروشسکی‎), the language of the Burusho people, is a language isolate spoken in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. As of 2000, Burushaski was spoken by some 87,000 people in Hunza-Nagar District, northern Gilgit District, and in the Yasin and Ishkoman valleys of northern Ghizer District. Their native region is located in northern Gilgit–Baltistan and borders with Pamir corridor to the north. Burushaski is also spoken by about 300 people in Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir Other names for the language are Biltum, Khajuna, Kunjut, Brushaski, Burucaki, Burucaski, Burushaki, Burushki,Brugaski, Brushas, Werchikwar and Miśa:ski.

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