Kashmiri language

Kashmiri
कॉशुर Koshur كأشُر
The word "Koshur" in Sharada script, Perso-Arabic script and Devanagari script
Pronunciation	[kəːʃur]
Native to	Jammu and Kashmir (India)
Region	Kashmir valley, Chenab valley
Native speakers	5.6 million (2001 census)
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Dardic Kashmiri
Dialects	Kashtawari (standard) Poguli Rambani
Writing system	Perso-Arabic script (contemporary), Devanagari script (contemporary), Sharada script (ancient/liturgical)
Official status
Official language in	India
Language codes
ISO 639-1	ks
ISO 639-2
ISO 639-3
Glottolog	kash1277
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Kashmiri (/kæʃˈmɪəri/) (कॉशुर, کأشُر), or Koshur, is a language from the Dardic subgroup of the Indo-Aryan languages and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley and Chenab valley of Jammu and Kashmir.

There are approximately 5,527,698 speakers throughout India, according to the Census of 2001. According to the 1998 Census there were 132,450 Kashmiri speakers in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. According to Professor Khawaja Abdul Rehman the Kashmiri language, spoken in the Neelum Valley, is on the verge of dying out.

Kashmiri is close to other Dardic languages spoken in Gilgit, Pakistan and in northern regions of Kargil, India. Outside the Dardic group, tonal aspects and loanwords of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, especially its northern dialects.

The Kashmiri language is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, and is a part of the eighth Schedule in the constitution of the Jammu and Kashmir. Along with other regional languages mentioned in the Sixth Schedule, as well as Hindi and Urdu, the Kashmiri language is to be developed in the state. Most Kashmiri speakers use Urdu or English as a second language. Since November 2008, the Kashmiri language has been made a compulsory subject in all schools in the Valley up to the secondary level.