Balti Language

Balti (بلتی) is a language spoken in Baltistan, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh, India. Baltistan - before 1948 - was part of Ladakh province. The language is a dialect of the Tibetan language. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi and Burig. Many of the consonants that are silent in most modern Tibetan dialects are pronounced in Balti. All people of same races, living in Baltistan are called Balti. The Greeks d... more

Balti (بلتی) is a language spoken in Baltistan, in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and adjoining parts of Ladakh, India. Baltistan - before 1948 - was part of Ladakh province. The language is a dialect of the Tibetan language. It is mutually intelligible with Ladakhi and Burig. Many of the consonants that are silent in most modern Tibetan dialects are pronounced in Balti. All people of same races, living in Baltistan are called Balti. The Greeks derived Byaltae from sBal-ti, which in Tibetan means "water gorge." The historian Ptolemy who was also a general in the army of Alexander the Great had named the region (Byaltae) in his book. In fact Baltistan is the Persian translation of Baltiyul, “The Homeland of Balti”. The people belonging to Balti nationality are settled on both banks of the river Indus from Kargil (in the east) to Haramosh (in the west) and from Karakoram range (in the north) to Deosai plains (in the south). In this nationality the majority comes from Tibetan origin.... less