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, and a minority language in the district of Kargil. Though a member of the Tibetic family, Ladakhi is not mutually intelligible with Standard Tibetan. Ladakhis and Tibetans usually communicate with each other in Hindi or English as they do not understand each other's languages clearly.
| Ladakhi | |
|---|---|
| ལ་དྭགས་སྐད , لداخی زبان La-dwags skad | |
| Native to | India, |
| Region | Ladakh |
| Ethnicity | Ladakhis |
Native speakers | 14,952 (2011 Census) |
Sino-Tibetan
| |
Writing system | Tibetan script (official, in India and China), Perso-Arabic script (by Muslims, in Pakistan) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either:lbj – Ladakhizau – Zangskari |
| Glottolog | kenh1234 |
| ELP | Ladakhi |
Ladakhi is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger | |
Ladakhi has several dialects: Lehskat, named after Leh where it is spoken, Shamskat, spoken northwest of Leh, Stotskat, spoken in the Indus valley and which unlike the others is tonal, Nubra, spoken north of Leh, the Changthang language, spoken in the Changtang region by the Changpa people, and the Zangskari language, spoken in the Zanskar region of Ladakh.