Kashmiri language

Kashmir or Kashmir is a Dardic language used mainly in Kashmir, a mountainous region divided between India, Pakistan and China. It has about 7,197,587 speakers.

It is an SVO type language. It was originally written in the Sharada alphabet, but is now written in the Persian alphabet. The oldest literary composition that has survived to this day is the poetry of Lalleshvari, a mystical poet of the 14th century.

Kashmiri writing is declining due to political reasons and lack of formal education in Kashmiri. Speakers of the language are also decreasing.

Kashmiri has a rich heritage in the form of many poets and singers. It was the language of many poets of the Sufi era. Songs in Kashmiri, also known as kashur among its speakers, are known as 'gewun' (pronounced 'guewon') and chorus songs like 'wonwun' (pronounced 'wanwon').