Kashmiri is the language of the Vale of Kashmir or the Kashmir Valley, as it is also known. It is an Indo-Aryan language with a rich literary history going as far back as the fourteenth century and is spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of this region of Kashmir and the neighboring district of Kishtwar, as well as by the diasporic Kashmiri community. Kashmiri is one of India’s official languages, recognized in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India, and is the official language of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmiri is conventionally written in a modified form of the Perso-Arabic script. It also used to be written in a form of the Brahmi script called Sharada, however the use of this script has become extremely rare. Kashmiri is offered as a part of the department’s language tutorials according to the academic needs of students. Students who study Kashmiri can also take part in the American Institute of Indian Studies Kashmiri programs offered in the summer months.
Subject to FAS language tutorial guidelines; enrollment is by petition and statements of academic need are due by June 1, 2025. To submit a petition please use this link to the Language Tutorial Petition online form.
Instructors and Individual meeting times/semesters vary
Fall
SAS 100A: Elementary Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the introductory level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. This course introduces the basic grammatical structures of modern Kashmiri, enabling students to read and produce simple, standard prose as well as engage in basic conversation by the end of the first year. Kashmiriis taught with a concern for the cultural context in which this language is spoken and written. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)
SAS 101A: Intermediate Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the intermediate level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. This course is designed to provide students with a more sophisticated knowledge of Kashmiri grammar. Students will also have an opportunity to use Kashmiri language for communication purposes and will be able to analyze more complex sentence types than the ones taught in the introductory course. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)
SAS 102A: Advanced Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the advanced level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. A reading course in Modern Kashmiri Literature, suitable for students who have at least three years of Kashmiri learning. This course is designed to help students understand some of the complex literary materials composed in modern Kashmiri language. The students will have an opportunity to read a wide variety of selected texts, understand the linguistic systems operative in those writings, and come up with their own informed understanding of them. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)
Spring
SAS 100B: Elementary Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the introductory level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. This course introduces the basic grammatical structures of modern Kashmiri, enabling students to read and produce simple, standard prose as well as engage in basic conversation by the end of the first year. Kashmiriis taught with a concern for the cultural context in which this language is spoken and written. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)
SAS 101B: Intermediate Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the intermediate level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. This course is designed to provide students with a more sophisticated knowledge of Kashmiri grammar. Students will also have an opportunity to use Kashmiri language for communication purposes and will be able to analyze more complex sentence types than the ones taught in the introductory course. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)
SAS 102B: Advanced Kashmiri
Instructor: Muneebur Rahman, Schedule determined by instructor upon final enrollment.
Individualized study of a South Asian language at the advanced level; emphasis on written expression, reading comprehension and oral fluency. A reading course in Modern Kashmiri Literature, suitable for students who have at least three years of Kashmiri learning. This course is designed to help students understand some of the complex literary materials composed in modern Kashmiri language. The students will have an opportunity to read a wide variety of selected texts, understand the linguistic systems operative in those writings, and come up with their own informed understanding of them. (Language Tutorials are not open to auditors.)