This book is a translation of rare Dardi/Brokskat Oral language into four major languages that is into 'English-Dardi-Bhoti-Hindi' in the shape of a Dictionary. The Book is a documentation of a typical language which is spoken in remotest area of Ladakh. The words in the book consist of pastoral works, names of birds, body parts, animals, weather, jewellery, festivals, local area map and customs etc. The Dardi language is on the verge of extinction and is coming under the influenced of Balti and Ladakhi/ Bhoti other major languages. Dardi language is also influenced by Sanskrit language in the past. The word “Dard” is derived from Sanskrit which means people who live on hill sides. Dard community spread in more than eight villages in Ladakh. Apart from Ladakh this community also spread in Drass (Kargil) Gurez (Kashmir) and Gilgit-Skardo areas in Pakistan. They use the Dardi (Shina) language. Historians hold different views on the origin of these settlements and the migration. One of the view is that the inhabitants of Dard- Shina of Dha, Garkon came via Central Asia and settled down firstly in Gilgit then in Turtuk, Hanu, Dha, Garkon and Darchik villages in about 200 B.C. The Dard people claimed to be of Aryan race occupied the area of lower Ladakh. Some historians assert that when Alexandra's the Great army came to India in 327 B.C and returned to Greece left behind some troops in the Gilgit area and so Greece is the region where the Dard originated. Songs sung by contemporary Dard people however, indicate that their origin was in Rome in Italy. Furthermore, this book is going to be of immense value to the tourist and the traveller who can find words of daily use and be able to interact better with the Dard community in this wonderful land and also for researchers it provides platform for research on languages. This Dardi language dictionary is a step towards the preservation of the culture of this area, which has become possible at present due to the spread of Information Technology and a book like this, thereby transcending the geographical borders.
