We <3 people who speak Kóshur
Four things the language needs.
Script & literacy
Most people who speak Kashmiri were never taught to read or write it. We make primers and run classes for the Nastaʿlīq script — for children and adults both.
Digital Kóshur
Fonts, keyboards and spell-checkers that actually work, and real web content in Kashmiri. Built once, released free, so the language works on a phone.
Literature
Finding, digitising and publishing Kashmiri writing — from old mystic poetry to people writing today — before more of it is lost.
Community
Workshops and storytelling nights where speaking Kóshur is just normal, not something people apologise for.
A living language without the tools to live.
Millions speak Kóshur, but few are taught to read or write it, and the everyday tools other languages get (fonts, keyboards, archives, speech) barely exist. The language stays spoken at home and quiet everywhere else.
We teach the script, build the software, publish the writing, and record the speech so speakers have somewhere to take it next.
We're teaching computers to read and speak Kashmiri.
We are building a 1,200-hour open-source speech dataset for Kashmiri: thousands of speakers recording hundreds of hours of data, released free.
Learn more
Common questions.
What does Yimberzol do?
We work on literacy, digital tools, literature and community for Kashmiri — and on Project Zoon, an open speech dataset so Kóshur can work in modern voice technology. Everything we build is meant to be free and usable by others.
Who is this for?
Speakers who want to read and write their language, families reconnecting with Kóshur, volunteers who can teach or digitise, and anyone who wants Kashmiri to work on phones and computers the way other languages do.
Do I need to read Kashmiri to record?
No. Every prompt comes with the Nastaʿlīq script and a Roman transliteration underneath. If you can speak Kóshur, you can record.
What happens to my recordings?
They go into an open speech dataset used to train Kashmiri speech-to-text and text-to-speech. We don't sell them, and your name isn't attached to the clips.
How else can I help?
Send us literature to digitise, volunteer a skill, or help fund the work. Email us and we'll find a place for it.
Is the work free to use?
Yes. Speech data, fonts and tools are released so researchers, developers and speakers can build on them. We are a non-profit — the point is the language, not a product lock-in.
Who runs Yimberzol?
Yimberzol Foundation, a non-profit incorporated on 14 March 2026. A small team, working mostly in the open.
Lend a voice, or a hand.
Lend your voice
If you speak Kóshur, the fastest way to help is to record. A few minutes of reading aloud feeds Project Zoon — and your dialect is exactly what it needs.
Record with us → VolunteerLend a hand
Teach, translate, digitise, design, or fund the work. If you'd rather help with something other than recording, there are other ways in.
See the ways →