Nuristani languages in the context of "Nuristan"

The Indo-Iranian languages, also known as Indo-Iranic languages, constitute the largest branch of the Indo-European language family. They include over 300 languages, spoken by around 1.7 billion speakers worldwide, predominantly in South Asia, West Asia and parts of Central Asia.

Indo-Iranian languages are divided into three major branches: Indo-Aryan, Iranian (or Iranic), and Nuristani languages. The Badeshi language remains unclassified within the Indo-Iranian branch. The largest Indo-Iranian language is the Hindustani language (which later on split into Hindi and Urdu).

The Nuristanis are an Indo-Iranian ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province (formerly Kafiristan) of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian languages.

In the mid-1890s, after the establishment of the Durand Line when Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire reached an agreement regarding the Indo-Afghan border as the region of Kafiristan became part of the Great Game and for a period of time, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan conducted a military campaign to secure the eastern regions and followed up his conquest by imposition of Islam; the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light". Before their conversion, the Nuristanis practised an Indo-Iranian (Vedic- or Hindu-like) religion. Non-Muslim religious practices endure in Nuristan today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.

Afghanistan is a linguistically diverse nation with upwards of 40 distinct spoken languages. Dari and Pashto serve as the two main official languages. Dari, historically serving as the region’s lingua franca, is a shared language between the country's different ethnic groups. While Pashto is the dominant first language in the southern and eastern regions of the country, but is primarily spoken within its own ethnic lines.

The country's two main official languages, Dari and Pashto are also sister languages, as both are Iranian languages and are part of the larger Indo-European languages family. The third largest language, Uzbek, is a Turkic language and is sister to neighboring Turkmen. The Turkic languages, along with Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani, and Pamiri, are the third official languages in areas where the majority speaks them.

Dardistan refers to a linguistic area where Dardic languages are spoken. The terms "Dardic" and "Dardistan" are not indigenous to the region, and were coined by Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner. The legitimacy of the term has been called into question. The region also includes a number of non-Dardic peoples and languages.

Katë, also known as Kati or Kamkata-vari, is a Nuristani language. It is a dialect continuum comprising three separate dialects spoken mostly in Afghanistan, with additional speakers in the Chitral District of Pakistan deriving from recent migrations a century ago. The Kata-vari (comprising Western and Northeastern) and Kamviri (comprising Southeastern) dialects are sometimes erroneously reckoned as two separate languages, but according to linguist Richard Strand they form one language.

The Katë language is the largest Nuristani language, spoken by 40,000–60,000 people, from the Kata, Kom, Mumo, Kshto and some smaller Black-Robed tribes in parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The most used alternative names for the language are Kati or Bashgali.