In
writing this manual the author has derived great benefit from the comments,
criticisms and, at times, persistent disagreements of several colleagues
and students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Onkar N.
Pandit deserves special mention for his assistance on this project almost
since its inception. In his own quiet way, he evaluated each lesson and
provided insightful criticism. His help was valuable for another reason,
also; for a long time he was the only other native speaker of the Kashmiri
language on this campus, with whom the author could converse in Kashmiri.
The author also owes
special gratitude to Mohan Raina for drawing the original illustrations;
to Tej K. Bhatia for commenting on several lessons from a non-native learner's
point of view; to Jeanne Kriechbaum for patiently typing a complex manuscript,
written mostly in a language that she did not understand; to Chin-chuan
Cheng, Yamuna Kachru, Maria Keen and Girdhari L. Tikku, whose brains were
picked very frequently with all types of questions, and who provided constructive
suggestions on one or more sections of this book concerning presentation,
style, content and translation; to Josephine Wilcock for looking after
the administrative details of this project; to Lynne Hellmer and Sue Dennis
for their secretarial help; to the Center for International Comparative
Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for a grant for fieldwork;
to the Institute of International Studies, United States Office of Education,
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare for their support of this
project.
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Preface
