Languages of Pakistan

Languages of Pakistan
Official	Urdu; English
Main	Balochi; Pashto; Punjabi; Sindhi ; Siraiki
Indigenous	Balti; Brahui; Hindko; Jhangochi
Regional	Kashmiri; Potwari; Siraiki;
Minority	Burushaski; Kalash; Khowar; Shina
Immigrant	Arabic; Persian; Bengali; Gujarati ; Memoni
Signed	Indo-Pakistani Sign Language
Keyboard layout	Urdu keyboard

English is the official language of Pakistan while Urdu is the national language despite not being a native language or being the mother tongue of any native group in the country. Many other languages are spoken within the country including Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Siraiki, Balochi and Brahui. Most of the languages of Pakistan are part of Indo-Aryan languages family with Iranian languages most significant in west as well as Dardic languages in north & northwest.

History

Language families in Pakistan are mainly Indo-Aryan and Iranic with a minor language belonging to Dravidian (Brahui) and one language isolate (Burushaski)

Urdu was chosen as a national language of Pakistan to act as a lingua franca amongst the various ethnic/cultural groups & has historical significance as the language developed during the Islamic conquests in the Subcontinent during the Mughal Empire and was chosen as the neutral language to unite various groups of Pakistan although only 8% of Pakistanis are native speakers of Urdu. The official language and that used most often by the government is English. Many educational institutes and universities use English as the only medium of instruction. In addition, many regional languages are spoken in Pakistan and the major ones according to the number of native speakers are Punjabi (44%), Pashto (15%), Sindhi (14%), Saraiki (10%), Baluchi (4%). Pakistan has about 1 million native speakers of Persian. Persian continues to be an important literary language in Pakistan. Arabic is popular due to religious significance. Most Pakistanis understand at least two languages.

Demographics

Following are the major languages spoken in Pakistan. The percentage of Pakistanis who are native speakers of that language is also given.

• Punjabi 44%
• Pashto 15%
• Sindhi 14%
• Siraiki 10%
• Urdu 8%
• Balochi 4%
• Others 5%

Urdu

Urdu is Pakistan's national language and has been promoted as a token of national unity. More than 95% of Pakistanis can speak or understand Urdu as their second or third language in many cases, though only about 8% of the population of Pakistan has Urdu as its mother tongue. It is written in modified form of Arabic alphabet. First poetry in Urdu was by Persian poet Amir Khusro (1253–1325), first Urdu book Dah Majlis was written in 1728 & first time word "Urdu" was used by Sirajuddin Arzoo in 1751.

English

English is Pakistan's official language widely used in government and Pakistan's Constition is written in English

Major languages

Punjabi (provincial language)

Punjabi is spoken as first language by 44% of Pakistanis. It is an important language as about 70% of Pakistanis can speak or understand it. However, Punjabi does not have any official status in Pakistan. Punjabi lineage can be traced through Lahori and Multani during Muslim period (700 to 1860).

Punjabi dialects:

• Majhi

This dialect is "the standard Punjabi language" and spoken in the heart of Punjab where most of the Punjabi population lives. The main districts are Lahore, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and some parts of Jhelum in Pakistani Punjab and Gurdaspur and Amritsar in Indian Punjab.

• Jhangvi or Jhangochi or Rachnavi

This dialect is spoken in the central Pakistani Punjab, stretches from districts Khanewal to Jhang and includes Faisalabad and Chiniot.

• Shahpuri

This dialect is spoken in Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahauddin districts.

• Pothowari (regional language)

The area where Pothowari is spoken extends in the north from Muzaffarabad to as far south as Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Chakwal and Rawalpindi. [phr] 49,440 (2000 WCD). Murree Hills north of Rawalpindi, and east to Bhimber. Poonchi is east of Rawalakot. Potwari is in the plains around Rawalpindi. Alternate names: Potwari, Pothohari, Potohari, Chibhali, Dhundi-Kairali. Dialects: Pahari (Dhundi-Kairali), Pothwari (Potwari), Chibhali, Punchhi (Poonchi), Mirpuri. Pahari means 'hill language' referring to a string of divergent dialects, some of which may be separate languages. A dialect chain with Panjabi and Hindko. Closeness to western Pahari is unknown. Lexical similarity 76% to 83% among varieties called 'Pahari', 'Potwari', and some called 'Hindko' in Mansehra,Muzaffarabad, and Jammun. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Northern zone, Western Pahari.

• Hindko

This dialect is spoken in districts of Peshawar, Attock, Nowshehra, Mansehra, Balakot, Abbotabad and Murree and the lower half of Neelum District and Muzafarabad..

• Malwi

Spoken in the eastern part of Indian Punjab. Main districts are Ludhiana, Ambala, Bathinda, Ganganagar, Malerkotla, Fazilka, Ferozepur. Malwa is the southern and central part of present day Indian Punjab. Also includes the Punjabi speaking northern areas of Haryana, viz. Ambala, Hissar, Sirsa, Kurukshetra etc.

• Doabi (regional language)

The word "Do Aabi" means "the land between to rivers" and this dialects is spoken between the rivers of Beas and Sutlej. It includes Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur districts.

• Saraiki /Multani (regional language)

Saraiki or Multani (also Lahndi by some) and perhaps differs from Punjabi more than any other dialect. Multani becomes more and more different as you move down south, as the influence of Sindhi increases, it is also known as Saraiki there. Saraiki itself is Sindhi word and means northern. Saraiki is spoken in Multan, Bahawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bhakkar, Dera Ismail Khan, Khanewal, Muzaffargarh, Sukkur, Jacobabad, Layyah and Mianwali.

Pashto (provincial language)

Pashto (پشتو) is spoken as a first language by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and in Balochistan as well as by immigrants to the eastern provinces who are often not counted due to census irregularities. Additionally, Afghan refugees are often outside the census count, but appear to be largely Pashto speakers from Afghanistan. In addition to being the first language of 15% Pakistanis, Pashto is also spoken by more than 50% of the population of the neighboring Afghanistan. Pashto has no written literary traditions although it has a rich oral tradition. There are two major dialect patterns within which the various individual dialects may be classified; these are Pakhto, which is the northern (Peshawar) variety, and the softer Pashto spoken in southern areas around Quetta. Khushal Khan Khatak (1613–1689) and Rehman Baba (1633–1708) were two important poets in the Pashto language.

Sindhi (provincial language)

Sindhi (سنڌي ) is spoken as a first language by about 14% of Pakistanis, in Sindh and parts of Balochistan. Sindhi has very rich literature and is taught in schools in the province of Sindh. Sindhi language contains Arabic words and is affected by Arabic language to a great extent as Arabs ruled Sindh for more than 150 years. Muhammad bin Qasim entered Sindh and conquered it in 712 AD. He remained there for three years and governed the area. According to historians, the social fabric of Sindh has elements of Arabic society. Sindhi is spoken in Pakistan. It is spoken by about 20 million people in the southern Pakistani province of Sindh as well as by the Sindhi diaspora. In Pakistan it is written in the Arabic script with several additional letters to accommodate special sounds. The largest Sindhi-speaking city is Hyderabad, Pakistan. Sindhi literature is also spiritual in nature and Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai (1689–1752) was one of its legendary poets who wrote Sassi Punnun, Umar Marvi in his famous book "Shah Jo Risalo".

Siraiki (regional language)

Siraiki is closely related to Sindhi and Punjabi (See Classification, below) Spoken as a first language by 10% of Pakistanis, mostly in southern districts of Punjab and northern parts of Sindh (see Siraikis). All most 10% of the population of Pakistan speak Siraiki language. Dialects tend to blend into each other, into Punjabi to the north, Sindhi to the south and Balochi/Pashto to the west. Until recently it was considered to be a sub-dialect of Punjabi. 85% lexical similarity with Sindhi; 68% with Odki and Sansi. Dialects are Derawali, Khatki, Jangli or Jatki and Riasti or Bahawalpuri.

Balochi (provincial language)

Balochi (بلوچی) is spoken as a first language by 4% of Pakistanis, mostly in Balochistan, Sindh and southern Punjab. Baluchi is very close to the Persian language itself. The name Baluchi or Balochi is not found before the 10th century. It is believed that the language was brought to its present location in a series of migrations from Northern Iran, near the Caspian Shores. Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi, is a sub-dialect of Rakshani. Other sub-dialects are qalati, Chagai-kharani, Panjguri. Eastern Hill Baluchi or Northern Baluchi is very different from the rest.

Other languages

Numerous other languages are spoken by relatively small numbers of people, especially in some of the more remote and isolated places in, for example, the Northern Areas of Pakistan [1]. These include:

1. Burushaski - spoken in Hunza
2. Shina - spoken in Gilgit District
3. Khowar - spoken in Chitral
4. Kalash - spoken in the Kalash valleys
5. Wakhi orXikwor - spoken in Upper Hunza Gojal valleys

Hazaragi an Old version and Dialect of dariPersian and with its own characteristics words and Idioms. this is an important Language of Baluchistan and also The Hazara people Live in Sindh and NWFP.

Persian

There are an estimated 2 million native Persian speakers in Pakistan not including the several million Afghan refugees who speak Dari (Eastern Farsi) often not counted due to census irregularities or lack of official paperwork. Persian is often considered the literary language of Pakistan and still has considerable influence within the country. The national anthem of Pakistan is written in Persian. The philosopher poet Allama Iqbal, who pioneered the movement for an independent Pakistan, was a noted Persian poet and in many regards hoped that it would have been the national language of the country. Persian was the lingua franca of Pakistan since the time of the Persian Empire and its use was abolished by the British after the annexation of Sindh (in 1843) and later of Panjab (1849) in the early 1900's, when the British changed the official language to Urdu. Most of the country's cultural monuments, literary works and poems are written in the Persian language.

Minor (Disappearing) Languages

Gujarati/Memoni/Kutchi

Gujarati is spoken by over 100,000 people who arrived in Sindh as refugees from Gujarat in India at the time of independence. All Parsi (5,000-10,000), and many Ismaili Muslims speak Gujarati. Many Parsi and Ismailis are literate in Gujarati. Memoni/Kutchi is spoken by over 200,000 individuals who originate in eastern Sindh and from the bordering regions of Kutch and adjacent Gujrat(india) who arrived as refugees and settled in Pakistan at the time of independence. Most reside in Karachi area, an important business community consist of merchants and traders, ‎industrialist professional and managers and generally holds white collar jobs. They share a common tongue, Memoni, that is often classified as a dialect of Sindhi, but with a pre-domninate vocabulary from Gujarati.

Classification

Indo-Aryan

About 75% of the languages of Pakistan are classified as Indo-Aryan languages. 20% are Indo-Iranian languages and about 4% are classified as Dardic languages most notably Shina and Khowar. About 1% belong to the Dravidian language family, i.e., Brahui.

Lahnda dialects

Punjabi, Pahari, Mirpuri, Hindko and Saraiki, all mutually intelligible, are classified by linguists as dialects of Lahnda[2], also spelled as Lehnda. These are also, to a lesser extent, mutually intelligible with Urdu. Added together, speakers of these mutually-intelligible languages make up nearly two-thirds of Pakistan's population.

Iranian family of languages

Pashto, Dari, Wakhani and Balochi are classified as members of the Iranian family of languages. [3] If combined, Iranian peoples who speak Pashto, Balochi, Dari, Persian, and Wakhi comprise almost 25% of the population of Pakistan. Persian was the official language during Mughal times before British colonial rule. It is taught in many schools in Pakistan.

Brahui

Brahui is sub-language group spoken in eastern Balochistan, its origins are obscure. Brahui is unique in that it contains about 10-15% vocabularly from the Dravidian language family, though due to massive borrowing, most of the vocabulary of the language is derived from Iranic languages such as Baluchi, Farsi, Sindhi and even Pashto. Brahui is a minor language mainly in the region of Kalat in the western province of Balochistan inhabitied by the Brahui and spoken by some 1% of the population. Brahui is heavily influenced by Baluchi and Sindhi languages in which many Brahui speakers are bilingual. Brahui now is gradually incorporating more Urdu, Balochi and even Pashto words.

See also

• Kashmiri language
• Statistics Division of the Government of Pakistan
• Urdu
• Naional Language Authority
• Pakistani

External links

• Pakistan census statistics by population
• List of Pakistani Languages at Ethnologue