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Languages of Pakistan

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Languages of Pakistan
OfficialEnglish, Urdu
NationalUrdu
MainPunjabi (44.15%), Pashto (15.42%), Sindhi (14.1%), Saraiki(12.1%), Urdu (7.57%), Balochi (3.57%)
RegionalKashmiri; Saraiki; Potwari;
MinorityBurushaski; Kalash; Khowar; Shina; Balti; Brahui; Hindko; Farsi.
SignedIndo-Pakistani Sign Language
Keyboard layout
Languages spoken in Pakistan

Languages of Pakistan include two official languages: Urdu, which is also the national language and Pakistan's lingua franca, and English. Additionally, Pakistan has four major provincial languages: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi, as well as three major regional languages: Saraiki, Hindko and Kashmiri.

Most of the languages of Pakistan belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.

Statistics

Rank Language 1998 census[1] 1982 census 1961 census 1951 census
1 Punjabi 44.15% 48.17% 66.39% 67.08%
2 Pashto 15.42% 13.15% 8.47% 8.16%
3 Sindhi 14.1% 11.7% 12.59% 12.85%
4 Saraiki* 10.53% 9.54% --  -- 
5 Urdu 7.57% 7.60% 7.57% 7.05%
6 Balochi 3.57% 3.02% 2.49% 3.04%

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

Numbers of speakers of larger languages
Language 2008 estimate 1998 census Areas of Predominance
1 Punjabi 76,367,360 44.17% 58,433,431 44.15% Punjab
2 Pashto 26,692,890 15.44% 20,408,621 15.42% Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
3 Sindhi 24,410,910 14.12% 18,661,571 14.10% Sindh
4 Seraiki 18,019,610 10.42% 13,936,594 10.53% South Punjab
5 Urdu 13,120,540 7.59% 10,019,576 7.57% Karachi
6 Balochi 6,204,540 3.59% 4,724,871 3.57% Balochistan
7 Others 8,089,150 4.68% 6,167,515 4.66%
Total 172,900,000 100% 132,352,279 100% Pakistan

National language: Urdu

Urdu (اردو) is Pakistan's national language (قومی زبان) and the lingua franca of Pakistan. Although only about 8% of the Pakistani population speak Urdu as their mother tongue, it is understood and spoken by 90% of the country's population throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan.[2] Urdu is written in a modified script of the Arabic alphabet, known as Nastaliq.

The first recorded poetry in Urdu was by the Persian poet Amir Khusro (1253) (امیر خسرو–1325); the first Urdu book, Dah Majlis, was published in 1728. The first time the word "Urdu" was used was in 1751, by Sirajuddin Arzoo (سراج الدین آرزو).[citation needed]

Urdu has historical significance as the language developed during the Islamic conquests of the South Asian subcontinent, especially under the Mughal Empire. It was chosen as the national language of Pakistan because it was a neutral common language that could be understood and spoken by the various language groups of Pakistan.

Urdu is, increasingly, being adopted and spoken as a first language by a new generation of urbanized Pakistanis, especially in large cosmopolitan cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad/Rawalpindi. [citation needed]

Official language: English

English is Pakistan's official language and is widely used in official communication in the three branches of the State – the government, the judiciary, the legislature – as well in educational institutions. Pakistan's Constitution and its laws are written in English. It is also widely used in business and education.

Provincial languages

Punjabi

Dialects of Punjabi

Punjabi (پنجابی) is spoken as a first language by 45% of Pakistanis. It is an important language as about 70% of Pakistanis can speak or understand it.

Punjabi dialects include:

  • Jhangvi or Jhangochi or Rachnavi, spoken in the central Pakistani Punjab, stretches from districts Khanewal to Jhang and includes Faisalabad, Sahiwal and Chiniot. In Sahiwal and Okara, it is called Lookal لوکل سرائیکی.Shahpuri, spoken in Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahauddin districts.
  • Potohari

Pashto

Pashto (پشتو) is spoken as a first language by 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and in northern part of Balochistan Province. 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 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.

both hindko and modern panjistani(old pothoari) are also spoken in the northern part of this province

Sindhi

Sindhi (سنڌي) is spoken as a first language by about 14% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Province of Sindh and the southeastern parts of the Province of Balochistan. Sindhi is known for its very rich literature and is taught in schools in the province of Sindh. The Sindhi language is rich in vocabulary and is considered one of the oldest languages in the Indus valley, presently the Sindhi Abjads contain a grand total of 53 alphabets. Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai is considered the most influential and famous poet of the Sindhi Language. The largest Sindhi-speaking city is Hyderabad, Pakistan, the Sindhi language however is spoken throughout the province.

Balochi

Balochi (بلوچی) is spoken as a first language by about 4% of Pakistanis, mostly in the Province of Balochistan. The name Balochi is not found before the tenth 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 and Panjguri. Eastern Hill Balochi or Northern Balochi is very different from the rest.

Modern Panjistani (Pothohary, Northern Lahnda or Mirpuri) is also a very important language because it is spoken in the capital region of Pakistan.

Regional languages

Saraiki سرائیکی

The Saraiki language (Perso-Arabic: سرائیکی sometimes spelled Siraiki and Seraiki) is closely related to Punjabi. It is spoken by approximately 14 million Pakistanis, mostly in the southern part of Punjab Province and in adjacent parts of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa provinces. Saraiki, belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European. According to global recordings languages these are also Saraiki.

  • Jhangvi or Jhangochi or Rachnavi, spoken in the central Pakistani Punjab, stretches from districts Khanewal to Jhang and includes Faisalabad,Sahiwal and Chiniot.In Sahiwal and okara it is called Lookal لوکل سرائیکی*Shahpuri, spoken in Mianwali, Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahauddindistricts. According to HEC Saraiki is the first language of more than 12 corores.

Hindko

Hindko is known as "The language of the Hind(India) Mountains" and is the only language older then any language of the region. It is widely spoken in many dialects in the districts of Peshawar, Attock, Nowshehra, Mansehra, Balakot, Abbottabad, Haripur, Batagram, Shinkiari, Oghi, Lora, Galiyat and Murree and the lower half of Neelum District and Muzafarabad District

Kashmiri

Kashmiri is spoken in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and its environs.

Other languages

Persian

There are an estimated one million native Persian (Farsi, or Dari) speakers in Pakistan.[3] Persian continues to be an important literary language in Pakistan. The poet-philosopher Allama Muhammad Iqbal, who pioneered the movement for the creation of Pakistan, was a noted Persian poet. Persian was the lingua franca of the Mughal Empire of South Asia (and the region that is now Pakistan) since the time of the Persian Empire until its use was abolished by the British. After the annexation of Sindh (in 1843) and Punjab (in 1849), the British changed the official language to Urdu.[4]

Minor languages

Other languages spoken by linguistic minorities include Aer, Badeshi, Bagri, Balti, Bateri, Bhaya, Brahui, Burushaski, Chilisso, Dameli, Dehwari, Dhatki, Domaaki, Farsi (Dari), Gawar-Bati, Ghera, Goaria, Gowro, Gujarati, Gujari, Gurgula, Hazaragi, Jadgali, Jandavra, Kabutra, Kachchi (Kutchi), Kalami, Kalasha, Kalkoti, Kamviri, Kashmiri, Kati, Khetrani, Khowar, Indus Kohistani, Koli (three varieties), Konkani, Lasi, Loarki, Marwari, Memoni, Od, Ormuri, Pahari-Potwari, Pakistan Sign Language, Palula (Phalura), Sansi, Savi, Shina (two varieties), Torwali, Ushojo, Vaghri, Wakhi, Waneci, and Yidgha.[3] Some of these have a relatively small number of speakers, while others have hundreds of thousands of speakers. A few are highly endangered languages that may soon have no speakers at all. Bengali is spoken by a small Bengali community, which resides in Karachi.

Classification

Indo-European

Most of the languages of Pakistan belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. They are divided between two major groups of that branch: Indo-Aryan (the majority, including Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Hindko, and Saraiki, among others), and Iranian (including Pashto, Balochi, and Farsi, among others).

Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages are further divided into groups of languages, although the reasons for the divisions are not always well-documented. Indo-Aryan languages all belong to the same language genus (Indic), and Iranian languages all belong to a different language genus (Iranian).[5]

Some of the important languages in the Indo-Aryan group are dialect continuums. One of these is Lahnda,[6] and includes Western Panjabi (but not the Panjabi of India and Pakistan), Northern Hindko, Southern Hindko, Khetrani, Saraiki, and Pahari-Potwari, plus two more languages outside of Pakistan. The other is Marwari, and includes Marwari of Pakistan and several languages of India (Dhundari, Marwari, Merwari, Mewari, and Shekhawati).[7] A third is Rajasthani, and consists of Bagri, Gujari in Pakistan and several others in India: Gade Lohar,[8] Harauti (Hadothi), Malvi, and Wagdi.

There are several dialects continuums in the Iranian group as well: Baluchi, which includes Eastern, Western and Southern Balochi;[9] Pashtun, and includes Northern, Central, and Southern Pashto;[10] and Persian, which includes Western Farsi in Iran and Eastern Farsi in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Non-Indo-European

Four languages of Pakistan are not in the Indo-European language family.

See also

Further reading

  • Addleton and Brown (2010). Sindhi: An Introductory Course for English Speakers. South Hadley: Doorlight Publications.

References

  1. ^ Pakistan Census
  2. ^ Why in Urdu?
  3. ^ a b Gordon, Raymond (2005). "Languages of Pakistan". Retrieved 2009-03-17.
  4. ^ Reference needed
  5. ^ World Atlas of Language Structures
  6. ^ ISO 639 code sets. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
  7. ^ ISO 639 code sets. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
  8. ^ Ethnologue report for language code: gda. Ethnologue.com. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
  9. ^ ISO 639 code sets. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
  10. ^ ISO 639 code sets. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
  11. ^ WALS – Sino-Tibetan. Wals.info. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.
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