Languages of Pakistan Languages of Pakistan Balochi, a north-western Iranian language, is the principal language of Balochistan. There are several other minor languages which are spoken at the ethnic borders of Pakistani and Iranian Balochistan (Sistan and Baluchistan). The speakers of minority languages ( Brahui, Saraiki, Sindhi, and Persian (Dehwari dialect)) are bilingual. Persian and English were used as official languages in western Balochistan ( Iran- Afghanistan), the Khanate of Balochistan, and British Balochistan. In 1947, the independent Khanate of Balochistan announced Balochi as an official and national language, a policy which was continued until March, 1948. ...more on Wikipedia about "Balochi language"
Balti is a language spoken in Baltistan, in what is now part of the Pakistan-controlled Northern Areas of Jammu & Kashmir State. Baltistan - prior to 1947 division of Indian Subcontinent - was part of Ladakh province. The language is a sub-dialect of Ladakhi and an archaic dialect of the Tibetan language. Many of the consonants that are silent in most modern Tibetan dialects are pronounced in Balti. ...more on Wikipedia about "Balti language"
The Brahui language is mainly spoken in Balochistan, Pakistan, although also in Afghanistan and Iran by the Brahui. It reportedly ** has about two million speakers in Pakistan (1998), and a tenth that number elsewhere. In Pakistan it is mainly spoken in the Kalat region of Balochistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "Brahui language"
Burushaski is a language isolate spoken by some 50,000-60,000 Burúšo people in the Hunza, Nagir, Yasin, and parts of the Gilgit valleys in northern Pakistan. Other names are Kanjut (Kunjoot), Khaguna, Werchikwār, Boorishki, Brushas (Brushias). ...more on Wikipedia about "Burushaski language"
Gujarati (ગુજરાતી Gujarātī; also sometimes Gujrati) is one of the 22 official language and 14 regional languages spoken in India. It is a language native to the state of Gujarat in western India. There are about 46 million speakers of Gujarati worldwide, making it the 23rd most spoken language in the world. Of these, roughly 45.5 million reside in India, 150,000 in Uganda, 250,000 in Tanzania, 50,000 in Kenya and roughly 100,000 in Pakistan. Gujarati is the chief language of India's Gujarat state, as well as the adjacent union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. A considerable population of Gujarati speakers exists in North America and the United Kingdom as well. In the United Kingdom, Leicester (Midlands) and Wembley (North London) are two areas popular with Gujaratis. And in America, states such as New Jersey, New York, California, and Texas are quite popular with Gujaratis. Gujarati was the mother-tongue of both Mohandas K. Gandhi, the "father of India" and Quaid-e Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the "father of Pakistan". ...more on Wikipedia about "Gujarati language"
Hindko is an ancient language spoken in northern Pakistan. It is spoken in the areas of the North West Frontier Province (including Hazara), Punjab and Kashmir by an estimated 2.2 million people. They are commonly referred to as Punjabi Pathans or simply Pathans. ...more on Wikipedia about "Hindko language"
Hindustani is a term used by linguists to describe several closely related idioms in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses two standardized registers in the form of the official languages of Hindi and Urdu, as well as several nonstandard dialects. ...more on Wikipedia about "Hindustani language"
The history of Urdu (اردو) is a fascinating story involving history, linguistics, ethnicity, religion, and national identity. ...more on Wikipedia about "History of Urdu"
Kashmiri is a Dardic language spoken primarily in Kashmir, an Asian region now split between India, Pakistan and China. It has 4,611,000 speakers. ...more on Wikipedia about "Kashmiri language"
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and has historical significance as a language developed during the Islamic conquests in the Subcontinent during the period of the Mughal Empire and was chosen as a neutral language to unite the various groups of modern Pakistan. However it is English which is the language of government and commerce. Most Secondry educational institutes and almost all universities use English as the medium of instruction. Many other languages are spoken in Pakistan, including the following regional tongues from largest to smallest: Punjabi, Pashtu, Sindhi, and Balochi. Other languages spoken include from largest to smallest: Siraiki (sometimes included within Punjabi, also called Seraiki, Sira'iki, Lahndi, Multani - from the city of Multan, Derawali and Western Punjabi), Hindko, Brahui, Burushaski, Balti, Shina, and Khowar (see Dardic languages). It is interesting to note that Brahui language is part of the Dravidian family of languages spoken mostly in sothern part of India far removed from Pakistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "Languages of Pakistan"
The Dardic languages include some 27 ( SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about many people in Asia; this language family is a part of the Northwestern Indo-Aryan language family. Each subfamily in this list contains subgroups and individual languages. ...more on Wikipedia about "List of Dardic languages"
Hindko is an ancient language spoken in northern Pakistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "List of Hindko language writers and experts"
Maajhi is referred to as the standard dialect of Punjabi language. It is also used to refer to the people who speak this dialect and live mostly in central districts of Pakistani Punjab and in India around Amritsar region. ...more on Wikipedia about "Maajhi"
Memoni is an Indo-European language, of the Indo-Aryan family. It is the language of the Memon people. It is derived from Sanskrit. The Memoni language has similarities to Sindhi and Gujarati.The Memoni language is spoken in India and Pakistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "Memoni language"
Pashto (پښتو ; also known as Afghan, Pathan, Pushto, Pashtoe, Pashtu, Pushtu, and Pukhto) is the language spoken by the Pashtun people who inhabit Afghanistan and the western provinces of Pakistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "Pashto language"
The Persian language was crucial in the formation of a common language of the Central, North and Northwest regions of the South Asia. Following the Mughal conquest of South Asia and the resulting vast Islamic empire, especially in the North and middle areas, a hybrid language of Turkish, Arabic and Persian and local dialects began to form around the 10th and 11th centuries CE, one that would eventually be known as Urdu ("tent" in Turkish in allusion to the army barracks of visiting troops). The word 'Urdu' is a Turkish word 'Ordu' meaning army. It is also related to English word 'horde'. Urdu was initially called 'Zaban-e-Ordu' i.e. 'language of the army' and was later shortened to just Urdu. It grew from the interaction of (often Persian speaking) Muslim soldiers and native peoples. Soon, the Persian script and Nasta'liq form of cursive was adopted, with additional figures added to accommodate the Indian phonetic system, and a new language based on the South Asian grammar with a vocabulary largely divided between Persian and Arabic. Elements peculiar to Persian, such as the enclitic ezāfe, and the use of the takhallus, were readily absorbed into Urdu literature both religious and secular. ...more on Wikipedia about "Persian and Urdu"
Persian (فارسی = Fârsi ... پارسی = Pârsi), (local name in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan: ‘Fârsi’), ‘Pârsi’ (older local name, but still used by some speakers), Tajik (a Central Asian dialect) or Dari (another local name in Tajikistan and Afghanistan), is a language spoken in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain, and elsewhere. Prior to British colonization, Persian was also widely used as a second language in the Indian subcontinent; it took prominence as the language of culture and education in several Muslim courts in the subcontinent throughout the Middle Ages and became the official court language under the Mughal emperors. Evidence of its former rank in the region can still be seen by the extent of its influence on Hindi and Urdu, as well as the popularity that Persian literature still enjoys in the region. Persian and its dialects have official-language status in the countries of Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. There are 61–71 million native speakers ** . It belongs to the Indo-European language family, and is of the Subject Object Verb type. ...more on Wikipedia about "Persian language"
The Pothohari language otherwise known as Mirpuri or Potwari is an Indo-European language spoken from the Potwar district around Rawalpindi, Pakistan to the Indian-Kashmiri border in the Mirpur district in Azad Jammu Kashmir. It is closely related to Panjabi and Romani ( Gypsy), but is distinct from these languages. ...more on Wikipedia about "Potwari language"
Punjabi (also Panjabi; in Gurmukhī, Panjābī in Shāhmukhī) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan. It is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Iranian subfamily. It is an agglutinative and tonal language where words are ordered ' Subject Object Verb'. ...more on Wikipedia about "Punjabi language"
Sindhi (سنڌي، سندھی, सिन्धी sindhī) is the language of the Sindh region of South Asia, which is now a province of Pakistan. It is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by approximately 17 million people in Pakistan, and 2.8 million in India; it is also a recognised official language in both of these countries. Most Sindhi speakers in Pakistan are concentrated in Sindh. The remaining speakers are found spread throughout the many areas of the world (mainly other parts of India) to which members of an ethnic group migrated when Sindh became a part of Pakistan during the partition of British India in 1947. The language is written using the Devanagari or Arabic scripts. ...more on Wikipedia about "Sindhi language"
Siraiki (also known as Seraiki, Multani and Southern Punjabi) is an old language or dialect mostly spoken in central Pakistan by approximately 14 million people ** . It is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Iranian subfamily. Siraiki shows resemblance to both Sindhi and Punjabi languages. The geographic area where it is spoken is primarily located between the provinces of Sindh and the Punjab in Pakistan. ...more on Wikipedia about "Siraiki language"
Urdu ( ) is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Aryan family which developed under Persian, Turkish, and Arabic influence in the South Asia during the time of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire ( 1200- 1800). ...more on Wikipedia about "Urdu"
The Wakhi Tajiki language is an Iranian language in the subbranch of Southeastern Iranian languages (see Pamir languages). ...more on Wikipedia about "Wakhi language"
The Waziri language is a Southeastern Iranian language spoken in the Waziristan Province of Pakistan and some of the neighboring provinces in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The language can be considered a dialect of the Pushtu language but has some distinctive features and vocabulary. ...more on Wikipedia about "Waziri language"
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