The Punjab The Punjab The Punjab (pronounced or ; Punjabi: ਪੰਜਾਬ, The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], The Punjab (pronounced or ; [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]: [[Gurmukhī script|ਪੰਜਾਬ]], [[Shahmukhi script|, ), also spelled Panjab , the British changed the official language to
UrduUrdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
..
Other languages
Other languages include Aer,
BadeshiBadeshi is an Indo-Iranian language spoken in the upper reaches of the Bishigram Valley , east of Madyan, Swat, Kohistan in Northern Areas of Pakistan....
,
BagriBagri is a dialect of Rajasthani language of the Indo-Aryan family. It is spoken by about five million speakers in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts of Rajasthan, Sirsa and Hissar districts of Haryana, Firozepur and Muktsar districts of Punjab of India and Bahawalpur and Bahawalnagar areas...
, Balti, Bateri,
BhayaBhaya has become a popular dialect of Hindi. Originally it is spoken by people of the state of Bihar in India. This dialect has got its name because Biharis are called as Bhayas in rest of the country. The word Bhaya has now become synonymous to friendly people. The people speaking this dialect...
,
BrahuiBrahui or Brahvi is a language spoken by Brahui people. It is the only Dravidian language exclusively spoken out of India.Brahui is spoken in the southwest region of Pakistan and border regions of Afghanistan and Iran with Pakistan...
, Burushaski, Chilisso,
DameliDameli is a language spoken by approximately 5,000 people in the Domel Valley, in the Chitral District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan....
, Dehwari,
DhatkiDhatki, also known as Dhati or Thari, is a language of the Rajasthani macrolanguage, of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is most closely related to Marwari.-Speakers:...
,
DomaakiDomaakí - also known as Dumaki or Domaá - is a language spoken by a few hundred people living in the Northern Areas of Pakistan.It belongs to the Indo-European language family, and can be affiliated to the Dardic group of the Indo-Iranian branch....
,
Farsi (Dari)Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and to some extent in Iraq and Bahrain, and has a status of official language in the first three countries under different names...
, Gawar-Bati, Ghera, Goaria, Gowro,
GujaratiGujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family...
, Gujari, Gurgula, Hazaragi,
Hindko (two varieties)Hindko , also Hindku, Hinko, part of the Lahnda group of languages is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by Hindkowans in Pakistan and northern India, as well as by the Hindkoi people of Afghanistan. The literal meaning of the word "Hindko" is "Mountains of India"---a name the Persians gave to the...
, Jadgali, Jandavra, Kabutra,
Kachchi (Kutchi)Kachhi is an Indo-Aryan Language spoken in the Kutch region of the Indian state of Gujarat, with approximately 866,000 speakers...
,
KalamiKalami is a Dardic language spoken in northern Pakistan.The language is also known as Gawri or Garwi , but this name is considered pejorative by some speakers.-Classification:...
,
KalashaKalasha, also spelled as Kalash , is a metal pot with a large base and small mouth, large enough to hold a coconut. Sometimes "Kalasha" also refers to such a pot filled with water and topped with a coronet of mango leaves and a coconut...
, Kalkoti, Kamviri,
KashmiriKashmiri is a language from the Dardic sub-group of the Indo-Aryan group of languages and it is spoken primarily in the Kashmir Valley, in the Indian Administered part of Jammu and Kashmir. There are approximately 5,554,496 speakers in India, according to the Census of 2001...
, Kati,
KhetraniKhetrani or Khetranki is an Indo Indo-European language. It is spoken in north east Balochistan province in Pakistan. The population is speaking this language is 4,000....
,
KhowarFor the ethnic group, see Kho people.Khowar , also known as Chitrali, is a Dardic language spoken by 400,000 people in Chitral in Northwest Pakistan, in Yasin Valley and Gupis in neighbouring Gilgit, and in parts of Upper Swat. Speakers of Khowar have also migrated heavily to Pakistan's major urban...
, Indus Kohistani, Koli (three varieties), Lasi, Loarki,
MarwariThe Marwari language is spoken in the Indian state of Rajasthan, but is also found in the neighboring state of Gujarat and in Eastern Pakistan. With some 13.2 million speakers The Marwari language (mārwāṛī; also variously Marvari, Marwadi, Marvadi) is spoken in the Indian state of Rajasthan, but...
,
Memoni-Language:Memons speak an unwritten language called Memoni, a mixture of Sindhi and Kutchi that belongs to the Indic family of languages...
, Od,
OrmuriOrmuri is an East Iranian language spoken in the city of Kaniguram in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It may also be spoken by a few people in Baraki Barak in Logar, Afghanistan. It is notable for its unusual sound inventory, which includes a voiceless alveolar trill i.e...
, Pahari-Potwari, Pakistan Sign Language, Palula (Phalura), Sansi, Savi,
Shina (two varieties)Shina is a Dardic language spoken by a plurality of people in Gilgit- Baltistan of Pakistan. The valleys in which it is spoken include Astore, Chilas, Dareil, Tangeer, Gilgit, Ghizer, and a few parts of Baltistan and Kohistan. It is also spoken in Gurez, Drass, Kargil, Karkit Badgam and Ladakh...
,
TorwaliThe Torwali, or Turvali, language is spoken in Kohistan and Swat districts of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. According to an estimate in 1987 there are 60,000 speakers....
, Ushojo, Vaghri,
WakhiWakhi is an Indo-European language in the sub-branch of Southeastern Iranian languages and is intimately related to other Pamir languages and Pashto.-Classification and Distribution:...
, Waneci, and Yidgha. 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.
Indo-European
Most of the languages of Pakistan belong to the
Indo-Iranian branchThe Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages. It consists of three language groups: the Indo-Aryan, Iranian and Nuristani. The term Aryan languages is occasionally still used to refer to the Indo-Iranian languages...
of the
Indo-European language familyThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia...
. They are divided between two major groups of that branch:
Indo-AryanThe Indo-Aryan languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family.SIL International in a 2005 estimate counted a total of 209 varieties, the largest in terms of native speakers being Hindustani , Bengali , Punjabi , Marathi ,...
(the majority, including
UrduUrdu is a Central Indo-Aryan language of the Indo-Iranian branch, belonging to the Indo-European family of languages. It is one of the two official languages of Pakistan. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of five Indian states...
,
PunjabiPunjabi or Panjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region ....
,
SindhiSindhi is the language of the Sindh region of Pakistan. It is spoken by 24,410,910 people in Pakistan, and is also spoken in India by 2,535,485 speakers. It is the third most spoken language of Pakistan, and the official language of Sindh in Pakistan. It is also an official language of India...
, Hindko, and Saraiki, among others), and
IranianThe Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily, Indo-Iranian. They are spoken by the Iranian peoples. Avestan is the oldest recorded Iranian language....
(including Pashto,
BalochiBalochi is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken as a second language by some Brahui...
, 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).
Some of the important groups in the Indo-Aryan group have been referred to by some as macrolanguages. One of these has been given the name
LahndaThe Lahnda languages are a group of Indo-Aryan languages that are claimed to be so close as to comprise a macrolanguage.According to the Ethnologue they include:*Jakati *Northern Hindko...
, and includes Western Panjabi (but not Eastern Panjabi of India), Northern Hindko, Southern Hindko, Khetrani, Seraiki, and Pahari-Potwari, plus two more languages outside of Pakistan. The other is called Marwari, and includes Marwari of Pakistan and several languages of India (Dhundari, Marwari, Merwari, Mewari, and Shekhawati). A third is called
RajasthaniRajasthani is an adjective formed from the proper-noun Rajasthan.It can refer to:* Rajasthani language* Rajasthani architecture* Rajasthani cuisine* Rajasthani music...
, and comprises
BagriBagri could mean:* Bagri language, a dialect of Rajasthani language, spoken in Rajasthan state of India and Punjab and Sindh provinces of Pakistan....
, Gujari (of Pakistan), and Gade Lohar, Harauti (Hadothi), Malvi, and Wagdi (of India).
Three groups in the Iranian group likewise have been called macrolanguages. One is
BaluchiBalochi is a Northwestern Iranian language. It is the principal language of the Baloch of Balochistan, Pakistan, eastern Iran and southern Afghanistan. It is also spoken as a second language by some Brahui...
; it includes Eastern, Western and Southern Balochi. Another is called Pushto, and includes Northern, Central, and Southern Pashto. The third is called Persian, and includes Eastern Farsi (spoken in Iran) and Western Farsi (spoke in Pakistan and Afghanistan).
Non-Indo-European
Four languages of Pakistan are not in the
Indo-European language familyThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia...
.
- Brahui
Brahui or Brahvi is a language spoken by Brahui people. It is the only Dravidian language exclusively spoken out of India.Brahui is spoken in the southwest region of Pakistan and border regions of Afghanistan and Iran with Pakistan...
is a unique language similar to Balochi but containing vocabulary unique to itself. Many theories have been postulated about its origins but no clear association has been made. It has been postulated to be an ancient language possibly linked to the ancient Indus valley civilization of Pakistan.
- Balti, in the Bodic language genus of the Tibeto-Burman language family, the same genus as 47 other languages spoken in other countries
- Burushaski, a language isolate
A language isolate, in the absolute sense, is a natural language with no demonstrable genealogical relationship with other languages; that is, one that has not been demonstrated to descend from an ancestor common with any other language. They are in effect language families consisting of a single...
- Pakistan Sign Language, a deaf sign language
See also
- Statistics Division of the Government of Pakistan
A division of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Pakistan. Contains the Federal Bureau of Statistics, a major source of data about Pakistan, its demographics, and its economy....
- National Language Authority
The National Language Authority is an autonomous regulatory institution established in 1979 to support the advancement and promotion of Dari influenced Urdu which is the national language of Pakistan...
- Pakistani
External links