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Pakistan is a linguistically diverse country where over 70 languages serve as mother tongues.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ashraf |first=Hina |date=2022-03-22 |title=The ambivalent role of Urdu and English in multilingual Pakistan: a Bourdieusian study |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-022-09623-6 |journal=Language Policy |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=25–48 |language=en |doi=10.1007/s10993-022-09623-6 |issn=1573-1863 |pmc=8939399 |pmid=35340722}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Ashraf |first1=Muhammad Azeem |last2=Turner |first2=David A. |last3=Laar |first3=Rizwan Ahmed |date=January 2021 |title=Multilingual Language Practices in Education in Pakistan: The Conflict Between Policy and Practice |journal=SAGE Open |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=215824402110041 |doi=10.1177/21582440211004140 |s2cid=232484396 |issn=2158-2440|doi-access=free }}</ref> Most of these languages fall under the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rengel |first=Marian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJMlW-zDE14C&pg=PA38 |title=Pakistan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide |date=2003-12-15 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-0-8239-4001-1 |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kachru |first1=Braj B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA34 |title=Language in South Asia |last2=Kachru |first2=Yamuna |last3=Sridhar |first3=S. N. |date=2008-03-27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref> While [[Urdu]] holds the status of national language, it shares official recognition with English and functions as the primary medium for communication across different ethnic communities. Several regional languages also serve as first languages for Pakistan’s various ethnolinguistic groups. The [[Census of Pakistan 2023|2023]] census records languages with over a million speakers each as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui, and the Kohistani languages. The census, however, does not include data from the [[Pakistan-occupied Kashmi]] (Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which may affect the reported figures for Shina and Balti). Approximately 60 local languages have fewer than 10 lakh speakers.{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Endangered Languages Project - Torwali - Challenges to the linguistic diversity of North Pakistan |url=https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3501/samples/10638 |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=www.endangeredlanguages.com |language=en}}</ref>
Pakistan is a linguistically diverse country where over 70 languages serve as mother tongues.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Ashraf |first=Hina |date=2022-03-22 |title=The ambivalent role of Urdu and English in multilingual Pakistan: a Bourdieusian study |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-022-09623-6 |journal=Language Policy |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=25–48 |language=en |doi=10.1007/s10993-022-09623-6 |issn=1573-1863 |pmc=8939399 |pmid=35340722}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Ashraf |first1=Muhammad Azeem |last2=Turner |first2=David A. |last3=Laar |first3=Rizwan Ahmed |date=January 2021 |title=Multilingual Language Practices in Education in Pakistan: The Conflict Between Policy and Practice |journal=SAGE Open |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=215824402110041 |doi=10.1177/21582440211004140 |s2cid=232484396 |issn=2158-2440|doi-access=free }}</ref> Most of these languages fall under the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rengel |first=Marian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WJMlW-zDE14C&pg=PA38 |title=Pakistan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide |date=2003-12-15 |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc |isbn=978-0-8239-4001-1 |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kachru |first1=Braj B. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O2n4sFGDEMYC&pg=PA34 |title=Language in South Asia |last2=Kachru |first2=Yamuna |last3=Sridhar |first3=S. N. |date=2008-03-27 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-46550-2 |pages=34 |language=en}}</ref> While [[Urdu]] holds the status of national language, it shares official recognition with English and functions as the primary medium for communication across different ethnic communities. Several regional languages also serve as first languages for Pakistan’s various ethnolinguistic groups. The [[Census of Pakistan 2023|2023]] census records languages with over a million speakers each as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui, and the Kohistani languages. The census, however, does not include data from the [[Pakistan-occupied Kashmi]] (Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which may affect the reported figures for Shina and Balti). Approximately 60 local languages have fewer than 10 lakh speakers.{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2022}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Endangered Languages Project - Torwali - Challenges to the linguistic diversity of North Pakistan |url=https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/3501/samples/10638 |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=www.endangeredlanguages.com |language=en}}</ref>
==List of languages==
[[Ethnologue]]'s 2022 edition documents 80 established languages in Pakistan, comprising 68 indigenous and 12 non-indigenous varieties. Language vitality assessments classify four as ''''institutional'''', twenty-four as ''''developing'''', thirty as ''''vigorous'''', fifteen as ''''in trouble'''', and four as ''''dying''''.{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2022}}
{|class="sortable wikitable"
|+Established languages{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2022}}
! Language !! Province{{efn| Excluding large urban centres}} !! Language group
|-
| [[Aer language|Aer]] || [[Sindh]] || [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]]
|-
| [[Badeshi language|Badeshi]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Bagri language|Bagri]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Balochi language|Balochi]], [[Makrani dialect|Makrani]] || Balochistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Balochi language|Balochi]], [[Rakhshani dialect|Rakhshani]] || Balochistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Balochi language|Balochi]], [[Sulaimani dialect|Sulaimani]] || Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh || Iranian
|-
| [[Balti language|Balti]] || Gilgit-Baltistan || Sino-Tibetan
|-
| [[Bateri language|Bateri]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Bhaya language|Bhaya]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Brahui language|Brahui]] || Balochistan, Sindh || Dravidian
|-
| [[Burushaski]] || Gilgit-Baltistan || Isolate
|-
| [[Chilisso language|Chilisso]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Dameli language|Dameli]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Dari]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Dehwari language|Dehwari]] || Balochistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Dhatki language|Dhatki]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Domaaki language|Domaaki]] || Gilgit-Baltistan || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Pakistani English|English]] || Federal co-official|| Germanic
|-
| [[Gawar-Bati language|Gawar-Bati]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Gawri language|Gawri]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Ghera language|Ghera]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Goaria language|Goaria]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Gowro language|Gowro]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Gujari language|Gujari]] || Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, <br /> Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Gurgula language|Gurgula]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Haryanvi language|Haryanvi]] aka [[Rangri dialect (Haryanvi)|Rangri]] ||Sindh, Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Hazaragi language|Hazaragi]] || Balochistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Northern Hindko|Hindko, Northern]] || Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Southern Hindko|Hindko, Southern]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Jadgali language|Jadgali]] || Balochistan, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Jandavra language|Jandavra]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Jogi language|Jogi]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kabutra language|Kabutra]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kacchi language|Kacchi]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Chitral Kalasha language|Kalasha]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kalkoti language|Kalkoti]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kamviri language|Kamviri]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]] || Azad Kashmir || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kata-vari dialect|Kati]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Khetrani language|Khetrani]] || Balochistan || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Khowar language|Khowar]] || Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kyrgyz language|Kyrgyz]] || Chitral, Hunza || Turkic
|-
| [[Indus Kohistani|Kohistani, Indus]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kachi Koli language|Koli, Kachi]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Parkari Koli language|Koli, Parkari]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Wadiyara Koli language|Koli, Wadiyari]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kundal Shahi language|Kundal Shahi]] || Azad Kashmir || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Lasi language|Lasi]] || Balochistan || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Loarki language|Loarki]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Mankiyali language|Mankiyali]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Marwari language|Marwari]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Mewati language|Mewati]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Memoni language|Memoni]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Oadki language|Oadki]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Ormuri language|Ormuri]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Pahari-Pothwari]]|| Azad Kashmir, Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Pakistani Sign Language|Pakistan Sign Language]] || Throughout || Indo-Pakistani Sign Language
|-
| [[Palula language|Palula]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Central Pashto|Pashto, Central]] || Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab || Iranian
|-
| [[Northern Pashto|Pashto, Northern]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab || Iranian
|-
| [[Southern Pashto|Pashto, Southern]] || Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab || Iranian
|-
| [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] || Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Sarikoli language|Sarikoli]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Gilgit-Baltistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Savi language|Savi]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Shina language|Shina]] || Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Kohistani Shina|Shina, Kohistani]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] || Sindh, Balochistan || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Sindhi Bhil language|Sindhi Bhil]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Torwali language|Torwali]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Urdu]] || Sindh, Punjab, Azad Kashmir , Islamabad|| Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Ushojo language|Ushojo]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Vaghri language|Vaghri]] || Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Wakhi language|Wakhi]] || Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Waneci language|Waneci]] || Balochistan || Iranian
|-
| [[Waziri language|Waziri]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Yadgha language|Yadgha]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|}
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

Revision as of 11:13, 7 June 2026


Languages of Pakistan
Dominant mother tongue in the districts of Pakistan as of the Census of Pakistan 2017
Official
NationalUrdu[lower-alpha 3]
RegionalOver 70 regional languages
SignedPakistani Sign Language
Keyboard layout
QWERTY and Urdu keyboard

Pakistan is a linguistically diverse country where over 70 languages serve as mother tongues.[2][3] Most of these languages fall under the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.[4][5] While Urdu holds the status of national language, it shares official recognition with English and functions as the primary medium for communication across different ethnic communities. Several regional languages also serve as first languages for Pakistan’s various ethnolinguistic groups. The 2023 census records languages with over a million speakers each as Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, Brahui, and the Kohistani languages. The census, however, does not include data from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmi (Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, which may affect the reported figures for Shina and Balti). Approximately 60 local languages have fewer than 10 lakh speakers.[6][7]

List of languages

Ethnologue's 2022 edition documents 80 established languages in Pakistan, comprising 68 indigenous and 12 non-indigenous varieties. Language vitality assessments classify four as 'institutional', twenty-four as 'developing', thirty as 'vigorous', fifteen as 'in trouble', and four as 'dying'.[6]

Established languages[6]
Language Province[lower-alpha 4] Language group
Aer Sindh Indo-Aryan
Badeshi Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Bagri Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Balochi, Makrani Balochistan Iranian
Balochi, Rakhshani Balochistan Iranian
Balochi, Sulaimani Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh Iranian
Balti Gilgit-Baltistan Sino-Tibetan
Bateri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Bhaya Sindh Indo-Aryan
Brahui Balochistan, Sindh Dravidian
Burushaski Gilgit-Baltistan Isolate
Chilisso Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Dameli Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Dari Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Dehwari Balochistan Iranian
Dhatki Sindh Indo-Aryan
Domaaki Gilgit-Baltistan Indo-Aryan
English Federal co-official Germanic
Gawar-Bati Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Gawri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Ghera Sindh Indo-Aryan
Goaria Sindh Indo-Aryan
Gowro Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Gujarati Sindh Indo-Aryan
Gujari Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan,
Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab		 Indo-Aryan
Gurgula Sindh Indo-Aryan
Haryanvi aka Rangri Sindh, Punjab Indo-Aryan
Hazaragi Balochistan Iranian
Hindko, Northern Azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Hindko, Southern Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Indo-Aryan
Jadgali Balochistan, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Jandavra Sindh Indo-Aryan
Jogi Sindh Indo-Aryan
Kabutra Sindh Indo-Aryan
Kacchi Sindh Indo-Aryan
Kalasha Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Kalkoti Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Kamviri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Kashmiri Azad Kashmir Indo-Aryan
Kati Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Khetrani Balochistan Indo-Aryan
Khowar Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Kyrgyz Chitral, Hunza Turkic
Kohistani, Indus Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Koli, Kachi Sindh Indo-Aryan
Koli, Parkari Sindh Indo-Aryan
Koli, Wadiyari Sindh Indo-Aryan
Kutchi Sindh Indo-Aryan
Kundal Shahi Azad Kashmir Indo-Aryan
Lasi Balochistan Indo-Aryan
Loarki Sindh Indo-Aryan
Mankiyali Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Marwari Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Mewati Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Memoni Sindh Indo-Aryan
Oadki Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Ormuri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Pahari-Pothwari Azad Kashmir, Punjab Indo-Aryan
Pakistan Sign Language Throughout Indo-Pakistani Sign Language
Palula Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Pashto, Central Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian
Pashto, Northern Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian
Pashto, Southern Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab Iranian
Punjabi Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Saraiki Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab, Sindh Indo-Aryan
Sarikoli Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Gilgit-Baltistan Iranian
Savi Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Shina Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Shina, Kohistani Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Sindhi Sindh, Balochistan Indo-Aryan
Sindhi Bhil Sindh Indo-Aryan
Torwali Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Urdu Sindh, Punjab, Azad Kashmir , Islamabad Indo-Aryan
Ushojo Khyber Pakhtunkwa Indo-Aryan
Vaghri Sindh Indo-Aryan
Wakhi Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Waneci Balochistan Iranian
Waziri Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian
Yadgha Khyber Pakhtunkwa Iranian

References

  1. ↑ "Article: 251 National language". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. ↑ Ashraf, Hina (22 March 2022). "The ambivalent role of Urdu and English in multilingual Pakistan: a Bourdieusian study". Language Policy. 22 (1): 25–48. doi:10.1007/s10993-022-09623-6. ISSN 1573-1863. PMC 8939399. PMID 35340722.
  3. ↑ Ashraf, Muhammad Azeem; Turner, David A.; Laar, Rizwan Ahmed (January 2021). "Multilingual Language Practices in Education in Pakistan: The Conflict Between Policy and Practice". SAGE Open. 11 (1): 215824402110041. doi:10.1177/21582440211004140. ISSN 2158-2440. S2CID 232484396.
  4. ↑ Rengel, Marian (15 December 2003). Pakistan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-8239-4001-1.
  5. ↑ Kachru, Braj B.; Kachru, Yamuna; Sridhar, S. N. (27 March 2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-139-46550-2.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Eberhard, Simons & Fennig 2022.
  7. ↑ "Endangered Languages Project - Torwali - Challenges to the linguistic diversity of North Pakistan". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 11 June 2023.


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