Languages of Pakistan

Pakistan is a multilingual nation with over 70 languages spoken as first languages. The majority of these languages belong to the Indo-Iranian subgroup of the Indo-European language family. Urdu serves as the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan, sharing official status with English. It is the preferred and dominant means of communication among different ethnic groups. Various regional languages are spoken as first languages by the country’s diverse ethnolinguistic communities. Notable languages with more than a million speakers include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, Urdu, Balochi, Hindko, and Brahui. Additionally, there are approximately 60 local languages that have fewer than a million speakers each, contributing to the rich linguistic tapestry of Pakistan.

List of languages

The 2022 edition of Ethnologue identifies 77 established languages in Pakistan. Among these, 68 are indigenous to the region, while 9 are classified as non-indigenous. In terms of language vitality, the classifications are as follows: 4 languages are categorized as 'institutional', 24 as 'developing', 30 as 'vigorous', 15 as 'in trouble', and 4 as 'dying'.

Established languages

Language	Province	Language group
Aer	Sindh	Indo-Aryan
Badeshi	Khyber Pakhtunkwa	Iranian
Bagri	Punjab, Sindh	Indo-Aryan
Eastern Balochi	Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh	Iranian
Balochi Southern	Balochistan, Sindh	Iranian
Balochi Western	Balochistan, 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
Kohistani, Indus	Khyber Pakhtunkwa	Indo-Aryan
Koli, Kachi	Sindh	Indo-Aryan
Koli, Parkari	Sindh	Indo-Aryan
Koli, Wadiyari	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, Eastern	Punjab	Indo-Aryan
Punjabi, Western	Punjab	Indo-Aryan
Saraiki	Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab, Sindh	Indo-Aryan
Sarikoli	Khyber Pakhtunkwa	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
Tamil	Sindh	Dravidian
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
Yadgha	Khyber Pakhtunkwa	Iranian

Official languages

Urdu (official language)

The proportion of people with Urdu as their mother tongue in each Pakistani District as of the 2017 Pakistan Census

Urdu (اردو) is the national language (قومی زبان Qaumī Zabāna) and lingua franca of Pakistan. Despite being the first language for only about 9% of the population, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language by the majority of Pakistanis.

In 1947, Urdu was selected as a symbol of unity for the newly created state of Pakistan, as it had already functioned as a lingua franca among Muslims in northern and northwestern British-ruled India. Urdu is utilised across all provinces and territories of Pakistan, serving alongside English as one of the primary languages of instruction.

Urdu is taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium educational systems. This educational approach has resulted in millions of second-language Urdu speakers among those whose native languages are among the various languages of Pakistan. Consequently, this linguistic interaction has led to the incorporation of vocabulary from various regional languages into Urdu, while some Urdu terms have also been assimilated into Pakistan's regional languages. This situation also contributes to the decline of many native languages, as students are compelled to prioritize Urdu and English in their schools and colleges.

English (co-official language}

English serves as a co-official language in Pakistan and is extensively utilised across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as within the officer ranks of the armed forces. The Constitution and laws of Pakistan were originally written in English and are currently being translated into local languages. Additionally, English is commonly employed as a medium of instruction in schools, colleges, and universities. It is perceived as a language of upward mobility and is increasingly used in higher social circles, often alongside native Pakistani languages.

In 2015, plans were announced to promote Urdu in official business. However, Pakistan's Minister of Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, clarified that "Urdu will be a second medium of language, and all official business will be bilingual". He further emphasised that English would continue to be taught alongside Urdu in educational institutions.

Other languages

Arabic

Arabic is utilised as a religious language by Muslims, with the Quran, Sunnah, Hadith, and Islamic theology being taught in Arabic alongside Urdu translations. It is taught as a religious language in mosques, schools, colleges, universities, and madrassahs. A significant portion of Pakistan's Muslim population has received some level of formal or informal education in reading, writing, and pronouncing Arabic as part of their religious instruction.

However, it is important to note that Pakistanis are not Arabs and do not speak Arabic as their native language.

Arabic is referenced in the Constitution of Pakistan. Article 31, No. 2 states that "The State shall endeavor, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of the Arabic language..."

The National Education Policy of 2017 outlines in Article 3.7.4 that "Arabic as a compulsory part will be integrated into Islamiyat from Middle to Higher Secondary level to enable students to understand the Holy Quran." Additionally, Article 3.7.6 specifies that "Arabic as an elective subject shall be properly offered at the Secondary and Higher Secondary levels, including Arabic literature and grammar in its curriculum to enable learners to gain proficiency in the language." This regulation also applies to private schools, as stated in Article 3.7.12: "The curriculum in Islamiyat, Arabic, and Moral Education of the public sector will be adopted by private institutions to ensure uniformity in society."

Persian

Persian served as the official language of the region until the late 19th century, when the British enacted several laws to replace it with local languages. Persian has a rich history in the lands, that is now modern-day Pakistan, having been the cultural language of the former Mughal Empire. This tradition dates back to the introduction of the Persian language by Central Asian Turkic invaders who invaded India, along with the patronage it received from the earlier Turko-Persian Delhi Sultanate. However, with the arrival of the British, Persian was officially abolished as a language of administration, first in Sindh in 1843 and then in Punjab in 1849.

Today, the eastern Dari dialect of Persian is spoken by refugees from Afghanistan and a small number of local Balochistani Hazara individuals. A larger community of Pakistani Hazaras speaks the Hazaragi dialect. Additionally, in the Madaklasht valley of Chitral, the Madaklashti dialect of Tajik Persian is spoken by the descendants of ironmongers from Badakhshan who settled in the area during the eighteenth century.

Read also

• Demographics of Pakistan
• Ethnic groups in Pakistan
• Pakistani People
• Romanisation of Urdu
• National Language Promotion Department