Editing Languages of Pakistan

{{Short description|Common Spoken Languages in Pakistan}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Languages of
|country        = Pakistan
|national       = Urdu{{efn|Under the provisions of the [[Constitution of Pakistan|Pakistani constitution]], Urdu has status as the 'national language'<ref>{{cite web |title=Article: 251 National language|url=https://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/article-251-national-language/|access-date=23 July 2018}}</ref>}}
|official       = {{ubli|[[Urdu]] (nationwide){{efn|name=Nationwide Official|Urdu and English have official status all around the country under the provisions of the [[Constitution of Pakistan|Pakistani constitution]]}}|[[English language|English]] (nationwide){{efn|name=Nationwide Official}}|[[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] (in [[Sindh]]){{efn|Sindh's official language is Sindhi. It is the only province in the country that has its own official language, alongside the nationally official languages Urdu and English}}}}
|regional       = [[Languages of Pakistan#List of languages|Over 70 regional languages]]
|minority       = 
|foreign        = 
|keyboard       = [[QWERTY]] and Urdu keyboard
|keyboard image = [[File:KB_United_Kingdom.svg|200px]]<br />[[File:Urdu keyboard win.png|200px]]
|sign           = [[Pakistani Sign Language]]
|image          = Mother Tongue by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg
|caption        = Dominant mother tongue in the [[districts of Pakistan]] as of the [[2017 Pakistani census]]
}}{{Culture of Pakistan}}
[[Pakistan]] is a [[List of multilingual countries and regions|multilingual country]] with over 70 languages spoken as [[first language]]s.<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> The majority of Pakistan's languages belong to the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian group]] 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>

[[Urdu]] is the [[national language]] and the ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Pakistan, and while sharing official status with English, it is the preferred and dominant language used for inter-communication between different ethnic groups.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Numerous regional languages are spoken as first languages by Pakistan's various ethnolinguistic groups. 

According to the [[2023 Census of Pakistan|2023 census]], languages with more than a million speakers each include [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], [[Pashto]], [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]], [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]], [[Urdu]], [[Balochi language|Balochi]], [[Hindko]], [[Brahui language|Brahui]] and the [[Kohistani languages]].<ref name="2023 census" /> The census excludes data from [[Gilgit-Baltistan|Gilgit Baltistan]] and [[Azad Kashmir]], therefore [[Shina language|Shina]] and [[Balti language|Balti]] population might not be exact.<ref name="2023 census" /> There are approximately 60 local languages with fewer than a million 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 ==
The 2022 edition of ''[[Ethnologue]]'' lists 80 established languages in Pakistan. Of these, 68 are indigenous and 12 are non-indigenous. In terms of their vitality, 4 are classified as 'institutional', 24 are 'developing', 30 are 'vigorous', 15 are 'in trouble', and 4 are '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
|-
| [[Badeshi language|Badeshi]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|-
| [[Bagri language|Bagri]] || Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Eastern Balochi (dialect)| Eastern Balochi]] || Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh || Iranian
|-
| [[Balochi language|Balochi]] [[Makrani dialect|Southern]] || Balochistan, Sindh || Iranian
|-
| [[Balochi language|Balochi]] [[Rakhshani dialect|Western]] || Balochistan, 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
|-
| 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
|-
| [[Rangri dialect (Haryanvi)|Haryanvi (aka 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
|-
| [[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
|-
| [[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
|-
| [[Eastern Punjabi language|Punjabi, Eastern]] || Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[ISO 639:pnb|Punjabi, Western]] || Punjab || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] || Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Punjab, Sindh || Indo-Aryan
|-
| [[Sarikoli language|Sarikoli]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || 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
|-
| [[Yadgha language|Yadgha]] || Khyber Pakhtunkwa || Iranian
|}

== Statistics ==
{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption=Languages of Pakistan (2023 census)<ref name="2023 census">{{cite web |title=Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban, Census–2023 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241220005033/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/national/table_11.pdf |archive-date=20 December 2024|website=pbs.gov.pk |publisher=[[Pakistan Bureau Statistics]]}}</ref>|label1=[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]|value1=36.98|color1=Red|label2=[[Pashto]]|value2=18.15|color2=Yellow|label3=[[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]|value3=14.31|color3=Purple|label4=[[Saraiki language|Saraiki]]|value4=12.00|color4=Orange|label5=[[Urdu]]|value5=9.25|color5=Green|label6=[[Balochi language|Balochi]]|value6=3.38|color6=Blue|label7=[[Hindko]]|value7=2.32|color7=Lime|label8=[[Brahui language|Brahui]]|value8=1.16|color8=Violet|label9=[[Mewati language|Mewati]]|value9=0.46|color9=Black|value10=0.43|label10=[[Kohistani language|Kohistani]]|value11=0.11|value12=0.05|label11=[[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]|label12=[[Shina language|Shina]]|value13=0.02|label13=[[Balti language|Balti]]|value14=0.003|label14=[[Kalasha language|Kalasha]]|value15=1.38|label15=Others|color10=Brown|color11=Aqua|color12=Pink|color14=White|color15=Grey}}
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+'''Census history of major languages''' 
!Rank
!Language
!1951 census{{efn|name=1951 and 1961|Only include statistics for [[West Pakistan]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=India - Population, Vol-1, Pakistan - Census 1961 |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/31528 |access-date= |website=censusindia.gov.in |pages=30–39}}</ref>}}
!1961 census{{efn|name=1951 and 1961}}
!1972 census
!1981 census<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Division |first1=Population Census Organisation Statistics |url=https://repository.lahoreschool.edu.pk/xmlui/handle/123456789/14529 |title=1981 Census Report of Pakistan |last2=Pakistan |first2=Government of |last3=Islamabad |date=December 1981 |publisher= Population Census Organisation Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad |language=en}}</ref>
!1998 census<ref>{{Cite web |title=POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE |url=http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20BY%20MOTHER%20TONGUE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916094308/http://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files//tables/POPULATION%20BY%20MOTHER%20TONGUE.pdf |archive-date=16 September 2016 |website=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ilahi |first=Mazhar |date=2014 |title=Legislative Drafting in Plain Urdu Language for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan |url=https://www.elevenjournals.com/tijdschrift/ejlr/2014/3/EJLR_1387-2370_2014_016_003_005 |journal=European Journal of Law Reform |language=nl |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=597–609 |doi=10.5553/EJLR/138723702014016003005 |issn=1387-2370|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
!2017 census<ref>{{Cite web |title=TABLE 11 - POPULATION BY MOTHER TONGUE, SEX AND RURAL/ URBAN |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2017/tables/pakistan/Table11n.pdf |website=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref>
!2023 census<ref name="2023 census" />
|-
|1
|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
|67.08%
|66.39%
|...
|48.17%
|44.15%
|38.78%
|36.98%
|-
|2
|[[Pashto language|Pashto]] 
|8.16%
|8.47%
|...
|13.15%
|15.42%
|18.24%
|18.15%
|-
|3
|[[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
|12.85%
|12.59%
|...
|11.77%
|14.1%
|14.57%
|14.31%
|-
|4
|[[Saraiki language|Saraiki]]
|...
|...
|...
|9.84%
|10.53%
|12.19%
|12.00%
|-
|5
|[[Urdu language|Urdu]]
|7.05%
|7.57%
|...
|7.60%
|7.57%
|7.08%
|9.25%
|-
|6
|[[Balochi language|Balochi]]
|3.04%
|2.49%
|...
|3.02%
|3.57%
|3.02%
|3.38%
|-
|7
|[[Hindko]]
|...
|...
|...
|2.43%
|...
|2.44%
|2.32%
|-
|8
|[[Brahui language|Brahui]]
|0.70%
|0.93%
|...
|1.21%
|...
|1.24%
|1.16%
|-
|9
|[[Mewati language|Mewati]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.46%
|-
|10
|[[Indus Kohistani|Kohistani]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.43%
|-
|11
|[[Kashmiri language|Kashmiri]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.17%
|0.11%
|-
|12
|[[Shina language|Shina]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.05%
|-
|13
|[[Balti language|Balti]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.02%
|-
|14
|[[Kalasha language|Kalasha]]
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|...
|0.003%
|-
|15
|Others
|1.12%
|1.56%
|...
|2.81%
|4.66%
|2.27%
|1.38%
|}
<small>&ast; Saraiki and Hindko were included with Punjabi until the 1981 census.</small>

<nowiki>*</nowiki><small>Census data for the Pakistani administered territories of Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir not available as of 2024.</small>

== Official languages ==
=== Urdu (official language) ===
[[File:Urdu-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|The proportion of people with Urdu as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]]]
{{anchor|Urdu}} [[Urdu]] ({{Nastaliq|اردو}}) is the [[national language]] ({{Nastaliq|قومی زبان}}) and ''[[lingua franca]]'' of Pakistan.<ref name="MuzaffarBehera2014">{{cite journal |last1=Muzaffar |first1=Sharmin |last2=Behera |first2=Pitambar |date=2014 |title=Error analysis of the Urdu verb markers: a comparative study on Google and Bing machine translation platforms |journal=Aligarh Journal of Linguistics |volume=4 |issue=1–2 |page=1 |quote=Modern Standard Urdu, a register of the Hindustani language, is the national language, lingua-franca and is one of the two official languages along with English in Pakistan and is spoken in all over the world. It is also one of the 22 scheduled languages and officially recognized languages in the Constitution of India and has been conferred the status of the official language in many Indian states of Bihar, Telangana, Jammu, and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, and New Delhi. Urdu is one of the members of the new or modern Indo-Aryan language group within the Indo-European family of languages.}}</ref> Although only about 9% of [[Pakistanis]] speak it as their first language, it is widely spoken and understood as a second language by the vast majority of Pakistanis.<ref>{{cite web |title=PAKISTAN |url=https://www.iandl.marines.mil/Divisions/Logistics-Plans-Policies-Strategic-Mobility-LP/Logistics-Life-Cycle-Management-Branch-LPC/LPC-4-Contracts/MARFORCENT/Pakistan/ |website=Official U.S. Marine Corps |access-date=10 May 2022 |archive-date=31 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131054726/https://www.iandl.marines.mil/Divisions/Logistics-Plans-Policies-Strategic-Mobility-LP/Logistics-Life-Cycle-Management-Branch-LPC/LPC-4-Contracts/MARFORCENT/Pakistan/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkQfwA30aY4C&pg=PA264 |title=The World Factbook |date=1992 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |page=264 |language=en}}</ref>

Urdu was chosen as a symbol of unity for the new state of Pakistan in 1947, because it had already served as a ''lingua franca'' among Muslims in north and northwest [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-12-25 |title=Dec 25, 2017 {{!}} Why did the Quaid make Urdu Pakistan's state language? |url=https://epaper.dawn.com/DetailImage.php?StoryImage=25_12_2017_116_001 |website=Dawn Epaper |language=en}}</ref> It is written, spoken and used in all [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|provinces/territories of Pakistan]], and together with English as the main languages of instruction,<ref>{{cite web |date=25 February 2020 |title=EDUCATION SYSTEM PROFILES Education in Pakistan |url=https://wenr.wes.org/2020/02/education-in-pakistan |website=World Education Services |quote=English has been the main language of instruction at the elementary and secondary levels since colonial times. It remains the predominant language of instruction in private schools but has been increasingly replaced with Urdu in public schools. Punjab province, for example, recently announced that it will begin to use Urdu as the exclusive medium of instruction in schools beginning in 2020. Depending on the location and predominantly in rural areas, regional languages are used as well, particularly in elementary education. The language of instruction in higher education is mostly English, but some programs and institutions teach in Urdu.}}</ref> although the people from differing provinces may have different native languages.<ref>{{cite journal |editor2=Muhammad Sarwar |editor3=Muhammad Shabbir |title=The History of the Urdu Language Together with Its Origin and Geographic Distribution |url=https://www.ijires.org/administrator/components/com_jresearch/files/publications/IJIRES-154_final.pdf |journal=International Journal of Innovation and Research in Educational Sciences |volume=2 |issue=1 |editor1=Robina Kausar}}</ref>

Urdu is taught as a compulsory subject up to higher secondary school in both English and Urdu medium school systems, which has produced millions of second-language Urdu speakers among people whose native language is one of the other languages of Pakistan – which in turn has led to the absorption of vocabulary from various regional Pakistani languages,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ahmad |first=Aijazuddin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2QmPHeIowoC&q=urdu+adopting+regional+language&pg=PA119 |title=Geography of the South Asian Subcontinent: A Critical Approach |date=2009 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-8069-568-1 |language=en}}</ref> while some Urdu vocabularies has also been assimilated by Pakistan's regional languages.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Hock |first1=Hans Henrich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PSFBDAAAQBAJ&q=urdu+pashto+speakers+assimilate&pg=PA291 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of South Asia: A Comprehensive Guide |last2=Bashir |first2=Elena |date=24 May 2016 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG |isbn=978-3-11-042330-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Raj |first=Ali |date=30 April 2017 |title=The case for Urdu as Pakistan's official language |url=http://herald.dawn.com/news/1153737 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028222041/https://herald.dawn.com/news/1153737 |archive-date=28 October 2019 |access-date=28 October 2019 |website=Herald Magazine |language=en}}</ref>

=== English (co-official language) ===
{{see also|Pakistani English}}
English is a co-official language of Pakistan and is widely used in the executive, legislative and judicial branches as well as to some extent in the officer ranks of Pakistan's armed forces. Pakistan's [[Constitution of Pakistan|Constitution]] and laws were written in English and are now being re-written in the local languages. It is also widely used in [[List of schools in Pakistan|schools]], [[List of colleges in Pakistan|colleges]] and [[List of universities in Pakistan|universities]] as a [[medium of instruction]]. English is seen as the language of upward mobility, and its use is becoming more prevalent in upper social circles, where it is often spoken alongside native Pakistani languages. In 2015, it was announced that there were plans to promote Urdu in official business, but Pakistan's Minister of Planning Ahsan Iqbal stated, "Urdu will be a second medium of language and all official business will be bilingual." He also went on to say that English would be taught alongside Urdu in schools.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pakistan to replace English with Urdu as official language – The Express Tribune |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/928480/pakistan-to-replace-english-with-urdu-as-official-language/ |access-date=2016-01-05 |website=The Express Tribune |date=29 July 2015 |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Major regional languages ==
=== Punjabi ===
{{see also|Punjabi dialects and languages}}
[[File:Punjabi-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]
[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] ({{Lang|pa|{{nq|پنجابی}}}}) is an [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] primarily spoken in the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab province]] of Pakistan, with the prominent dialect being the [[Majhi dialect|Majha dialect]], written in the [[Shahmukhi script]]. Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. It is spoken as a first language by 36.98% of Pakistanis.<ref name="2023 census" /> The language is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]] in its usage of [[Tone (linguistics)|lexical tone]].<ref>{{cite book|author-last = Bhatia|author-first = Tej| date = 1999| editor1-last = Lust| editor1-first = Barbara| editor2-last = Gair| editor2-first = James| title = Lexical Anaphors and Pronouns in Selected South Asian Languages| chapter = Lexican Anaphors and Pronouns in Punjabi| page = 637| publisher = Walter de Gruyter| isbn = 978-3-11-014388-1}} Other tonal Indo-Aryan languages include [[Hindko]], [[Dogri language|Dogri]], [[Western Pahari]], [[Sylheti language|Sylheti]] and some [[Dardic languages]].</ref>

=== Pashto ===
[[File:Pashto-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Pashto]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>|left]]
[[Pashto]] ({{Lang|ps|{{naskh|پښتو}}}}) is an [[Iranian language]] spoken as a first language by more than 18.15% of Pakistanis, mainly in [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and in northern [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] as well as in ethnic [[Pashtun people|Pashtun]] communities in the cities of [[Islamabad]], [[Rawalpindi]] and most notably [[Karachi]],<ref name="pbs">{{cite web|author=Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy|date=17 July 2009|title=Karachi's Invisible Enemy |url=https://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2009/07/karachis_invisi.html|access-date=24 August 2010|publisher=PBS}}</ref><ref name="The National">{{cite web|date=24 August 2009|title=In a city of ethnic friction, more tinder|url=http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090825/FOREIGN/708249931|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100116211443/http://www.thenational.ae/|archive-date=16 January 2010|access-date=24 August 2010|publisher=The National}}</ref><ref name="tribune.com.pk">{{cite magazine|date=28 August 2010|title=Columnists {{pipe}} The Pakhtun in Karachi|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/43827/the-pakhtun-in-karachi/|access-date=8 September 2011|magazine=Time}}</ref><ref name="thefridaytimes.com">[http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110715&page=5] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121209085408/http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta2/tft/article.php?issue=20110715&page=5|date=9 December 2012}}, thefridaytimes</ref> which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lieven|first=Anatol |date=2021-05-04|title=An Afghan Tragedy: The Pashtuns, the Taliban and the State |journal=Survival|volume=63|issue=3|pages=7–36|doi=10.1080/00396338.2021.1930403|s2cid=235219004 |issn=0039-6338|doi-access=free}}</ref> There are three major dialect patterns within which the various individual dialects may be classified; these are the Pakhto variety of Northern ([[Peshawar]]) variety, the southern Pashto spoken in the vicinity of [[Quetta]], and the [[Wanetsi]] or Tareeno variety of northern Balochistan.

=== Sindhi ===
[[File:Sindhi-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]
[[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] ({{Lang|sd|{{naskh|سنڌي}}}}) is an [[Indo-Aryan language]] spoken as a first language by almost 15% of Pakistanis, mostly in the [[Sindh province]] of Pakistan. The name "Sindhi" is derived from ''Sindhu'', the original name of the [[Indus River]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Sindhi.html |title=Sindhi |work= The Languages Gulper|access-date=January 29, 2013}}</ref>

Like other languages of this family, Sindhi has passed through Old Indo-Aryan ([[Sanskrit]]) and Middle Indo-Aryan (Pali, secondary Prakrits, and [[Apabhramsha]]) stages of growth. 20th century Western scholars such as [[George Abraham Grierson]] believed that Sindhi descended specifically from the Vrācaḍa dialect of Apabhramsha (described by [[Markandeya]] as being spoken in ''Sindhu-deśa'') but later work has shown this to be unlikely.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wadhwani |first1=Y. K. |title=The Origin of the Sindhi Language |journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute |date=1981 |volume=40 |pages=192–201 |jstor=42931119 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/42931119.pdf |access-date=9 April 2021}}</ref> It entered the New Indo-Aryan stage around the 10th century CE.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/545670/Sindhi-language|title=Encyclopædia Britannica|website=Britannica.com|access-date=May 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/sindhi/|title=Sindhi Language – Structure, Writing & Alphabet |website=Mustgo.com|access-date=1 March 2022}}</ref>

The six major known dialects of the Sindhi language are Siroli, Vicholi, Lari, Thari, [[Lasi dialect|Lasi]] and [[Kutchi language|Kutchi]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parekh |first=Rauf |date=2008-09-30 |title=The Sindhi language and its variations |url=https://www.dawn.com/2008/09/30/the-sindhi-language-and-its-variations/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>

=== Saraiki ===
[[File:Saraiki-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>|left]]
[[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] ({{Nq|سرائیکی}}) is a collective term for speakers of Saraiki, an Indo Aryan language of the [[Lahnda]] group spoken in central and southeastern Pakistan, primarily in the southern part of the province of Punjab. Saraiki is to a high degree mutually intelligible with [[Standard Punjabi]]<ref>{{harvnb|Rahman|1995|p=16}}; {{harvnb|Shackle|2014b}}</ref> and is coshares with it a large portion of its vocabulary and [[Linguistic morphology|morphology]]. At the same time in [[#Phonology|its phonology]] it is radically different.{{sfn|Shackle|1977|p=389}} 

Saraiki is spoken by approximately 26 million people in [[Pakistan]], ranging across southern [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], southern [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], and border regions of northern [[Sindh]] and eastern [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saraiki |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/skr |website=Ethnologue |language=en}}</ref>

=== Balochi ===
[[File:Balochi-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Balochi language|Balochi]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]
[[Balochi language|Balochi]] ({{Lang|bal|بلوچی}}) is an [[Iranian language]] spoken as a first language by about 3% of Pakistanis, mostly in the [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] province. Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi is a sub-dialect of Rakshani. Other sub-dialects are Kalati (Qalati), Chagai-Kharani and Panjguri. Eastern Hill Balochi or Northern Balochi is very different from the rest.

=== Hindko ===
[[File:Hindko-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|The proportion of people with [[Hindko]] as their [[First language|mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Census of Pakistan|2017 Pakistan Census]]|left]]
[[Hindko]] ({{Nq|ہندکو}})is an [[Indo-Aryan language]]  group of [[Lahnda]] dialects spoken in several discontinuous areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] and [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]].
Hindko is mutually intelligible with [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] and [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]],{{sfn|Rahman|1996|p=211}} and has more affinities with the latter than with the former.{{sfn|Shackle|1979|pp=200–1}} Differences with other [[Punjabi varieties]] are more pronounced in the morphology and phonology than in the syntax.{{sfn|Shackle|1980|p=486}}
The word ''Hindko'', commonly used to refer to a number of Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in the neighbourhood of [[Pashto]], likely originally meant "the Indian language" (in contrast to Pashto).<ref>{{harvnb|Shackle|1980|p=482}}; {{harvnb|Rensch|1992|pp=3–4}}. See there for alternative etymologies.</ref> An alternative local name for this language group is ''Hindki''.{{sfn|Rensch|1992|p=4}}{{efn|The term ''Hindki'' normally refers to a Hindko speaker and {{harvtxt|Shackle|1980|p=482}} reports that in [[Pashto]] the term has slightly pejorative connotations, which are avoided with the recently introduced term ''Hindkūn''.}}

=== Brahui ===
[[File:Brahui-speakers_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|thumb|150x150px|<div style="text-align: center">The proportion of people with [[Brahui language|Brahui]] as their [[mother tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]
[[Brahui language|Brahui]] ({{Lang|brh|براہوئی}}) is a [[Dravidian language]] spoken in the central part of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan province]]. Brahui is spoken in the central part of Pakistani [[Balochistan]], mainly in [[Kalat District|Kalat]], [[Khuzdar District|Khuzdar]] and [[Mastung District|Mastung]] districts, but also in smaller numbers in neighboring districts, as well as in [[Afghanistan]] which borders Pakistani Balochistan; however, many members of the ethnic group [[language attrition|no longer speak]] Brahui.{{sfn|Parkin|1989|p=37}}

== Endangered languages ==
[[File:Minor_languages_of_Pakistan_as_of_the_1998_census.png|thumb|Map showing some of the minor languages in Pakistan as of 1998.]]
Other languages spoken by linguistic minorities include the languages listed below, with speakers ranging from a few dozen to tens of thousands. A few are highly [[endangered languages]] that may soon have no speakers at all.<ref name="Gordon, Raymond 20052">Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (2005). Languages of Pakistan. In ''Ethnologue Languages of the World'' (15th ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International.</ref> The [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization]] defines [[Endangered language#UNESCO definitions|five levels of language endangerment]] between "safe" (not endangered) and "extinct":<ref name="UNESCO">{{cite book |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/endangered-languages/atlas-of-languages-in-danger/ |title=Atlas of the World' s Languages in Danger |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=978-92-3-104096-2 |editor-last=Moseley |editor-first=Christopher |edition=3rd |series=Memory of Peoples |location=Paris |access-date=2015-04-11}}</ref>

* Vulnerable - "most children speak the language, but it may be restricted to certain domains (e.g., home)"
* Definitely endangered – "children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home"
* Severely endangered – "language is spoken by grandparents and older generations; while the parent generation may understand it, they do not speak it to children or among themselves"
* Critically endangered – "the youngest speakers are grandparents and older, and they speak the language partially and infrequently"
* Extinct – "there are no speakers left; included in the Atlas if presumably extinct since the 1950s"

The list below includes the findings from the third edition of ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]'' (2010; formerly the ''Red Book of Endangered Languages''), as well as the online edition of the aforementioned publication, both published by UNESCO.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger |url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php?hl=en&page=atlasmap# |website=www.unesco.org}}</ref>
{| class="sortable wikitable" align="center" style="font-size:90%"
|+
!Language
!Status
!Comments
!ISO 639-3
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Balti language|Balti]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->bft
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Bashkarik language|Bashkarik]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->gwc, xka
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Badeshi language|Badeshi]]
|data-sort-value="1_critically_endangered"|<!--Status-->Critically endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;Only three speakers remaining as of 2018.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43194056 | title=Badeshi: Only three people speak this 'extinct' language | date=26 February 2018 }}</ref>
|<!--ISO 639-3-->bdz
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Bateri language|Bateri]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->btv
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Bhadravahi language|Bhadravahi]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->bhd
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Brahui language|Brahui]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->brh
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Burushaski language|Burushaski]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->bsk
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Chilisso language|Chilisso]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->clh
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Dameli language|Dameli]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->dml
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Domaaki language|Domaaki]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->dmk
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Gawar-Bati language|Gawar-Bati]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->gwt
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Gowro language|Gowro]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->gwf
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Jadgali language|Jadgali]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status--><!-- Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" /> -->
|<!--Comments-->
|<!--ISO 639-3-->jdg
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Kalasha-mun|Kalasha language]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;Not to be confused with [[Kalasha-ala language|Kalasha-ala]]
|<!--ISO 639-3-->kls
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Kalkoti language|Kalkoti]]
|data-sort-value="2_severely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Severely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->&nbsp;
|-
|<!--Language-->Kati ([[Kamkata-viri language|Kamkata-viri]],<br />[[Kata-vari dialect|Kata-vari]], [[Kamviri dialect|Kamviri]])
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->bsh, xvi
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Khowar language|Khowar]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->khw
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Kundal Shahi language|Kundal Shahi]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->&nbsp;
|-
|<!-- Language -->[[Kutchi language]]||<!-- Status -->Vulnerable<ref name=UNESCO />||<!-- Comments -->Also spoken in: India||<!--ISO 639-3 -->kfr||<!-- Speakers-->
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Maiya language|Maiya]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->mvy
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Ormuri language|Ormuri]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->oru
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Phalura language|Phalura]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->phl
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Purik language|Purik]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->prx
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Savi language|Savi]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->sdg
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Spiti language|Spiti]]
|data-sort-value="4_vulnerable"|<!--Status-->Vulnerable<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->spt
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Torwali language|Torwali]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->trw
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Ushojo language|Ushojo]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->ush
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Wakhi language|Wakhi]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: China, Tajikistan, Afghanistan
|<!--ISO 639-3-->wbl
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Yidgha language|Yidgha]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->&nbsp;
|<!--ISO 639-3-->ydg
|-
|<!--Language-->[[Zangskari language|Zangskari]]
|data-sort-value="3_definitely_endangered"|<!--Status-->Definitely endangered<ref name="UNESCO" />
|<!--Comments-->Also spoken in: India
|<!--ISO 639-3-->zau
|-
|}

== Other languages ==
=== Arabic ===
Arabic is used as a religious language by Muslims. The [[Quran]], [[Sunnah]], [[Hadith]] and [[Muslim]] theology is taught in Arabic with [[Urdu language|Urdu]] translation. Arabic is taught as a religious language in mosques, schools, colleges, universities and [[Madrasah|madrassah]]s. A majority of Pakistan's Muslim population has had some form of formal or informal education in the reading, writing and pronunciation of Arabic as part of their religious education. However, Pakistanis do not speak Arabic.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahman |first=Tariq |date=1997 |title=Language and Ethnicity in Pakistan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645700 |journal=Asian Survey |volume=37 |issue=9 |pages=833–839 |doi=10.2307/2645700 |jstor=2645700 |issn=0004-4687|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Arabic is mentioned in the [[constitution of Pakistan]]. It declares in article 31 No. 2 that "The State shall endeavour, as respects the Muslims of Pakistan (a) to make the teaching of the Holy Quran and [[Islamic studies|Islamiat]] compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language ..."<ref>[[Constitution of Pakistan]]: [https://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/article-31-islamic-way-of-life ''Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 - Article: 31 Islamic way of life''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826122333/https://pakistanconstitutionlaw.com/article-31-islamic-way-of-life/ |date=26 August 2018 }}, 1973, retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>

The National Education Policy 2017 declares in article 3.7.4 that: "Arabic as compulsory part will be integrated in Islamiyat from Middle to Higher Secondary level to enable the students to understand the Holy Quran." Furthermore, it specifies in article 3.7.6: "Arabic as elective subject shall be offered properly at Secondary and Higher Secondary level with Arabic literature and grammar in its course to enable the learners to have command in the language." This law is also valid for private schools as it defines in article 3.7.12: "The curriculum in Islamiyat, Arabic and Moral Education of public sector will be adopted by the private institutions to make uniformity in the society."<ref>[[Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training]]: [http://www.moent.gov.pk/userfiles1/file/National%20Educaiton%20Policy%202017.pdf ''National Education Policy 2017''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110160637/http://www.moent.gov.pk/userfiles1/file/National%20Educaiton%20Policy%202017.pdf |date=10 January 2020 }}, p. 25, retrieved 28 July 2018</ref>

=== Persian ===
{{Main|Persian language in South Asia}}
{{See also|Persian and Urdu}}
[[Persian language|Persian]] was the official of the region up until the late 19th century when the English passed several laws to replace it with local languages.   Persian had a long history in the lands of Pakistan and was the cultural language of the erstwhile [[Mughal Empire]], a continuation since the introduction of the language by [[Central Asian]] [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] invaders who migrated into the Indian Subcontinent,<ref name="BennettRamsey2012">{{cite book|author1=Clinton Bennett|author2=Charles M. Ramsey|title=South Asian Sufis: Devotion, Deviation, and Destiny|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EQJHAQAAQBAJ&q=ghaznavids+brought+persian+to+south+asia&pg=PA18|date=1 March 2012|publisher=A&C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-5127-8|page=18}}</ref> and the patronisation of it by the earlier Turko-Persian Delhi Sultanate. Persian was officially abolished as a language of administration with the arrival of the British: in [[Sindh]] in 1843 and in [[Punjab region|Punjab]] in 1849.

Today the eastern [[Dari language|Dari]] dialect of Persian is spoken by refugees from [[Afghanistan]] and a small number of local Balochistani [[Hazaras|Hazara]] community. A larger number of Pakistani Hazaras speak [[Hazaragi language|Hazaragi]] dialect.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://omniglot.com/writing/hazaragi.htm|title=Hazaragi (آزرگی)|website=omniglot.com}}</ref> In the [[Madaklasht]] valley of Chitral, the [[Madaklashti]] dialect of [[Tajik language|Tajik Persian]] is spoken by the descendants of ironmongers from [[Badakhshan]] who settled there in the eighteenth century.

=== Foreign languages ===
{{As of|2017}} some Pakistanis are learning [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] to do business with companies from the People's Republic of [[China]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Shah Meer Baloch |url=https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-pakistanis-keen-to-learn-chinese-language/a-41465711|title=Asia Why are Pakistanis keen to learn Chinese language?|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]|date=2017-11-21}}</ref>

== Classification ==

=== Indo-Iranian ===
Most of the languages of Pakistan belong to the [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]].<ref>Marian Rengel ''Pakistan: A Primary Source Cultural Guide'' page 38 {{ISBN|0823940012}}, 9780823940011</ref><ref>Mukhtar Ahmed ''Ancient Pakistan - an Archaeological History'' pages 6-7 {{ISBN|1495966437}}, 9781495966439</ref> The common ancestor of all of the languages in this family is called [[Proto-Indo-Iranian language|Proto-Indo-Iranian]]—also known as Common Aryan—which was spoken in approximately the late 3rd millennium BC. The three branches of the modern Indo-Iranian languages are [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]], [[Iranian languages|Iranian]], and [[Nuristani languages|Nuristani]]. A fourth independent branch, [[Dardic languages|Dardic]], was previously posited, but recent scholarship in general places Dardic languages as archaic members of the Indo-Aryan branch.<ref>Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World (page 283)</ref>

==== Indo-Aryan ====
Majority of the languages spoken in eastern regions of Pakistan belong to the Indo-Aryan group.

Modern Indo-Aryan languages descend from Old Indo-Aryan languages such as early [[Vedic Sanskrit]], through [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages]] (or [[Prakrit]]s).<ref>{{cite book |last=Burde |first=Jayant |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xmXclYgJFiIC&pg=PA3 |title=Rituals, Mantras, and Science: An Integral Perspective |date=2004 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers |isbn=978-81-208-2053-1 |page=3 |language=en |quote=The Aryans spoke an Indo-European language sometimes called the Vedic language from which have descended Sanskrit and other Indic languages ... Prakrit was a group of variants which developed alongside Sanskrit.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Jain |first1=Danesh |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OtCPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA163 |title=The Indo-Aryan Languages |last2=Cardona |first2=George |date=26 July 2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-135-79711-9 |page=163 |language=en |quote=... a number of their morphophonological and lexical features betray the fact that they are not direct continuations of R̥gvedic Sanskrit, the main base of 'Classical' Sanskrit; rather they descend from dialects which, despite many similarities, were different from R̥gvedic and in some regards even more archaic.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Chamber's Encyclopaedia, Volume 7 |date=1968 |publisher=International Learnings Systems |language=en |quote=Most Aryan languages of India and Pakistan belong to the Indo-Aryan family, and are descended from Sanskrit through the intermediate stage of Prakrit. The Indo-Aryan languages are by far the most important numerically and the territory occupied by them extends over the whole of northern and central India and reaches as far south as Goa.}}</ref><ref name="Donkin2003">{{cite book |last1=Donkin |first1=R. A. |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_B4IFMnssyqgC |title=Between East and West: The Moluccas and the Traffic in Spices Up to the Arrival of Europeans |date=2003 |publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]] |isbn=9780871692481 |page=60 |language=en |quote=The modern, regional Indo-Aryan languages developed from Prakrt, an early 'unrefined' (''prakrta'') form of Sanskrit, around the close of the first millennium A.D.}}</ref>

Some of the important languages in this family are [[dialect continuum]]s. One of these is [[Lahnda languages|Lahnda]],<ref>[[silcode:lah|ISO 639 code sets]]. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.</ref> and includes [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] (spoken mostly in southern [[Pakistani Punjab]] by about 26 million people), the diverse varieties of [[Hindko language|Hindko]] (with almost five million speakers in north-western Punjab and neighbouring regions of [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], especially [[Hazara region|Hazara]]), [[Pahari-Pothwari|Pahari/Pothwari]] (3.5 million speakers in the [[Pothohar Plateau|Pothohar]] region of Punjab, [[Azad Kashmir]] and parts of Indian [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]), [[Khetrani language|Khetrani]] (20,000 speakers in [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]]), and [[Inku language|Inku]] (a possibly extinct language of Afghanistan).{{sfn|Eberhard|Simons|Fennig|2022}}{{sfn|Shackle|1979|p=198}}<ref>{{e18|lah}}</ref>

==== Iranian ====
Majority of the languages spoken in western regions of Pakistan belong to the Iranic group. There are several dialects continuums in this family as well: [[Balochi language|Balochi]], which includes Eastern, Western and Southern Balochi;<ref>[[silcode:bal|ISO 639 code sets]]. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.</ref> and Pashto, and includes Northern, Central, and Southern [[Pashto language|Pashto]].<ref>[[silcode:pus|ISO 639 code sets]]. Sil.org. Retrieved on 2011-01-14.</ref>

=== Other ===
The following three languages of Pakistan are not part of the Indo-European language family:

* [[Brahui language|Brahui]] (spoken in central Balochistan province) is a [[Dravidian languages|Dravidian language]]. Its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by Balochi. It is an individual language in the Dravidian language family and does not belong to any subgrouping in that language family. 
* The [[Balti dialect]] of [[Ladakhi language|Ladakhi]] (spoken in an area of southern [[Gilgit–Baltistan]]) is a [[Tibetan languages|Tibetan language]] of the [[Tibeto-Burman]] language family.<ref>[http://wals.info/languoid/family/sinotibetan WALS – Sino-Tibetan]. Wals.info. Retrieved on 2011-01-14</ref>
* [[Burushaski]] (spoken in [[Hunza Valley|Hunza]], Nagar, Yasin, and [[Ishkoman Valley|Ishkoman]] valleys in Gilgit–Baltistan) is a [[language isolate]] with no indigenous written script and instead currently uses Urdu script, based on the Perso-Arabic script.

== Writing systems ==
{{Main|Nastaliq|Urdu alphabet}}
[[File:Double-Headed_Eagle_Stupa_at_Sirkap_06.jpg|left|thumb|An English-Urdu bilingual sign at the archaeological site of [[Sirkap]], near [[Taxila]]. The Urdu says: (right to left) دو سروں والے عقاب کی شبيہ والا مندر, dō sarōñ wālé u'qāb kī shabīh wāla mandir. "The temple with the image of the eagle with two heads."]]
Most languages of Pakistan are written in the [[Persian alphabet|Perso-Arabic script]]. The [[Mughal Empire]] adopted [[Persian language|Persian]] as the court [[language]] during their rule over South Asia as did their predecessors, such as the Ghaznavids. During this time, the [[Nastaʿlīq]] style of the Perso-Arabic script came into widespread use in South Asia, and the influence remains to this day. In Pakistan, almost everything in Urdu is written in the script, concentrating the greater part of Nastaʿlīq usage in the world.
[[File:Zaban_urdu_mualla.png|thumb|The phrase ''zubān-e-Urdū-e-muʿallā'' ("the language of the exalted camp") written in [[Nastaʿlīq|Nastaʿlīq script]]<ref name="Naim19992">{{citation |last=Naim |first=C. M. |title=Ambiguities of Heritage: Fictions and Polemics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OwHhAAAAMAAJ |page=87 |year=1999 |publisher=City Press |isbn=978-969-8380-19-9 |author-link=C. M. Naim}}</ref>]]
[[File:Lashkari_Zaban_calligraphy.png|thumb|''Lashkari Zabān'' title in [[Naskh (script)|Naskh script]]]]
The [[Urdu alphabet]] is a [[right-to-left]] [[alphabet]]. It is a modification of the Persian alphabet, which is itself a derivative of the [[Arabic alphabet]]. With 38 letters, the Urdu alphabet is typically written in the [[calligraphic]] [[Nasta'liq script]].

[[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] adopted a variant of the [[Persian alphabet]] as well, in the 19th century. The script is used in Pakistan today, albeit unlike most other native languages of Pakistan, the Naskh style is more common for Sindhi writing than the Nasta'liq style. It has a total of 52 letters, augmenting the Urdu with [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] and eighteen new letters ({{lang|sd|ڄ ٺ ٽ ٿ ڀ ٻ ڙ ڍ ڊ ڏ ڌ ڇ ڃ ڦ ڻ ڱ ڳ ڪ}}) for sounds particular to Sindhi and other Indo-Aryan languages. Some letters that are distinguished in Arabic or Persian are [[homophone]]s in Sindhi.

[[Balochi language|Balochi]] and [[Pashto language|Pashto]] are written in [[Persian alphabet|Perso-Arabic script]]. The [[Shahmukhī script]], a variant of the [[Urdu alphabet]], is used to write the [[Punjabi language]] in Pakistan.

Usually, bare transliterations of Urdu into Roman letters, [[Roman Urdu]], omit many [[Phoneme|phonemic]] elements that have no equivalent in English or other languages commonly written in the [[Latin script]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} The [[National Language Authority]] of [[Pakistan]] has developed a number of systems with specific notations to signify non-English sounds, but these can only be properly read by someone already familiar with Urdu.{{clear}}

== Maps ==
This is a series of maps which shows the distribution of different languages in Pakistan as of the [[2017 Census of Pakistan|2017 Pakistan Census]]. These all refer to the mother tongues of individuals only.
[[File:Mother_Tongue_by_Pakistani_District_-_2017_Census.svg|center|thumb|<div style="text-align: center">Dominant [[Mother tongue|Mother Tongue]] in each Pakistani [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] as of the [[2017 Pakistan Census]]</div>]]
<gallery class="center">
File:Punjabi-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] natively
File:Pashto-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Pashto]] natively
File:Sindhi-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] natively
File:Saraiki-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Saraiki language|Saraiki]] natively
File:Urdu-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Urdu]] natively
File:Balochi-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Balochi language|Balochi]] natively
File:Hindko-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Hindko]] natively
File:Brahui-speakers by Pakistani District - 2017 Census.svg|Percent speaking [[Brahui language|Brahui]] natively
File:Minor languages of Pakistan as of the 1998 census.png|Percent speaking a minor language (not collected on the census) natively in 1998.
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Demographics of Pakistan]]
* [[Ethnic groups in Pakistan]]
* [[Pakistanis|Pakistani People]]
* [[Roman Urdu|Romanisation of Urdu]]
* [[National Language Promotion Department]]
* [[List of districts of Pakistan by number of households]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*{{Cite conference| last = Baart| first = Joan L. G.| date = 2003| title = Sustainable Development and the Maintenance of Pakistan's Indigenous Languages| location = Islamabad| url = https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/38917}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia| editor-last1 = Eberhard| editor-first1 = David M| editor-last2 = Simons| editor-first2 = Gary F.| editor-last3 = Fennig| editor-first3 = Charles D.| year = 2022| title = [[Ethnologue|Ethnologue: Languages of the World]]| edition = 25| place = Dallas, Texas| publisher = SIL International| chapter = Pakistan| chapter-url = https://ethnologue.com/country/PK}}
*{{Cite report| last1 = Lothers| first1 = Michael| last2 = Lothers| first2 = Laura| date = 2010| title = Pahari and Pothwari: A Sociolinguistic Survey| series = SIL Electronic Survey Reports| volume =  2010-012| url = https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/9130}}
*Rahman, Tariq (1996) Language and Politics of Pakistan Karachi: Oxford University Press. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2007.
*Rahman, Tariq (2002) Language, Ideology and Power: Language-learning among the Muslims of Pakistan and North India Karachi: Oxford University Press. Rev.ed. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2008.
*Rahman, Tariq (2011) From Hindi to Urdu: A Social and Political History Karachi: Oxford University Press.
*{{Cite web| website = [[Ethnologue]]| year = 2017| title = Pahari-Potwari| url = http://www.ethnologue.com/language/phr| editor-last1 = Simons| editor-first1 = Gary F.| editor-last2 = Fennig| editor-first2 = Charles D.| edition = 20| ref = {{harvid|Ethnologue|2017}} }} (access limited).<!--Simons-->
*{{Cite journal| last = Rahman| first = Tariq| author-link = Tariq Rahman| title = The Siraiki Movement in Pakistan| journal = Language Problems & Language Planning| date = 1995| volume = 19| issue = 1| doi = 10.1075/lplp.19.1.01rah| pages = 1–25}}
*{{Cite encyclopedia| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| author-mask = 2| date = 2014b| title = Siraiki language| encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica| access-date = 2016-10-18| url = https://www.britannica.com/topic/Siraiki-language}}
*{{Cite journal| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| date = 1977| author-mask = 2| title = Siraiki: A Language Movement in Pakistan| journal = Modern Asian Studies| issn = 0026-749X| volume = 11| issue = 3| pages = 379–403| jstor = 311504| doi=10.1017/s0026749x00014190| s2cid = 144829301}}
*{{Cite book| last = Rahman| first = Tariq| author-link = Tariq Rahman| title = Language and politics in Pakistan| date = 1996| publisher = Oxford University Press| isbn = 978-0-19-577692-8}}
*{{Cite journal| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| title = Problems of classification in Pakistan Panjab| journal = Transactions of the Philological Society| date = 1979| doi = 10.1111/j.1467-968X.1979.tb00857.x| issn = 0079-1636| volume = 77| issue = 1| pages = 191–210}}
*{{Cite journal| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| date = 1980| doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00137401| issn = 0041-977X| volume = 43| issue = 3| pages = 482–510| title = Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar| journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies| s2cid = 129436200}}
*{{Cite book| last1 = Rensch| first1 = Calvin R.| editor-last1 = O'Leary| editor-first1 = Clare F.| editor-last2 = Rensch| editor-first2 = Calvin R.| editor-last3 = Hallberg| editor-first3 = Calinda E.| date = 1992| title = Hindko and Gujari| chapter = The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People| isbn = 969-8023-13-5| publisher = National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics| location = Islamabad| series = Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan| chapter-url = http://www.sil.org/resources/archives/38573}}
*{{Cite journal|first=Robert|last=Parkin|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal|doi=10.1163/000000089790082944|pages=37–43|title=Some comments on Brahui kinship terminology|volume=32|issue=1|year=1989|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00182435|jstor=24654607 |s2cid=161638780|url-access=subscription}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.muturzikin.com/cartesasie/4.htm Linguistic map of Pakistan] at Muturzikin.com
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060217220529/http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_mother_tongue.pdf Pakistan census statistics by population]
* [https://www.ethnologue.com/country/PK/languages List of Pakistani Languages] at Ethnologue

{{Languages of Pakistan}}
{{Pakistan topics}}
{{Asia topic|Languages of}}
{{Languages of South Asia}}

[[Category:Languages of Pakistan| ]]