8 Easy Languages In Pakistan

Ling Learn Languages
5 min readOct 22, 2021

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Original Post: https://ling-app.com/ur/languages-in-pakistan/

Interested to learn the language in Pakistan? Pakistan is a country found in South Asia with over 70 to almost 80 languages. This article will teach you the most popular languages in Pakistan and where Pakistani people speak these languages extensively. If you are up for that, then let the learning begin! There are two official languages ​​in Pakistan. The mother tongue and official language of Pakistan are Urdu, and English is the second official language of Pakistan. The 1998 Census has listed Pakistan’s most widely used languages in Pakistan: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Urdu, Siraiki, and Balochi.

The Popular Languages In Pakistan

First of all, let’s list the popularly spoken languages in Pakistan while looking at the percentage of their speakers in the country’s total population.

  • Natively Percent Speaking Urdu — 10% (the National Language of Pakistan)
  • Natively Percent SpeakingPunjabi — 48%
  • Natively Percent Speaking Sindhi — 12%
  • Natively Percent Pakistanis Speaking Saraiki — 10%
  • Natively Percent Speaking Pashto- 8%
  • Natively Percent Speaking Balochi — 4%
  • Natively Percent Speaking Hindko — 2%
  • Natively Percent Speaking Brahui — 1%

Now, let’s discuss each of these languages in Pakistan in detail.

The Official Languages Spoken In Pakistan

Both and English are the official languages in Pakistan.

Urdu — The National Language

Urdu is a lingua franca that is Pakistan’s native language and is also the country’s official language. Only 8% of Pakistanis, however, speak Urdu as their first language. The majority of individuals, however, understand it as a second language.

Urdu’s origins can be traced back hundreds of years. According to certain historians, Urdu was derived from the Indo-Aryan language spoken in Delhi, which absorbed Arabic manuscripts. Persian and Chughtai are two Persian dialects. Urdu is Pakistan’s primary language, and it is spoken informal settings, government administration, and educational institutions.

English

English is an essential medium of formal communication in the country, and this is a relic of British colonial rule in the region. The country’s constitution and laws were created in English at first and are now being translated into local languages. Many educational institutes in the country employ English as a medium of communication. Along with the native languages, English is spoken in the homes and informal groups of the country’s elite.

The Widely Spoken Languages In Pakistan

Also, there are provincial languages, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi. Further, there is also one state language that is the Kashmiri language.

Punjabi Language (Southern Punjab And Western Punjabi)

Punjabi is one of Pakistan’s major languages and the most widely spoken provincial language. A significant number of Pakistanis speak Punjabi in Punjab province as a first language by around 48% of Pakistani Punjabis. It was originally written in the Shahmukhi script, which utilizes the Urdu alphabet. Some people believe Hindko and Saraiki are dialects of Punjabi, while others believe they are separate languages.

Pashto Language

In Pakistan, Pashto, the official language of neighboring Afghanistan, Pakistanis speaking Pashto who lives in Quetta and Peshawar. This Pakistani language is spoken by more than 15.42 percent of the country’s population. Pashto speakers are primarily found in Pakistan’s northern Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. This language is also used amongst Pashtun groups in the country’s cities. Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Khatir Afridi, and Ghani Khan are just a few famous poets written in Pashto.

Sindhi

Sindhi is one of the provincial languages and is primarily used as a first language among Pakistanis speaking Sindhi who lives in the Sindh province. This Pakistani language is spoken by around 14.5 percent of Pakistanis. Some experts say Sindhi is descended from Sanskrit with Arabic influences, while others believe it is descended from Sami languages. A sizable portion of the Indian population also speaks Sindhi.

Balochi

The Balochi language is one of the regional languages of Pakistan. Balochi is the primary language spoken in Balochistan and is used by around 4% of the country’s population.

The Minor Languages In Pakistan

A wide variety of languages can be classified as minor languages in Pakistan and are used by the country’s minority communities. The number of individuals who understand these minor language ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand. Some of these languages are likewise endangered and may become extinct shortly. Pakistanis Speak Foreign Languages In Pakistan That Have A Significant Impact In Pakistan

English

As mentioned above, English, the official language of the colonial British Empire, continues to play a significant role in Pakistan as one of the country’s official languages. Besides English, the other important foreign languages of Pakistan are:

Arabic

Since Pakistan is a prominent Muslim country, Arabic, the religious language of Muslims, plays a significant role in the religious education of Muslims. The Holy Quran, Hadith, Sunnah, and other Islamic religious texts are Arabic and translated into Urdu script. A major section of the Muslim population of Pakistan is given some form of informal or formal religious education in the Arabic language.

Persian (Historical And Literary Language)

Persian was the language spoken by the Royals of the Mughal Empire and served as the cultural and official language of this Empire. As such, it had a high status in Muslim society in the past. However, the British abolished the official status of Persian during their colonial rule over the Indian sub-continent. Today, only a tiny section of the Pakistani population speaks this language.

Master More Than 60 Languages With Ling App

Now you know the most spoken languages in Pakistan. If you are soon visiting or moving to the country, start learning the Urdu language with the Ling app. If you are initially learning the language, start with basic Urdu words and phrases and greetings in Urdu.

Before the Ling app, Simya Solutions created the Simply Learn app, which allows users to learn languages through phrases. In the app, we supported 50 languages. We created the Ling App based on user input and market research. Users can enhance their speaking and writing skills by practicing languages every day with engaging mini-games on Ling. So far, Ling supports more than 60 languages.

Visit the Ling web page or download the app to start your exciting language learning journey!

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