A brief overview of Languages spoken in Pakistan
Pakistan has a population of 22 (current) crore and speaks about 80 different languages, of which 72 are indigenous and ancient. According to an estimate (it is estimated of 2009), 49% of the people in Pakistan are Punjabi, 12% Sindhi, 10% Seraiki, 8% Pashto, 7% Urdu, 3% Balochi, 2% Hindko, 1% Brahui and the remaining 8%. People speak English and other small languages.
Urdu: Apart from being the national language of Pakistan, it has the status that it is understood and spoken in almost all parts of Pakistan and it is also the language of communication at the national level.
English: Pakistan's Unofficial Official Language Used in Pakistan's Government Institutions, Courts and Offices.
Punjabi: Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan. According to statistics, the number of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan is 41% of the total population, 75% in Punjab, 6% in Sindh, 71% in Islamabad, 3% in Balochistan, 1% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA.
Seraiki: Seraiki is one of the most important regional languages of Pakistan. The combination of Punjabi and Sindhi is very clear and it is mostly spoken in South Punjab
Pashto: Pashto is the mother tongue of 16% of Pakistanis. Pashto is the most widely spoken language in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although its dialect is different in other parts of the country like other languages, there are basically 17 different popular dialects. Pashto is spoken in other provinces of Pakistan besides Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, Hyderabad and Karachi, while in Karachi alone more than 700,000 people speak Pashto, accounting for 25% of the total population of Karachi.
Hindko: Some linguists find considerable linguistic proximity between Seraiki and Hindko. It is widely spoken in the Hazarajat area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while a large number of its speakers are based in Karachi, Sindh.
Sindhi: Sindhi is the mother tongue of more than 20 million people while its largest number is in Sindh province, it is also spoken in Balochistan province. 3 million in Karachi, 1 million in Hyderabad and 500,000 in Larkana speak Sindhi
Balochi: is the most important language spoken in Balochistan province of Pakistan. There are large numbers of Balochi speakers in all the districts bordering Balochistan. There are also Balochi speakers in Sindh and Pakhtunkhwa, but there is a big difference between their dialect and the dialect of the people living in Balochistan.
Brahui: The language spoken in and around the center of the state of Kalat which is also called "Kargali" by the Baloch people but it is a Brahui language. Brohi is spoken in Mengal, Bizenjo, Raisani, Lahri, Shahwani, Muhammad Shahi, Bangalzai, Mirwani, Kurd, Qalandari, Garganari, Zehri, Sajidi and other tribes.
Balti: Balti is a language spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Areas and many places in Ladakh. It is also spoken and understood in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore. According to statistics, more than 600,000 people speak Balti. Ladakhi and Balti have similar languages. It is one of the most widely spoken languages.
Broshki: This language is also spoken in Gilgit and Baltistan. The number of speakers of the Broshki language is very small and it is endangered.
Jagdali: It is spoken in some tribes of the former states of Lasbela and Kharan. Some linguists consider it a part of the Lasi language while others consider it a separate language. The Lodi Karkh and Chako Jamot and Chhata tribes are among the Jagdali-speaking tribes
Shina is one of the languages spoken in Gilgit-Baltistan and the Northern Areas. There are many dialects of Shina language. The dialects of the people living in the large mountain valleys in Gilgit and Baltistan are Shina Khas, Shina Bagruti, Shinakohistani, etc., and it is largely influenced by the Pashto language.
Memoni: According to linguists, Memoni language is a branch of Sindhi language which is spoken by Memon people living in Sindh. Although it took centuries for the Sindhi language to be adapted to Memoni, the Mani language came into being. Memoni language still contains a lot of Sindhi words while any Memon living in Sindh can easily speak Sindhi language. There are also many dialects of the Memoni language
Kashmiri: It is spoken in Jammu and Kashmir (part of which is administered by Pakistan) while a large number of Kashmiris living in Karachi also speak Kashmiri.
Apart from these, there are many small languages spoken in different parts of Pakistan.
Gujarati: It is mostly spoken and understood in Karachi and Hyderabad. Various Gujarati language newspapers are published from Karachi. For example, "Millat is Gujarati", in addition, "Dawn Gujarati" is published by the famous Dawn group.
Dehwari: The Dehwari language is said to be a corrupted Persian or ancient Persian which includes Brahui and Sindhi words. The language is spoken by people from the various Dehwar tribes of Mastung and Kalat
Lasi: It is spoken in the areas of Lasbela district of Balochistan. Lasi language actually originated from the combination of Sindhi and Balochi and it could not escape the influence of Sindhi language as if in a way it is the Sindhi language of Balochistan.
Kafir: These are the inhabitants of the Kafiristan area in the northwest, who are probably considered to be the descendants of Alexander the Great's army.
Khetrani: It is the language of the Khetran tribe living in Khetran district of Balochistan. According to linguists, it is more influenced by Seraiki. Thus it is one of the languages of Pakistan which is only one of the other languages of a tribe or district
Note: (Statistics; Atlas of World Language in Danger 2009, CIA World Factbook 2009) Today in 2020, this review presents a general picture but should not be considered final These figures may now be different.)
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