Dominant Languages in Pakistan

English, Urdu, Punjabi Spoken by Pakistanis

The two major languages spoken in Pakistan are English and Urdu. While English is the official language of the country, spoken by the officials and elite, Urdu is considered to be the national language of Pakistan. In addition to English and Urdu, Pakistanis also speak Punjabi, Pashto, Saraiki, Sindhi, Balochi and other less popular languages.

English

English is a major language for executive, judiciary and legislative branches of the government, as well as for some educational establishments. This language is also widely used by businesses, both government and private. So, in order to build a successful career, a Pakistani has to learn English. The interesting fact, however, is that only 3-4% of Pakistanis speak English fluently. For the vast majority the major language is Urdu.

Urdu

Urdu, also known as Bihari, is a mixture of Persian and Arabic with numerous local languages and dialects. Though it is very similar to Hindi, Urdu is written in Arabic script and belongs to a group of Hindustani dialects of Indo-European languages. It is widely spoken in the military and among unskilled workers. Though Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, it is the mother tongue of only around 8% of the country's citizens.

Punjabi

Punjabi is the mother tongue of around 44% of Pakistanis, and approximately 70% of the country's population speaks Punjabi. It is a Lahnda dialect of Indo-European group of languages. Punjabi is spoken all over the country, and is the most popular language of the Punjab province.

Pashto

Pashto is the major language of North-West Frontier Province, and around 15% of Pakistanis speak it. Though linguists distinguish Central, Northern and Southern Pashto, they all belong to the Iranian Eastern subgroup of Indo-European languages.

Sindhi

Sindhi is the language of the province of Sind, and is taught at schools there. It known by 14% of Pakistanis, and belongs to the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European languages.

Saraiki

Saraiki, also referred to as Seraiki, belongs to Indo-European languages of Northwestern zone. It is widely spoken in the Province of the Punjab, and around 10% of Pakistanis know this language.

Balochi

This language is spoken in the province of Baluchistan. Linguists distinguish three types of this Northwestern Iranian language: Eastern, Southern and Western Balochi. Approximately 4% of the country's citizens speak this language.

Sources:

• Jaffrelot, Christophe. A history of Pakistan and its origins: Anthem South Asian studies. Anthem Press, 2004.
• Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International, 2009.