POsted By Muhammad Basharat
Languages of Pakistan include two official languages: Urdu, which is also the national language and Pakistan's lingua franca, and English. Additionally, Pakistan has four major provincial languages: Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi, as well as three major regional languages: Saraiki, Hindko and Kashmiri.
Most of the languages of Pakistan belong to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family.
Urdu (اردو) is Pakistan's national language (قومی زبان) and the lingua franca of Pakistan. Although only about 8% of the Pakistani population speak Urdu as their mother tongue, it is understood and spoken by 90% of the country's population throughout the length and breadth of Pakistan.[2] Urdu is written in a modified script of the Arabic alphabet, known as Nastaliq.
The first recorded poetry in Urdu was by the Persian poet Amir Khusro (1253) (امیر خسرو–1325); the first Urdu book, Dah Majlis, was published in 1728. The first time the word "Urdu" was used was in 1751, by Sirajuddin Arzoo (سراج الدین آرزو).
Urdu has historical significance as the language developed during the Islamic conquests of the South Asian subcontinent, especially under the Mughal Empire. It was chosen as the national language of Pakistan because it was a neutral common language that could be understood and spoken by the various language groups of Pakistan.
Urdu is, increasingly, being adopted and spoken as a first language by a new generation of urbanised Pakistanis, especially in large cosmopolitan cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad/Rawalpindi.
Provincial language:
- Punjabi
- Pushtu
- Sindhi
- Balochi
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