Top 10 Commonly Spoken Languages in Pakistan
10 Potohari
This language is spoken by around 25 million people in Pakistan. It is still underutilised in literature, despite its popularity. In Potohari, however, a number of popular radio shows are broadcast.
9 Bruhai
Brahui is an Indo-Iranian language that is fairly rare. It is spoken in Pakistan and the distant reaches of Iran. Brahui is also spoken by expatriate Brahui populations in Iraq, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. In many nations, this language is considered a minority language since it is spoken by a small number of people.
8 Kashmiri
Because the Kashmir territory of Pakistan has so many dialects, the language is separated into two areas: northern and southern. The language is spoken by the majority of people in both places, however it is written differently depending on which side you are on.
7 Hindko
Hindko belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family and is spoken in Pakistan’s northern areas. Because most Hindko speakers relocated to the Punjab area during British control between 1849 and 1947, the majority of Hindko speakers do not live in Pakistan. In fact, UNESCO has designated Hindko as an endangered language, since the number of native speakers continues to decline.
6 Balochi
Balochistan’s province language is separated into two dialects: Northern Balochi and Southern Balochi. The distinction between the two is that the former uses Arabic writing, and the later uses Perso-Arabic script. Despite the fact that they are both regarded languages, most people use separate scripts for each.
5 Pushto
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s province language is Pushto (Pashtu). The majority of Pashto speakers live in Afghanistan, however Pushtuns in Balochistan also speak the language. The name ‘Pushtun’ comes from the old Persian word ‘Pahlavani,’ which indicated a speaker of the Pahlawani dialect.
4 Sindhi
Sindhi is the official province language of Sindh, albeit it is not as commonly spoken as Punjabi or Urdu. It is an old language with a long and illustrious cultural history. If you’re seeking for literature in this area, go no farther than Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai’s poetry, which is widely recognised as one of Sindhi literature’s greatest works.
3 Saraiki
Saraiki is the mother tongue of the majority of people in the Punjab province’s southern regions. It’s a really nice and musical language with lots of lush vegetation and lovely flowers. Saraiki has affected languages all over the world, including those spoken in African countries, due to its extensive vocabulary and distinctive speaking manner.
2 Punjabi
Around 90 million people speak Punjabi as their first language, with 43 percent of Pakistan’s population speaking it as their first language. In fact, if you were born and raised in Punjab, Punjabi would be your mother tongue.
1 Urdu
The standardisation of the national language is entirely dependent on individuals who speak Hindi, also known as Hindustani, in the northern areas. In the early days of Pakistan, the national language was not acknowledged. However, it is now spoken by over 20% of the population. It is the official language of all provinces and nations throughout the world for communication.