Most of the languages spoken in Pakistan are the Indo-Iranian language group, used by the people of this country for thousands of years. The University of Texas at Austin Linguistics Research Center says Indo-Iranian languages have two branches-Iranian and Indo-Aryan. The Indo-Iranian languages spoken in Pakistan include Urdu, the provincial languages of Punjabi, Pashto, Saraiki, Sindhi and Balochi, and English.

Urdu

Urdu, meaning “foreign” or “horde” in Turkish, is the national language of Pakistan and is a close relative of Hindi, the primary language spoken in India. Although the language is related to Hindi, the language derives it vocabulary from Persian and Arabic. Omniglot Writing Systems and Languages of the World online guide says that Urdu has been written since the 12th century. This language is spoken by approximately 104 million people around the world.

Punjabi

Punjabi is a language spoken in Pakistan and the Indian state of Panjab by approximately 60 million people. The alphabets for this language originate in the 16th century, when Guru Nanak devised the letter system. The system, called Gurumukhi, means “from the mouth of the Guru.” Today, the form of Punjabi spoken in Pakistan uses Shahmukhi-an Arabic script.

Pashto

There are three varieties of this language-Northern Pashto, Southern Pashto and Central Pashto. Northern and Central Pashto are the primary forms of this language spoken in Pakistan. Pashto, spoken by approximately 25 to 30 million people, appears in written form in the 16th century. Omniglot says Pashto seems to be a reconstruction of a Persian language.

Saraiki

Omniglot says Saraiki, sometimes spelled Siraiki, is spoken by approximately 14 million Pakistani people in the central provinces of Sindh and Punjab. Speakers of this language are found in India and the United Kingdom as well. The writing system consists of 42 characters that have been adapted for computer use. Pakistan has maintained a census of the country’s speakers of Saraiki since 1981.

Sindhi

Sindhi is spoken by approximately 17 million people in Sind, the southeastern province of Pakistan. In the 8th century AD, the first written form of Sindhi appears. Sindhi poetry and literature of the 15th century bring this language to more people. Omniglot says that Sindhi is adapted to the Landa script during the 19th century.

Balochi

Balochi is spoken by people living in Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India, the Arab Gulf States, Turkmenistan and East Africa. In the 19th century, British linguists use Latin alphabets to create a written system. Omniglot says, when Pakistan gained independence in 1947, Baloch scholars transferred the language into Perso-Arabic script.

In the realm of linguistics, you can trace the family tree of these languages. These languages spoken in Pakistan, with the exception of English, have ancient origins in many Eastern and Arabic countries. With the exception of the national language of Urdu, the other languages dominate particular regions of the country, serving as an identification maker for the culture of the people who speak the languages.