Punjabi language
Punjabi is the most spoken language of Pakistan..!
Among the Indo-Aryan languages of the subcontinent, the most widely spoken language after "Hindostani" (Hindi/Urdu) and "Bengali" is "Punjabi" which stretches from the Indus River to the Yamuna River and from the Neelum Valley to the Indus Valley. It is spoken in wide areas. Punjabi is also spoken by the majority of Azad Kashmir and Occupied Kashmir region of Jammu, while a large number of Pakistanis and Sikhs abroad also speak Punjabi.
The breadth of the Punjabi language
The Punjabi language, spoken for centuries, is divided between two countries (Pakistan and India) and four major religions (Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Christians). It is perhaps the only language in the world that is written in three different scripts, Shahmukhi, Gaurmukhi and Devananagari. One of the 22 official languages of India and the medium of education in the Indian province of Punjabi, it has no official status and is not taught in schools in Pakistan.
The Punjabi language is spoken in many different ways due to its vastness. Major dialects are mentioned below.
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The standard accent of the Punjabi language is called "Majhi", which has been used in literature, films and songs since before partition. Apart from the central city of Lahore, Majhi is spoken in the majority of areas from the Jhelum River to the Beas River. Dogri, Gujri, Shahpuri, Jangli and Jhangvi etc. are also its sub-branches.
Saraiki
The second major dialect is "Saraiki", which was counted as a separate language for the first time in the 1981 census. The Punjabi dialect spoken in the western regions of Punjab province of Pakistan is divided into Multani, State, Dera Wali and Thaluchi dialects. Multan is the capital of Saraiki dialect.
Hindko
The third major dialect is "Hindku" which includes Pothwari, Pahari, Mirpuri, Chhachi and Kohati etc. This Punjabi dialect was also counted as a separate language in the 1981 census. Abbottabad is the capital of the Hindko dialect and the majority of the population resides in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Indian Punjabi
Apart from these, "Majhi" is spoken in the areas between the Beas River and the Pakistani border in Indian Punjab, and "Doabi" is spoken in the area between the Beas River and the Sutlej, the capital of which is Jalandhar. The "Malawi" dialect is spoken in the areas south of the Sutlej River, with Ludhiana as its capital. Apart from these, the "Pawadhi" dialect is spoken in the areas of Chandigarh, the capital of Indian Punjab, which has an admixture of Hindi.
Apart from these, there are numerous small and large dialects in which the influence of other languages is prominent. There is a Punjabi touch in the various dialects of Hindi in the Indian states of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, while 25% of Delhi's population also speaks Punjabi.
Statistics of Punjabi language
According to the 2017 census, Majhi dialect of Punjabi language is the mother tongue of 38 percent, Saraiki dialect, 12 percent and Hindko dialect, 2 percent of Pakistanis. Punjabi is the mother tongue of 57 percent of Sikhs and 40 percent of Hindus in Indian Punjab. The remaining three percent are Muslims and Christians.
It should be remembered that 5% of people in Pakistani Punjab have Urdu as their mother tongue, and after Karachi, the largest number of Urdu speakers live in Lahore, in which the majority are Punjabis who have adopted Urdu instead of their mother tongue in the last 70 years. .
In 2023, the total number of Punjabis around the world is around 150 million and it is the 11th most spoken language in the world.
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