Pakistan

Sindhi turns out to be second language of Pakistan

Read here what's the second languages of other countries that explains their cultural identity

News Desk February 12, 2017

No notification issued to make Sindhi compulsory, says spokesperson. DESIGN: ANAM HALEEM

Sindhi remains the second-most widely spoken language in Pakistan, according to MoveHub, a website for people looking to move abroad.

To facilitate people thinking of moving abroad, the website has come up with a map of the world where the names of countries are replaced with their 'second languages'. While in most cases this shows the effects of colonialism and cultural imperialism, in the case of Pakistan, it reflects post-independence policymaking.

Sindhi is a regional language spoken which is not widely spoken outside of Sindh province, somewhat similar to Punjabi – the first language – which is mostly used in Punjab province.

Incidentally, Pakistan is one of the few countries where the official language is not the first or even the second language. The official language is Urdu.

Map of Asia, Oceania and the Middle East. SOURCE: MOVEHUB

Pakistan's regional languages face looming extinction

An Indo-Aryan language, Sindhi is spoken in both India and Pakistan, with some 75 million native speakers around the world. It is the official language of Sindh province of Pakistan and is recognised by India as one of its scheduled languages.

Meanwhile, the influence of colonialism seems most telling in Africa, where local languages are in second place in many countries, behind the languages of their European colonisers.

See other maps of the continents to find out countries' second languages:

SOURCE: MOVEHUB

SOURCE: MOVEHUB

SOURCE: MOVEHUB

The article originally appeared in Daily Mail

COMMENTS (10)

Parvez Qadir | 7 years ago | Reply Saraiki is the largest language of the Pakistan. It is spoken from fteh Jang to Moro.

Ali Baloch | 7 years ago | Reply @Falcon: let me guess you're a punjabi who has never set foot in Balochistan, the total population of Baloch's in Balochistan is 13, 662,222 out of that number 54.8% are Balochs please explain how you came with the magic figure of 3 million? if you feel like it I can give a complete break down of every district with area, population and ethno-linguistic divisions to further explain why you like the rest of the people from punjab are delusional beyond repair.

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Amir Hamza | 7 years ago | Reply Another attempt of dividing the nation. As Pakistanies we should reject auch kind of discussions.It is our enemy's agenda to indulge us in useless & fruitless activities.

Khan | 7 years ago | Reply @BrainBro: Pakistan is the only country where the majority language is not the national language? Do you mind telling this to Indonesia, where Bahasa was imported from Malaysia?

Pakistani | 7 years ago | Reply Urdu is not the official languge, its national language. Official Language is English in Pakistan

Sarfaraz Ahmed | 7 years ago | Reply We must protect our indigenous languages more than the outsider languages. Sindhi, Punjabi, Pashto, Balochi, Siraiki, Hindko, Pothari etc. We must preserve these languages. Urdu is also a beautiful language and similarly we hold the language dear to us; for it has given us variety of literature and art. Our society must come out of the shell to ridicule and shame those who speak languages other than Urdu and English. It is sickening to see that when some speaks in his/her language, he/she is looked upon as a 'pariah' and an outsider. This has to stop and we must own all the precious languages of this land.

Sarfaraz Ahmed | 7 years ago | Reply @Yousufzai, So, when it comes to languages other than Pashto etc, let's question the 'credibility and methodology'. Sindhi language is the 2nd most spoken language (12%) in Pakistan after Punjabi (48%); according to the CIA Factbook - quoted from the 'BBC' article (September 2015). Read it and come out of your delusion. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34215293)

Falcon | 7 years ago | Reply sindhi is most probably the 4th number language in terms of its speaking population... 1=Punjabi 2- Pushto 3-urdu 4-sindhi/English @Jalbani Baloach.....millions of baloach living in sindh?? your total population in baluchistan is just 3 millions and hardly 1 million in aggregate are settlers in sindh including Karachi .....i wonder how you get it in millions?? sorry if get any offending feelings.

BrainBro | 7 years ago | Reply Pakistan is "not one of the few countries," but the "only" country, where the national language is not the majority's mother tongue. Pakistani state needs to accept that Punjabis, Sindhis, Baluchis and Pathans have a distinct identity, which cannot be brushed up under the carpet

Jalbani Baloch | 7 years ago | Reply it is indeed a matter of pride for Sindhis that their language is widely spoken and understood not only in Pakistan but in different other parts of the world. In our Balochistan, Sindhi is widely spoken up to Sibi in the North Sindh, and Lasbela near to Khuzdar in the western part of Sindh. We baloch also give utmost respect and consideration to Sindhi language, and we also greatly influenced by this great culture. Millions of our Baloch people are living in Sindh, specially in the areas adjoining to Balochistan, but we our Baloch people have adopted Sindhi culture, traditions and language and they only speak Balochi at their home. Long Live Sindh, Long Live Balochistan and Long Live Pakistan.

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