Apna Pakistani
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The Languages of Pakistan
URDU:
Urdu is now the National Language of Pakistan. The origin of the urdu
language is older than the arrival of the Mughals. Urdu was popularly spoken by
Muslims from the subcontinent with those of Persian or Arab descent around the
city and court of Delhi. Urdu was initially a combination of the dialect of
Hindi with Persian, Punjabi, Arabic and Turkish. This combination led to the
development of a language which evolved its own style, grammar and vocabulary.
The first known, proper Urdu poet was Amir Khusrao. Urdu went on developing in the period of Aurangzeb but after that, the next major development in Urdu came with Allama Iqbal. He revolutionized Urdu verse by introducing the concept of art as a reforming experience. He worked a lot on Urdu nazm, or poem.
The development of Urdu continued after the creation of Pakistan. It was not surprising that the State of Pakistan chose urdu as its official language as it was seen as the idiom which had kept Muslim nationalism alive throughout the period of colonization.
Punjabi:
Punjabi is one of the oldest languages of the sub continent spoken in the province of Punjab. Punjabi is famous very commonly for its folk stories like Heer Ranjha, Sassi Punnoo, Sohni Mahinval, Mirza Sahiban and Puran Bhagat.
There is nothing to be told about Punjabi as it is spoken in Punjab and is not a written language.
Pushto:
The Pathans have a very rich language which has often been ignored or denigrated through ignorance. The language of Pushto has its origins in the Indo-Aryan language group. Although renowned for their warrior status, Pathans have always appreciated poetry and literature.
Khushal Khan Khatak is the most famous Pushto poet and was at his peak during the mid-sixteenth century.
Sindhi:
Sindhi is an ancient language with written records dating back to the tenth century. The script was not Arabic originally but it seems that with the Arab rulers of Sindh, Sindhi gradually adopted Arabic. The oldest scripts in Arabic of Sindhi are those of Shah Karim of Bulri in the 16th century. The early scholars of Sindh were occupied with the study of Arabic and Persian and no ancient Sindhi poetry therefore survives.
Sindhi is a very rich language and the services rendered by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai can not be simply ignored who, in his time, took Sindhi poetry to its peak, known as the Golden age of Sindhi (1657----1783).
Balochi:
The Term 'Baloch' has been used to denote the races who live in the vast area known as Balochistan. Balochi is spoken in two twin dialects, the Sulaimani in the north and north-west towards Punjab and Sindh and the Makrani in the south towards Iran. Makrani is the cultural link between Pakistan and Iran. It is an ancient language and is particularly rich in natural terms and vivid images of nature and war.