Saraiki language

Saraiki
سَرَائُیکی, سرولی
Native toPakistan
RegionSouthern Punjab, Northern Sindh, and Eastern Balochistan
Native speakers
20 million (2024)
Shahmukhi
Language codes
ISO 639-3skr

Saraiki (sometimes spelled Siraiki) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Lahnda group spoken in southern region of the Pakistani province of Punjab by the ethnic Saraiki people. It is closely related to both Punjabi and Sindhi, although it belongs to the Western Punjabic group known as Lahnda which also includes Hindko and Pothowari. Saraiki is native to southern Punjab, while it is also spoken in parts of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan; as well as by partition migrants and their descendants in India although it is dying out among partition migrants within India as it becomes replaced by the more mainstream Hindi.

It is generally considered a distinct language, but it is sometimes classified as a variety of Punjabi or Sindhi.

Saraiki region of central and south-west Punjab in Pakistan.

Etymology

The word Saraiki is probably derived from the Sindhi word Siraiki for its own dialect, which means dialect of Sero/Siro (Sauvīra) region in ancient Sindh. today the name of Siraiki dialect of Sindhi is changed to Siroli/Sireli to not create confusion.

National day of Saraiki

National day of Saraiki culture is celebrated on November 22.

References

  1. ↑ "Siraiki: Language or Dialect?". www.researchgate.net.
  2. ↑ Shackle, Christopher (2010). "Lahnda". In Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.). Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Oxford: Elsevier. ISBN 9780080877754.
  3. ↑ "Siraiki: Language or Dialect?". www.researchgate.net.
  4. ↑ "Linguistic Survey of India". dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  5. ↑ "Siraiki language | History, Dialects & Writing System | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-01-01.
  6. ↑ Simpson, Andrew, ed. (2007). Language and national identity in Asia. Oxford linguistics. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-922648-1.