LANGUAGEs - Mianwali.org

IT IS GENERALLY AGREED THAT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ARE CLOSELY RELATED. LANGUAGE CAN BE VIEWED AS A VERBAL EXPRESSION OF CULTURE. IT IS USED TO MAINTAIN AND CONVEY CULTURE AND CULTURAL TIES. LANGUAGE PROVIDES US WITH MANY OF THE CATEGORIES WE USE FOR EXPRESSION OF OUR THOUGHTS, SO IT IS THEREFORE NATURAL TO ASSUME THAT OUR THINKING IS INFLUENCED BY THE LANGUAGE WHICH WE USE.

IN THIS SECTION OF MIANWALIAN CULTURE DETAILS ABOUT LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN VARIOUS PARTS OF MIANWALI WILL BE MENTIONED .

THE PRINCIPAL MOTHER TONGUE OF THE DISTRICT IS PUNJABI . THE OTHER IMPORTANT LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN THE DISTRICT ARE SARAIKI , URDU AND PUSHTU. ACCORDING TO THE 1998 CENSUS OF PAKISTAN, THE DISTRICT MIANWALI HAD A POPULATION OF 1,057,000, OF WHICH 21% RESIDED IN URBAN SETTLEMENTS.

THE LANGUAGES SPOKEN IN MIANWALI DISTRICT ARE , PUNJABI (74% OF THE POPULATION), SARAIKI (12%), PASHTO (10%) AND URDU (3.5%) LANGUAGE

THOUGH MIANWALI IS CLAIMED AN INTEGRAL PART OF SERAIKI SPEAKING BELT BY THE SERAIKI LANGUAGE ACTIVISTS BUT PUNJABI-SERAIKI DIVISION SEEMS TO HOLD LITTLE INFLUENCE ON COMMON PEOPLE IN THIS DISTRICT. AWANS, JATS,GHAKKARS WITH VARIOUS SUBCLANS LIVING IN MIANWALI AND KHUSHAB ALWAYS ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH PUNJABI IDENTITY. WHILE NIAZIS ASSOCIATE THEMSELVES WITH SERAIKI IDENTITY. ACCORDING TO 1998 CENSUS THREE FOURTH (74 PERCENT) OF THE POPULATION NAMED THEIR SPOKEN LANGUAGE AS PUNJABI WHILE ONLY 12 PER CENT ANSWERED THAT THEY SPEAK SERAIKI.

INHABITANTS OF MIANWALI DISTRICT SPEAK A GREAT VARIETY OF PUNJABI DIALECTS.

JANDALI/ROHI (CENTRAL PARTS OF THE DISTRICT),AWANKARI (NORTHERN PARTS),SHAPURI (EASTERN PARTS),THALOCHI (SOUTHERN PARTS IN DESERT AREAS),MAJHI OR STANDARD (SIZABLE POPULATION IN CITIES),OTHER LANGUAGES INCLUDE:

PASHTO WHICH IS ALSO SPOKEN BY SIZABLE POPULATION IN THE KPK PROVINCE BORDER AREAS AND IN THE CITIES. KHATTAK TRIBES, CHAPRI, BHANGI KHEL, SULTAN KHEL, MAKARWAL AND BANI AFGHAN ARE BILINGUAL AND PASHTO IS THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE BUT THEY CAN EASILY COMMUNICATE IN PUNJABI AS WELL.

URDU IS MOTHER TONGUE OF FEW PEOPLE BUT BEING NATIONAL LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN AND UNDERSTOOD BY THE SIZEABLE POPULATION.

ENGLISH IS ALSO UNDERSTOOD AND SPOKEN BY FEW, MAINLY EDUCATED ELITE.