Pakistan is a country steeped in heritage, history and culture. It has been a route of military conquest; it has experienced numerous invasions and rise and fall of empires that has resulted in the creation of a unique ethnic and cultural melting pot. Over the years, this rich history has been a key factor in the transformation of the linguistic composition of Pakistan.

ITA is currently collaborating with Pal Network on the preservation of our local languages in 8 countries that include Pakistan, Nepal, India, Kenya, Mexico, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. One unique aspect of this project is that it works on preserving language in a way that it preserves both the language itself and small part of the history attached to it. This is done by focusing on preserving folktales, legends, poems, folk songs, basic measurements and other small resources in local languages.

At the moment, 74 recognized languages are being spoken in Pakistan with Urdu and English being categorized as the two official national languages. Out of a total of 74 languages, English, Urdu, Pashto, Sindhi, Punjabi, Saraiki have more than 10 million speakers and many of the remaining languages spoken in Pakistan are now considered endangered or dying languages. It is important to realize that by losing even a single of these languages we lose a part of our history and our identity given to us by our ancestors. E.g., 30 languages are spoken just in the northern areas of Pakistan of which some belong to Indo-Aryans, Indo-Iranian, Sino-Tibetan, Dardic, Indo-European language families and are a key part of our history. Hence, it is important to start working on the preservation of these languages in both spoken/lexical and written forms.

In Pakistan, ITA has focused on collecting these local treasures in Wakhi, Saraiki, Khowar and Dhatki in their verified original script along with recordings of local elders to ensure proper pronunciation of the languages is preserved as well. These resources are currently being translated into Urdu and English and will be adapted into lesson plans that will be taught to the children of the communities where these local languages are spoken to support the propagation of these languages in the area’s future generations.

One of the key findings of our data collection process has been that each of these 4 languages (Wakhi, Khowar, Saraiki and Dhatki) has its own script using both Arabic and Latin alphabets which most of the locals are unaware of. Hence, even if a language is widely spoken such as Saraiki it does not mean that locals know how to write Saraiki and nor enough written literature in Saraiki is available to permanently preserve its original written form.

Therefore, we as a community needs to play a key role in ensuring the preservation of our languages in both spoken and written form. Also, it is important for us to lay emphasis on the need for our future generations to take these languages forward as a part of our heritage. 

By Ghania Saeed