Saraiki | |
---|---|
سرائیکی, ਸਰਾਇਕੀ | |
Native to | Pakistan |
Region | Southern Punjab, Northern Sindh, and Eastern Balochistan |
Native speakers | 31 million (2022)[1] |
Shahmukhi | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | skr |
Saraiki (sometimes spelled Siraiki and Seraiki) is a famous and old language, spoken in southern region of the Pakistani province of Punjab.[1][2] It belongs to the Lahnda (Western Punjabi) group. Saraiki is native to southern Punjab, while it is also spoken in parts of northern Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan; as well as by partition migrants and their descendants in India.
It is sometimes claimed to be a language, although it lacks certain traits to be referred to as a distinct language, and is widely recognized as a variety of Punjabi.[3]
The major forms of dialects of the variety include Multani, Bahawalpuri (Riasti) and Derawali.