The Islamic Republic of Pakistan appeared on the world map in 1947 after the division of the territory british india. More than 200 million people consider this rather small state to be their home, and this is the sixth indicator among the countries of the world. The British colonial past has left its mark on the history of the Islamic Republic and the state language of Pakistan, in addition to the national Urdu, is English.
Some statistics and facts
- Despite the state status of Urdu, less than 8% of Pakistanis consider it native.
- First place among the prevalence national languages and dialects in the country is occupied by Punjabi. It is regularly spoken by almost 45% of the population. Second place for Pashto - 15.5%.
- The national language of Pakistan, Urdu, originated in the 13th century and is related to Hindi. It refers to Indo-European group. Widespread in neighboring India, Urdu has the status of one of its 22 official languages. In India, up to 50 million people communicate on it.
Urdu: history and features
The name "Urdu" is related to the word "horde" and means "army" or "army". Its roots are in the Hindustani dialect, which has absorbed Persian, Arabic, and Turkic vocabulary and even Sanskrit.
Urdu is identical to Hindi, and legal differences only arose in 1881, when the religious aspect influenced the disengagement. Hindus began to speak Hindi, and Muslims began to speak Urdu. The first preferred to use Devanagari for writing, and the second - Arabic alphabet.
By the way, the second state language of Pakistan has significantly influenced the modern Urdu and many borrowings from English have appeared in it.
About 60 million people speak Urdu in the world or consider it native, most of whom live in India. This language is compulsory in Pakistan school subject, it is used by official bodies and administrative institutions.
The world significance of Urdu, as the language of a large part of the Islamic population, is very high. This confirms the duplication in the state language of Pakistan of most of the signs in Mecca and Medina - sacred places Muslim pilgrimages around the world.
Note to the tourist
Thanks to state status English, there are usually no problems with communication among tourists in Pakistan. All maps, menus in restaurants, traffic patterns and stops public transport have an English translation. It is owned by taxi drivers, waiters, hotel workers and the vast majority ordinary residents countries.
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brief information
Pakistan has a fascinating history. In the Indus Valley, one of the most ancient civilizations in the world once formed. Pakistan was at the crossroads trade route between India, China and Ancient Rome. Unfortunately, due to religious and political situation travel in pakistan residents Christian countries not very safe. We hope that someday tourists will be safe in Pakistan and they will be able to see the ancient monuments of this country with their own eyes.
Geography of Oman
Pakistan is located at the crossroads of South, Central and West Asia. Pakistan borders India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest, and China to the northeast. In the south, Pakistan is washed by the waters of the Arabian Sea. total area this country - 803,940 sq. km., and the total length state border– 6,774 km
The plains are located in the coastal regions of southern Pakistan, and in the southeast is the Thar Desert. In the west and north-west of the country are the ranges of the Iranian Highlands, and in the north - the mountain systems of the Karakorum, the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. The most high point Pakistan - Mount Chogori, whose height reaches 8,611 meters.
One of the largest rivers in Asia, the Indus, flows through Pakistan. In summer, many Pakistani rivers overflow their banks due to rains and melting glaciers.
Capital
The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad, which is now home to more than 1.2 million people. Archaeologists believe that people lived on the territory of modern Islamabad already 6 thousand years ago.
Official language of Pakistan
Pakistan has two official languages - Urdu and English, as well as 7 regional languages (Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Pashto, Saraiki, Hindku and Brahu).
Religion
About 97% of the population of Pakistan is Muslim, the vast majority of them are Sunnis.
State structure
Under the current Constitution of 1972, Pakistan is a parliamentary republic where state religion is Islam. Its head is the President, elected for 5 years.
Parliament in Pakistan consists of two chambers - the Senate (100 senators) and National Assembly(342 deputies).
Main political parties in Pakistan - "Pakistan People's Party", "Pakistan Labor Party", "Pakistan Muslim League".
Climate and weather
The climate in Pakistan varies from tropical to temperate. Summer (including September) most of The territory of Pakistan is subject to monsoons - due to rains, floods often occur. The average air temperature is +23.9C. The highest average air temperature is observed in July (+41С), and the lowest - in January and December (+5С). The average annual rainfall is 489 mm.
Rivers and lakes
One of the largest rivers in Asia, the Indus, flows through Pakistan. In summer, many rivers overflow their banks due to rains and melting glaciers, which leads to floods. There are very beautiful waterfalls on some reservoirs.
One of the most beautiful lakes in Pakistan is the freshwater Kinjhar Lake, located near the city of Thatta.
culture
The culture of Pakistan has its origins in the mists of time. Islam has had (and continues to have) a decisive influence on it. However, even before the advent of Islam, the territory of Pakistan became the birthplace of some ancient civilizations (in the Indus Valley). Pakistan was conquered by the ancient Greeks, Persians, Huns, Arabs, Turks. However, Pakistanis have always maintained their cultural traditions.
All Muslim holidays are celebrated in Pakistan - Ramadan, Navruz, Eid-ul-Fitr, Eid-ul-Adha, etc.
Kitchen
Pakistan's cuisine is as diverse as its people. We can safely say that Indian, Turkic, Afghan and Iranian influences have influenced Pakistani cuisine. culinary traditions. The main food products are meat, vegetables, lentils, wheat, rice, dairy products. Spices are very common in Pakistan. AT last years some Chinese and American dishes are starting to gain popularity in big cities.
Traditional non-alcoholic drinks in Pakistan are tea (sometimes cardamom and nutmeg are added to it), cool lassi yogurt drink, sherbets, fruit drinks.
Sights of Oman
Preserved in ancient Pakistan a large number of monuments of history, archeology and culture, dating back to the time of Alexander the Great. It is difficult to choose the best of them. However, the Top 10 most interesting sights of Pakistan, in our opinion, may include the following:
- Mongho Pir temple near Karachi
- Shah Jehani Mosque in Tata
- Mausoleum of Kuaidi Azam in Karachi
- Ranikot Fort in Hyderabad District
- Fort at Umarkot
- Mazum Shah minaret in Sukkur
- Temple of Var Mubarak in Rohri
- Badshahi Mosque in Lahore
- Archaeological site of Mohenjodaro
- Mausoleums of Ali Ashab in Bahawalpur
Cities and resorts
Most big cities in Pakistan - Karachi, Faisalabad, Lahore, and the capital - Islamabad.
There are several dozens of ski and mountain climatic resorts in Pakistan. In addition, Pakistanis love to relax on the shores of lakes and on the coast of the Arabian Sea (for example, Lake Kinjhar). The center of outdoor activities (rock climbing and mountaineering) in Pakistan is Concordia, which is located in mountain system Karakoram.
Most of the tourists who come to Pakistan go there to conquer mountains with a height of 7-8 thousand meters.
Souvenirs/Shopping
Travelers from Pakistan bring women's headscarves, Punjabi ceramics, embroidered linens, black onyx products, jewelry, wooden chess, caskets, pakul (male headdress), traditional Pakistani clothes, Khussa (traditional shoes), carpets.
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State language of Pakistan
The official languages of Pakistan are Urdu and English. English has remained in this territory since the days of the British Raj, while Urdu belongs to Indo-European languages. The closest related language to Urdu is Hindi and in Pakistan only 7% of the population considers it their mother tongue.
In general, provincial languages are very common in the country. Punjabi is spoken in Punjab, Sandhi is spoken in Sindi, Baloch is used in Balochistan, and Pashto is spoken in Khyber Pakhtwukhwa. Punjabi is spoken by about 44% of the population.
Nevertheless, it is Urdu that is considered the state language - it is studied at school in without fail. True, as statistics show, they graduate primary school slightly more than half of the children. Concerning foreign languages, then in some schools it is taught on a par with other subjects. Mainly French, Arabic and Chinese. Such a set of foreign languages is due to the state languages of Pakistan's neighboring countries. In any case, travelers will have no problem communicating with the local population.
Pakistan - multinational state. In addition, the peoples living here strive for religious, tribal and territorial isolation, which gives rise to a huge number of dialects, many of which can be considered independent languages. And yet, seven main ones can be distinguished by answering the question of which language is the main one in Pakistan.
Urdu
Urdu is not the mother tongue of most peoples in Pakistan. It is considered as such by no more than 8% of the population. However, it is official in Pakistan and is taught in schools across the country, the national media necessarily broadcast in this language. Therefore, all Pakistanis at least understand it. Sometimes this situation comes to the ridiculous and sad. For example, it is not uncommon for a Pashtun to write in Urdu, but in their native language environment illiterate.
Urdu is the "twin" of official Hindi. Moreover, many linguists consider Urdu and Hindi to be the same language. Just "the language of the High City" (this is how the name "Urdu" is translated, high city- this, by the way, Delhi) once split into religious grounds. Muslim speakers began to use the Arabic alphabet, while Hindus remained in the Sanskrit Devanagari (image below).
Separation British colonies in this region, on a religious basis, led to the fact that Urdu and Hindi became even more isolated, becoming the state languages of the conflicting states. Urdu has more Persian and Arabic words, while in Hindi, on the contrary, it decreased. Although native speakers of these two languages understand each other without problems.
Urdu is very famous for its nastalk graphics. This Persian-influenced calligraphic style made the Arabic characters shorter, and the word is no longer a purely vertical line. The letters on the desktop seem to penetrate each other, together forming an outwardly beautiful graphic combination: the word looks like some kind of symbol.
Because of this long time books in Pakistan were partly handwritten. A typographical set of such words was impossible. The book was written by hand, and then lithographs from handwritten sheets were sent to printing press. Introduction only computer set fixed this problem. However, it is not relevant. In official printed publications, standard Arabic naskh is used, and nastalq has acquired a more decorative and design character. The Pakistani public is concerned about the replacement with Latin ones. This is especially true of the younger generation. Main reasons: computers and mobile devices not very adapted to the Arabic script.
Linguistically, Urdu is a typical Indo-Iranian language. And yet, let's name its features: "quivering" attitude to pronouns - here they manage to be divided into nouns, adjectives and numerals, and it is "forbidden" to say directly "This is not me" with the language. You have to say something like "Someone". Urdu uses not very popular around the language world postpositions. These are the same prepositions, but after the word.
English
We won't talk much about him. It is not native to any of the peoples of Pakistan. However, in the era of English rule, it spread, performing the functions of the language of interethnic communication. Retains this function now, being the second official language Pakistan, although noticeably inferior in popularity. Therefore, it is quite possible that the country will refuse it altogether.
Punjabi (Punjabi)
The most widely spoken language in Pakistan. In the eastern part of the country, it is spoken by eight out of ten Pakistanis (that's somewhere around 76 million people). AT percentage this is 44 percent of all languages in Pakistan. It is very similar to Urdu because it is related to it.
Pashto
A significant part of the population of Pakistan are Pashtuns, which makes their language the second most common (15%). The trouble with Pashto is that each tribe strives to speak in a special way, emphasizing its "self". Great amount dialects even makes linguists doubt the existence common language Pashto, which, despite being related to Urdu, acquired its own special letters in the alphabet. Even in writing, the Pashtuns tried to stand out: they invented the tahriri calligraphic style. Simplified, but your own.
Sindhi
Language Indian people Sindhi. There are a lot of them in Pakistan, which gives the language 14% of the prevalence. Sindhi, like Urdu, was divided along religious lines between India and Pakistan with the same consequences. True, while it is called both there and there the same. Of the "eccentricities" of Sindhi, we note the absence of the middle gender and direct pronouns of the third person. However, Sindhis, like all the peoples of the country, are at least bilingual. That's English language own too.
Sirayki
The language of the Siraika people living in the northeast of Pakistan. There are also a lot of Siraiks (or southern Punjabis, that is, Muslim Punjabis) - in the language share of languages, almost 11%. The language is also shared between India and Pakistan. Siraiqis write in Arabic, while northern Punjabis in Indian Punjab use the Hindu Gurmukhi alphabet.
Baloch
Last among the popular (4%) languages of Pakistan Iranian people Baloch. Distributed in the southwest of the country, naturally, in the province of Balochistan. This language is Iranian and therefore stands apart from other languages of Pakistan. The rest of the peoples special problems in interethnic communication does not arise due to linguistic affinity. After all, there is also Urdu and English.
