The decline of native languages and Punjabi in modern Pakistan

Using an MS in Education to save the Punjabi language

When a language dies, the identity, history, and a whole way of life go with it. Take Tandia, a language used in West Papua, Indonesia, for example. It was declared extinct in 2024; the last Tandia speaker passed away in 2002, and their children no longer understand the language. In Pakistan, a similar story is happening with the Punjabi language. Despite being the most widely used language in the country, it’s slowly fading out of public and ac…

The decline of native languages and Punjabi in modern Pakistan

By Muhammad Ibrahim Nadeem Language is more than just words. It is culture, identity, memory, and emotion. In Pakistan, a country rich in regional languages like Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, and Punjabi, we are witnessing a sad trend: the slow death of our regional tongues. Among them, Punjabi, once the pride of the land of five rivers, is fading rapidly—especially among the younger generation. This decline is not just a linguistic issue—it is a soc…