Balochi, Western

BGN

developing

Alternate Names: Baloci, Baluchi, Baluci

Dialects: Lashari, Rakhshani (Raxshani), Sarawani. Strongly influenced by Farsi, but not intelligible with Farsi ,. A member of macrolanguage Baluchi ,.

Genealogy:

Indo-European
Indo-Iranian
Iranian
Western
Northwestern
Balochi

Demographics: 1,116,000 in Pakistan (1998). Population total all countries: 1,799,840.

Language Use: Used as L2 by Brahui [brh].

Language Development: Literacy rate in L1: 1%–5%. Literacy rate in L2: 5%–15%. Newspapers. Radio programs. Dictionary. Bible portions: 1984–2005.

Writing System: Arabic (Nastaliq)

Nation of Origin: Pakistan

Other Comments: Balochi is the official spelling in Pakistan. A small body of literature. Muslim (Sunni).