Riasti dialect

Riasti is a term used for a group of Lahnda varieties spoken in the Cholistan Desert along the banks of the river Sutlej in the southern Punjab, Pakistan. Its definition is imprecise, and is usually taken to refer to the central (Multani) and southern dialects of Saraiki language which were spoken in the former riasat (transl. state) of Bahawalpur, in what are now the Bahawalpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts, respectively. The southern dialect, also known as Bahawalpuri, is spoken in the southern parts of Dera Ghazi Khan (present Rajanpur) as well.^[1][2][3]

Riasti dialect
Native to	Pakistan
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northwestern Panjabic Lahnda Saraiki Riasti dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	baha1254

Map of dialects of Punjabi and some closely related languages

See also

• Derawali dialect