National Language Authority

National Language Authority

The National Language Promotion Department (Urdu: اِدارۀ فروغِ قومی زَبان‎ — Idāra-ē Farōġ-ē Qaumī Zabān, ) (or Urdu Language Authority) was an autonomous regulatory institution established in 1979 to support the advancement and promotion of Urdu which is the national language of Pakistan. The status now has been changed to attached department. Initially it was aimed at creating a synergy between national and provincial governments and institutions for using Urdu language. However, with time, it expanded its horizons to include standardisation and linguistic aspects such as orthography and lexicography. It also provides recommendations for maximizing use of the language in all walks of life. In this respect, large amounts of legal and scientific documents are translated from English and other languages for publication into Urdu. These efforts have resulted in greater awareness of the language's potential as well as its localisation. Recently, the status and name of organization has been changed from National Language Authority to National Language Promotion Department. The National Language Promotion Department is now an attached department of Ministry of National Heritage & Integration.Renowned Short-Story Writer and Educationist Dr. Anwaar Ahmad was the last Chairman of the NLA, as the post has been converted to Director General (D.G).