Thaḷī is a Lahnda dialect spoken in parts of the Pakistani provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has a widespread area, starting from Tank to Muzzafargarh on eastern end of Indus River and from Bannu runs down to D I khan at western end of Indus River.^{[citation needed]} It is classified as a northern dialect of Saraiki,^[1][2] although it has also been described as transitional between Shahpuri and the central Saraiki Multani dialect.^[3] Its name is derived from the Thal Desert.^[3]

Thali dialect
Native to	Pakistan
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Northwestern Punjabi Lahnda Saraiki Thali dialect
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	thal1241
Coordinates:

It is one of several Saraiki dialects that are commonly known as Jaṭkī.^[4] It is spoken in Khushab District and parts of the former Shahpur District where it is known as Thaḷī.^[5] Its local name in Jhang District is Thaḷochṛī.^[6] In Dera Ismail Khan District it goes by the name of Ḍerāwāl^[7] or Derawali,^[3] and in Mianwali and Bannu districts it is known as Hindko or Mulkī.^[3] A dialect of Thali spoken in the northeast is known as Kacchī.^[8] Inhabitants of Dera Ismail Khan District, presumably speakers of this dialect, variously identify their language as Saraiki or Hindko.^[9] Likewise for those living in Mianwali District, who identify their language as either Punjabi or Saraiki.^[10]

Thali is spoken in the following districts of Punjab Province and districts of Kyber Pakhtunkha Province:^{[citation needed]}

• Layyah District
• parts of Muzaffargarh District
• Dera Ismail Khan District
• Tank District
• Lakki Marwat District
• Bhakkar District
• parts of Mianwali District

• Bahri, Hardev (1963). Lahndi Phonetics : with special reference to Awáṇkárí. Allahabad: Bharati Press.
• Grierson, George A. (1919). "Thali" . Linguistic Survey of India. VIII, Part 1, Indo-Aryan family. North-western group. Specimens of Sindhī and Lahndā . Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India.
• Masica, Colin P. (1991). The Indo-Aryan languages. Cambridge language surveys. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-23420-7.
• Rensch, Calvin R. (1992). "The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People". In O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin R.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (eds.). Hindko and Gujari . Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Islamabad: National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics. ISBN 969-8023-13-5.
• Shackle, Christopher (1976). The Siraiki language of central Pakistan : a reference grammar. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.
• Singh, Atam (1970). "An introduction to the dialects of Punjabi". Pākhā sanjam. 3 (1). ISSN 0556-4417 . The account of Thali here is based entirely on Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India.
• Wagha, Muhammad Ahsan (1997). The development of Siraiki language in Pakistan (Ph.D.). School of Oriental and African Studies. (requires registration).