(Redirected from Punjabi)
'Punjabi' (also 'Panjabi'; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ in
Gurmukhi, پنجابی in
Shahmukhi , '' in
transliteration) is an
Indo-Aryan language spoken by the
Punjabi people in
India,
Pakistan and other parts of the world.
It is an
Indo-European language within the smaller
Indo-Iranian subfamily. The language seems to be a sister language to Sindhi and Serieki. Unusually for an Indo-European language, Punjabi is
tonal; the tones arose as a reinterpretation of different consonant series in terms of pitch. In terms of morphological complexity, it is an
agglutinative language
[1] and words are usually ordered '
Subject Object Verb'.
Dialects and geographic distribution
It is the 11th most spoken language in the world
[2]
Punjabi is the official language of the Indian state of
Punjab and the shared state capital
Chandigarh. It is one of the second official languages of
Delhi and
Haryana.
[3] It is also spoken in neighbouring areas such as
Kashmir and
Himachal Pradesh. Punjabi is the predominantly spoken language in the
Punjab province of
Pakistan (and the most widely spoken language in Pakistan according to the
CIA factbook[4]), although it has no official status there, and both
Urdu and
English are preferred languages of the elite.
Punjabi is also spoken as a
minority language in several other countries where
Punjabis have emigrated in large numbers such as the
United States,
Australia, the
United Kingdom (where it is the second most commonly used language
[5]) and
Canada (where it is the fifth most commonly used language
[6]). Punjabi is the preferred language of most
Sikhs, most of their
religious literature being written in it. It is the usual language of
Bhangra music, which has recently gained wide popularity both in
South Asia and abroad.
There are many dialects of Punjabi and they all form part of a
dialect continuum, merging with
Sindhi and related languages in Pakistan, and
Hindustani in India. The main dialects of Punjabi are Lahori, Doabi, Malwai and Powadhi in India, and Pothohari, Lahndi and Multani in Pakistan. Lahori is the standard written form of Punjabi.
Punjabi University,
Patiala, lists the following as dialects of Punjabi:
[7]
Some of these dialects, such as
Dogri,
Siraiki and
Hindko are sometimes considered separate languages, and are classified in different zones or divisions of Indo-Aryan:
★ Eastern (
Central Zone): Bhattiani (a mixture of Punjabi and
Rajasthani), Powadhi, Doabi, Malwai, Majhi, Bathi
★ Western (
Northwestern Zone,
Lahndi):
Multani,
Hindko,
Pahari,
Pothohari
★
Northern Zone:
Dogri
As classified in
SIL Ethnologue:
└Indo-Aryan
└Northern zone
└Western Pahari
└Dogri [dgo]
└Central zone
└Eastern Punjabi [pan]
└Northwestern zone
└Lahnda [lah]
├Jakati [jat]
├Mirpur Punjabi [pmu]
├Northern Hindko [hno]
├Pahari-Potwari [phr]
├Siraiki [skr]
├Southern Hindko [hnd]
└Western Punjabi [pnb]
Western and Eastern Punjabi
Many sources subdivide the Punjabi language into Western Punjabi or Lahndi (ਲਹਿੰਦੀ), and Eastern Punjabi. They tend to do so based on GA Grierson's Linguistic Survey of India. The decision to divide the language has been controversial. The exact division of the language and even the legitimacy of such a division is disputed.
The dialect spoken in central Punjabi — on both the Indian and Pakistani side — is Majhi. Grierson defined Western Punjabi as being west of a line running north-south from
Sahiwal and
Gujranwala districts. This is well within present day Pakistan.
[8] Contrary to this,
Ethnologue has come to classify Lahndi as the dialect of Punjabi spoken in all of Pakistan.
Vocabulary
Modern Punjabi vocabulary has been derived from
Hindi and
Sanskrit.
Much like English, Punjabi has moved around the world and developed local forms by integrating local vocabulary. While most loanwords come from Urdu, Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit, Punjabi emigrants around the world have integrated terms from such languages as English,
Spanish, and
Dutch. A distinctive "Diaspora Punjabi" is thus emerging. As there is no formal consensus over vocabulary and spelling in Punjabi, it is likely that Diaspora Punjabi will increasingly deviate from the forms found on the
Indian Subcontinent in the future.
Phonology
Writing system
There are several different scripts used for writing the Punjabi language, depending on the region and the dialect spoken, as well as the religion of the speaker. The script used for writing Punjabi in the Punjab province of Pakistan is known as
Shahmukhi (''from the mouth of the Kings'') which is a modified version of
Persian-Nasta'liq script. Sikhs and others in the Indian state of Punjab use the
Gurmukhī (''from the mouth of the Gurus'') script.
Hindus, and those living in neighbouring states such as
Haryana and
Himachal Pradesh sometimes use the
Devanāgarī script. Gurmukhī and Shahmukhi scripts are the most commonly used for writing Punjabi and are considered the official scripts of the language.
Examples
| English | Gurmukhi | Shahmukhi | Transliteration | Notes |
|---|
| Hello | ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲਨਮਸਤੇ/ਨਮਸਕਾਰਅੱਸਲਾਮ ਅਲੈਕਮ | ست سری اکالنمستے/نمسکارالسلام علیکم | Sat Srī Akāl (Sikh)Namastē/Namaskār (Hindu) As'salām Alaikam (Muslim) | The greeting used depends on the religion of the speaker
and the person being spoken to.
Note "kiddha" can also replace hello. "Kiddha" means "how are you?". |
| Yes (Informal) | ਹਾਂ, ਆਹੋ | ہاں | | |
| Yes (Formal) | ਹਾਂ ਜੀ | ہاں جی | | |
| No (Informal) | ਨਹੀਂ | نہیں | | |
| No (Formal) | ਨਹੀਂ ਜੀ | نہیں جی | | |
| My name is ___. | ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ___ ਹੈ । | میرا نام ___ ہے۔ | | |
| My | ਮੇਰਾ । | | Mērā | |
Notable authors
:''See
List of Punjabi authors.
Dictionaries
★
Punjabi Dictionary English to Punjabi Dictionary
★
Punjabi to English Dictionary Convert Punjabi word into English
★
Punjabi to English dictionary Punjabi Dictionary
See also
★
List of Punjabi authors
★
List of Punjabi poets
★
List of Punjabi musicians
★
Punjabi Culture
★
Languages of India
★
Languages of Pakistan
★
List of national languages of India
★
List of Indian languages by total speakers
★
List of Punjabi television channels
References
1. Bhatia, T. "Punjabi: A Cognitive-Descriptive Grammar", 1993. p 279. ISBN 0-415-00320-2
2. http://www.punjabidictionary.com/spoken.htm
3. The Times of India - "Punjabi, Urdu made official languages in Delhi" 25 June 2003
4. [1]
5. "Punjabi Community". The United Kingdom Parliament.
6. Canadian Census Data (2001)
7. Advanced Centre for Technical Development of Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture
8. Masica, CP, "The Indo-Aryan Languages", ISBN 0-521-29944-6, p 20
Bhatia, Tej K. Punjabi. Facts about the world's languages: An encyclopedia of the world's major languages, past and present. Ed. Jane Garry, and Carl Rubino: New England Publishing Associates, 2001.
External links
★
Punjabi language history
★
Punjabi Heritage Organization
★
Online translator English to Punjabi, or vice-versa
★
Punjabi Dictionary (Gurmukhi)
★
Punjabi language online tutorial
★
Punjabi Forum - Sab Punjabian Wastey
★
Panjabi / Punjabi Primer
★
Punjabi Music
★
Punjabi Computing Resource Centre
★
Academy of the Punjab In North America (APNA)
★
Free online Punjabi (Gurmukhi) lessons
★
Learn Gurmukhi - Sound and Graphics
★
Punjabi Network
★
Punjabi Community for Punjabi People
★
Peoples and Languages in Pre-Islamic Indus Valley
★
Ethnologue - Languages of India
★
Ethnologue - Languages of Pakistan
★
Panjabi Language
★
Punjabi Literature (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਾਹਿਤ)
★
Academy of the Punjab in North America
★
Online Punjabi Type Pad - Easy Punjabi Typing with English Keyboard.
★
Management School of Punjabi University at Guru Kashi Punjab
★
Promotion of Web Content In Punjabi on Internet
★
First punjabi portal in punjabi language only on Internet
★
Listen Punjabi music online
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