Punjabi language

Short description: Indo-Aryan language

Punjabi

* ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
* پنجابی

'Punjabi' written in Shahmukhi script (top) and Gurmukhi script (bottom)

Pronunciation| pa
Native to| Mostly the Punjab region (located in Pakistan and India)
Region| Punjab
Ethnicity| Punjabis

Native speakers

| 150 million (2011–2023)[lower-alpha 1]

Language family

Indo-European

* Indo-Iranian
* Indo-Aryan
* Northwestern
* Punjabi

Early forms

Prakrit (debated)[lower-alpha 2]

* Apabhraṃśa (debated)
* Old Punjabi[2][3][4]
* Middle Punjabi[5][6]
* Early Modern Punjabi[7]

Standard forms

Standard Punjabi

Dialects|

* See Punjabi dialects

Writing system

* Shāhmukhī (majority, Pakistan)
* Gurmukhī (official, India)
* Punjabi Braille

Historical

*     * Laṇḍā (Multani)
* Tākri
* Devanāgarī
* Anandpur Lipi

Official status

Official language in

* India
* Punjab[lower-alpha 3]
* Haryana (additional)[lower-alpha 4]
* Delhi (additional)[lower-alpha 5]
* West Bengal (additional)[lower-alpha 6]

Regulated by|

List

*     * Pakistan: Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture
* India: Department of Languages[13]

Language codes
ISO 639-1| `pa`
ISO 639-1| `pan`
ISO 639-3| `pan` – inclusive code
Individual codes:
`pan` – Eastern Punjabi
`pnb` – Western Punjabi
Glottolog| `lahn1241`[14]
Linguasphere| `59-AAF-e`
File:Geographical distribution of Punjabi language.png

Geographic distribution of Punjabi language in Pakistan and India.

This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

Template:Punjabis

Punjabi,[lower-alpha 7] sometimes spelled Panjabi,[lower-alpha 8] is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native speakers.[17][lower-alpha 9]

Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 88.9 million native speakers according to the 2023 Pakistani census, and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to the 2011 census. It is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and the Gulf states.

In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet, based on the Perso-Arabic script; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet, based on the Indic scripts. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Etymology
* 1.2 Origin
* 1.3 Arabic and Persian influences
* 1.4 Modern times
* 2 Geographic distribution
* 2.1 Pakistan
* 2.2 India
* 2.3 Punjabi diaspora
* 2.4 Punjabi speakers by country
* 3 Major dialects
* 3.1 Standard Punjabi
* 3.2 Eastern Punjabi
* 3.3 Western Punjabi
* 4 Phonology
* 4.1 Diphthongs
* 4.2 Tone
* 4.2.1 Mechanics
* 4.3 Gemination
* 5 Grammar
* 6 Vocabulary
* 7 Writing systems
* 8 Sample text
* 9 Literature development
* 9.1 Medieval period
* 9.2 Modern period
* 10 Status
* 10.1 In Pakistan
* 10.2 In India
* 11 Advocacy
* 11.1 Governmental academies and institutes
* 11.2 Software
* 12 Gallery
* 13 See also
* 14 Notes
* 15 References
* 15.1 Citations
* 15.2 Sources
* 16 Further reading
* 17 External links

## History

### Etymology

The word Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi) has been derived from the word Panj-āb, Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River. The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors[18] of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada, which means 'Land of the Five Rivers'.[19][20]

Panj is cognate with other Indo-European languages' words for five, like Sanskrit pañca (पञ्च), Greek pénte (πέντε) and Lithuanian penki, but also English five; āb is cognate with Sanskrit áp (अप्) and with the Av- of Avon. The historical Punjab region, now divided between India and Pakistan, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries. One of the five, the Beas River, is a tributary of another, the Sutlej.

### Origin

Tilla Jogian, Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan, a hilltop associated with many Nath jogis (considered among compilers of earlier Punjabi works)

Punjabi developed from Prakrit languages and later Apabhraṃśa (Sanskrit: अपभ्रंश, 'deviated' or 'non-grammatical speech')[21] From 600 BC, Sanskrit developed as the standard literary and administrative language and Prakrit languages evolved into many regional languages in different parts of India. All these languages are called Prakrit languages (Sanskrit: प्राकृत, prākṛta) collectively. Paishachi Prakrit was one of these Prakrit languages, which was spoken in north and north-western India and Punjabi developed from this Prakrit. Later in northern India Paishachi Prakrit gave rise to Paishachi Apabhraṃśa, a descendant of Prakrit.[1][22] Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a form of Prakrit, in the 7th century AD and became stable by the 10th century. The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to the Nath Yogi-era from 9th to 14th century.[23] The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa, though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore.[23] Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri.[24] The precursor stage of Punjabi between the 10th and 16th centuries is termed 'Old Punjabi', whilst the stage between the 16th and 19th centuries is termed as 'Medieval Punjabi'.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

### Arabic and Persian influences

The Arabic and Modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.[25] Since then, many Persian words have been incorporated into Punjabi[26][27] (such as zamīn, śahir etc.) and are used with a liberal approach. Through Persian, Punjabi also absorbed many Arabic-derived words like dukān, ġazal and more, as well as Turkic words like qēncī, sōġāt, etc. After the fall of the Sikh empire, Urdu was made the official language of Punjab under the British (in Pakistani Punjab, it is still the primary official language) and influenced the language as well.[28]

In the second millennium, Punjabi was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like almārī), Greek (words like dām), Japanese (words like rikśā), Chinese (words like cāh, līcī, lukāṭh) and English (words like jajj, apīl, māsṭar), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic.[29] In fact, the sounds /z/ (ਜ਼ / ز ژ ذ ض ظ), /ɣ/ (ਗ਼ / غ), /q/ (ਕ਼ / ق), /ʃ/ (ਸ਼ / ش), /x/ (ਖ਼ / خ) and /f/ (ਫ਼ / ف) are all borrowed from Persian, but in some instances the latter three arise natively. Later, the letters ਜ਼ / ز, ਸ਼ / ش and ਫ਼ / ف began being used in English borrowings, with ਸ਼ / ش also used in Sanskrit borrowings.

Punjabi has also had minor influence from and on neighbouring languages such as Sindhi, Haryanvi, Pashto and Hindustani.

English  | Gurmukhi-based (Punjab, India)  | Shahmukhi-based (Punjab, Pakistan)

|
|

President  | ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰਪਤੀ (rāshtarpatī)  | صدرمملکت (sadar-e mumlikat)
Article  | ਲੇਖ (lēkh)  | مضمون (mazmūn)
Prime Minister  | ਪਰਧਾਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ (pardhān mantarī)*  | وزیراعظم (vazīr-e aʿzam)
Family  | ਪਰਵਾਰ (parvār)*
ਟੱਬਰ (ṭabbar)  | خاندان (kḥāndān)
ٹبّر (ṭabbar)
Philosophy  | ਫ਼ਲਸਫ਼ਾ (falsafā)
ਦਰਸ਼ਨ (darshan)  | فلسفہ (falsafah)
Capital city  | ਰਾਜਧਾਨੀ (rājdhānī)  | دارالحکومت (dār-al ḥakūmat)
Viewer  | ਦਰਸ਼ਕ (darshak)  | ناظرین (nāzarīn)
Listener  | ਸਰੋਤਾ (sarotā)  | سامع (sāmaʿ)

Note: In more formal contexts, hypercorrect Sanskritized versions of these words (ਪ੍ਰਧਾਨ pradhān for ਪਰਧਾਨ pardhān and ਪਰਿਵਾਰ parivār for ਪਰਵਾਰ parvār) may be used.

### Modern times

Modern Punjabi emerged in the 19th century from the Medieval Punjabi stage.[3] Modern Punjabi has two main varieties, Western Punjabi and Eastern Punjabi, which have many dialects and forms, altogether spoken by over 150 million people. The Majhi dialect, which is transitional between the two main varieties, has been adopted as standard Punjabi in India and Pakistan for education and mass media. The Majhi dialect originated in the Majha region of the Punjab.

In India, Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhī script in offices, schools, and media. Gurmukhi is the official standard script for Punjabi, though it is often unofficially written in the Latin scripts due to influence from English, one of India's two primary official languages at the Union-level.

In Pakistan, Punjabi is generally written using the Shahmukhī script, which in literary standards, is identical to the Urdu alphabet, however various attempts have been made to create certain, distinct characters from a modification of the Persian Nastaʿlīq characters to represent Punjabi phonology, not already found in the Urdu alphabet. In Pakistan, Punjabi loans technical words from Persian and Arabic, just like Urdu does.

## Geographic distribution

Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan, the eleventh-most widely spoken in India, and also present in the Punjabi diaspora in various countries.

Approximate distribution of native Punjabi speakers (inc. Lahndic dialects) (assuming a rounded total of 157 million) worldwide.

Pakistan (inc. all Pakistani provinces) (78.6%)

India (inc. all Indian states) (19.8%)

Other Countries (1.6%)

### Pakistan

Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan, being the native language of 88.9 million people, or approximately 37% of the country's population.

Census history of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan[30][31] Year | Population of Pakistan | Percentage | Punjabi speakers

|
|
|

1951 | 33,740,167 | 57.08% | 22,632,905
1961 | 42,880,378 | 56.39% | 28,468,282
1972 | 65,309,340 | 56.11% | 43,176,004
1981 | 84,253,644 | 48.17% | 40,584,980
1998 | 132,352,279 | 44.15% | 58,433,431
2017 | 207,685,000 | 38.78% | 80,540,000
2023  | 240,458,089  | 36.98%  | 88,915,544

Beginning with the 1981 and 2017 censuses respectively, speakers of the Western Punjabi's Saraiki and Hindko varieties were no longer included in the total numbers for Punjabi, which explains the apparent decrease. Pothwari speakers however are included in the total numbers for Punjabi.[32]

### India

"Jallianwala Bagh" written in Hindi, Punjabi, and English in Amritsar, India.

Punjabi is the official language of the Indian state of Punjab, and has the status of an additional official language in Haryana and Delhi. Some of its major urban centres in northern India are Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ambala, Patiala, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Firozpur and Delhi.

Punjabi in India

In the 2011 census of India, 31.14 million reported their language as Punjabi. The census publications group this with speakers of related "mother tongues" like Bagri and Bhateali to arrive at the figure of 33.12 million.[33]

Census history of Punjabi speakers in India[34] Year | Population of India | Punjabi speakers in India | Percentage

|
|
|

1971 | 548,159,652 | 14,108,443 | 2.57%
1981 | 665,287,849 | 19,611,199 | 2.95%
1991 | 838,583,988 | 23,378,744 | 2.79%
2001 | 1,028,610,328 | 29,102,477 | 2.83%
2011 | 1,210,193,422 | 33,124,726 | 2.74%

### Punjabi diaspora

File:Punjabi language by SA1 (Woolgoolga).svgPercentage of people in each Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) statistical area 1 (SA1) in the coastal New South Wales town of Woolgoolga and nearby Sandy Beach and Safety Beach who reported speaking Punjabi at home in the 2021 census.

0–5%

5–10%

10–15%

15–20%

20–25%

25–30%

30–35%

35–40%

Punjabi is also spoken as a minority language in several other countries where Punjabi people have emigrated in large numbers, such as the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada.[32]

There were 670,000 native Punjabi speakers in Canada in 2021,[35] 300,000 in the United Kingdom in 2011,[36] 280,000 in the United States[37] and smaller numbers in other countries.

### Punjabi speakers by country

Approximate number of Punjabi speakers by country[38] Country  | Native number of speakers  | Source

|
|

Pakistan  | 88,915,544  | Census
India  | 33,124,726  | Census
Saudi Arabia  | 777,000  | Ethnologue
Canada  | 670,000  | Census
UK  | 291,000  | Census[39]
USA  | 280,867  | Census
Australia  | 239,033  | Census
UAE  | 201,000  | Ethnologue

## Major dialects

### Standard Punjabi

Standard Punjabi (sometimes referred to as Majhi) is the standard form of Punjabi used commonly in education and news broadcasting, and is based on the Majhi dialect. Such as the variety used on Google Translate, Standard Punjabi is also often used in official online services that employ Punjabi. It is widely used in the TV and entertainment industry of Pakistan, which is mainly produced in Lahore.

The Standard Punjabi used in India and Pakistan has slight differences. In India, it excludes many of the dialect-specific features of Majhi. In Pakistan, the standard is closer to the Majhi spoken in the urban parts of Lahore.[40][41]

### Eastern Punjabi

"Eastern Punjabi" refers to the varieties of Punjabi spoken in Pakistani Punjab (specifically Northern Punjabi), most of Indian Punjab, the far-north of Rajasthan and on the northwestern border of Haryana. It includes the dialects of Majhi, Malwai, Doabi, Puadhi and the extinct Lubanki.[42]

Sometimes, Dogri and Kangri are grouped into this category.

### Western Punjabi

"Western Punjabi" or "Lahnda" (لہندا, lit. western) is the name given to the diverse group of Punjabi varieties spoken in the majority of Pakistani Punjab, the Hazara region, most of Azad Kashmir and small parts of Indian Punjab such as Fazilka.[43][44] These include groups of dialects like Saraiki, Pahari-Pothwari, Hindko and the extinct Inku; common dialects like Jhangvi, Shahpuri, Dhanni and Thali which are usually grouped under the term Jatki Punjabi; and the mixed variety of Punjabi and Sindhi called Khetrani.[45]

Depending on context, the terms Eastern and Western Punjabi can simply refer to all the Punjabi varieties spoken in India and Pakistan respectively, whether or not they are linguistically Eastern/Western.

## Phonology

While a vowel length distinction between short and long vowels exists, reflected in modern Gurmukhi orthographical conventions, it is secondary to the vowel quality contrast between centralised vowels /ɪ ə ʊ/ and peripheral vowels /iː eː ɛː aː ɔː oː uː/ in terms of phonetic significance.[46]

Vowels | Front | Near-front | Central | Near-back | Back

|
|
|
|
|

Close  | iː ਈ اِی |  |  |  | uː ਊ اُو
Near-close  |  | ɪ ਇ اِ |  | ʊ ਉ اُ |
Close-mid  | eː ਏ اے |  |  |  | oː ਓ او
Mid  |  |  | ə ਅ اَ |  |
Open-mid  | ɛː ਐ اَے |  |  |  | ɔː ਔ اَو
Open  |  |  | aː ਆ آ |  |

The peripheral vowels have nasal analogues.[47] There is a tendency with speakers to insert /ɪ̯/ between adjacent "a"-vowels as a separator. This usually changes to /ʊ̯/ if either vowel is nasalised.

Consonants | Labial  | Dental/
Alveolar  | Retroflex  | Post-alv./
Palatal  | Velar  | Uvular  | Glottal

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Nasal  | m ਮ م | n ਨ ن[48] | ɳ ਣ ݨ | (ɲ) ਞ ن٘[49] | (ŋ) ਙ ن٘[49] |  |
Stop/
Affricate  | tenuis | p ਪ پ | t̪ ਤ ت | ʈ ਟ ٹ | t͡ʃ ਚ چ | k ਕ ک | (q ਕ਼ ق)  |
aspirated | pʰ ਫ پھ | tʰ ਥ تھ | ʈʰ ਠ ٹھ | t͡ʃʰ ਛ چھ | kʰ ਖ کھ |  |
voiced | b ਬ ب | d̪ ਦ د | ɖ ਡ ڈ | d͡ʒ ਜ ج | ɡ ਗ گ |  |
tonal | ਭ بھ | ਧ دھ | ਢ ڈھ | ਝ جھ | ਘ گھ |  |
Fricative  | voiceless | (f ਫ਼ ف)  | s ਸ س |  | ʃ ਸ਼ ش | (x ਖ਼ خ)  |
voiced |  | (z ਜ਼ ز)  |  |  | (ɣ ਗ਼ غ)  | ɦ ਹ ہ
Rhotic  |  | ɾ~r ਰ ر | ɽ ੜ ڑ |  |  |  |
Approximant  | ʋ ਵ و | l ਲ ل | ɭ ਲ਼ ࣇ[50] | j ਯ ی |  |  |

Note: for the tonal stops, refer to the next section about Tone.

The three retroflex consonants /ɳ, ɽ, ɭ/ do not occur initially, and the nasals [ŋ, ɲ] most commonly occur as allophones of /n/ in clusters with velars and palatals (there are few exceptions). The well-established phoneme /ʃ/ may be realised allophonically as the voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] in learned clusters with retroflexes. Due to its foreign origin, it is often also realised as [s], in e.g. shalwār /salᵊ.ʋaːɾᵊ/. The phonemic status of the consonants /f, z, x, ɣ, q/ varies with familiarity with Hindustani norms, more so with the Gurmukhi script, with the pairs /f, pʰ/, /z, d͡ʒ/, /x, kʰ/, /ɣ, g/, and /q, k/ systematically distinguished in educated speech,[51] /q/ being the most rarely pronounced. The retroflex lateral is most commonly analysed as an approximant as opposed to a flap.[52][53][54] Some speakers soften the voiceless aspirates /t͡ʃʰ, pʰ, kʰ/ into fricatives /ɕ, f, x/ respectively. In rare cases, the /ɲ/ and /ŋ/ phonemes in Shahmukhi may be represented with letters from Sindhi. The /ɲ/ phoneme, which is more common than /ŋ/, is written as نی or نج depending on its phonetic preservation, e.g. نیاݨا /ɲaːɳaː/ (preserved ñ) as opposed to کنج /kiɲd͡ʒ/ (assimilated into nj). /ŋ/ is always written as نگ.

### Diphthongs

Like Hindustani, the diphthongs /əɪ/ and /əʊ/ have mostly disappeared, but are still retained in some dialects.

The phoneme /j/ is very fluid in Punjabi. /j/ is only truly pronounced word-initially (even then it often becomes /d͡ʒ/), where it is otherwise /ɪ/ or /i/.

### Tone

Unusually for an Indo-Aryan language, Punjabi distinguishes lexical tones.[55] Three tones are distinguished in Punjabi (some sources have described these as tone contours, given in parentheses): low (high-falling), high (low-rising), and level (neutral or middle).[56][57][58] The transcriptions and tone annotations in the examples below are based on those provided in Punjabi University, Patiala's Punjabi-English Dictionary.[59]

Examples  | Pronunciation  | Meaning

|
|

Gurmukhi  | Shahmukhi  | Transliteration  | IPA  | Tone
ਘਰ | Template:Uninastaliq | ghar  | /kə̀.rᵊ/[60][lower-alpha 10] | low  | house
ਕਰ੍ਹਾ | Template:Uninastaliq | karhā  | /kə́.ra/[61] | high  | powdered remains of cow-dung cakes
ਕਰ | Template:Uninastaliq | kar  | /kər/[62] | level  | do, doing
ਝੜ | Template:Uninastaliq | jhaṛ  | /t͡ʃə̀.ɽᵊ/[63] | low  | shade caused by clouds
ਚੜ੍ਹ | Template:Uninastaliq | chaṛh  | /t͡ʃə́.ɽᵊ/[64] | high  | rise to fame, ascendancy
ਚੜ | Template:Uninastaliq | caṛ  | /t͡ʃəɽ/[64] | level  | hangnail

Level tone is found in about 75% of words and is described by some as absence of tone.[56] There are also some words which are said to have rising tone in the first syllable and falling in the second. (Some writers describe this as a fourth tone.)[56] However, a recent acoustic study of six Punjabi speakers in the United States found no evidence of a separate falling tone following a medial consonant.[65]

* ਮੋਢਾ / موڈھا, móḍà (rising-falling), "shoulder"

File:Punjabi specific sounds.oggSome Punjabi distinct tones for gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh

It is considered that these tones arose when voiced aspirated consonants (gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh) lost their aspiration.

#### Mechanics

In Punjabi, tone is induced by the loss of [h] in tonal consonants. Tonal consonants are any voiced aspirates /ʱ/ and the voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/. These include the five voiced aspirated plosives bh, dh, ḍh, jh and gh (which are represented by their own letters in Gurmukhi), the h consonant itself and any voiced consonants appended with [h] (Gurmukhi:੍ਹ "perī̃ hāhā", Shahmukhi: ھ "dō-caśmī hē"); usually ṛh, mh, nh, rh and lh.

* Tonal consonants induce a rising tone (also called "high tone") before them or a falling tone (also called "low tone") after them.
* E.g. kaḍḍh > káḍḍ "remove", he > è "is"
* Tone is always induced onto the stressed syllable of a word.
* E.g. paṛhāī > paṛā̀ī "study", mōḍhā > mṓḍā "shoulder"

The five tonal plosives also become voiceless word-initially. E.g. ghar > kàr "house", ḍhōl > ṭṑl "drum" etc.[58]

Sequences with the consonant h have some additional gimmicks:

* The sequences ih, uh, ahi and ahu change into the vowels /eː˩˥/, /oː˩˥/, /ɛː˩˥/ and /ɔː˩˥/ respectively and acquire a rising tone.
* E.g. muhrā > mṓrā "chessman", rahiṇ > réṇ "stay"
* In the stressed sequence ah, the vowel lengthens (ā) and acquires a rising tone /aː˩˥/.
* E.g. qahvā > qā́vā "coffee", dah > dā́ "ten"
* In the final unstressed sequence ah, the vowel becomes nasalised and long (ā̃).
* E.g. bā́rah > bā́rā̃ "twelve", tárah > tárā̃ "way"
* When h is preceded by a short vowel, proceeded by a long vowel and the latter is stressed, the former vowel becomes weak or blends into the latter.
* E.g. pahāṛ > păā̀ṛ /pə̯aː˥˩.ɽə̆/ "mountain", tuhāḍā > tŭā̀ḍā /tʊ̯aː˥˩ɖ.ɖaː/ "your"

The consonant h on its own is now silent or very weakly pronounced except word-initially.[66] However, certain dialects which exert stronger tone, particularly more northern Punjabi varieties and Dogri, pronounce h as very faint (thus tonal) in all cases. E.g. hatth > àtth.

The Jhangvi and Shahpuri dialects of Punjabi (as they transition into Saraiki) show comparatively less realisation of tone than other Punjabi varieties, and do not induce the devoicing of the main five tonal consonants (bh, dh, ḍh, jh, gh).

The Gurmukhi script which was developed in the 16th century has separate letters for voiced aspirated sounds, so it is thought that the change in pronunciation of the consonants and development of tones may have taken place since that time.[58]

Some other languages in Pakistan have also been found to have tonal distinctions, including Burushaski, Gujari, Hindko, Kalami, Shina, and Torwali,[67] though these (besides Hindko) seem to be independent of Punjabi.

### Gemination

Gemination of a consonant (doubling the letter) is indicated with adhak in Gurmukhi and tashdīd in Shahmukhi.[68] Its inscription with a unique diacritic is a distinct feature of Gurmukhi compared to Brahmic scripts.

All consonants except six (ṇ, ṛ, h, r, v, y) are regularly geminated. The latter four are only geminated in loan words from other languages.[lower-alpha 11]

There is a tendency to irregularly geminate consonants which follow long vowels, except in the final syllable of a word, e.g.menū̃ > mennū̃.[lower-alpha 12] It also causes the long vowels to shorten but remain peripheral, distinguishing them from the central vowels /ə, ɪ, ʊ/. This gemination is less prominent than the literarily regular gemination represented by the diacritics mentioned above.

Before a non-final prenasalised consonant,[lower-alpha 13] long vowels undergo the same change but no gemination occurs.

The true gemination of a consonant after a long vowel is unheard of but is written in some English loanwords to indicate short /ɛ/ and /ɔ/, e.g. ਡੈੱਡ ڈَیڈّ /ɖɛɖː/ "dead".

## Grammar

The 35 traditional characters of the Gurmukhi script

Punjabi has a canonical word order of SOV (subject–object–verb).[69] Function words are largely postpositions marking grammatical case on a preceding nominal.[70]

Punjabi distinguishes two genders, two numbers, and six cases, direct, oblique, vocative, ablative, locative, and instrumental. The ablative occurs only in the singular, in free variation with oblique case plus ablative postposition, and the locative and instrumental are usually confined to set adverbial expressions.[71]

Adjectives, when declinable, are marked for the gender, number, and case of the nouns they qualify.[72] There is also a T-V distinction. Upon the inflectional case is built a system of particles known as postpositions, which parallel English's prepositions. It is their use with a noun or verb that is what necessitates the noun or verb taking the oblique case, and it is with them that the locus of grammatical function or "case-marking" then lies. The Punjabi verbal system is largely structured around a combination of aspect and tense/mood. Like the nominal system, the Punjabi verb takes a single inflectional suffix, and is often followed by successive layers of elements like auxiliary verbs and postpositions to the right of the lexical base.[73]

## Vocabulary

Being an Indo-Aryan language, the core vocabulary of Punjabi consists of tadbhav words inherited from Sanskrit.[74][75] It contains many loanwords from Persian and Arabic.[74]

## Writing systems

Shahmukhi alphabet

ا ب پ ت ٹ ث ج چ ح خ د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل لؕ م ن ݨ (ں) و ه (ھ) ء ی ے

* * *

Extended Perso-Arabic script

* History
* Transliteration
* Diacritics
* Hamza
* Numerals
* Numeration

* v
* t
* e

Gurmukhi writing system on a sample logo

The Punjabi language is written in multiple scripts (a phenomenon known as synchronic digraphia). Each of the major scripts currently in use is typically associated with a particular religious group,[76][77] although the association is not absolute or exclusive.[78] In India, Punjabi Sikhs use Gurmukhi, a script of the Brahmic family, which has official status in the state of Punjab. In Pakistan, Punjabi Muslims use Shahmukhi, a variant of the Perso-Arabic script and closely related to the Urdu alphabet. Sometimes Punjabi is recorded in the Devanagari script in India, albeit rarely.[79] The Punjabi Hindus in India had a preference for Devanagari, another Brahmic script also used for Hindi, and in the first decades since independence raised objections to the uniform adoption of Gurmukhi in the state of Punjab,[80] but most have now switched to Gurmukhi[81] and so the use of Devanagari is rare.[82] Often in literature, Pakistani Punjabi (written in Shahmukhi) is referred as Western-Punjabi (or West-Punjabi) and Indian Punjabi (written in Gurmukhi) is referred as Eastern-Punjabi (or East-Punjabi), although the underlying language is the same with a very slight shift in vocabulary towards Islamic and Sikh words respectively.[83]

The written standard for Shahmukhi also slightly differs from that of Gurmukhi, as it is used for western dialects, whereas Gurumukhi is used to write eastern dialects.

Historically, various local Brahmic scripts including Laṇḍā and its descendants were also in use.[82][84]

The Punjabi Braille is used by the visually impaired. There is an altered version of IAST often used for Punjabi in which the diphthongs ai and au are written as e and o, and the long vowels e and o are written as ē and ō.

## Sample text

This sample text was adapted from the Punjabi Wikipedia article on Lahore.

Gurmukhi

ਲਹੌਰ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੀ ਰਾਜਧਾਨੀ ਹੈ। ਲੋਕ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਦੇ ਨਾਲ਼ ਕਰਾਚੀ ਤੋਂ ਬਾਅਦ ਲਹੌਰ ਦੂਜਾ ਸਭ ਤੋਂ ਵੱਡਾ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਹੈ। ਲਹੌਰ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਦਾ ਸਿਆਸੀ, ਕਾਰੋਬਾਰੀ ਅਤੇ ਪੜ੍ਹਾਈ ਦਾ ਗੜ੍ਹ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਇਸੇ ਲਈ ਇਹਨੂੰ ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਦਾ ਦਿਲ ਵੀ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਲਹੌਰ ਰਾਵੀ ਦਰਿਆ ਦੇ ਕੰਢੇ ’ਤੇ ਵੱਸਦਾ ਹੈ। ਇਸਦੀ ਲੋਕ ਗਿਣਤੀ ਇੱਕ ਕਰੋੜ ਦੇ ਨੇੜੇ ਹੈ।

Shahmukhi

[[[:Template:Unq]]] Error: {{Lang}}: Latn text/non-Latn script subtag mismatch (help)

Transliteration

Lahaur Pākistānī Panjāb dī rājtā̀ni ài. Lok giṇtī de nāḷ Karācī tõ bāad Lahaur dūjā sáb tõ vaḍḍā šáir ài. Lahaur Pākistān dā siāsī, kārobāri ate paṛā̀ī dā gáṛ ài te ise laī ínū̃ Pākistān dā dil vī kihā jāndā ài. Lahaur Rāvī dariā de káṇḍè te vassdā ài. Isdī lok giṇtī ikk karoṛ de neṛe ài.

IPA

/lɐɔ̂ːɾᵊ paˑkˑɪ̽sᵊˈtaˑnˑi pɐɲˈd͡ʒaːbᵊ di ɾaːd͡ʒᵊ ˈd̥âˑnˑi ɛ̂ ‖ loːkᵊ ˈɡɪɳᵊti de naːɭᵊ kɐ̆ɾaˑt͡ʃˑi tõ bǎːdᵊ lɐɔ̂ːɾᵊ duˑd͡ʒˑa sɐ̌bᵊ tõ ʋɐɖːa ʃɛ̌ːɾᵊ ɛ̂ ‖ lɐɔ̂ːɾᵊ paˑkˑɪ̽sᵊˈtaːnᵊ da sɐ̆ˈjaˑsˑi | kaːɾoˈbaːɾi ˈɐte pɐ̆ˈɽâːi da ɡɐ̌ɽᵊ ɛ̂ ˈɐte ˈɪse lɐi ˈěːnˑũ paˑkˑɪ̽sᵊˈtaːnᵊ da dɪlᵊ ʋi kɛ̌ːja d͡ʒaːnda ɛ̂ ‖ lɐɔ̂ːɾᵊ ˈɾaːʋi ˈdɐɾɐ̆ja de kɐ̌ɳɖe te ʋɐsːᵊda ɛ̂ ‖ ɪsᵊ di loːkᵊ ˈɡɪɳᵊti ɪkːᵊ kɐ̆ɾoːɽᵊ de neːɽe ɛ̂ ‖/

Translation

Lahore is the capital city of Pakistani Punjab. After Karachi, Lahore is the second largest city. Lahore is Pakistan's political, cultural, and educational hub, and so it is also said to be the heart of Pakistan. Lahore lies on the bank of the Ravi River. Its population is close to ten million people.

## Literature development

### Medieval period

* Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266) is generally recognised as the first major poet of the Punjabi language.[85] Roughly from the 12th century to the 19th century, many great Sufi saints and poets preached in the Punjabi language, the most prominent being Bulleh Shah. Punjabi Sufi poetry also developed under Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1630–1691), Shah Sharaf (1640–1724), Ali Haider (1690–1785), Waris Shah (1722–1798), Saleh Muhammad Safoori (1747–1826), Mian Muhammad Baksh (1830–1907) and Khwaja Ghulam Farid (1845–1901).
* The Sikh religion originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region and Punjabi is the predominant language spoken by Sikhs.[86] Most portions of the Guru Granth Sahib use the Punjabi language written in Gurmukhi, though Punjabi is not the only language used in Sikh scriptures.

Varan Gyan Ratnavali by 16th-century historian Bhai Gurdas.

The Janamsakhis, stories on the life and legend of Guru Nanak (1469–1539), are early examples of Punjabi prose literature.

* The Punjabi language is famous for its rich literature of qisse, most of which are about love, passion, betrayal, sacrifice, social values and a common man's revolt against a larger system. The qissa of Heer Ranjha by Waris Shah (1706–1798) is among the most popular of Punjabi qissas. Other popular stories include Sohni Mahiwal by Fazal Shah, Mirza Sahiban by Hafiz Barkhudar (1658–1707), Sassui Punnhun by Hashim Shah (c. 1735–c. 1843), and Qissa Puran Bhagat by Qadaryar (1802–1892).[87]
* Heroic ballads known as Vaar enjoy a rich oral tradition in Punjabi. Famous Vaars are Chandi di Var (1666–1708), Nadir Shah Di Vaar by Najabat and the Jangnama of Shah Mohammad (1780–1862).[88]

### Modern period

Ghadar di Gunj 1913, newspaper in Punjabi of Ghadar Party, US-based Indian revolutionary party.

The Victorian novel, Elizabethan drama, free verse and Modernism entered Punjabi literature through the introduction of British education during the Raj. Nanak Singh (1897–1971), Vir Singh, Ishwar Nanda, Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), Puran Singh (1881–1931), Dhani Ram Chatrik (1876–1957), Diwan Singh (1897–1944) and Ustad Daman (1911–1984), Mohan Singh (1905–78) and Shareef Kunjahi are some legendary Punjabi writers of this period. After independence of Pakistan and India Najm Hossein Syed, Fakhar Zaman and Afzal Ahsan Randhawa, Shafqat Tanvir Mirza, Ahmad Salim, and Najm Hosain Syed, Munir Niazi, Ali Arshad Mir, Pir Hadi Abdul Mannan enriched Punjabi literature in Pakistan, whereas Jaswant Singh Kanwal (1919–2020), Amrita Pritam (1919–2005), Jaswant Singh Rahi (1930–1996), Shiv Kumar Batalvi (1936–1973), Surjit Patar (1944–) and Pash (1950–1988) are some of the more prominent poets and writers from India.

## Status

Despite Punjabi's rich literary history, it was not until 1947 that it would be recognised as an official language. Previous governments in the area of the Punjab had favoured Persian, Hindustani, or even earlier standardised versions of local registers as the language of the court or government. After the annexation of the Sikh Empire by the British East India Company following the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, the British policy of establishing a uniform language for administration was expanded into the Punjab. The British Empire employed Urdu in its administration of North-Central and Northwestern India, while in the North-East of India, Bengali language was used as the language of administration. Despite its lack of official sanction, the Punjabi language continued to flourish as an instrument of cultural production, with rich literary traditions continuing until modern times. The Sikh religion, with its Gurmukhi script, played a special role in standardising and providing education in the language via gurdwaras, while writers of all religions continued to produce poetry, prose, and literature in the language.

In India, Punjabi is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. It is the first official language of the Indian State of Punjab. Punjabi also has second language official status in Delhi along with Urdu, and in Haryana.

In Pakistan, no regional ethnic language has been granted official status at the national level, and as such Punjabi is not an official language at the national level, even though it is the most spoken language in Pakistan. It is widely spoken in Punjab, Pakistan,[89] the second largest and the most populous province of Pakistan, as well as in Islamabad Capital Territory. The only two official languages in Pakistan are Urdu and English.[90]

### In Pakistan

The proportion of people with Punjabi as their mother tongue in each Pakistani District as of the 2017 Pakistan Census

A demonstration by Punjabis at Lahore, Pakistan, demanding to make Punjabi as official language of instruction in schools in Punjab

In 1908, Mian Shafi, a Muslim elite, opposed Prof. Mukherjee's comment that Punjabi should become the provincial language of the British province of Punjab, refuting that the language of Muslims was Urdu. Jinnah opposed Motilal Nehru's 1928 proposal that every province should have its own language alongside the Hindustani language as the national language, with Jinnah stating that Urdu was the language of Muslims in a communication to Jawaharlal Nehru. Liaqat Ali Khan opposed a 1937 proposal by Gandhi to deliver free education to children in their mother tongue.[91]

When Pakistan was created in 1947, despite Punjabi being the majority language in West Pakistan and Bengali the majority in East Pakistan and Pakistan as whole, English and Urdu were chosen as the official languages. The selection of Urdu was due to its association with South Asian Muslim nationalism and because the leaders of the new nation wanted a unifying national language instead of promoting one ethnic group's language over another, due to this the Punjabi elites started identifying with Urdu more than Punjabi because they saw it as a unifying force on an ethnoreligious perspective.[92] Broadcasting in Punjabi language by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation decreased on TV and radio after 1947. Article 251 of the Constitution of Pakistan declares that these two languages would be the only official languages at the national level, while provincial governments would be allowed to make provisions for the use of other languages.[93] However, in the 1950s the constitution was amended to include the Bengali language.

Punjabi is not a language of instruction for primary or secondary school students in Punjab Province (unlike Sindhi and Pashto in other provinces).[94] Pupils in secondary schools can choose the language as an elective, while Punjabi instruction or study remains rare in higher education. One notable example is the teaching of Punjabi language and literature by the University of the Punjab in Lahore which began in 1970 with the establishment of its Punjabi Department.[95][96]

In the cultural sphere, there are many books, plays, and songs being written or produced in the Punjabi-language in Pakistan. Until the 1970s, there were a large number of Punjabi-language films being produced by the Lollywood film industry, however since then Urdu has become a much more dominant language in film production. Additionally, television channels in Punjab Province (centred on the Lahore area) are broadcast in Urdu. The preeminence of Urdu in both broadcasting and the Lollywood film industry is seen by critics as being detrimental to the health of the language.[97][98] Zia-ul Haq banned three works promoting the Punjabi language.[99] Until the early 1990s, members of the Punjab Assembly were forbidden to address the house in Punjabi.[100] However, this ban was lifted by Hanif Ramay yet was re-instated shortly after.[100]

The use of Urdu and English as the near-exclusive languages of broadcasting, the public sector, and formal education have led some to fear that Punjabi in Pakistan is being relegated to a low-status language and that it is being denied an environment where it can flourish. Several prominent educational leaders, researchers, and social commentators have echoed the opinion that the intentional promotion of Urdu and the continued denial of any official sanction or recognition of the Punjabi language amounts to a process of "Urdu-isation" that is detrimental to the health of the Punjabi language[101][102][103] In August 2015, the Pakistan Academy of Letters, International Writer's Council (IWC) and World Punjabi Congress (WPC) organised the Khawaja Farid Conference and demanded that a Punjabi-language university should be established in Lahore and that Punjabi language should be declared as the medium of instruction at the primary level.[104][105] In September 2015, a case was filed in Supreme Court of Pakistan against Government of Punjab, Pakistan as it did not take any step to implement the Punjabi language in the province.[106][107] Additionally, several thousand Punjabis gather in Lahore every year on International Mother Language Day. Thinktanks, political organisations, cultural projects, and individuals also demand authorities at the national and provincial level to promote the use of the language in the public and official spheres.[108][109][110]

Despite being the most-widely spoken language in Pakistan, the language is in decline.[111][112][113] The Punjabi language's decline in Pakistan has been attributed to various causes, such as lack of official recognition, lack of prestige, promotion of Urdu and English, to dispell fears of Punjabi domination by ethnic minorities, and other factors.[114][100][99][115] The language has been relegated to informal communication, also as a means for crude humour, abuse, and to connect with uneducated masses.[100] Parents who speak Punjabi opt to only communicate to their children in Urdu or English, with Punjabi being seen as paindu (shorthand for "backwardness" or "uneducated").[116] In June 2024, the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution to allow lawmakers to communicate in Punjabi.[117] In October 2024, the Punjab province's assembly passed a resolution to make Punjabi an official subject across more sectors of the education system as a compulsory subject.[118] In March 2024, Maryam Nawaz announced the introduction of Punjabi as a subject in schools.[119] In November 2025, Maryam Nawaz again pushed for the inclusion of Punjabi language education in Pakistan's educational institutions.[120][121][122] There is currently a Punjabi language revitalisation movement in Pakistan.[123]

### In India

At the federal level, Punjabi has official status via the Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution,[124] earned after the Punjabi Suba movement of the 1950s.[125] At the state level, Punjabi is the sole official language of the state of Punjab, while it has secondary official status in the states of Haryana and Delhi.[126] In 2012, it was also made additional official language of West Bengal in areas where the population exceeds 10% of a particular block, sub-division or district.[12]

Both union and state laws specify the use of Punjabi in the field of education. The state of Punjab uses the Three Language Formula, and Punjabi is required to be either the medium of instruction, or one of the three languages learnt in all schools in Punjab.[127] Punjabi is also a compulsory language in Haryana,[128] and other states with a significant Punjabi speaking minority are required to offer Punjabi medium education. There are vibrant Punjabi language movie and news industries in India, however Punjabi serials have had a much smaller presence within the last few decades in television up to 2015 due to market forces.[129] Despite Punjabi having far greater official recognition in India, where the Punjabi language is officially admitted in all necessary social functions, while in Pakistan it is used only in a few radio and TV programs, attitudes of the English-educated elite towards the language are ambivalent as they are in neighbouring Pakistan.[124]: 37 There are also claims of state apathy towards the language in non-Punjabi majority areas like Haryana and Delhi.[130][131]

## Advocacy

* Punjabi University was established on 30 April 1962, and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Research Centre for Punjabi Language Technology, Punjabi University, Patiala[132] is working for development of core technologies for Punjabi, Digitisation of basic materials, online Punjabi teaching, developing software for office use in Punjabi, providing common platform to Punjabi cyber community.[133] Punjabipedia, an online encyclopaedia was also launched by Patiala university in 2014.[134][135]
* The Dhahan Prize was created to award literary works produced in Punjabi around the world. The Prize encourages new writing by awarding $25,000 CDN annually to one "best book of fiction" published in either of the two Punjabi scripts, Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi. Two second prizes of $5,000 CDN are also awarded, with the provision that both scripts are represented among the three winners. The Dhahan Prize is awarded by Canada India Education Society (CIES).[136]

### Governmental academies and institutes

The Punjabi Sahit academy, Ludhiana, established in 1954[137][138] is supported by the Punjab state government and works exclusively for promotion of the Punjabi language, as does the Punjabi academy in Delhi.[139] The Jammu and Kashmir academy of art, culture and literature[140] in Jammu and Kashmir UT, India works for Punjabi and other regional languages like Urdu, Dogri, Gojri etc. Institutions in neighbouring states[141] as well as in Lahore, Pakistan[142] also advocate for the language.

* Punjabi Sahit Academy, Ludhiana, 1954

* Punjabi Academy, Delhi, 1981–1982

* Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Literature

* Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture, Lahore, 2004

### Software

* Software is available for the Punjabi language on almost all platforms. This software is mainly in the Gurmukhi script. Nowadays, nearly all Punjabi newspapers, magazines, journals, and periodicals are composed on computers via various Punjabi software programmes, the most widespread of which is InPage Desktop Publishing package. Microsoft has included Punjabi language support in all the new versions of Windows and both Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007, 2010 and 2013, are available in Punjabi through the Language Interface Pack[143] support. Most Linux Desktop distributions allow the easy installation of Punjabi support and translations as well.[144] Apple implemented the Punjabi language keyboard across Mobile devices.[145] Google also provides many applications in Punjabi, like Google Search,[146] Google Translate[147] and Google Punjabi Input Tools.[148]

## Gallery

* Guru Granth Sahib in Gurmukhi

* Punjabi Gurmukhi script

* Punjabi Shahmukhi script

* Bulleh Shah poetry in Punjabi (Shahmukhi script)

* Munir Niazi poetry in Punjabi (Shahmukhi script)

* Gurmukhi alphabet

* A sign board in Punjabi language along with Hindi at Hanumangarh, Rajasthan, India

## See also

* Khalsa bole – coded language of Nihang Sikhs largely based on Punjabi
* List of Punjabi-language newspapers
* Punjabi cinema
* Punjabi Language Movement

## Notes

1. ↑ 2011 Indian Census and 2023 Pakistani Census; The figure includes the Saraiki and Hindko varieties which have been separately enumerated in Pakistani censuses since 1981 and 2017 respectively; 88.9 million [Punjabi, general], 28.8 million [Saraiki], 5.5 million [Hindko] in Pakistan (2023), 31.1 in India (2011), 0.8 in Saudi Arabia (Ethnologue), 0.6 in Canada (2016), 0.3 in the United Kingdom (2011), 0.3 in the United States (2017), 0.2 in Australia (2016) and 0.2 in the United Arab Emirates. See § Geographic distribution below.
2. ↑ Paishachi, Saurasheni, or Gandhari Prakrits have been proposed as the ancestor Middle Indo-Aryan language to Punjabi.[1]
3. ↑ [8][9]
4. ↑ [10]
5. ↑ [11]
6. ↑ In blocks and divisions with at least 10% Punjabi speakers[12]
7. ↑ /pʌnˈdʒɑːbi/ pun-JAH-bee;[15] Shahmukhi: پنجابی; Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, pa.[16]
8. ↑ Punjabi is the British English spelling, and Pañjābī is the Romanized spelling from the native scripts.
9. ↑ 2011 Indian Census and 2023 Pakistani Census; The figure includes the Saraiki and Hindko varieties which have been separately enumerated in Pakistani censuses since 1981 and 2017 respectively; 88.9 million [Punjabi, general], 28.8 million [Saraiki], 5.5 million [Hindko] in Pakistan (2023), 31.1 in India (2011), 0.8 in Saudi Arabia (Ethnologue), 0.6 in Canada (2016), 0.3 in the United Kingdom (2011), 0.3 in the United States (2017), 0.2 in Australia (2016) and 0.2 in the United Arab Emirates. See § Geographic distribution below.
10. ↑ Standard or Eastern dialect. Pakistani Majhi and Western dialects usually pronounce it as /käː˨ɾᵊ/.
11. ↑ /jː/ is found in one other instance, for the name of the Gurmukhi letter ਯ (yayyā ਯੱਯਾ)
12. ↑ This never occurs with /ɳ/ and /ɽ/, and is rare before /ʋ, ɾ, ɦ/
13. ↑ bindī/ṭippī or nūn ġunna before a consonant often causes it to be pre-nasalised, except where there is a true nasal vowel.

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Singh, Sikander (April 2019). "The Origin Theories of Punjabi Language: A Context of Historiography of Punjabi Language". International Journal of Sikh Studies. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353680383.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Haldar, Gopal (2000). Languages of India. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India. p. 149. ISBN 9788123729367. "The age of Old Punjabi: up to 1600 A.D. […] It is said that evidence of Old Punjabi can be found in the Granth Sahib."
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bhatia, Tej K. (2013). Punjabi: A Cognitive-Descriptive Grammar (Reprint ed.). London: Routledge. p. XXV. ISBN 9781136894602. "As an independent language Punjabi has gone through the following three stages of development: Old Punjabi (10th to 16th century). Medieval Punjabi (16th to 19th century), and Modern Punjabi (19th century to Present)."
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Christopher Shackle; Arvind Mandair (2013). "0.2.1 – Form". Teachings of the Sikh Gurus : selections from the Scriptures (First ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 9781136451089. "Surpassing them all in the frequent subtlety of his linguistic choices, including the use of dialect forms as well as of frequent loanwords from Sanskrit and Persian, Guru Nanak combined this poetic language of the Sants with his native Old Punjabi. It is this mixture of Old Punjabi and Old Hindi which constitutes the core idiom of all the earlier Gurus."
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Frawley, William (2003). International encyclopedia of linguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 423. ISBN 9780195139778.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Austin, Peter (2008). One thousand languages : living, endangered, and lost. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780520255609.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Braj B. Kachru; Yamuna Kachru; S. N. Sridhar (2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 411. ISBN 9781139465502.
8. ↑ "NCLM 52nd Report". NCLM. 15 November 2016. http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf.
9. ↑ "Punjab mandates all signage in Punjabi, in Gurmukhi script". 21 February 2020. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/punjab-mandates-all-signage-in-punjabi-in-gurmukhi-script/article30881840.ece.
10. ↑ "All milestones, signboards in Haryana to bear info in English, Hindi and Punjabi: Education Minister". The Indian Express. 3 March 2020. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/chandigarh/all-milestones-signboards-in-haryana-to-bear-info-in-english-hindi-and-punjabi-education-minister-6297747/.
11. ↑ "Punjabi, Urdu made official languages in Delhi". The Times of India. 25 June 2003. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Punjabi-Urdu-made-official-languages-in-Delhi/articleshow/43388.cms.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Multi-lingual Bengal". The Telegraph. 11 December 2012. https://www.telegraphindia.com/1121211/jsp/bengal/story_16301872.jsp.
13. ↑ India, Tribune (19 August 2020). "Punjabi matric exam on Aug 26". https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/patiala/punjabi-matric-exam-on-aug-26-128241.
14. ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds (2017). "Greater Panjabic". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lahn1241.
15. ↑ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
16. ↑ , p. 88 , Wikidata Q23831241
17. ↑ "The World Factbook - WORLD". CIA. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/#people-and-society.
18. ↑ Canfield, Robert L. (1991). Persia in Historical Perspective. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 1 ("Origins"). ISBN 978-0-521-52291-5.
19. ↑ Sir, Yule, Henry (13 August 2018). "Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive". http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?p.1:375.hobson.
20. ↑ Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (13 August 2018). "A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis Throughout". http://dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/macdonell_query.py?qs=पञ्चनख&searchhws=yes.
21. ↑ Singha, H. S. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Sikhism (over 1000 Entries). Hemkunt Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-81-7010-301-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=gqIbJz7vMn0C&dq=punjabi+prakrit+language&pg=PA166.
22. ↑ G S Sidhu (2004). Panjab And Panjabi. http://archive.org/details/panjabandpanjabi_202003.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Hoiberg, Dale (2000) (in en). Students' Britannica India. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-0-85229-760-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=ISFBJarYX7YC&q=Punjabi+language+Nath+Saints&pg=PA214. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
24. ↑ Murphy, Anne (29 November 2020). "13: The Territorialisation of Sikh Pasts". in Jacobsen, Knut A.. Routledge Handbook of South Asian Religions. Routledge. pp. 206–207. ISBN 9780429622069.
25. ↑ Brard, G.S.S. (2007). East of Indus: My Memories of Old Punjab. Hemkunt Publishers. p. 81. ISBN 9788170103608. https://books.google.com/books?id=UUdYFH9skIkC&pg=PA81. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
26. ↑ Mir, F. (2010). The Social Space of Language: Vernacular Culture in British Colonial Punjab. University of California Press. p. 35. ISBN 9780520262690. https://books.google.com/books?id=EUPc5pDWKikC&pg=PA35. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
27. ↑ Schiffman, H. (2011). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. Brill. p. 314. ISBN 9789004201453. https://books.google.com/books?id=52aicl9l7rwC&pg=PA314. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
28. ↑ Schiffman, Harold (9 December 2011) (in en). Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors: The Changing Politics of Language Choice. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-20145-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=52aicl9l7rwC&q=urdu+words+in+punjabi&pg=PA314. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
29. ↑ Menon, A.S.; Kusuman, K.K. (1990). A Panorama of Indian Culture: Professor A. Sreedhara Menon Felicitation Volume. Mittal Publications. p. 87. ISBN 9788170992141. https://books.google.com/books?id=z4JqgSUSXDsC&pg=PA87. Retrieved 13 January 2017.
30. ↑ "Population Census Organization". http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/index.html.
31. ↑ "CCI defers approval of census results until elections". 21 March 2021. https://www.dawn.com/news/1410447. The figure of 80.54 million is calculated from the reported 38.78% for the speakers of Punjabi and the 207.685 million total population of Pakistan.
32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 "Punjabi is 4th most spoken language in Canada". The Times of India. 14 February 2008. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Punjabi_is_Canadas_2nd_most_top_language/articleshow/2782138.cms.
33. ↑ "Statement 1 : Abstract of speakers' strength of languages and mother tongues – 2011". https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/Language-2011/Statement-1.pdf.
34. ↑ "Growth of Scheduled Languages-1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001". Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/Census_Data_Online/Language/Statement7.aspx.
35. ↑ Government of Canada (9 February 2022). "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population - Canada [Country \- Mother tongue"]. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm.
36. ↑ 273,000 in England and Wales, and 23,000 in Scotland:
* "2011 Census: Quick Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011". https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/2011censusquickstatisticsforenglandandwales/2013-01-30#tab-Main-language.
* "Table AT_002_2011 – Language used at home other than English (detailed), Scotland". https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/documents/additional_tables/AT_002_2011.xls.
37. ↑ "US survey puts Punjabi speakers in US at 2.8 lakh". The Times of India. 18 December 2017. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/us-survey-puts-punjabi-speakers-in-us-at-2-8-lakh/articleshow/62121520.cms.
38. ↑ "Punjabi speaking countries" (in en). https://www.worlddata.info/languages/punjabi.php.
39. ↑ "Language, England and Wales: Census 2021". Office for National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/culturalidentity/language/bulletins/languageenglandandwales/census2021.
40. ↑ Shahzadi, Sehrish; et al. (2021). "Multilingualism and Language Shift in Punjabi Society: A Sociolinguistic Study". Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 9(2): 349–358. [1](https://internationalrasd.org/journals/index.php/pjhss/article/download/1637/1058/8469)
41. ↑ "Punjabi Language". The Sikh Encyclopedia. [2](https://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/punjabi-language/)
42. ↑ "Glottolog 4.8 - Greater Panjabic". https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/lahn1241.
43. ↑ Template:E26
44. ↑ Shackle 1979, p. 198.
45. ↑ Zograph, G. A. (2023). "Chapter 3". Languages of South Asia: A Guide (Reprint ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 52. ISBN 9781000831597. "LAHNDA – Lahnda (Lahndi) or Western Panjabi is the name given to a group of dialects spread over the northern half of Pakistan. In the north, they come into contact with the Dardic languages with which they share some common features, In the east, they turn gradually into Panjabi, and in the south into Sindhi. In the south-east there is a clearly defined boundary between Lahnda and Rajasthani, and in the west a similarly well-marked boundary between it and the Iranian languages Baluchi and Pushtu. The number of people speaking Lahnda can only be guessed at: it is probably in excess of 20 million."
46. ↑ Shackle 2003, p. 587.
47. ↑ Shackle 2003, p. 588.
48. ↑ Karamat, Nayyara, Phonemic inventory of Punjabi, p. 182
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Used in conjunction with another consonant, commonly Template:Unq or Template:Unq
50. ↑ ArLaam (similar to ArNoon) has been added to Unicode since Unicode 13.0.0, which can be found in Unicode Arabic Extended-A 08C7, PDF Pg 73 under "Arabic Letter for Punjabi" 08C7 : ࣇ Arabic Letter Lam With Small Arabic Letter Tah Above
51. ↑ Shackle 2003, p. 589.
52. ↑ Masica 1991, p. 97.
53. ↑ Arora, K. K.; Arora, S.; Singla, S. R.; Agrawal, S. S. (2007). "SAMPA for Hindi and Punjabi based on their Acoustic and Phonetic Characteristics". Proceedings Oriental COCOSDA: 4–6. https://www.academia.edu/3350695. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
54. ↑ Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0631198154.
55. ↑ Lust, Barbara; Gair, James, eds (1999). "Lexican Anaphors and Pronouns in Punjabi". Lexical Anaphors and Pronouns in Selected South Asian Languages. Walter de Gruyter. p. 637. ISBN 978-3-11-014388-1. Other tonal Indo-Aryan languages include Hindko, Dogri, Western Pahari, Sylheti and some Dardic languages.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Bailey, T.Grahame (1919), English-Punjabi Dictionary, introduction.
57. ↑ Singh, Sukhvindar, "Tone Rules and Tone Sandhi in Punjabi".
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Bowden, A.L. (2012). "Punjabi Tonemics and the Gurmukhi Script: A Preliminary Study" .
59. ↑ , Wikidata Q113676548
60. ↑ Punjabi University (2018). p. 281
61. ↑ Punjabi University (2018). p. 194
62. ↑ Punjabi University (2018). p. 192
63. ↑ Punjabi University (2018). p. 369
64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 Punjabi University (2018). p. 300
65. ↑ Kanwal, J.; Ritchart, A.V (2015) "An experimental investigation of tonogenesis in Punjabi". Proceedings of the 18th International of Phonetic Sciences, 2015
66. ↑ Lata, Swaran; Arora, Swati (2013) "Laryngeal Tonal characteristics of Punjabi: An Experimental Study"
67. ↑ Baart, J.L.G. "Tonal features in languages of northern Pakistan"
68. ↑ Masica 1991, p. 149.
69. ↑ Gill, Harjeet Singh and Gleason Jr, Henry A. (1969). A Reference Grammar of Panjabi. Patiala: Department of Linguistics, Punjabi University
70. ↑ "WALS Online – Language Panjabi". https://wals.info/languoid/lect/wals_code_pan.
71. ↑ Shackle (2003:599)
72. ↑ Shackle (2003:601)
73. ↑ Masica (1991:257)
74. ↑ 74.0 74.1 Frawley, William (2003) (in en). International Encyclopedia of Linguistics: 4-Volume Set. Oxford University Press. p. 423. ISBN 978-0-19-513977-8. "Hindus and Sikhs generally use the Gurmukhi script; but Hindus have also begun to write Punjabi in the Devanagari script, as employed for Hindi. Muslims tend to write Punjabi in the Perso-Arabic script, which is also employed for Urdu. Muslim speakers borrow a large number of words from Persian and Arabic; however, the basic Punjabi vocabulary is mainly composed of tadbhava words, i.e. those descended from Sanskrit."
75. ↑ Bhatia, Tej K. (1993) (in en). Punjabi: A Conginitive-descriptive Grammar. Psychology Press. p. xxxii. ISBN 978-0-415-00320-9. "Punjabi vocabulary is mainly composed of tadbhav words, i.e., words derived from Sanskrit."
76. ↑ Bhatia 2008, p. 128.
77. ↑ Bhardwaj 2016, pp. 12–13.
78. ↑ Jain 2003, pp. 53, 57–8.
79. ↑ Zograph, G. A. (2023). "Chapter 3". Languages of South Asia: A Guide (Reprint ed.). Taylor & Francis. pp. 52. ISBN 9781000831597. "Devanagari itself is also used for Panjabi, if more rarely."
80. ↑ Nayar 1966, pp. 46 ff.
81. ↑ Bhardwaj 2016, p. 12.
82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 Shackle 2003, p. 594.
83. ↑ "Punjabi Language – Structure, Writing & Alphabet – MustGo" (in en-US). https://www.mustgo.com/worldlanguages/punjabi/.
84. ↑ Bhardwaj 2016, p. 15.
85. ↑ Shiv Kumar Batalvi sikh-heritage.co.uk.
86. ↑ Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World. Springer. 2005. p. 1077. ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediadias00embe.
87. ↑ Mir, Farina. "Representations of Piety and Community in Late-nineteenth-century Punjabi Qisse". Columbia University. http://www.unc.edu/depts/cdeisi/abstracts.html.
88. ↑ The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature (Volume One – A to Devo). Volume 1. Amaresh Datta, ed. Sahitya Akademi: 2006, 352.
89. ↑ Hussain, Fayyaz; Khan, Muhammad Asim; Khan, Hina (2018). "The implications of trends in Punjabi: As a covert and/or an overt Prestige in Pakistan". Kashmir Journal of Language Research 21 (2): 59–75. doi:10.46896/jicc.v3i01.188. https://www.ahbabtrust.org/ojs/index.php/jicc/article/view/188. Retrieved 19 April 2024. "Punjabi in Pakistan [is] language that is numerically prevalent.".
90. ↑ "Facts about Pakistan". Government of Pakistan – Office of the Press Registrar. http://opr.gov.pk/Detail/ZmI0YjVhNTEtZTE0OS00NDcxLWE0NDEtNGI2ZDY3N2UxYzg3.
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92. ↑ Ahmed, Ishtiaq (14 July 2020). "Why Punjabis in Pakistan Have Abandoned Punjabi". https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/ishtiaq-ahmed-pakistan-punjab-south-asian-languages-punjabi-language-world-news-16791/.
93. ↑ "Chapter 4: "General." of Part XII: "Miscellaneous"". http://pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part12.ch4.html.
94. ↑ Zaidi, Abbas. "Linguistic cleansing: the sad fate of Punjabi in Pakistan". http://www.gowanusbooks.com/punjabi.htm.
95. ↑ University of the Punjab (2015), "B.A. Two-Year (Pass Course) Examinations"
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96. ↑ University of the Punjab (2015). "Department of Punjabi". http://pu.edu.pk/home/department/32/Department-of-Punjabi.
97. ↑ Masood, Tariq (21 February 2015). "The colonisation of language". http://tribune.com.pk/story/841584/the-colonisation-of-language/.
98. ↑ Warraich, Faizan; Ali, Haider (15 September 2015). "Intelligentsia urges govt to promote Punjabi language". http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/punjab/07-Feb-2015/intelligentsia-urges-govt-to-promote-punjabi-language.
99. ↑ 99.0 99.1 Abbas, Mazhar (23 February 2025). "Punjabi, a dying language?". The News. https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/1285138-punjabi-a-dying-language.
100. ↑ 100.0 100.1 100.2 100.3 Ahmed, Ishtiaq (14 July 2020). "Why Punjabis in Pakistan Have Abandoned Punjabi". Fair Observer. https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/ishtiaq-ahmed-pakistan-punjab-south-asian-languages-punjabi-language-world-news-16791/.
101. ↑ "Punjabis Without Punjabi". apnaorg.com. http://apnaorg.com/articles/ishtiaq8/.
102. ↑ "Inferiority complex declining Punjabi language: Punjab University Vice-Chancellor". PPI News Agency
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103. ↑ "Urdu-isation of Punjab – The Express Tribune" (in en-US). The Express Tribune. 4 May 2015. http://tribune.com.pk/story/880483/urdu-isation-of-punjab/.
104. ↑ "Rally for ending 150-year-old 'ban on education in Punjabi". 21 February 2011. http://nation.com.pk/lahore/21-Feb-2011/Rally-for-ending-150yearold-ban-on-education-in-Punjabi.
105. ↑ "Sufi poets can guarantee unity". The Nation. 26 August 2015. http://nation.com.pk/lahore/26-Aug-2015/sufi-poets-can-guarantee-unity.
106. ↑ "Supreme Court's Urdu verdict: No language can be imposed from above". 15 September 2015. http://nation.com.pk/blogs/15-Sep-2015/supreme-court-s-urdu-verdict-no-language-can-be-imposed-from-above.
107. ↑ "Two-member SC bench refers Punjabi language case to CJP". 14 September 2015. http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/109-world-top-news/254518-two-member-sc-bench-refers-punjabi-language-case-to-cjp.html.
108. ↑ "Mind your language—The movement for the preservation of Punjabi". The Herald. 2 September 2106.
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109. ↑ "Punjabi in schools: Pro-Punjabi outfits in Pakistan threaten hunger strike". The Times of India. 4 October 2015.
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110. ↑ "Rally for Ending the 150-year-old Ban on Education in Punjabi" The Nation. 21 February 2011.
* "Rally for ending 150-year-old 'ban on education in Punjabi". nation.com.pk. 21 February 2011. http://nation.com.pk/lahore/21-Feb-2011/Rally-for-ending-150yearold-ban-on-education-in-Punjabi.
111. ↑ Usman, Noah (31 January 2022). "How to Preserve the Punjabi Language". https://www.americanpakistan.org/blog-main-feature/punjabi.
112. ↑ Haider, Mehtab (17 November 2024). "Punjabi tops as 'most spoken language' in Pakistan". Geo News. https://www.geo.tv/latest/574766-punjabi-tops-as-most-spoken-language-in-pakistan.
113. ↑ Abbas, Furrakh & Chuhan, Muhammad & Ahmed, Marghoob & Kaleem, Muhammad. (2016). PUNJABI LANGUAGE IN PAKISTAN: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE. Hamdard Islamicus: quarterly journal of the Hamdard National Foundation, Pakistan. 39. 1-12. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341314184_PUNJABI_LANGUAGE_IN_PAKISTAN_PAST_PRESENT_AND_FUTURE
114. ↑ Piracha, Rehan; Ali, Mateen (1 January 2025). "Apnay Kaar Wich Punjabi Pardesi". voicepk.net. https://voicepk.net/2024/12/apnay-kaar-wich-punjabi-pardesi/.
115. ↑ Mohta, Nikita (18 April 2025). "The fight to keep Punjabi alive in Pakistan". The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/research/the-fight-to-keep-punjabi-alive-in-pakistan-9949120/.
116. ↑ Randhawa, F. (15 October 2025). "How Punjab Can Reclaim Its Language And Lead A More Inclusive Pakistan". The Friday Times. https://www.thefridaytimes.com/15-Oct-2025/punjab-can-reclaim-language-lead-inclusive-pakistan.
117. ↑ "Pakistan's Punjab Assembly allows lawmakers to use of Punjabi language in house". Times of India. 7 June 2024. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistans-punjab-assembly-allows-lawmakers-to-use-of-punjabi-language-in-house/articleshow/110783754.cms.
118. ↑ Kamal, Neel (31 October 2024). "Pak Pb assembly OKs resolution to make Pbi compulsory subject". Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chandigarh/pakistan-punjab-assembly-approves-punjabi-language-as-compulsory-subject/articleshow/114795207.cms.
119. ↑ "Punjabi to be introduced as subject in schools: Maryam". The News International. 10 March 2024. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1166476-punjabi-to-be-introduced-as-subject-in-schools-maryam.
120. ↑ "CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif Directs to Promote Punjabi ...". 25 November 2025. https://dgpr.punjab.gov.pk/node/65674.
121. ↑ "CM Maryam orders promotion of Punjabi language". Business Recorder. 26 November 2025. https://www.brecorder.com/news/40394239.
122. ↑ "CM Maryam orders historic steps to promote Punjabi language". Dunya News. 25 November 2025. https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/919929-cm-maryam-orders-historic-steps-to-promote-punjabi-language.
123. ↑ Javed, Umair (16 September 2024). "Punjabi nationalism". Dawn. https://www.dawn.com/news/1859272/punjabi-nationalism.
124. ↑ 124.0 124.1 Khokhlova, Liudmila (January 2014). "Majority Language Death". Language Endangerment and Preservation in South Asia. https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/10125/4600/1/02Khokhlova.pdf. Retrieved 29 April 2017. "Punjabi was nonetheless included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India and came to be recognized as one of the fifteen official languages of the country.".
125. ↑ "Fifty Years of Punjab Politics (1920–70)". http://www.panjabdigilib.org/webuser/searches/displayPageContent.jsp?ID=2123&page=1&CategoryID=1&Searched=W3GX.
126. ↑ Ayres, Alyssa (2008). "Language, the Nation, and Symbolic Capital: The Case of Punjab". The Journal of Asian Studies 67 (3): 917–946. doi:10.1017/S0021911808001204. https://alyssaayres.com/pdf/Ayres-JAS-Language-Nation.pdf. Retrieved 28 April 2017. "in India, Punjabi is an official language as well as the first language of the state of Punjab (with secondary status in Delhi and widespread use in Haryana).".
127. ↑ Kumar, Ashutosh (2004). "Electoral Politics in Punjab: Study of Akali Dal". Economic & Political Weekly 39 (14/15): 1515–1520. "Punjabi was made the first compulsory language and medium of instruction in all the government schools whereas Hindi and English as second and third language were to be implemented from the class 4 and 6 respectively".
128. ↑ ﻿52nd Report of the Commissioner for Linguistic Minorities in India﻿ (Report). National Commission on Linguistic Minorities. 2015. p. 25. http://nclm.nic.in/shared/linkimages/NCLM52ndReport.pdf. Retrieved 28 April 2017. ""Languages taught in the State under the Three Language Formula: First Language : Hindi Second Language : Punjabi Third language : English""
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135. ↑ "Pbi University launches Punjabipedia | punjab | Hindustan Times". Hindustan Times. 26 February 2014. http://www.hindustantimes.com/punjab/pbi-university-launches-punjabipedia/story-4nxtGZT4ajuIY02MbjwouN.html.
136. ↑ "The Dhahan Prize | The Dhahan Prize for Punjabi Literature". dhahanprize.com. http://dhahanprize.com/.
137. ↑ "ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਲੇਖਕਾਂ ਦਾ ਮੱਕਾ : ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਭਵਨ, ਲੁਧਿਆਣਾ". 3 May 2017. http://www.quamiekta.com/2017/05/03/36257/.
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140. ↑ "JK Cultural Academy". http://jkculture.nic.in/seminars.htm#.
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143. ↑ "Microsoft Download Center". microsoft.com. https://www.microsoft.com/pa-in/download.
144. ↑ "Punjabi Linux (punlinux) download | SourceForge.net". sourceforge.net. 21 April 2013. https://sourceforge.net/projects/punlinux/.
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* Rao, Aparna (1995). "Marginality and language use: the example of peripatetics in Afghanistan". Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society 5 (2): 69–95. http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015077550260;view=1up;seq=11.
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## Further reading

* Bhatia, Tej. 1993 and 2010. Punjabi : a cognitive-descriptive grammar. London: Routledge. Series: Descriptive grammars.
* Gill H.S. [Harjit Singh] and Gleason, H.A. 1969. A reference grammar of Punjabi. Revised edition. Patiala, Punjab, India: Languages Department, Punjab University.
* Chopra, R. M., Perso-Arabic Words in Punjabi, in: Indo-Iranica Vol.53 (1–4).
* Chopra, R. M.., The Legacy of The Punjab, 1997, Punjabee Bradree, Calcutta.
* Singh, Chander Shekhar (2004). Punjabi Prosody: The Old Tradition and The New Paradigm. Sri Lanka: Polgasowita: Sikuru Prakasakayo.
* Singh, Chander Shekhar (2014). Punjabi Intonation: An Experimental Study. Muenchen: LINCOM EUROPA.

## External links

| Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Punjabi

|

| Wikivoyage has a phrasebook for Punjabi.

|

|  Eastern Punjabi edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

|

|  Western Punjabi edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

|

* English to Punjabi Dictionary
* Proposal to encode ARABIC LETTER NOON WITH RING ABOVE at the Unicode Website

Template:Punjabi language topics

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Languages of India

Official
languages|

| Union-level|

* Hindi
* English

|

8th schedule to the
Constitution of India|

* Assamese
* Bengali
* Bodo
* Dogri
* Gujarati
* Hindi
* Kannada
* Kashmiri
* Konkani
* Maithili
* Malayalam
* Meitei (Manipuri)
* Marathi
* Nepali
* Odia
* Punjabi
* Sanskrit
* Sindhi
* Santali
* Tamil
* Telugu
* Urdu

State-level only|

* Garo
* Gurung
* Kamatapuri
* Khasi
* Kokborok
* Kurmali
* Lepcha
* Limbu
* Magar
* Mizo
* Newari
* Rai
* Rajbangshi
* Sherpa
* Sikkimese
* Sunwar
* Tamang

Major
unofficial
languages|

| Over 1 million
speakers|

* Angika
* Awadhi
* Bagheli
* Bagri
* Bajjika
* Bhili
* Bhojpuri
* Bundeli
* Chhattisgarhi
* Dhundhari
* Garhwali
* Gondi
* Harauti
* Haryanvi
* Ho
* Kangri
* Khandeshi
* Khortha
* Kumaoni
* Kurukh
* Lambadi
* Magahi
* Malvi
* Marwari
* Mewari
* Mundari
* Nimadi
* Rajasthani
* Sadri
* Surjapuri
* Tulu
* Wagdi
* Varhadi

|

100,000 – 1 million
speakers|

* Adi
* Angami
* Ao
* Badaga
* Dimasa
* Halbi
* Karbi
* Kharia
* Kodava
* Kolami
* Konyak
* Korku
* Koya
* Kui
* Kuvi
* Ladakhi
* Lotha
* Malto
* Mising
* Nishi
* Phom
* Rabha
* Sema
* Sora
* Tangkhul
* Thadou

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Languages of Pakistan

Official languages|

* Urdu
* English

Other languages
(by administrative unit)|

| Azad Kashmir|

* Dogri
* Gujari
* Kashmiri
* Kundal Shahi
* Pahari-Pothwari

|

Balochistan|

* Balochi
* Brahui
* Dehwari
* Hazaragi
* Jadgali
* Khetrani
* Pashto
* Wanetsi

Gilgit-Baltistan|

* Balti
* Burushaski
* Domaaki
* Khowar
* Purgi
* Shina
* Wakhi

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa|

* Burushaski
* Badeshi
* Bateri
* Chilisso
* Dameli
* Gawar-Bati
* Gowro
* Hindko
* Indus Kohistani
* Kalami
* Kalasha-mun
* Kalkoti
* Kamviri
* Khowar
* Mankiyali
* Munji
* Ormuri
* Palula
* Pashto
* Torwali
* Ushoji
* Wazir
* Yidgha

Punjab|

* Bagri
* Dogri
* Pahari-Pothwari
* Punjabi
* dialects
* Saraiki
* Rajasthani

Sindh|

* Aer
* Bagri
* Bengali
* Bhaya
* Dhatki
* Goaria
* Gujarati
* Jandavra
* Jogi
* Koli
* Parkari
* Kutchi
* Loarki
* Marwari
* Memoni
* Mewari
* Od
* Rajasthani
* Sindhi
* Urdu
* Vaghri

Related topics|

* Indo-Aryan languages
* Dardic languages
* Iranic languages
* Pakistani Sign Language
* Arabic
* Persian
* Pakistani Hindi (Hindi)
* Persian and Urdu
* Chagatai

* v
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Modern Indo-Aryan languages

Dardic|

* Bateri
* Dameli
* Domaaki
* Gawar-Bati
* Indus Kohistani
* Kalami
* Kalasha-mun
* Kashmiri
* Khowar
* Kundal Shahi
* Mankiyali
* Nangalami
* Palula
* Pashayi
* Sawi
* Shina
* Shumashti
* Torwali
* Ushoji

Northern|

| Eastern|

* Doteli
* Jumli
* Nepali

|

Central|

* Garhwali
* Kumaoni

Western|

* Bhadarwahi
* Bilaspuri
* Dogri
* Hinduri
* Jaunsari
* Kangri
* Kullu
* Mandeali
* Mahasu Pahari
* Pahari Kinnauri
* Sirmauri

North-
western|

| Punjabi|

* Punjabi
* dialects

|

Lahnda|

* Hindko
* Inku
* Khetrani
* Pahari-Pothwari
* Saraiki

Sindhi|

* Jadgali
* Kutchi
* Luwati
* Memoni
* Sindhi

Western|

| Gujarati|

* Aer
* Gujarati
* Jandavra
* Koli
* Lisan ud-Dawat
* Parkari Koli
* Saurashtra
* Vaghri

|

Bhil|

* Bhili
* Gamit
* Kalto
* Vasavi

Rajasthani|

* Bagri
* Goaria
* Gujari
* Jaipuri
* Malvi
* Marwari
* Mewari
* Dhatki

Others|

* Domari
* Khandeshi
* Lambadi
* Romani
* list of languages

Central|

| Western|

* Braj Bhasha
* Bundeli
* Haryanvi
* Hindustani
* Kauravi
* Hindi (Manak Hindi)
* Bombay Hindi
* Urdu
* Dakhini
* Hyderabadi Urdu
* Rekhta
* Kannauji
* Sansi
* Sadhukkadi

|

Eastern|

* Awadhi
* Bagheli
* Chhattisgarhi
* Fiji Hindi

Others|

* Danwar
* Parya

Eastern|

| Bihari|

* Angika
* Bajjika
* Bhojpuri
* Caribbean Hindustani
* Kurmali
* Magahi
* Maithili
* Majhi
* Musasa
* Sadri
* Tharu
* Kochila

|

Bengali–
Assamese|

* Assamese
* Bengali
* dialects
* Bishnupriya Manipuri
* Chakma
* Chittagonian
* Goalpariya
* Hajong
* Kamrupi
* Kamtapuri
* Kharia Thar
* Kurmukar
* Rohingya
* Surjapuri
* Sylheti
* Tanchangya

Odia|

* Odia
* Sambalpuri
* Bodo Parja
* Kupia
* Reli

Halbic|

* Halbi
* Bhatri
* Kamar
* Mirgan
* Nahari

Others|

* Mal Paharia

Southern|

| Marathi–Konkani|

* Konkani
* Marathi
* others..

|

Insular|

* Maldivian
* Sinhala

Unclassified|

* Bazigar
* Chinali
* Sheikhgal
* Kholosi

Pidgins/
creoles|

* Andaman Creole Hindi
* Haflong Hindi
* Nagamese
* Nefamese
* Vedda

See also: Old and Middle Indo-Aryan; Indo-Iranian languages; Nuristani languages; Iranian languages

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