Punjabi language

Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab

Punjabi

* ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
* پنجابی

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

Pronunciation| [pəɲˈdʒab̆.bi] ⓘ
Native to| India
Pakistan
Region| Punjab
Ethnicity| Punjabis

Native speakers

| 145 million (2011–2017)[a]

Language family

Indo-European

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

Early forms

Prakrit (debated)[b]

* 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

Official status

Official language in

* India
* Punjab[c]
* Haryana (additional)[d]
* Delhi (additional)[e]
* West Bengal (additional)[f]

Regulated by|

List

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

Language codes
ISO 639-1| `pa`
ISO 639-2| `pan`
ISO 639-3| `pan`
Glottolog| `lahn1241`
Linguasphere| `59-AAF-e`

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.
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Punjabi,[g] sometimes spelled Panjabi,[h] 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 113 million native speakers.[16]

Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 million native speakers according to the 2017 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.

## History

[edit]

### Etymology

[edit]

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[17] of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada, which means 'Land of the Five Rivers'.[18][19]

Panj is cognate with Sanskrit pañca (पञ्च), Greek pénte (πέντε), and Lithuanian Penki, all of which meaning '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

[edit]

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')[20] 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][21] Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a degenerated 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.[22] The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa, though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore.[22] Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri.[23] 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

[edit]

See also: Persian language in the Indian subcontinent

The Arabic and modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent.[24] Many Persian and Arabic words have been incorporated into Punjabi.[25][26] So Punjabi relies heavily on Persian and Arabic words which are used with a liberal approach to language. Many important words like ਅਰਦਾਸ, ਰਹਿਰਾਸ, ਨਹਿਰ, ਜ਼ਮੀਨ, ਗਜ਼ਲ, etc. are derived from Persian and Arabic. After the fall of the Sikh empire, Urdu was made the official language of Punjab (in Pakistani Punjab, it is still the primary official language), and influenced the language as well.[27]

In fact, the sounds of ਜ਼, ਖ਼, ਸ਼, and ਫ਼ have been borrowed from Persian. Later, it was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like ਅਲਮਾਰੀ/الماری), Greek (words like ਦਾਮ/دام), Chagatai (words like ਕ਼ੈੰਚੀ, ਸੁਗ਼ਾਤ/قینچی،سوغات), Japanese (words like ਰਿਕਸ਼ਾ/رکشا), Chinese (words like ਚਾਹ, ਲੀਚੀ, ਲੁਕਾਠ/چاہ، لیچی، لکاٹھ) and English (words like ਜੱਜ, ਅਪੀਲ, ਮਾਸਟਰ/جج، اپیل، ماسٹر), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic.[28]

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  | ਪਰਿਵਾਰ (parivār)*
ਟੱਬਰ (ṭabbar)
ਲਾਣਾ (lāṇā)  | 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

[edit]

Modern Punjabi emerged in the 19th century from the Medieval Punjabi stage.[3] Modern Punjabi has two main varieties, Western (Lahnda Punjab) and Eastern Punjabi (Charda Punjab), 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

[edit]

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.

### Pakistan

[edit]

Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in Pakistan, being the native language of 80.5 million people, or approximately 39% of the country's population.

Census history of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan[29][30] 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

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.[31]

### India

[edit]

See also: States of India by Punjabi speakers

"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.[32]

Census history of Punjabi speakers in India[33] 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

[edit]

See also: Punjabi diaspora

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.[31]

There were 670,000 native Punjabi speakers in Canada in 2021,[34] 300,000 in the United Kingdom in 2011,[35] 280,000 in the United States[36] and smaller numbers in other countries.

### Punjabi speakers by country

[edit]

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

|
|

Pakistan | 80,540,000  | Census
India | 33,124,726  | Census
Saudi Arabia | 800,000  | Ethnologue
Canada | 670,000  | Census
UK | 291,000  | Census
USA | 280,867  | Census
Australia | 239,033  | Census
UAE | 201,000  | Ethnologue

## Major dialects

[edit]

Main article: Punjabi dialects and languages

### Standard Punjabi

[edit]

Standard Punjabi sometimes referred to as Majhi in India or simply Central/Eastern Punjabi, is the most widespread and largest dialect of Punjabi. It is transitional between both Western Punjabi (Lahnda Punjab) and Eastern Punjabi (Charda Punjab) and it first developed in the 12th century and gained prominence when Sufi poets such as Shah Hussain, Bulleh Shah among others began to use the Lahore/Amritsar-spoken dialect with infused Persian vocabulary in their works in the Shahmukhi script.[37] Later the Gurmukhi script was developed based on Standard Punjabi by the Sikh Gurus.[38]

In Pakistan, the Standard Punjabi dialect is not referred to as the 'Majhi dialect', which may be considered as 'Indian terminology', rather simply as 'Standard Punjabi'. This dialect is widely used in the TV and entertainment industry, which is mainly produced in Lahore.

### Eastern Punjabi

[edit]

The Punjabi variety predominantly spoken in the Indian Punjab, and also by partition migrants and their descendants in Pakistan, is known as "Eastern Punjabi". It includes dialects like Malwai, Doabi, Puadhi and extinct Lubanki.[39]

### Western Punjabi

[edit]

The diverse group of Punjabi varieties spoken in the western areas of Pakistani Punjab, as well as in neighbouring Hazara region and parts of Azad Kashmir is known as "Western Punjabi" or "Lahnda" (لہندا, lit. 'western').[40][41] These include groups of dialects like Saraiki, Pahari-Pothwari, Hindko and extinct Inku; common dialects like Jhangvi, Dhanni and Thali which are usually grouped under the term Jatki Punjabi; and the mixed variety of Punjabi and Sindhi called Khetrani.[42]

## Phonology

[edit]

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.[43]

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.[44] There is a tendency with speakers to insert /ɪ̆/ between adjacent a vowels as a separator. When the latter vowel is low-tone, this usually changes to /ʊ̆/.

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Nasal | m ਮ م | n ਨ ن[45] | ɳ ਣ ݨ | (ɲ) ਞ ن | (ŋ) ਙ ن٘ |  |
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[46] | 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] occur only as allophones of /n/ in clusters with velars and palatals (there are limited exceptions, but these are archaic). The well-established phoneme /ʃ/ may be realised allophonically as the voiceless retroflex fricative [ʂ] in learned clusters with retroflexes. 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.[47] The retroflex lateral is most commonly analysed as an approximant as opposed to a flap.[48][49][50] The voiceless aspirates /t͡ʃʰ, pʰ/ often soften to fricatives /ɕ, f/. This hardly happens with /kʰ, t̪ʰ/ into /x, θ/, and never with /ʈʰ/.[citation needed]

In very rare cases, the archaic isolated /ɲ/ and /ŋ/ phonemes in Shahmukhi may be represented with letters from Sindhi.[citation needed]

### Diphthongs

[edit]

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

Long vowels /aː, iː, uː/ are treated as doubles of their short vowel counterparts /ə, ɪ, ʊ/ rather than separate phonemes, and instances of ai and au get monophthongised into /ɛː/ and /ɔː/. Hence, diphthongs like aī and āu phonotactically are stretched to aii and aau, whence the realised ai and au cause the sequences to be pronounced more as /ɛːi/ and /aɔː/ rather than /əiː/ and /aːʊ/.[citation needed]

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

[edit]

Unusually for an Indo-Aryan language, Punjabi distinguishes lexical tones.[51] 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).[52][53][54] The transcriptions and tone annotations in the examples below are based on those provided in Punjabi University, Patiala's Punjabi-English Dictionary.[55]

Examples  | Pronunciation  | Meaning

|
|

Gurmukhi  | Shahmukhi  | Transliteration  | IPA  | Tone
ਘਰ | گھر | ghar  | /kə̀.rᵊ/[56][i] | low  | house
ਕਰ੍ਹਾ | کرھا | karhā  | /kə́.ra/[57] | high  | powdered remains of cow-dung cakes
ਕਰ | کر | kar  | /kər/[58] | level  | do, doing
ਝੜ | جھڑ | jhaṛ  | /t͡ʃə̀.ɽᵊ/[59] | low  | shade caused by clouds
ਚੜ੍ਹ | چڑھ | chaṛh  | /t͡ʃə́.ɽᵊ/[60] | high  | rise to fame, ascendancy
ਚੜ | چڑ | caṛ  | /t͡ʃəɽ/[60] | level  | hangnail

Level tone is found in about 75% of words and is described by some as absence of tone.[52] 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.)[52] 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.[61]

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

Some 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. At the beginning of a word, they became voiceless unaspirated consonants (k, c, ṭ, t, p) followed by a high-falling tone; medially or finally they became voiced unaspirated consonants (g, j, ḍ, d, b), preceded by a low-rising tone. (The development of a high-falling tone apparently did not take place in every word, but only in those which historically had a long vowel.)[54]

#### Tonal H letter

[edit]

The presence of an [h] (although the [h] is now silent or very weakly pronounced except word-initially) word-finally (and sometimes medially) often causes a rising tone before it, for example cá(h) "tea".[62]

* Syllable-initially, [h] causes a falling-tone after it, e.g. he > ʰè "is"[j]
* In dialects with exemplified tone, ahā becomes ā̀, e.g. pahāṛ > pā̀ṛ[citation needed]
* Syllable-finally, [h] causes a rising-tone before it, e.g. cā(h) > cā́ "tea"
* The series ih and uh are pronounced as rising-tone /éː/ and /óː/, e.g. ki(h)-ṛā > kḗṛā "which"[k]
* There are few exceptions, e.g. tu-(h)ā-ḍē > twā̀ḍḍē[l] "yours" in the Majhi dialect and tu-(h)ā-ṛē > twā̀ṛē[m] "yours"
* The series ahi and ahu are pronounced as rising-tone /ɛ́ː/ and /ɔ́ː/[n]
* Some dialects avoid using these for /éː óː ɛ́ː ɔ́ː/ and opt to either write them as ēh, ōh, eh, oh regardless of position or aspirate the following consonant, e.g. kihṛā > kēhṛā / kēṛhā

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.[54]

Some other languages in Pakistan have also been found to have tonal distinctions, including Burushaski, Gujari, Hindko, Kalami, Shina, and Torwali,[63] though these seem to be independent of Punjabi.

### Gemination

[edit]

Gemination of a consonant (doubling the letter) is indicated with adhak in Gurmukhi and tashdīd in Shahmukhi.[64] 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.[o]

There is a tendency to irregularly geminate consonants which follow long vowels, except in the final syllable of a word, e.g.menū̃ > mennū̃.[p] 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,[q] 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

[edit]

The 35 traditional characters of the Gurmukhi script

Main article: Punjabi grammar

Punjabi has a canonical word order of SOV (subject–object–verb).[65] Function words are largely postpositions marking grammatical case on a preceding nominal.[66]

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.[67]

Adjectives, when declinable, are marked for the gender, number, and case of the nouns they qualify.[68] 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.[69]

## Vocabulary

[edit]

Being an Indo-Aryan language, the core vocabulary of Punjabi consists of tadbhav words inherited from Sanskrit.[70][71] It contains many loanwords from Persian and Arabic.[70]

## Writing systems

[edit]

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 لٌ م ن نٌ (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,[72][73] although the association is not absolute or exclusive.[74] 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.[75] 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,[76] but most have now switched to Gurmukhi[77] and so the use of Devanagari is rare.[78] 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.[79]

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.[78][80]

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

[edit]

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

لہور پاکستانی پنجاب دی راجدھانی اے۔ لوک گݨتی دے نالؕ کراچی توں بعد لہور دوجا سبھ توں وڈا شہر اے۔ لہور پاکستان دا سیاسی، رہتلی کاروباری اتے پڑھائی دا گڑھ اے اتے، ایسے لئی ایہہ نوں پاکستان دا دل وی کہا جاندا اے۔ لہور راوی دریا دے کنڈھے تے وسدا اے۔ ایسدی لوک گݨتی اک کروڑ دے نیڑے اے۔

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

/ləˈɔ̀ːɾᵊ pakˑɪˈstaːniː pənˈd͡ʒaːbᵊ diː ɾaːd͡ʒᵊˈtàːniː ʱɛ̀ː ‖ loːkᵊ ˈɡɪɳᵊtiː deː naːɭᵊ kəˈɾat͡ʃˑiː tõː baːədᵊ ləˈɔ̀ːɾᵊ dud͡ʒˑaː sə́bᵊ tõː ʋəɖːaː ʃɛ́ːɾ ʱɛ̀ː ‖ ləˈɔ̀ːɾᵊ pakˑɪstaːnᵊ daː sɪaːsiː | kaːɾobˑaːɾiː əteː pəɽàːiː daː ɡə́ɽ ʱɛ̀ː əteː ɪseː ləiː énˑũː pakˑɪstaːnᵊ daː dɪlᵊ ʋiː kéːa d͡ʒaːndaː ʱɛ̀ː ‖ ləˈɔ̀ːɾᵊ ɾaːʋiː ˈdəɾɪaː deː kə́ɳɖèː teː ʋəsːᵊdaː ʱɛ̀ː ‖ ˈɪsᵊdiː loːkᵊ ɡɪɳᵊtiː ɪkːᵊ kəˈɾoːɽᵊ deː neːɽeˑ ʱɛ̀ː ‖/

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

[edit]

Main article: Punjabi literature

### Medieval period

[edit]

* Fariduddin Ganjshakar (1179–1266) is generally recognised as the first major poet of the Punjabi language.[81] 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.[82] 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).[83]
* 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).[84]

### Modern period

[edit]

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

[edit]

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 standardized 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,[85] 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.[86]

### In Pakistan

[edit]

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

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.[87] 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.[88] 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).[89] 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.[90][91]

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.[92][93]

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[94][95][96] 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.[97][98] 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.[99][100] 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.[101][102][103]

### In India

[edit]

At the federal level, Punjabi has official status via the Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution,[104] earned after the Punjabi Suba movement of the 1950s.[105] 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.[106] 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.[107] Punjabi is also a compulsory language in Haryana,[108] and other states with a significant Punjabi speaking minority are required to offer Punjabi medium education.[dubious - discuss]

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 due to market forces.[109] 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.[104]: 37 There are also claims of state apathy towards the language in non-Punjabi majority areas like Haryana and Delhi.[110][111][112]

## Advocacy

[edit]

* 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[113] 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.[114] Punjabipedia, an online encyclopaedia was also launched by Patiala university in 2014.[115][116]
* 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).[117]

### Governmental academies and institutes

[edit]

The Punjabi Sahit academy, Ludhiana, established in 1954[118][119] is supported by the Punjab state government and works exclusively for promotion of the Punjabi language, as does the Punjabi academy in Delhi.[120] The Jammu and Kashmir academy of art, culture and literature[121] in Jammu and Kashmir UT, India works for Punjabi and other regional languages like Urdu, Dogri, Gojri etc. Institutions in neighbouring states[122] as well as in Lahore, Pakistan[123] 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

[edit]

* 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[124] support. Most Linux Desktop distributions allow the easy installation of Punjabi support and translations as well.[125] Apple implemented the Punjabi language keyboard across Mobile devices.[126] Google also provides many applications in Punjabi, like Google Search,[127] Google Translate[128] and Google Punjabi Input Tools.[129]

## Gallery

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

* Punjab portal
* Languages portal

* Bhangra (music) – Upbeat type of popular music associated with British Punjabi culture
* Khalsa bole – coded language of Nihang Sikhs largely based on Punjabi
* List of Punjabi-language newspapers
* Punjabi cinema
* Punjabi Language Movement

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ 2011 Indian Census and 2017 Pakistani Census; The figure includes the Saraiki and Hindko varieties which have been separately enumerated in Pakistani censuses since 1981 and 2017 respectively; 80.5 million [Punjabi, general], 26 million [Saraiki], 5 million [Hindko] in Pakistan (2017), 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;[14] Shahmukhi: پنجابی; Gurmukhi: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ, Punjabi: [pəɲˈdʒab̆.bi] ⓘ[15])
8. ^ Punjabi is the British English spelling, and Pañjābī is the Romanized spelling from the native scripts.
9. ^ Standard or Eastern dialect. Western dialects usually pronounce it as /käː˨ɾᵊ/.
10. ^ Word-initial [h] is preserved in standard formal Punjabi but pronounced weaker in casual speech and in northern areas such as Gujrat.[citation needed]
11. ^ These usually revert to eh / oh word-finally.
12. ^ Here initial [h] causes the following vowel to be falling-tone.
13. ^ Here initial [h] causes the following vowel to be falling-tone.
14. ^ For dialects in which the ai or au diphthongs are retained: /əɪ́, əʊ́/
15. ^ /jː/ is found in one other instance, for the name of the Gurmukhi letter ਯ (yayyā ਯੱਯਾ)
16. ^ This never occurs with /ɳ/ and /ɽ/, and is rare before /ʋ, ɾ, ɦ/
17. ^ bindī/ṭippī or nūn ġunna before a consonant often causes it to be pre-nasalised, except where there is a true nasal vowel.

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Singh, Sikander (April 2019). "The Origin Theories of Punjabi Language: A Context of Historiography of Punjabi Language". International Journal of Sikh Studies.
2. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Frawley, William (2003). International encyclopedia of linguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 423\. ISBN 9780195139778.
6. ^ a b Austin, Peter (2008). One thousand languages : living, endangered, and lost. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 115\. ISBN 9780520255609.
7. ^ a b Braj B. Kachru; Yamuna Kachru; S. N. Sridhar (2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 411\. ISBN 9781139465502.
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16. ^ "The World Factbook - WORLD". CIA.
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18. ^ 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". dsalsrv02.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
19. ^ Macdonell, Arthur Anthony (13 August 2018). "A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary with Transliteration, Accentuation, and Etymological Analysis Throughout". Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
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29. ^ "Population Census Organization". Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
30. ^ "CCI defers approval of census results until elections". Dawn. 21 March 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2021. 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.
31. ^ a b "Punjabi is 4th most spoken language in Canada". The Times of India. 14 February 2008. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016.
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* "2011 Census: Quick Statistics for England and Wales, March 2011". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
* "Table AT_002_2011 – Language used at home other than English (detailed), Scotland". Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
36. ^ "US survey puts Punjabi speakers in US at 2.8 lakh". The Times of India. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
37. ^ Lal, Mohan (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature. Sahitya Academy. p. 4208.
38. ^ Bhatt, Shankarlal (2006). Punjab. Bhargava, Gopal K. Delhi: Kalpaz publ. p. 141\. ISBN 81-7835-378-4. OCLC 255107273.
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41. ^ Shackle 1979, p. 198.
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48. ^ Masica 1991, p. 97.
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### Sources

[edit]

* Bhardwaj, Mangat Rai (2016), Panjabi: A Comprehensive Grammar, Routledge, doi:10.4324/9781315760803, ISBN 9781138793859.
* Bhatia, Tej K. (2008), "Major regional languages", in Braj B. Kachru; Yamuna Kachru; S.N. Sridhar (eds.), Language in South Asia, Cambridge University Press, pp. 121–131, doi:10.1017/CBO9780511619069.008, ISBN 9780511619069.
* Grierson, George A. (1916). Linguistic Survey of India. Vol. IX Indo-Aryan family. Central group, Part 1, Specimens of western Hindi and Pañjābī. Calcutta: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing, India.
* Jain, Dhanesh (2003), "Sociolinguistics of the Indo-Aryan Languages", in Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge, pp. 46–66, ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5.
* Masica, Colin (1991), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-29944-2, archived from the original on 2 April 2023, retrieved 7 October 2020.
* Nayar, Baldev Raj (1966), Minority Politics in the Punjab, Princeton University Press, ISBN 9781400875948, archived from the original on 2 April 2023, retrieved 9 November 2019.
* Rao, Aparna (1995). "Marginality and language use: the example of peripatetics in Afghanistan". Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. 5 (2): 69–95.
* Shackle, Christopher (1979). "Problems of classification in Pakistan Panjab". Transactions of the Philological Society. 77 (1): 191–210. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1979.tb00857.x. ISSN 0079-1636.
* Shackle, Christopher (2003), "Panjabi", in Cardona, George; Jain, Dhanesh (eds.), The Indo-Aryan Languages, Routledge, pp. 581–621, ISBN 978-0-415-77294-5, archived from the original on 2 April 2023, retrieved 7 October 2020.

## Further reading

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Punjabi

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Punjabi language.

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 Archived 10 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
* Proposal to encode ARABIC LETTER NOON WITH RING ABOVE at the Unicode Website

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Punjabi language topics

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Shina|

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Kunar|

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Chitral|

* Kalasha
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Hazara Division|

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Northern|

| Eastern|

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|

Central|

* Garhwali
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Western|

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Northwestern|

| Punjabi|

| Eastern|

* Punjabi
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|

Lahnda|

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Sindhi|

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Western|

| Gujarati|

* Aer
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* Bagri
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Bhil|

* Bhili
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Others|

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| Western|

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|

Eastern|

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Others|

* Parya

Eastern|

| Bihari|

| Bhojpuric|

* Bhojpuri
* Caribbean Hindustani

|

Magahi|

* Magahi
* Khortha

Maithili|

* Maithili
* Angika
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Sadanic|

* Sadri
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Tharuic|

* Tharu
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* Majhi
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Others|

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Gauda–
Kamarupa|

| Bengali|

* Bengali
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* Hajong
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* Mal Paharia
* Noakhailla
* Sylheti
* Tanchangya

|

Kamarupic|

* Assamese
* Kamrupi
* Goalpariya
* Rajbanshi (Nepal)
* Rangpuri
* Surjapuri

Chittagonian|

* Chittagonian
* Chakma
* Rohingya

Odia|

* Odia
* Sambalpuri
* Desia
* Bhatri
* Bodo Parja
* Reli
* Kupia

Halbic|

* Halbi
* Kamar
* Bhunjia
* Nahari

Southern|

| Marathi–
Konkani|

| Marathic|

* Marathi
* Varhadi
* Andh
* Berar Deccan
* Varli
* Phudagi
* Katkari
* Kadodi

|

Konkanic|

* Konkani
* Maharashtrian Konkani
* Canarese Konkani

Insular|

* Maldivian
* Sinhala

Old|

* Sanskrit
* Vedic
* Classical
* Mitanni superstrate

Middle|

| Early|

* Ashokan Prakrit
* Pāli
* Early Ardhamagadhi

|

Middle (Prakrit)|

* Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit
* Dramatic Prakrits
* Ardhamagadhi
* Magadhi
* Maharashtri
* Shauraseni
* Gāndhārī
* Paishachi

Late (Apabhraṃśa)|

* Abahattha
* Apabhraṃśa
* Elu
* Kamarupi
* Khasa Prakrit

Proto-
languages|

* Proto-Indo-Iranian
* Proto-Indo-Aryan

Unclassified|

* Bazigar
* Chinali–Lahul
* Chinali
* Lahul Lohar
* Sheikhgal

Pidgins
and creoles|

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

See also
Indo-Iranian languages
Nuristani languages
Iranian languages

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* France
* BnF data
* Germany
* Israel
* United States
* Latvia

Other|

* IdRef

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