Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan.
It is an Indo-European language of the Indo-Iranian subfamily. Also spoken in neighbouring areas such as Haryana and Delhi. In Pakistan, however, it is not an official language and has no official status in education. In formal contexts, such as government, newspapers, and education, as well as in most writing, Pakistani Punjabi speakers tend to use Urdu and English , which are the nation's official tongues.
Punjabi is also spoken as a minority language in several other countries, including Afghanistan, as well as many nations where Punjabis have emigrated in large numbers, such as Britain, Canada, and the United States. Punjabi is the sacred language of the Sikhs, in which the religious literature is written (See Adi Granth). It is the usual language of Bhangra music, which has recently gained wide popularity both in South Asia and abroad.
Modern Punjabi is a has borrowed extensively from other languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Persian and English. Like other North Indian languages, is derived from Sanskrit and is therefore Indo-European. In addition, like Hindi and Urdu, it has a substantial number of loanwords from Arabic, Persian, and even a few from Turkish. Many sources subdivide the Punjabi language into Western Punjabi (Lahnda) and Eastern Punjabi.
There are several different scripts used for writing the Punjabi language, depending on the region and the dialect spoken, as well as the religion of the speaker. Sikhs and others in the Indian state of Punjab tend to use the Gurumukhi or Gurmukhi (from the mouth of the Gurus) script. Hindus, and those living in neighbouring states such as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh often use the Devanagari script. Finally, Muslims, and in general Pakistani Punjabis, use a modified Arabic script called Shahmukhi.
Much like English, Punjabi has moved around the world and developed local forms by integrating local vocabulary. While most loanwords come from English, Hindi and Urdu (and indirectly, from Persian and Arabic, Punjabi emmigrants around the world have integrated terms from such languages as Spanish and Dutch. A distinctive "Diaspora Punjabi" is thus emerging. As there is no formal consensus over vocabulary and spelling in Punjabi, it is likely that Diaspora Punjabi will increasingly deviate from the forms found on the Indian Subcontinent in the future.
Notable features:
This is a syllabic alphabet in which all consonants have an inherent vowel. Diacritics, which can appear above, below, before or after the consonant they belong to, are used to change the inherent vowel.
When they appear at the beginning of a syllable, vowels are written as independent letters.
When certain consonants occur together, special conjunct symbols are used which combine the essential parts of each letter.
Punjabi is a tonal language with three tones. These are indicated in writing using the voiced aspirates consonants (gh, dh, bh, etc) and the intervocal h.
Panjabi or Punjabi, an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 60 million people in Pakistan and the Indian state of Panjab. In Pakistan Panjabi is written with a version of the Arabic script known as Shahmukhi.
Punjabi is spoken mainly in the Punjab area of Pakistan. Also spoken in Afghanistan, Canada, India, UAE, United Kingdom, USA. Population total speaking punjabi in all countries is 3,00,00,000 to 4,50,00,000.Three Letter Code for Punjabi is PNB. Alternative names are WESTERN PUNJABI, LAHNDA, LAHANDA, LAHNDI, PUNJABI, GURMUKHI, GURUMUKHI, MIRPURI and Dialects include MAJHI, PANJABI PROPER, MAJHI, DOAB, BHATYIANA (BHATNERI, BHATTI), POWADHI, MALWA, BATHI.
WESTERN: There is a continuum of varieties between Eastern and Western Panjabi, and with Western Hindi and Urdu. 'Lahnda' is a name given earlier for Western Panjabi; an attempt to cover the dialect continuum between Hindko, Pahari-Potwari, and Western Panjabi in the north and Sindhi in the south. Grierson said Majhi is the purest form of Panjabi. Several dozen dialects. The Balmiki (Valmiki) sweeper caste in Attock District speak a dialect of Panjabi. Perso-Arabic script used, but not often written in Pakistan. Radio programs, films, TV. Mainly Muslim; Christian.
EASTERN: Western Panjabi is distinct from Eastern Panjabi, although there is a chain of dialects to Western Hindi (Urdu). Bhatyiana considered to be a mixture of Panjabi and Rajasthani.
MIRPUR: Distinct from Western Panjabi, although closely related.
