| Pothohari | |
|---|---|
| پوٹھوهاری | |
| Spoken in | Azad Kashmir Pothohar Pakistan United Kingdom United States Canada UAE Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir |
| Native speakers | 4,680,000 in Azad Kashmir, 3,252,123 in Rawalpindi, 72,957 in Gujar Khan, 174,679 in Jhelum, 1,000,000 in UK (expatriates) (date missing) |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | phr |
Potwari (پوٹھوهاری (Perso-Arabic), also known as Potohari پوٹھواری), is a rich north Indian sub-continent dialect spoken in the Pothohar Plateau around Rawalpindi, Kahuta, Gujar Khan, Jehlum, up to Gujrat in the south and Chakwal in the West, Hazara in the north, Azad Kashmir (Pahari) in the east and also by Sikhs from the Pothohar region now living in India. It is considered a transitional dialect between Lahnda and Pahari, Hindko as well as Dogri. It is often referred to as Pahari-Potwari. Semi Dialects include Dhundi-Kairali, Chibhali, Mirpuri, Jhelumi, Pindiwali and Punchhi (Poonchi). Speakers of Pahari-Pothwari can understand spoken Punjabi, however the opposite is difficult in terms of comprehension. Pahari is translated as 'mountain' in the Potwari language and its use is prevalent in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. There are slight variations in the vocabulary with regards to the Potwari speakers of the west on the Potohar plateau and the speakers on the east in the Pakistani-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
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Written Pahari-Potohari is based on a variety of stansted dialect of northern Lanhda as wriiten by Sir Geroge Gierson in his LSI. It is widely spoken in the northern parts of Pakistan, namely Azad Jammu and Kashmir and the Rawalpindi district (and it is sometimes also known as Pahari). It is semi-officially written and Perso-Arabic standardised orthography is utilised. Speakers literate in Urdu often write mostly in Perso-Arabic style and do not sometimes regard Potwari as a literary language. When in some cases Potwari is written, the Perso-Arabic orthography is utilised or it is written in Roman Potwari, which is used for the writing of Urdu in Roman script. This is largely the case in the UK where a large percentage of Pahari-Potohari speakers reside, who are found to constitute the majority of the expatriate Pakistani (from the Potohar plateau e.g Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi, Kahuta etc.) and Azad Jammu & Kashmiri community. Pahari-Potohari is widely spoken and is used in many traditional shers and poetry due to its richness, the most famous of which is by the poet Mian Muhammad Bakhsh, whose poetry is still performed and enjoyed to this present day. Pahari-Potohari is an interestingly unique dialect that has some resemblance to Punjabi but more interestingly has Pashto/Hindko inflections to the soundings of the words.
It is not the case that Potwari has never been written; during the Buddhist reign Potwari was written using the Laṇḍā script which evolved from the Sharada script. Sharada was invented in the Buddhist university of the same name located in the Neelam Valley in modern day Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Presently, the Perso-Arabic script is standard and has been since the Mughal rule. Pahari-Potohari has a rich oral tradition, which has been passed down from generation to generation and is used in many famous shers and poetry. This is by in large due to the rampant illiteracy in the communities that uses Pahari-Potohari as their dialect, which may be due to labour trends/tradition, personal choice or lack of facilities and establishments in the past.
Pahari is also a term used for a language in the Himachal Pradesh region of Northern India. It must be noted that the Pahari-Potohari language is incomprehensible with this dialect.
Pahari-Potohari has a rich tradition of sung poetry recital accompanied by Sitar, Tabla, Harmonium and Dholak, these poems are called Sher and are often highly lyrical and somewhat humorous and secular in nature, although there are plenty of religious sher. Please see below in the references section for a famous Potohari sher, 'Saif-ul-Malook'
Notable Pothohari films produced by (Pearl communication) based in pakistan are:
All these films are part of the Pothohari TV series Miki Kharo (take me to).
Also a new Online English/Potwari drama called Mirpuri Boyz (You Tube), the starting scene is in english and the rest is more of potwari.
The starting scene is in english but the rest of the drama is more of potwari.
| Pahari-Potohari | Punjabi | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Tusanā (Formal) / Tarā (Informal) | tvādā | Your |
| Kai yây? (Formal) / Kai? (Informal) | kī | What? |
| Tusaakī pukh laggī yây? (Formal) / Tukkī pukh laggī yây? (Informal) | kī, twannu bookh lag di? | Are you hungry? |
| Tusaa kay khannay chaanay yō? (Formal) / Keh khassay? (Informal) | tussi kī kanī? | What would you like to eat? |
| Mein '<Food item>' khanna chaana yā (Formal) / Mein '<Food item>' khassa (Informal) | mènnu '<Food item>' kya low gah | I would like to eat '<Food item>' |
| Mikī dây shōwr (Formal) / Mikī dây (Informal) | mènnu de | Give me |
| Tōwl chây shōwr (Formal) / Tōwl chaa (Informal) | tol nu chākk de | Pick up the drum |
| Nach Punjaban | nach punjaban | Dance Punjaban |
| Mikī bây shōwr (Formal) / Mikī baa (Informal) | mènnu bataa do | Tell me |
| Assani keh wâe? | Saanu kī? | What has it to do with us? |
| Tukkī keh wâe? | Twannu kī? | What has it to do with you? |
| Uthay kitnay banday san? | kitnai admi tay? | How many men were there? |
| Tusaa kutthây julâi yō? / Tusaa kutthây janai pyō? (Formal) / Tu kutthây julâi? (Informal) | kiti jarai? | Where are you going? |
| Tusaa keh ahnay pyō? (Formal) / Keh ahnay peh? (Informal) | ki ahndai? | What are you saying? |
| Tusanā nā kây yā? (Formal) / Tārā nā kây yā? (Informal) | terā nā kī eh? / tvādā nā kī? | What is your name? |
| Alā firh / Teek hây firh / Changā firh | changā | OK |
| Allah nây walây / Allah Hafiz | Rab Rakha | Goodbye |
| ōsnā nā '<Name>' yā | Odā nā '<Name>' he | His name is '<Name>' |
| Bāl bāchây teekh nuh? / Sabb teekh nuh? | tvādā tabar da haal theek ai? | Is your family OK? |
| Mehrbanī howây / Shukr yā | Mehrbani | Thank you |
| Trây | tinna | Three |
| Haazāār / Zār | hazār | Thousand |
| Mein tusanā pyār karnah yā / Mein tārāy naal pyār karnah yā / Mein tukkī pyār karnah yā (man to woman) | mèh tenu pyaar kardaa wan | I love you (man to woman) |
| Mein tusanā pyār karni yā / Mein tārāy naal pyār karni yā / Mein tukkī pyār karni yā (woman to man) | mèh tenu pyaar kardii yan | I love you (woman to man) |
| Bāray pāpā kutthây gae nuh? (Formal) / Tārā bārā prā kutthây yā? (Informal) | pra ji kithe gae? | Where is your big brother? |
| Andar achō (Formal) / Andar ach / Andar aa / Marr andar (Informal) | andhar chayti awi | Get inside |
Vowels:
| a - IPA ə |
| ā - IPA ɑ |
| â - IPA æ |
| e - IPA ɛ |
| i - IPA ɪ |
| ī - IPA i |
| o - IPa ɔ |
| ō - IPA ɵ |
| u - IPA ʊ |
| ū - IPA u |
Aspirated consonants:
All consonants followed by a 'h' are aspirated, that is a puff of air follows the sound of the consonant, not aspirating the consonant alters the meaning of the word. E.g. 'tu' and 'thu' have different meanings (you and from respectively). A vowel followed by 'ṇ' is nasalised.
| Roman Potwari | Perso-Arabic | English Translation |
|---|---|---|
| salām | سلام | hello |
| allāfiz | اﷲ ها فظ | Good Bye |
| āhāṇ | اہاں | yes (casual) |
| jī | جی | yes (formal) |
| nā | نا | no |
| tusān na nāṇ kâ? | تساں نا ناں کے اے | what is your name? (formal) |
| mārā nāṇ...â | مارا ناں...اے | my name is... |
| tusaṇkī mili ke bū khushī oy | تساںکی ملی کے بوں خشی اوی | very nice to meet you! |
| shukar | شکر | thank you |
| tusāna āl kâ â? | تساں ںہ ال کے اے | how are you? (formal) |
| pothohārī bolne ō? | پوٹهوهاری بولنے او | do you speak Potwari? |
| tusaṇ kudarō āyō? | تساں کدروں ائیو | where are you from (formal) |
| me valât thū ā | ميں ولايتوں آں | I'm from abroad |
| merbānī karī tā | مهربانى كرى تے | please |
| tusāne grāṇ na nāṇ kâ? | تساں نے گراں نہ ناں کے | what is your village's name? |
| kashmīr vich tashrīf āno | كشمیر وِچ تشريف آںو | come to Kashmir |
| pothwārī chaṇgī zabān â | پوٹھواری چنگى زبان اے | pothohari is a nice language |
| Teek-Taak (Very informal) | O-K. /I'M Good |
Examples of spoken Pahari-Potwari:
Main Julian England - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0xwm5kbUAk
Nikammay Babu - http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=nqDMtiHZKgg
Mirpuri Boyz - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gSDxwv3NaQ
Muzaffarabad Pahari Poetry - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqqQYUMlBY8
Famous Potohari Sher sung by a Gujrati:
Saif-ul-Malook - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M8TGe4a1KM
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