| Western Panjabi | |
|---|---|
| پنجابی | |
| Spoken in |
Most migrant speakers in: United Kingdom |
| Region | Punjab |
| Native speakers | 62.6 million (2000) |
| Language family |
Indo-European
|
| Writing system | Shahmukhi |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pnb |
|
Distribution of native Punjabis
|
|
Western Panjabi ("Punjabi" پنجابی ) is an Indo-Aryan language and is referred to specify the Punjabi language spoken and written in Punjab, Pakistan. Even though it is the mother tongue of the largest group of the people of Pakistan, the language has no official status nor is it used as medium of education at any level.[1]
Western Punjabi language has many different dialects, spoken in the different sub-regions of Punjab. In addition to this minor variations are seen locally out in rural Punjab. The many different dialects all traditionally retain strongly on Persian and Arabic vocabulary through Urdu language.
The Majhi dialect is Punjabi's prestige dialect. This dialect is considered as textbook Punjabi and is spoken in the historical region of Majha,[2] centralizing out from the capital of Punjab, Lahore. There is a fair degree of mutual intelligibility between the Majhi dialect spoken in Pakistan and in neighboring India. SIL Ethnologue classifies it as a Lahnda language.[3][4] Punjabi is unusual among modern Indo-European languages because it is a tonal language.[5][6][7][8]
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Punjabi emerged as an independent language in the 11th century in areas of Punjab, literary tradition can be traced back with Fariduddin Ganjshakar (Baba Farid) (1173–1266), and later followed by many ancient Sufi Muslim. The early Punjabi literature was principally spiritual in nature and has had a very rich oral tradition. The poetry written by Sufi saints has been the folklore of the Punjab and is still sung with great love in any part of Punjab.
Between 1600 and 1850, many famous works was written in Punjabi. The most famous Punjabi Sufi poet was Baba Bulleh Shah (1680–1757), who wrote in the Kafi style. Bulleh Shah practiced the Sufi tradition of Punjabi poetry established by poets like Shah Hussain (1538–1599), Sultan Bahu (1629–1691), and Shah Sharaf (1640–1724). His lifespan also overlapped with the legendary Punjabi poet Waris Shah (1722–1798), of Heer Ranjha fame. Waris Shah's rendition of the tragic love story of Heer Ranjha is among the most popular medieval Punjabi works. Other popular tragic love stories are Sohni Mahiwal, Mirza Sahiba and Sassi Punnun. Shah Mohammad's Jangnama is another fine piece of poetry that gives an eyewitness account of the First Anglo-Sikh War that took place after the death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
The linguist George Abraham Grierson in his multivolume Linguistic Survey of India (1904–1928) used the word "Punjabi" to refer to several languages spoken in the Punjab region of British India: the term Western Punjabi (ISO 639-3 pnb) covered dialects (now designated separate languages) spoken to the west of Montgomery and Gujranwala districts in Pakistan, while "Eastern Punjabi" referred to what is now based more on Hindi and simply called Punjabi (ISO 639-3 pan)[9] After Saraiki, Potwari and Hindko (earlier categorized as "Western Punjabi") started to be counted as separate languages, the percentage of Pakistanis recorded as Punjabi speakers was reduced from 59% to 44%. Although not an official language in Pakistan Punjab, Punjabi is still the predominant language of Pakistan.
After the partition of the Punjab region, the region was divided between Pakistan and India. Although the Punjabi people formed the 2nd biggest linguistic group in Pakistan after Bengali, Urdu was declared the national language of Pakistan, and Punjabi did not get any official status and no official support since 1947. In India, Urdu language was removed as the national language and exchanged with Modern Hindi language, which have decreased Urdu loan words in Punjabi language used in India. In the 1960s, the Shiromani Akali Dal proposed "Punjabi Suba", a state for Punjabi speakers in India. Paul R. Brass, the Professor Emeritus of Political Science and South Asian Studies at the University of Washington, opines that the Sikh leader Fateh Singh tactically stressed the linguistic basis of the demand, while downplaying the religious basis for the demand—a state where the distinct Sikh identity could be preserved.[10] The movement for a Punjabi Suba led to trifurcation of Indian Punjab into three states: Punjab (India), Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Modern Punjabi consists of several dialects and is rich in their use in Punjab. Majhi (Standard Punjabi) is the written standard for Punjabi in both parts of Punjab. Compared to Indian Punjabi, the Punjabi language in Pakistan has been able to keep its origianl form by keeping its close relationship with Urdu language, although some traditionally used non-Urdu words have decreased in modern day spoken Punjabi in Pakistan. In addition, recent modernization and industrialization has witnessed an English influence in both parts of Punjab, as Punjab has undergone Science and Technology development. "Modern Punjabi" uses Gurmukhi [from the mouth of the Gurus] script in the Indian Punjab, which is specificly developed for the Punjabi language. Pakistani Punjabis, however, uses the elder Shahmukhi [from the mouth of the Kings] script, which is a modified Persian-Nasta’liq script. These two scripts are considered the official scripts of the Punjabi language. In India, Punjabi is one of the 22 languages with official status in India. It is the first official language of Punjab (India). In Pakistan, even though Punjabi has no official status, it is still the most spoken language and in Pakistan. Punjab is the second largest and the most populous province of Pakistan.
Some of the famous Pakistani Punjabi poets in modern times are:
Punjabi is the most spoken language of Pakistan. Punjabi is spoken as first language by over 44.15% of Pakistanis. Punjabis comprise the largest ethnic group in the country. Punjabis are dominant in key institutions such as business, agriculture, industry, government, army, navy, air force, and police which is why about 70% of Pakistani's can understand or speak Punjabi.
The Punjabi's found in Pakistan are composed of various social groups, castes and economic groups. Muslim Rajputs and Muslim Jatts are the dominating tribes of central Punjab. Other tribes includes Tarkhans, Dogars, Gujjars, Gakhars, Khatri or Punjabi Shaikhs, Kambohs, and Arains, comprise the main tribes in the north, while Awans, Gilanis, Gardezis, Syeds and Quraishis are found in the south. There are Pashtun tribes like the Niazis and the lodhis, which are very much integrated into Punjabi village life. People in major urban areas have diverse origins, with many post-Islamic settlers tracing their origin to Afghanistan, Persia, Turkey, Arabia and Central Asia.
| 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 |
Source: [11] In the National Census of Pakistan (1981) Saraiki, Pothohari and Hindko (Before categorized as "Western Punjabi") got the status of separate languages thats why number of Punjabi speakers got decreased.
| Rank | Division | Punjabi speakers | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| – | Pakistan | 76,335,300 | 44.15% |
| 1 | Punjab | 70,671,704 | 75.23% |
| 2 | Sindh | 3,592,261 | 6.99% |
| 3 | Islamabad Capital Territory | 1,343,625 | 71.66% |
| 4 | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 396,085 | 0.97% |
| 5 | Balochistan | 318,745 | 2.52% |
| 6 | Federally Administered Tribal Areas | 12,880 | 0.23% |
The name "Punjab" means "5 waters" in Persian (panj ab) and refers to five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River. The historical Punjab region, now divided between Pakistan and India, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries. The bulk of the Panjab, 3.5 rivers are located in Pakistan. One of the five, the Beas River, is a tributary of another, the Sutlej River, and lies entirely in present day India, well within the eastern half of historical Punjab.
Because of the stature of Ethnologue as a widely accepted authority on the identification and classification of dialects and languages, their divergent views of the geographical distribution and dialectal naming of the Punjabi language merit mention. They designate what tradition calls "Punjabi" as "Eastern Punjabi" and they have implicitly adopted the belief (contradicted by other specialists[12]) that the language border between "Western Punjabi" and "Eastern Punjabi" has shifted since 1947 to coincide with the international border.[13]
The linguist George Abraham Grierson in his multivolume Linguistic Survey of India (1904–1928) used the word "Punjabi" to refer to several languages spoken in the Punjab region: the term "Western Panjabi" (ISO 639-3 pnb) covered dialects spoken to the west of Montgomery and Gujranwala districts which roughly represent Pakistan Punjab, while "Eastern Punjabi" represent Indian Punjab(ISO 639-3 pan)[9]
While there is a fair degree of mutual intelligibility between some of the western and eastern variants of Punjabi, there are morphological and phonological differences between the two varieties, partly due to the use of a different scripture. The differences in vocabulary is due to, that the Western Punjabi dialects (i.e. majhi in Pakistan, panjsitani, hindko and saraiki) have since the Mughul empire been influenced by the Persian and to a lesser extend on Arabic languages. The Eastern Indian variant has since 1947 swifted towards more sanskrit.
The British linguist George Abraham Grierson came to the conclusion that a group of dialects known collectively as "western Punjabi" or Lahnda spoken north and west of the Punjab heartland, in the Indus valley itself and on the lower reaches of the other four tributaries (excluding the Beas River), in fact constituted a language distinct from eastern or jurdga Punjabi. He christened this group of dialects "Lahindā" in a volume of the Language Survey of India (LSI) published in 1919.[9] He grouped as "southern Lahnda" the dialects that are now recognized as multani or Saraiki. The northern Lahnda sub-Group has eveloved into Modern Panjistani (or pahiri/mirpur/pothoahri)and modern Hindko .Grierson tentatively identified the boundary between Punjabi and "Lahnda" as a north-south line running from the Gujranwala District to the former Montgomery District (near the town on Sahiwal). This line lies well west of Lahore and within the boundary of Pakistan.[14] In the aftermath of the independence of Pakistan and subsequent Partition of 1947, some investigators supposed that the Punjabi speakers in new Pakistan might give up their native dialects and adopt one or another "Lahnda" dialect; but this did not occur.[14]
Shahmukhi' (شاہ مکھی literally "from the King's mouth") is a Punjabi variant of the Urdu alphabet, which itself is a Perso-Arabic derivation that has used to write and record the Urdu language in the Indian subcontinent for centuries. Nastaʿlīq is a portmanteau word of naskh of Arabic and ta'aliq, (an ancient style of the Persian alphabet used in Iran). Both of the scripts of Iranian and Arabic roots were amalgamated and invented by Ameer Ali Tabrezi in Tabrez to be used as the standard characters to write the Persian language. However, nasta'līq was introduced in the subcontinent during the era of the great Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. During the second half of the 20th century; it has been used by the Punjabi Muslims of Pakistan due to the absence of a writing system. Thus the Nasta'liq writing system of Urdu (the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan) has been renamed Shahmukhi to write and record the Punjabi language, which is mainly spoken and confined within the province of West Punjab in Pakistan. The text of Nasta'aliq is written in the right to left direction and from right page to left page.
One social/educational issue is the lack of official status of Punjabi language in Pakistan, which has resulted in an alarming fast decrease of Punjabi speakers, who instead speak Urdu and increasingly English. The Punjab was one of Great Britain's most important assets in colonial British India, and Punjabi language were then banned as a means of control and suppression.
According to Dr. Manzur Ejaz, "In Central Punjab, Punjabi is amazingly still neither an official language of the province nor it is used as medium of education at any level in Pakistan. There are only two daily newspapers published in Punjabi in the Central areas of Punjab. Only a few monthly literary magazines constitute Punjabi press in Pakistan". The lacking of official status of Punjabi, has also giving Punjabi a negative image in Pakistan, as being the language of the poor uneducated villager. A growing number of Punjabi's are calling the elite and politicians for the Punjabi language to be given recognition, as it has in neighboring India.
Punjabis are prominent in business, agriculture, industry, government, and the military to the point that there is resentment from other ethnic groups. The smaller provinces often voice concern at Punjabi domination of key institutions such as the Army. A newer generation of upper class Panjabis is re-affirming their maternal language and have begun requesting the government for official patronage not just of their languages (Punjabi,Potohari and Seraiki), but those of other major ethnic groups in Pakistan such as the Pashtuns and Balochi. .
| English | Majhi, Standard Punjabi
(Spoken in Central Punjab of Pakistan and India) |
Pothohari
(Spoken in Western Punjab of Pakistan and Azad Kashmir) |
Multani
(Spoken in Southern Punjab of Pakistan) |
|---|---|---|---|
| What are you doing? (masculine) | Ki karda ain?/ki karan deya ain?/ki karda pya ain? | Ka karne uo? | ke karende paye o? |
| What are you doing? (masculine to address female) | Ki kardi ain?/ki karan dayi ain?/ki kardi payi ain? | Ka karani ay? | ke (kay) karende paye o? |
| How are you? | Ki haal ae? | Keh aal e? | Keevein haal tuhaade? |
| Do you speak Punjabi? | Tusi Punjabi Bol lainde o ? | Punjabii bolne uo? | Tussan punjabi bol lainde o? |
| Where are you from? | Tusi kithon de o?/Tusi kidron aaye o? | Tusa kudhr nay aiyo? | Tussan kithon de o? |
| Pleased to meet you | Tenu/tuanu mil ke bahut khushi hoyi | Tusan milay tay boo khushi oye | Tenu/tuanu mil ke bahut khushi thi e |
| What's your name? | Tuada naa ki ae? | Tusan naa ke aa? | Tuada naa ki ae? |
| My name is ... | Mera naa ain... | Mara naa ... e | Mainda naa .... e |
| What is your village's name? | Tuade pind/graan da naa ki ae?/ Tuada pind/graan kehda ae? | Tusane graana naa ke aa? | Tuade pind/graan da kay naa ae? |
| Yes | Haanji | Aaho | Haanji |
| No | Nay | Naa | Naa |
| Would you like (to eat) some sweets? | Mithaee lawoge? / Mithaee Khawoge? | Mithaee khaso? | Tussan mithaee ghinso? |
| I love you. | Main tenu pyaar karda haan | Mai tuki pyar karna | main tenu pyaar karda haan |
| We went to the Cinema | Assin Cinema gaye saa | Assa cinema gaye saa | aasan cinema gaye saa |
| Where should I go? | Mainu kitthe jana chahida ae? | Mai kudhar jaa | Mainu kitthe vanjna chaida ae? |
This sample text was taken from the Punjabi Wikipedia article on Lahore; translated to English and transliterated to Latin.
Shahmukhi: لہور پاکستان پنجاب دا دارالحکومت اے۔ لوک گنتی دے نال کراچی توں بعد لہور دوجا سب توں وڈا شہر اے۔ لہور پاکستان دا سیاسی، رہتلی تے پڑھائی دا گڑھ اے تے ایسے لئی اینوں پاکستان دا دل وی کیا جاندا اے۔ لہور دریاۓ راوی دے کنڈے تے وسدا اے اسدی لوک گنتی اک کروڑ دے نیڑے اے ۔
Transliteration: lahor pākistān panjāb dā dārul hakūmat e. lōk giṇtī dē nāḷ karācī tō᷈ bāad lahor dūjā sab tō᷈ vaḍḍā shahir e. lahor pākistān dā siāsī, rahtalī tē paṛā̀ī dā gā́ṛ e tē isē laī ihnū᷈ pākistān dā dil vī kihā jāndā ē. lahor dariāē rāvī dē kanḍē tē vasdā ē uhdī lōk giṇtī ikk karōṛ dē nēṛē e.