Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ / پنجابی)
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 105 million people
mainly in West Punjab in Pakistan and in East Punjab in India. Punjabi
descended from the Shauraseni language of medieval northern India and
became a distinct language during the 11th century.
In India Punjabi is written with the Gurmukhi
(ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ) alphabet, while in
Pakistan it is written with a version of the Urdu alphabet known as
Shahmukhi (شاہ
مکھی). The written standard for Punjabi in
both India and Pakistan is known as Majhi (ਮਾਝੀ/
ماجھ), which is named after the Majha region
of Punjab.
Punjabi is one of India’s 22 official languages and it is the first
official language in East Punjab. In Pakistan Punjabi is the second
most widely-spoken language but has no official status.
Gurmukhi script (ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ)
The Gurmukhi alphabet developed from the Landa alphabet and was
standardised during the 16th century by Guru Angad Dev Ji, the second
Sikh guru. The name Gurmukhi means "from the mouth of the Guru"
and comes from the Old Punjabi word guramukhī.
Notable Features
- Type of writing system: syllabic alphabet
- Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal lines
- Used to write: Punjabi
- 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.
Vowels and Vowel diacritics (Laga Matra)
Consonants (Vianjans)
Other symbols
Numerals
(شاہ مکھی) Shahmukhi alphabet
The Shahmukhi alphabet is a version of the Urdu alphabet
used to write Punjabi in Pakistan. It is normally written in Nastaʿlīq
style and has been used since the second half of the 20th century. The name Shahmukhi
means “from the King’s mouth” The chart below shows the Shahmuki script with Gurmukhi equivalents
Notable Features
- Type of writing system: alphabet
- Direction of writing: right to left in horizontal lines
- Used to write: Punjabi
- The sounds ñ (ਞ), ng (ਙ), ṇ (ਣ) and nh (ੰ/ં) are all written with ں (noon ghunna). In initial and medial positions they are written with ن.
- ے (bari ye) is only found in the final position, when writing the sounds e (ਏ) or æ (ਐ), and in initial and medial positions, it takes the form of ي.
- Short vowels are written with: َ (ਅ), ُ (ਉ), ِ (ਇ): a, u, i.
The chart below shows the Shahmuki script with Gurmukhi equivalents
Sample text in Punjabi (Gurmukhi alphabet)
Sample text in Punjabi (Shahmukhi alphabet)
Transliteration
Sārē insān āzād tē
ḥuqūq tē ‘izzat dē liḥāẓ nāl
barābar pædā næn. Oh ‘aqal samajh tē cangē mundē
dī pachān tē aḥisās rakhadē ne is dasţē
lohnān nūn ikk dūjē nāl bhā´īcārē
wālā salūk karna cāhī dā æ.
Translation
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)