Majhi dialect
| Majhi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Native to | Pakistan, India |
| Region | Majha |
| Ethnicity | Punjabis |
| Shahmukhi Gurmukhī | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | majh1252 |
Majhi (Shahmukhi: ماجھی; Gurmukhi: ਮਾਝੀ; Punjabi: [mä˦d̆.d͡ʒi˨][1]) is the most widely-spoken dialect of the Punjabi language,[2] natively spoken in the Majha region of Punjab in present-day Pakistan and India. The dialect forms the basis of Standard Punjabi.
The two most important cities in this area are Lahore and Amritsar because of their historic significance.
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Subdialects
There are various varieties of Majhi spoken across Majha. Although each city speaks slightly differently from the next, there are a few major categories of Majhi.
- Central Majhi, spoken in Kasur, Lahore, Nankana Sahib, and Sheikhupura districts and nearby areas
- Eastern Majhi, spoken in Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran districts and surrounding areas
- Western Majhi, spoken in Hafizabad and Mandi Bahauddin districts
- Northeastern Majhi, spoken in Gujranwala, Narowal, Sialkot, and Wazirabad districts and surrounding areas
- Northwestern Majhi or Northern Majhi (also known as Gujrati Majhi), spoken in Gujrat, Jhelum, and Bhimber (Azad Kashmir) districts
- Southern Majhi, spoken in Okara, Sahiwal and Pakpattan districts
Verbs
Copula
The Majhi copula does not differ from Standard Punjabi, except for in the third-person plural, where instead of han (ਹਨ / ہَن), it uses ne (ਨੇ / نے) or nẽ (ਨੇਂ / نیں).
| Phrase | Majhi | Standard Punjabi |
|---|---|---|
| They sleep | oh sōnde nẽ
ਓਹ ਸੌਂਦੇ ਨੇਂ اوہ سوندے نیں |
oh sōnde han
ਉਹ ਸੌਂਦੇ ਹਨ اوہ سوندے ہن |
Notable features
 |
Some more eastern Majhi sub-dialects use the past-tense inflection of ḍahiṇā ਡਹਿਣਾ / ڈہݨا verb to form continuous tenses.
| Phrase | Majhi | Standard Written Punjabi |
|---|---|---|
| He was doing | oh karaṇ ḍaheā sī
ਓਹ ਕਰਣ ਡਹਿਆ ਸੀ اوہ کرن ڈہیا سی |
oh kar rihā sī
ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ اوہ کر رہیا سی |
| She is doing | oh karaṇ ḍahī hē
ਓਹ ਕਰਣ ਡਹੀ ਹੈ اوہ کرن ڈہی اے |
oh kar rahī hē
ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ اوہ کر رہی ہے |
- Alternate auxiliary verbs
First person singular ā̃ or jē (ਆਂ, ਜੇ / آں، جے) is used. E.g. mẽ karnā ʷā̃ / jē (ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ, ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਜੇ / میں کرنا آں، میں کرنا جے)
Third person singular ī or è (ਏ, ਵੇ, ਈ / اے، وے، ای) is used. E.g. ṓ kardā ī (ਉਹ ਕਰਦਾ ਈ / اوہ کردا ای)
- Use of -na verb ending instead of -da ending for habitual aspect
| Phrase | Majhi | Standard Written Punjabi |
|---|---|---|
| I do | mẽ karnā ʷā̃̀
ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ میں کرنا آں |
mẽ kardā hā̃
ਮੈਂ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ میں کردا ہاں |
| Let's (m.) go home | asī kàr jāne ā̃̀
ਅਸੀ ਘਰ ਜਾਨੇ ਆਂ اسی گھر جانے آں |
asī̃ kàr jānde hā̃
ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ اسی گھر جاندے ہاں |
| We (f.) do | asī̃ karniyā̃ ʷā̃̀
ਅਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਆਂ اسی کرنِیاں واں |
asī̃ kardiyā̃ hā̃
ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਾਂ اسی کردِیاں ہاں |
| You (sing.) do | tū̃ karnā aĩ̀
ਤੂੰ ਕਰਨਾ ਐਂ تُوں کرنا ایں |
tū̃ kardā haĩ
ਤੂੰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ تُوں کردا ہیں |
| You (f.pl.) do | tusī karniyā̃ ò/je
ਤੁਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਓ/ਜੇ تسی کرنِیاں او/جے |
tusī̃ kardiyā̃ ho
ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹੋ تسی کردِیاں ہو |
- Absent subject realised in auxiliary verb
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਈ کی کیتا ای : What have you (sing.) done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਜੇ کی کیتا جے : What have you (sing. formal / pl.) done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਸੂ کی کیتا سُو : What has he/she done?
ਕੀ ਕੀਤਾ ਨੇ کی کیتا نے : What have they done?
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਈ لڑائی کیتی ساای : You (sing.) made a fight.
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਜੇ لڑائی کیتی ساجے : You (sing. formal / pl.) made a fight
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਸੂ لڑائی کیتی ساسُو : He/She made a fight.
ਲੜਾਈ ਕੀਤੀ ਸਾਨੇ لڑائی کیتی سانے : They made a fight.
Tone
Unlike typical Punjabi, Majhi does not always write tonal h in script. Thus, syllables often drop the h letter (ਹ / ہ) when written although this does not affect the pronunciation.
| Standard Written | Majhi | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ਹਾਂ ہاں | ਆਂ آں | /ã̀ː/ | am |
| ਨਹੀਂ نہیں | ਨਈਂ نئیں | /ˈnə.ĩ̀ː/ | no, not |
| ਤੁਹਾਡਾ تہاڈا | ਤੁਆਡਾ تواڈا | /tʊ.ˈàɖ̆.ɖaː/ | your/yours |
| ਹੈ ہے | ਐ اے | /ɛ̀ː/ | is |
Variation
Because of the lack of standardisation in Shahmukhi, words with the six tonal consonants (gh, jh, ḍh, dh, bh, ṛh) which are now unaspirated and voiceless word-initially[a] (k, c, ṭ, t, p)[3] have multiple spellings. The word kàr (house) for example is sometimes written as ghar گھر or kar کر.
- ^a ṛh does not occur word-initially and is always voiced.
Falling-tone, in general, is not well represented, and low-tone words in both major scripts have various spellings, e.g. tuā̀ḍḍā (your/yours): تواڈا ਤੁਆਡਾ, ਤਵਾਡਾ, تاڈا ਤਾਡਾ, تہاڈا ਤੁਹਾਡਾ etc., though the pronunciation remains consistent.
Other Features
Nasalisation of tusī̃ (ਤੁਸੀਂ / تُسِیں) and asī̃ (ਅਸੀਂ / اَسِیں) are lost in Majhi; pronounced tusī (ਤੁਸੀ / تُسی) and asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی) respectively.
Sometimes when speaking fast in Majhi, the s sound rounds to a h sound, as in words like asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی), sāḍā (ਸਾਡਾ / ساڈا), pēse (ਪੈਸੇ / پیسے), being heard as ahī, hāḍā, and pēhe respectively.
hē(gā) sī is used instead of sīgā.
The ēvẽ class of adverbial pronouns are used for "how" rather than ēddā̃.
Examples of Majhi
| Sentence | IPA | Translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shahmukhi | Gurmukhi | ||
| تُوں لہور جاندا سیں | ਤੂੰ ਲਹੌਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੈਂ | /t̪ũː ləɔ̀ːɾᵊ d͡ʒaːn̪d̪aː sɛ̃ː/ | You used to go to Lahore |
| میں پہلوں ای آکھدا ساں | ਮੈਂ ਪਹਿਲੋਂ ਈ ਆਖਦਾ ਸਾਂ | /mɛ̃ː pɛ́ːlːõː ìː aːkʰːᵊdaː sãː/ | I used to tell it from before |
| اودݨ بھرجائی کتھے سن | ਓਦਣ ਭਰਜਾਈ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਸਨ | /oːdːəɳᵊ pə̀ɾᵊd͡ʒaːiː kɪtʰːeː sən̪ᵊ/ | Where were the sisters-in-law that day? |
Subdialectal differences
Northwestern Majhi
Northwestern, Northern or Gujrati Majhi refers to the subdialect spoken in the northwestern side of the Majha region in Pakistan, primarily in Gujrat district and extending into Jhelum and Bhimber districts.
In these areas, tone is stronger; word-initial 'h' is very faint, acting more as a falling-tone marker, until it completely disappears in upper dialects like Pahari-Pothwari, Hazarewal Hindko, and Dogri. Words like hatth (ਹੱਥ / ہَتّھ) "hand" are said more as àtth.
Another notable difference is the use of -dā instead of -gā to indicate future tense.
| Standard | Northwestern Majhi | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| karegā | kare dā | [he] will do |
| khāvegī | khāve dī | [she] will eat |
| jāvoge | jāvo de | [you] (pl.) will go |
| jāvanga | jāvã da | I will go |
See also
References
- ^ Mangat Rai Bhardwaj (2016). Panjabi: A Comprehensive Grammar. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-138-79385-9. LCCN 2015042069. OCLC 948602857. OL 35828315M. Wikidata Q23831241.
- ^ 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. p. 609.
- ^ Bowden, A.L. (2012). "Punjabi Tonemics and the Gurmukhi Script: A Preliminary Study" Archived 17 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
