Majhi dialect

Majhi (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਝੀ, Shahmukhi: ماجھی, Punjabi: [ˈmäd̆.d͡ʒì][1]) is the standard dialect of Punjabi[2] and is spoken in the Majha region of the Punjab. The two most important cities in this area are Lahore and Amritsar because of their historic significance.

Majhi
ਮਾਝੀ, ماجھی
Native toPakistan, India
RegionMajha of central Punjab
EthnicityMajhi (Majhail) Punjabis
Shahmukhi
Gurmukhī
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologmajh1252
Dialects of Punjabi

Notable features

Verbs

- Use of 'ḍéa' (ਡਿਆ/ਡਿਹਾ ڈیا/ڈہا/ڈہیا) in continuous tenses:

Phrase Majhi Standard Written Punjabi
He was doing Oh karan ḍéā si

ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਿਆ ਸੀ اوہ کرن ڈہیا سی

Oh kar réā sī

ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ اوہ کر رہیا سی

She is doing Oh karan ḍéī ay

ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਈ ਏ/ਵੇ اوہ کرن ڈئی اے

Oh kar ráī ay

ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ اوہ کر رہی اے

- Alternate auxiliary verbs

'han' (ਹਨ / ہَن) is never used in spoken Majhi, 'nae' (ਨੇ, ਨੈਂ / نے، نَیں) is used instead. E.g. ó karde ne (ਉਹ ਕਰਦੇ ਨੇ / اوہ کردے نے)

First person singular ã or je (ਆਂ, ਵਾਂ, ਜੇ / آں، واں، جے) is used. E.g. maĩ karnā ā̃̀/wā̃, maĩ karnā je ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ, ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਜੇ / میں کرنا آں، میں کرنا جے

Third person singular ee or ae (ਏ, ਵੇ , ਈ / اے، وے، ای) is used. E.g. Oh karda ee (ਉਹ ਕਰਦਾ / و) (ਓਹ ਕਰਦਾ ਵੇ/ਏ)

- Use of na- verb ending instead of da- ending for habitual-imperative

Phrase Majhi Standard Written Punjabi
I do maĩ kar ā̃̀

ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ میں کرنا آں

maĩ kardā hā̃

ਮੈਂ ਕਰਦਾ ਹਾਂ میں کردا ہاں

Let's go home asī kàr jāne ā̃̀

ਅਸੀ ਘਰ ਜਾਨੇ ਆਂ اسی کٰر جانے آں

asī̃ ghar jānde hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ اسی گھر جاندے ہاں

We (f.) do asī̃ karniyā̃ ā̃̀

ਅਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਆਂ اسی کرنِیاں واں

asī̃ kardiyā̃ hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਾਂ اسی کردِیاں ہاں

You (sing.) do tū̃ kar 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 or plu.) 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 or plu.) 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 usually does not indicate low tone through its script (except through the five tonal plosives, plus ṛh ੜ੍ਹ / ڑھ). Thus, low-tone syllables typically drop the h letter (ਹ / ہ) which is exclusively used for high tone.

Standard Written Majhi IPA Meaning
ਹਾਂ ہاں ਆਂ آں /ã̀ˑ/ am
ਨਹੀਂ نہیں ਨ​ਈਂ نئیں /ˈnə.ĩ̀ˑ/ no, not
ਤੁਹਾਡਾ تہاڈا ਤੁਆਡਾ تواڈا /tʊ.ˈàˑɖ̆.ɖaˑ/ your/yours
ਹੈ ہے اے /ɛ̀ˑ/ 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 ghar (house) for example is sometimes written as a voiced aspirate گھر , unaspirated and voiceless کر , with a long vowel کار , and in many other ways. Low tone slightly lengthens the vowel, which is why some speakers use spellings like کٰر and کار.

^a ṛh does not occur word-initially and is always voiced.

Low tone in general is not well represented, and low-tone words in both major scripts have various spellings, e.g. tuā̀ḍā (your/yours): تواڈا ਤੁਆਡਾ, ਤਵਾਡਾ, تاڈا ਤਾਡਾ, تہاڈا ਤੁਹਾਡਾ etc.

Sometimes high tone is not even written, also dropping the h letter (ਹ / ہ) in words like réā ਰਿਹਾ / رہا which become ਰਿਆ / ریا .

In more northern cities such as Gujrat, the word-initial 'h' is very faint, acting more as a low-tone marker, like in Dogri. Words such as hatth ਹੱਥ ہَتّھ (hand) are pronounced more like àtth.

Other Features

Nasalisation of tusī̃ (ਤੁਸੀਂ / تُسِیں) and asī̃ (ਅਸੀਂ / اَسِیں) are lost in Majhi, and are said as tusī (ਤੁਸੀ / تُسی) and asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی) respectively.

Sometimes when speaking fast in Majhi, the first-person plural pronouns asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی), sāḍā (ਸਾਡਾ / ساڈا), and sānū̃ (ਸਾਨੂੰ / سانُوں) sometimes round the s to a h sound, colloquially being heard as ahī, hāḍā, and hānū̃ respectively. This is more common in Indian Majhi-speaking areas and less in Pakistan.

'ਹੈਗਾ ਸੀ'/ ਹੈ ਸੀ (haiga si/hai si) is used instead of 'sīgā' 'ਸੀਗਾ'.

'ਐਂਜ' (ainj-aivẽ), 'ਉਂਜ' (unj-ovẽ), 'ਕੈਂਜ' (kinj-kivẽ), 'ਜੈਂਜ' (jainj-jivẽ) are used in place of ਐਦਾਂ (aidaã), ਓਦਾਂ (odaã), ਕਿੱਦਾ (kiddaã), ਜਿੱਦਾਂ (jiddaã), respectively, which are not commonly used.

Examples of Majhi

Sentence IPA Translation
Shahmukhi Gurmukhi
تُوں لہور جاندا سیں ਤੂੰ ਲਹੌਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੈਂ /t̪ũˑ lə̞ɔ̀ːɾᵊ d͡ʒäˑn̪d̪äˑ sɛ̃ˑ/ You used to go to Lahore
میں پہلوں ای آکھدا ساں ਮੈਂ ਪਹਿਲੋਂ ਈ ਆਖਦਾ ਸਾਂ /mɛ̃ˑ pɛ́ˑlˑõˑ iˑ äˑkʰˑdäˑ sä̃ˑ/ I used to tell it from before
اودن بھرجائی کتھے سن ਓਦਣ ਭਰਜਾਈ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਸਣ/ਸਨ (transcription needed) Where were their sisters-in-law?

References

  1. Mangat Rai Bhardwaj (2016). Panjabi: A Comprehensive Grammar. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-138-79385-9. LCCN 2015042069. OCLC 948602857. Wikidata Q23831241.
  2. 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.
  3. Bowden, A.L. (2012). "Punjabi Tonemics and the Gurmukhi Script: A Preliminary Study" Archived 17 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.