Relation of Punjabi to Urdu Curriculum

Punjabi ( ਪ�ਜਾ�ਬੀ� (پنجابی /“Language for the land of 5 rivers”

Ijaz A Malik

Assistant. ProfessprUrdu Program, DLIFLC

Outline

• Geographic location• Demographic facts• Political power• Cultural facts• Punjabi dialects• Punjabi script and vocabulary• Differences between Urdu and Punjabi• Sources of Punjabi• Conclusion

Western & Eastern Punjab

Maps of Western and Eastern Punjab

Demographic facts

• Punjabi is widely spoken and understood in Pakistan and India

• Spoken by nearly 120 million people in the world • Spoken by about 80 million people in Pakistan• Spoken by about 30 million people in India • Nearly 10 million people speak Punjabi in

Canada, United Kingdom, USA, Malaysia and Middle East

• Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, but only 9% of population speaks Urdu as their mother tongue

Political Power

• More members of the National Assembly than combined members of other provinces (148 to 110)

• Dominant in the armed forces• Economically richest province of Pakistan• In India, Punjab province is the main food

supplier• In India three Prime Ministers were from Punjab

Culture

• Culture of Pakistan is linked with the Indus Valley civilization which is the root of Punjabi culture

• Punjab is the largest and richest province of Pakistan; therefore, the culture of Pakistan is influenced by the Punjabi people

Punjabi women maintain traditional dress

Punjabi men maintain traditional dress

Weddings maintain traditions

Dialects of Punjabi

• Punjabi has many dialects:– Main Punjabi (widely spoken in central Punjab) – Hindko (Northern areas of Pakistan)– Siraiki (Southwestern Punjab)– Potohari (Rawalpindi area) – Mirpuri (Azad Kashmir area)

• Spoken Pakistani Punjabi and Indian Punjabi are the same

• Pakistani Punjabi uses Arabic/Persian/Urdu script

• Indian Punjabi uses Gurumukhi script

Indian Punjabi Scripts

Gurumukhi Script

Pakistani Punjabi Script

Shahmukhi Script

Pakistani/Indian Punjabi scripts compared

• Sārē insān āzād tē huqūq tē ‘izzat dē lihāz nāl barābar pædā næn. Oh ‘aqal samajh tē cangē mundē dī pachān tē ahisās rakhadē ne is dasţē lohnān nūn ikk dūjē nāl bhā´īcārē wālā salūk karna cāhī dā æ.

Grammatical Features(Differences)

Punjabi/Urdu Verbs(Differences)

Urdu/Punjabi Vocabulary(Similarities)

Other Urdu/Punjabi Differences

• Urdu is considered a status symbol after English in educated circles of Pakistan

• The most distinctive phonological feature of Punjabi is the preservation of the medial geminates following a short vowel in stressed syllables. Heavy stress on second syllable causes weakening of the first.

Urdu/Punjabi Differences (Cont.)

• Persian final clusters are often broken by an inserted post-tonic vowel, e.g. ’rasam (< rasm) “custom"

• Consonant changes are less remarkable, with q and ḡ regularly reduced to k

Some Punjabi Language Sources

• Newspapers: Sajjan, Wajj, Khabran, Bhulekha, Sanjaha Verah and more

• Radio programs• National and local TV programs• Punjab University Lahore and other colleges• Local programs sponsored by Punjab

Government: Waris Shah Mela, Punjab Rang• Many more programs around the globe

Conclusion

• Punjabi is very important for Urdu learners who are focusing on Pakistan

• Punjabi could be included in Urdu programs

• One additional semester after Urdu studies might achieve a goal of ILR 2 or higher

Thanks

Questions/Comments

Contact

Ijaz A Malik 831-242-4536

Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA

E-Mail: ijaz.malik@us.army.mil