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

Vowels and Vowel diacritics (Laga Matra)

Gurmukhi vowels

Consonants (Vianjans)

Gurmukhi consonants

Other symbols

Other Gurmukhi symbols

Numerals

Gurmukhi numerals

More numbers in Punjabi

(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

The chart below shows the Shahmuki script with Gurmukhi equivalents

Shahmukhi script

Sample text in Punjabi (Gurmukhi alphabet)

Sample text in Punjabi (Gurmukhi alphabet)

Sample text in Punjabi (Shahmukhi alphabet)

Sample text in Punjabi (Arabic 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)

Tower of Babel in Punjabi | Useful phrases in Punjabi

books   Punjabi language learning materials

Links

Information about Punjabi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punjabi_language
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/language/about/punjabi.html
http://languages.iloveindia.com/punjabi.html

Online Punjabi lessons and other learning resources
http://www.learnpunjabi.org/intro1.asp
http://www.punjabielm.co.uk/tutor/
http://www.youtube.com/user/hardeepsingh83
http://www.rajkaregakhalsa.net/lesson1.htm
http://www.ukindia.com/zpun01.htm
http://www.apnaorg.com/shahmukhi/
http://www.learnpunjabi.org
http://grosse.is-a-geek.com/billie/

Online Punjabi-English dictionary
http://www.advancedcentrepunjabi.org/pedic/default.aspx
http://www.punjabidictionary.com
http://www.punjabonline.com

Information about Gurmukhi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gurmukh%C4%AB_alphabet
http://www.sikhs.org/gurmukhi.htm
http://www.gurbanifiles.org/gurmukhi/

Information about Shahmukhi
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahmukh%C4%AB_script
http://www.apnaorg.com/shahmukhi/
http://www.apnaorg.com/books/hazarasingh/

Free Gurmukhi fonts
http://www.sikh-history.com/sikhhist/download.html
http://members.aol.com/hspannu/punjabi.html
http://www.chardikalaa.com/dlGur.htm

Online Punjabi Radio
http://www.punjabiradioonline.com
http://www.namdhari.faithweb.com/radio.htm
http://www.panjabradio.co.uk

Punjab Online - information about the Punjabi language, history, culture, etc (includes an online English <> Punjabi dictionary and language lessons)
http://www.punjabonline.com

Punjabilok - Punjabi news, history, language, etc
http://www.punjabilok.com/

Indo-Aryan languages

Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Chakma, Dhivehi, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri, Konkani, Kotia, Kutchi, Maithili, Marathi, Modi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Romany, Saraiki, Sindhi, Sinhala, Sourashtra, Sugali, Sylheti, Urdu

Syllabic alphabets / abugidas

Ahom, Balinese, Batak, Bengali, Brahmi, Buhid, Burmese, Chakma, Cham, Dehong Dai, Devanagari, Dhives Akuru, Ethiopic, Evēla Akuru, Gondi, Grantha, Gujarati, Gupta, Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Hanuno'o, Hmong, Javanese, Kannada, Kharosthi, Khmer, Lanna, Lao, Lepcha, Limbu, Lontara/Makasar, Malayalam, Manpuri, Modi, New Tai Lue, Oriya, Pallava, Phags-pa, Ranjana, Redjang, Shan, Sharda, Siddham, Sindhi, Sinhala, Sorang Sompeng, Sourashtra, Soyombo, Sundanese, Syloti Nagri, Tagalog, Tagbanwa, Takri, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tocharian, Varang Kshiti

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