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Punjabi language
Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native speakers.
Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 88.9 million native speakers according to the 2023 Pakistani census, and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to the 2011 census. It is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and the Gulf states.
In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet, based on the Perso-Arabic script; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet, based on the Indic scripts. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone.
The word Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi) has been derived from the word Panj-āb, Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River. The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada, which means 'Land of the Five Rivers'.
Panj is cognate with Sanskrit pañca (पञ्च), Greek pénte (πέντε), and Lithuanian Penki, all of which meaning 'five'; āb is cognate with Sanskrit áp (अप्) and with the Av- of Avon. The historical Punjab region, now divided between India and Pakistan, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries. One of the five, the Beas River, is a tributary of another, the Sutlej.
Punjabi developed from Prakrit languages and later Apabhraṃśa (Sanskrit: अपभ्रंश, 'deviated' or 'non-grammatical speech') From 600 BC, Sanskrit developed as the standard literary and administrative language and Prakrit languages evolved into many regional languages in different parts of India. All these languages are called Prakrit languages (Sanskrit: प्राकृत, prākṛta) collectively. Paishachi Prakrit was one of these Prakrit languages, which was spoken in north and north-western India and Punjabi developed from this Prakrit. Later in northern India Paishachi Prakrit gave rise to Paishachi Apabhraṃśa, a descendant of Prakrit. Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a degenerated form of Prakrit, in the 7th century AD and became stable by the 10th century. The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to the Nath Yogi-era from 9th to 14th century. The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa, though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore. Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri. The precursor stage of Punjabi between the 10th and 16th centuries is termed 'Old Punjabi', whilst the stage between the 16th and 19th centuries is termed as 'Medieval Punjabi'.
The Arabic and Modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. Since then, many Persian words have been incorporated into Punjabi (such as zamīn, śahir etc.) and are used with a liberal approach. Through Persian, Punjabi also absorbed many Arabic-derived words like dukān, ġazal and more, as well as Turkic words like qēncī, sōġāt, etc. After the fall of the Sikh empire, Urdu was made the official language of Punjab under the British (in Pakistani Punjab, it is still the primary official language) and influenced the language as well.
In the second millennium, Punjabi was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like almārī), Greek (words like dām), Japanese (words like rikśā), Chinese (words like cāh, līcī, lukāṭh) and English (words like jajj, apīl, māsṭar), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic. In fact, the sounds /z/ (ਜ਼ / ز ژ ذ ض ظ), /ɣ/ (ਗ਼ / غ), /q/ (ਕ਼ / ق), /ʃ/ (ਸ਼ / ش), /x/ (ਖ਼ / خ) and /f/ (ਫ਼ / ف) are all borrowed from Persian, but in some instances the latter three arise natively. Later, the letters ਜ਼ / ز, ਸ਼ / ش and ਫ਼ / ف began being used in English borrowings, with ਸ਼ / ش also used in Sanskrit borrowings.
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Punjabi language
Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native speakers.
Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 88.9 million native speakers according to the 2023 Pakistani census, and the 11th most widely-spoken in India, with 31.1 million native speakers, according to the 2011 census. It is spoken among a significant overseas diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and the Gulf states.
In Pakistan, Punjabi is written using the Shahmukhi alphabet, based on the Perso-Arabic script; in India, it is written using the Gurmukhi alphabet, based on the Indic scripts. Punjabi is unusual among the Indo-Aryan languages and the broader Indo-European language family in its usage of lexical tone.
The word Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi) has been derived from the word Panj-āb, Persian for 'Five Waters', referring to the five major eastern tributaries of the Indus River. The name of the region was introduced by the Turko-Persian conquerors of South Asia and was a translation of the Sanskrit name, Panchanada, which means 'Land of the Five Rivers'.
Panj is cognate with Sanskrit pañca (पञ्च), Greek pénte (πέντε), and Lithuanian Penki, all of which meaning 'five'; āb is cognate with Sanskrit áp (अप्) and with the Av- of Avon. The historical Punjab region, now divided between India and Pakistan, is defined physiographically by the Indus River and these five tributaries. One of the five, the Beas River, is a tributary of another, the Sutlej.
Punjabi developed from Prakrit languages and later Apabhraṃśa (Sanskrit: अपभ्रंश, 'deviated' or 'non-grammatical speech') From 600 BC, Sanskrit developed as the standard literary and administrative language and Prakrit languages evolved into many regional languages in different parts of India. All these languages are called Prakrit languages (Sanskrit: प्राकृत, prākṛta) collectively. Paishachi Prakrit was one of these Prakrit languages, which was spoken in north and north-western India and Punjabi developed from this Prakrit. Later in northern India Paishachi Prakrit gave rise to Paishachi Apabhraṃśa, a descendant of Prakrit. Punjabi emerged as an Apabhramsha, a degenerated form of Prakrit, in the 7th century AD and became stable by the 10th century. The earliest writings in Punjabi belong to the Nath Yogi-era from 9th to 14th century. The language of these compositions is morphologically closer to Shauraseni Apbhramsa, though vocabulary and rhythm is surcharged with extreme colloquialism and folklore. Writing in 1317–1318, Amir Khusrau referred to the language spoken by locals around the area of Lahore as Lahauri. The precursor stage of Punjabi between the 10th and 16th centuries is termed 'Old Punjabi', whilst the stage between the 16th and 19th centuries is termed as 'Medieval Punjabi'.
The Arabic and Modern Persian influence in the historical Punjab region began with the late first millennium Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent. Since then, many Persian words have been incorporated into Punjabi (such as zamīn, śahir etc.) and are used with a liberal approach. Through Persian, Punjabi also absorbed many Arabic-derived words like dukān, ġazal and more, as well as Turkic words like qēncī, sōġāt, etc. After the fall of the Sikh empire, Urdu was made the official language of Punjab under the British (in Pakistani Punjab, it is still the primary official language) and influenced the language as well.
In the second millennium, Punjabi was lexically influenced by Portuguese (words like almārī), Greek (words like dām), Japanese (words like rikśā), Chinese (words like cāh, līcī, lukāṭh) and English (words like jajj, apīl, māsṭar), though these influences have been minor in comparison to Persian and Arabic. In fact, the sounds /z/ (ਜ਼ / ز ژ ذ ض ظ), /ɣ/ (ਗ਼ / غ), /q/ (ਕ਼ / ق), /ʃ/ (ਸ਼ / ش), /x/ (ਖ਼ / خ) and /f/ (ਫ਼ / ف) are all borrowed from Persian, but in some instances the latter three arise natively. Later, the letters ਜ਼ / ز, ਸ਼ / ش and ਫ਼ / ف began being used in English borrowings, with ਸ਼ / ش also used in Sanskrit borrowings.