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

Majhi (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਝੀ, Shahmukhi: ماجھی, Punjabi: [mä˦d̆.d͡ʒi˨][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.

Notable features

Verbs

- Use of ḍíā ਡਿਹਾ / ڈہا[lower-alpha 1] in continuous tenses:

Phrase Majhi Standard Written Punjabi
He was doing ṓ karan ḍíā sī

ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਿਆ ਹੀ

اوہ کرن ڈیا سی

 ṓ kar ríā sī

ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ

اوہ کر رہا سی

She is doing ṓ karan ḍáī è

ਉਹ ਕਰਨ ਡਈ ਐ

اوہ کرن ڈئی اے

 ṓ kar ráī è

ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ

اوہ کر رہی ہے

- Alternate auxiliary verbs

han (ਹਨ / ہَن) is never used in spoken Majhi, it is replaced with nē (ਨੇ, ਨੇਂ / نے، نیں). E.g. ó kardē nē (ਉਹ ਕਰਦੇ ਨੇ / اوہ کردے نے)

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 future-habitual aspect

Phrase Majhi Standard Written Punjabi
I'll 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 کٰر جانے آں

 asī̃ kàr jānde hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ اسی گھر جاندے ہاں

We'll (f.) do asī̃ karniyā̃ ʷā̃̀

ਅਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਆਂ اسی کرنِیاں واں

 asī̃ kardiyā̃ hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਾਂ اسی کردِیاں ہاں

You'll (sing.) do tū̃ karnā aĩ̀

ਤੂੰ ਕਰਨਾ ਐਂ تُوں کرنا ایں

 tū̃ kardā haĩ

ਤੂੰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ تُوں کردا ہیں

You'll (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 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 /ã̀ː/ am
ਨਹੀਂ نہیں ਨ​ਈਂ 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.

Low 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.

In more northern areas such as Gujrat, the word-initial 'h' is very faint, acting more as a low-tone marker, until it completely disappears in upper dialects such as 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; pronounced 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.

hai(gā) sī is used instead of sīgā.

The eñj or evẽ class of adverbial pronouns are used in place of the eddā̃, which are not commonly used.

Examples of Majhi

Sentence IPA Translation
Shahmukhi Gurmukhi
تُوں لہور جاندا سیں ਤੂੰ ਲਹੌਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੈਂ /t̪ũː ləɔ̀ːɾᵊ d͡ʒan̪d̪aː sɛ̃ː/ You used to go to Lahore
میں پہلوں ای آکھدا ساں ਮੈਂ ਪਹਿਲੋਂ ਈ ਆਖਦਾ ਸਾਂ /mɛ̃ː pɛ́lˑõː ìː akʰˑdaː sãː/ I used to tell it from before
اودن بھرجائی کتھے سن ਓਦਣ ਭਰਜਾਈ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਸਨ /odˑəɳ pə̀ɾᵊd͡ʒaːiː kɪtʰːeː sən̪/ 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. OL 35828315M. 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.

Notes

  1. ↑ Possibly from a verb ḍéṇā ਡਹਿਣਾ ڈہݨا
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