Punjabi dialects and languages

Punjabi languages
Geographic
distribution		Punjab, Hazara, Azad Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan
EthnicityPunjabi people
Linguistic classificationIndo-European
Subdivisions
Language codes

The Punjabi dialects and varieties refers to the linguistically classified groups of the Punjabi language such as its dialects and varieties, which are spoken around the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. The Punjabi dialects and languages have been made into three groups:

  1. Central: This group is made of only one dialect: Majhi, and is spoken in the central areas of the Punjab region. It is between Western and Eastern Punjabi. The standard variety of Punjabi is based on this variety. It is mostly spoken in Majha region of Punjab, i.e. Amritsar, Lahore, Ferozpur etc.
  2. Eastern: This group consists of three dialects: Doabi, Malwai and Puadhi and is spoken primarily in Punjab, India and as well as by partition migrants and their descendants in Pakistan.
  3. Western: Also known as Lahndi, this is the largest group of Punjabi dialects and Languages and it includes: Saraiki, Hindko, Pahari-Pothwari, Jhangochi, Shahpuri, Dhani, Khetrani, etc. and is spoken primarily in Punjab, Pakistan, Hazara region and Azad Kashmir; as well as by partition migrants and their descendants in India althought it is slowly dying out amongst pre-partition Indians as it is being replaced by the more mainstream Hindi and Majhi dialects of Punjabi.

There are currently ongoing efforts by Saraiki, Pahari-Pothwari and Hindko speakers for recognition of their dialects as separate languages.

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "The language environment of Hindko-speaking people". SIL International. 2022-09-15. Retrieved 2024-03-15.
  2. ↑ "Siraiki: Language or Dialect?". www.researchgate.net.
  3. ↑ Shackle, Christopher (2010). "Lahnda". In Brown, Keith; Ogilvie, Sarah (eds.). Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World. Oxford: Elsevier. ISBN 9780080877754.