Majhi dialect
| Majhi | |
|---|---|
| ਮਾਝੀ, ماجھی | |
| Native to | Pakistan, India |
| Region | Majha of central Punjab |
| Ethnicity | Majhi (Majhail) Punjabis |
|
Shahmukhi Gurmukhī |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | majh1252 |
Majhi (Gurmukhi: ਮਾਝੀ, Shahmukhi: ماجھی, Punjabi: [mä˦d̆.d͡ʒi˨]) is the standard dialect of Punjabi 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 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 | ਨਈਂ 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 (k, c, ṭ, t, p) 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? |