Punjabi language

Punjabi
  • ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
  • پنجابی
'Punjabi' written in Shahmukhi script (top) and Gurmukhi script (bottom)
Pronunciation[pəɲˈdʒab̆.bi] ⓘ
Native toIndia
Pakistan
RegionPunjab
EthnicityPunjabis
Native speakers
150 million (2011–2023)[a]
Early forms
Standard forms
Dialects
Historical
Official status
Official language in
Regulated by
List
    • Pakistan: Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture
    • India: Department of Languages[13]
Language codes
ISO 639-1pa
ISO 639-2pan
ISO 639-3pan
Glottologlahn1241
Linguasphere59-AAF-e
Geographic distribution of Punjabi language in Pakistan and India.
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Punjabi,[g] sometimes spelled Panjabi,[h] 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.[16][i]

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.


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  1. ^ Singh, Sikander (April 2019). "The Origin Theories of Punjabi Language: A Context of Historiography of Punjabi Language". International Journal of Sikh Studies.
  2. ^ Haldar, Gopal (2000). Languages of India. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India. p. 149. ISBN 9788123729367. The age of Old Punjabi: up to 1600 A.D. […] It is said that evidence of Old Punjabi can be found in the Granth Sahib.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bhatia-2013 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Christopher Shackle; Arvind Mandair (2013). "0.2.1 – Form". Teachings of the Sikh Gurus : selections from the Scriptures (First ed.). Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 9781136451089. Surpassing them all in the frequent subtlety of his linguistic choices, including the use of dialect forms as well as of frequent loanwords from Sanskrit and Persian, Guru Nanak combined this poetic language of the Sants with his native Old Punjabi. It is this mixture of Old Punjabi and Old Hindi which constitutes the core idiom of all the earlier Gurus.
  5. ^ Frawley, William (2003). International encyclopedia of linguistics (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 423. ISBN 9780195139778.
  6. ^ Austin, Peter (2008). One thousand languages : living, endangered, and lost. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780520255609.
  7. ^ Braj B. Kachru; Yamuna Kachru; S. N. Sridhar (2008). Language in South Asia. Cambridge University Press. p. 411. ISBN 9781139465502.
  8. ^ "NCLM 52nd Report" (PDF). NCLM. 15 November 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Punjab mandates all signage in Punjabi, in Gurmukhi script". The Hindu. 21 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ^ "All milestones, signboards in Haryana to bear info in English, Hindi and Punjabi: Education Minister". The Indian Express. 3 March 2020. Archived from the original on 14 March 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Punjabi, Urdu made official languages in Delhi". The Times of India. 25 June 2003. Archived from the original on 14 March 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Multi-lingual Bengal". The Telegraph. 11 December 2012. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  13. ^ India, Tribune (19 August 2020). "Punjabi matric exam on Aug 26". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  14. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student's Handbook, Edinburgh
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ "The World Factbook - WORLD". CIA.