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Majhi dialect

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Majhi
  • ਮਾਝੀ
  • ماجھی
Native toPakistan, India
RegionMajha
EthnicityPunjabis
Shahmukhi
Gurmukhī
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologmajh1252
Dialects of Punjabi

Majhi (Shahmukhi: ماجھی; Gurmukhi: ਮਾਝੀ; Punjabi: [mä˦d̆.d͡ʒi˨][1]), also known as Central Punjabi, is the most widely-spoken dialect of the Punjabi language,[2] natively spoken in the Majha region of Punjab in present-day Pakistan and India. The dialect forms the basis of Standard Punjabi.

The native speakers of the dialect are known by the demonym 'Majhail'.

Subdialects and geographic distribution

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There are various varieties of Majhi spoken across Majha. Although each city speaks slightly differently from the next, there are a few major categories of Majhi.

Notable features

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Pronominal suffixes

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One of Majhi's most noteworthy features is the usage of pronominal suffixes, which it shares with Western Punjabi.

Pronominal suffixes are auxiliary replacements of the copula which act like pronouns. They function as a particular thematic role and agree to it in person and number (as a pronoun would).

The thematic/syntactic roles a pronominal suffix can function as are:

Majhi uses pronominal suffixes for the second and third persons and, similar to Western Punjabi, for both present and past tense.[3]

Tense Present Past
Person Singular Plural Singular Plural
2nd ī


ای

ਜੇ
جے

sāī

ਸਾਈ
سائی

sājē

ਸਾਜੇ
ساجے

3rd

ਸੂ
سُو

ne

ਨੇ
نے

sāsū

ਸਾਸੂ
ساسُو

sāne

ਸਾਨੇ
سانے

Examples in perfect transitive verbs (marking the ergative agent):

Tense Person Number Majhi Standard Punjabi Translation
present 2nd sing. kī kītā ī? tē̃ kī kītā ? What hast thou done?
pl. jinnā khādhā je jinnā tusā̃ khādhā As much as you have eaten
3rd sing. mēnū̃ suṇāī osne mēnū̃ suṇāī He/She hath told me
pl. pāṇī pītā ne ehnā̃ ne pāṇī pītā They have drank water
past 2nd sing. jēs tarhā̃ ghallīā̃ sāī jis tarhā̃ tē̃ ghallīā̃ san In the way thou had sent them
pl. cacer seātā sāje tusā̃ cacer seātā You had recognised cousin
3rd sing. aṉḍe nū̃ riddhe sāsū? esne aṉḍe nū̃ riddhe san? Had he/she boiled the eggs?
pl. laṛāī kītī sāne ehnā̃ ne laṛāī kītī They had had a fight

- Alternate auxiliary verbs

First person singular ā̃ or (ਆਂ, ਜੇ / آں، جے) is used. E.g. mẽ karnā ʷā̃ / (ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਆਂ, ਮੈਂ ਕਰਨਾ ਜੇ / میں کرنا آں، میں کرنا جے)[clarification needed]

Third person singular ī or è (ਏ, ਵੇ, ਈ / اے، وے، ای) is used. E.g. ṓ kardā ī (ਉਹ ਕਰਦਾ / اوہ کردا ای)[clarification needed]

Copula

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The Majhi copula does not differ from Standard Punjabi, except for in the third-person plural, where instead of han (ਹਨ / ہَن), it uses ne (ਨੇ / نے) or nẽ (ਨੇਂ / نیں).

Phrase Majhi Standard Punjabi
They sleep oh sōnde nẽ

ਓਹ ਸੌਂਦੇ ਨੇਂ
اوہ سوندے نیں

oh sōnde han

ਉਹ ਸੌਂਦੇ ਹਨ
اوہ سوندے ہن

Other Features

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Nasalisation of tusī̃ (ਤੁਸੀਂ / تُسِیں) and asī̃ (ਅਸੀਂ / اَسِیں) are often not realised in Majhi, thus said as tusī (ਤੁਸੀ / تُسی) and asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی) respectively.

In colloquial Majhi, the s sound in many words shifts to an h, such as in asī (ਅਸੀ / اَسی), sāḍā (ਸਾਡਾ / ساڈا) and pēse (ਪੈਸੇ / پیسے), being heard as ahī, hāḍā and pēhe respectively.

hē(gā) sī is used instead of sīgā.[clarification needed]

The ēvẽ class of adverbial pronouns are used for "how" rather than ēddā̃.[clarification needed]

- Use of -na verb ending instead of -da ending for first-person and second-person point of view

Phrase Majhi Standard Written Punjabi
I do mẽ kar 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[a]

ਅਸੀ ਘਰ ਜਾਨੇ ਆਂ اسی گھر جانے آں

asī̃ kàr jānde hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਘਰ ਜਾਂਦੇ ਹਾਂ اسی گھر جاندے ہاں

We (f.) do asī̃ karniyā̃ ʷā̃̀

ਅਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਆਂ اسی کرنِیاں واں

asī̃ kardiyā̃ hā̃

ਅਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹਾਂ اسی کردِیاں ہاں

You (sing.) do tū̃ kar aĩ̀

ਤੂੰ ਕਰਨਾ ਐਂ تُوں کرنا ایں

tū̃ kardā haĩ

ਤੂੰ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈਂ تُوں کردا ہیں

You (f.pl.) do tusī karniyā̃ ò/je

ਤੁਸੀ ਕਰਨੀਆਂ ਓ/ਜੇ تسی کرنِیاں او/جے

tusī̃ kardiyā̃ ho

ਤੁਸੀਂ ਕਰਦੀਆਂ ਹੋ تسی کردِیاں ہو

Examples of Majhi

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Sentence IPA Translation
Shahmukhi Gurmukhi
تُوں لہور جاندا سیں ਤੂੰ ਲਹੌਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਸੈਂ /tũː lə̯ɔ̂ːɾᵊ d͡ʒaːndaː sɛ̃ː/ You used to go to Lahore
میں پہلوں ہی آکھدا ساں ਮੈਂ ਪਹਿਲੋਂ ਹੀ ਆਖਦਾ ਸਾਂ /mɛ̃ː pɛ̌ːlːõː îː aːkʰːᵊdaː sãː/ I already said it
اودݨ بھرجائی کتھے سن ਓਦਣ ਭਰਜਾਈ ਕਿੱਥੇ ਸਨ /oːdːəɳᵊ pə̂ɾᵊd͡ʒaːiː kɪtʰːeː sənᵊ/ Where were the sisters-in-law that day?

Subdialectal differences

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Eastern Majhi

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Eastern Majhi refers to the subdialect native to region of Majha east of Lahore, i.e. the Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts and surrounding areas. It is also spoken by the descendants of those who migrated out of these areas.

Eastern Majhi often uses the past-tense inflection of the verb ḍahiṇā (ਡਹਿਣਾ / ڈہݨا) to form continuous tenses, rather than pēṇā (ਪੈਣਾ/ پَیݨا) which is used by most other Majhi sub-dialects and Punjabi dialects.

Phrase Eastern Majhi General Majhi Standard Punjabi
He(prox.) was doing eh karaṇ ḍahiā sī

ਏਹ ਕਰਣ ਡਹਿਆ ਸੀ
اوہ کرݨ ڈہیا سی

eh kardā peā sī

ਏਹ ਕਰਦਾ ਪਿਆ ਸੀ
اوہ کردا پیا سی

eh kar rahiā sī

ਇਹ ਕਰ ਰਿਹਾ ਸੀ
اوہ کر رہیا سی

She(dist.) is doing oh karaṇ ḍahī hē

ਓਹ ਕਰਣ ਡਹੀ ਹੈ
اوہ کرݨ ڈہی اے

oh kardī paī hē

ਓਹ ਕਰਦੀ ਪਈ ਹੈ
اوہ کردی پئی ہے

oh kar rahī hē

ਉਹ ਕਰ ਰਹੀ ਹੈ
اوہ کر رہی ہے

Northwestern Majhi

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Northwestern Majhi refers to the subdialect spoken in the northwestern side of the Majha region in Pakistan, primarily in the districts of Gujrat, Jhelum, and Bhimber.

In these areas, word-initial 'h' is fainter and more tonal, eventually disappearing in upper Punjabi dialects like Pahari-Pothwari and Hazarewal Hindko, as well as Dogri. Words like hatth (ਹੱਥ / ہَتّھ) "hand" are said more as àtth.

Another notable difference is the use of the suffix -dā instead of -gā for indicative future tense.

Standard / Central Majhi Northwestern Majhi Meaning
kare gā

ਕਰੇਗਾ
کرے گا

kare dā

ਕਰੇਦਾ
کرے دا

[he] will do
khāṇ gīā̃

ਖਾਣਗੀਆਂ
کھاݨ گیاں

khāṇ dīā̃

ਖਾਣਦੀਆਂ
کھاݨ دیاں

[they] (f.) will eat
jāvo ge

ਜਾਵੋਗੇ
جاوو گے

jāvo de

ਜਾਵੋਦੇ
جاوو دے

[you] (pl. m.) will go
samjhā̃ gī

ਸਮਝਾਂਗੀ
سمجھاں گی

samjhā̃ dī

ਸਮਝਾਂਦੀ
سمجھاں دی

[I] (f.) will understand

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ kàr, meaning "home", is often said as kār in Northwestern Majhi (spoken in Gujrat, Jhelum, and Bhimber districts) as the vowel is elongated.

References

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  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. ^ Bashir, Elena (19 August 2019). A Descriptive Grammar of Hindko, Panjabi, and Saraiki. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 262. ISBN 9781614512257.