Draft:Western Punjabi

Southern Pakistan and northern India form a dialect continuum where numerous varieties of Sindhi, Punjabi and Hindustani gradually merge into one another.[https://web.archive.org/web/20150513100312/http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=95&menu=004 UCLA Language Materials Project, Punjabi]. Retrieved 7 May 2015. Linguists have suggested multiple classifications in macrolanguages, language groups and dialects for this area.John, A. (2009). [http://cardinalscholar.bsu.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/193541/Ajohn_2009-3_BODY.pdf?sequence=1 Two dialects one region : a sociolinguistic approach to dialects as identity markers doctoral thesis Ball State University, Muncie IN USA] p. 23 following. Retrieved 7 May 2015. In addition to linguistic insights, political and religious views can also play a role in making such distinctions.Zaidi, A. (2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20150518082845/http://www.jpcs.in/upload/1558734889A%20postcolonial%20sociolinguistics%20of%20Punjabi%20in%20Pakistan.pdf "A postcolonial sociolinguistics of Punjabi in Pakistan" in: Journal of Postcolonial Cultures and Societies vol. 1 no. 3/4; ISSN (USA): 1948-1845 (print), 1948-1853 (electronic)]; p. 28 following. Retrieved 7 May 2015.Ouden, L. van den and E. van Knijff. [https://meertaligheidentaalstoornissenvu.wikispaces.com/Punjabi Punjabi. Vormen en Dialecten Meertaligheidsstoornissenvu.wikispaces.com]. Retrieved 7 May 2015. This article takes a broad view of Punjabi. These includes the so-called Lahnda languages in Pakistan and therefore also fall under Western Punjabi, which then includes "Pakistani Punjabi". In a limited sense, "Western Punjabi" is used to refer to a group of dialects within the Lahnda languages, but which fall outside the Punjabi language group itself, which then includes speakers in India and Pakistan.{{cite web|editor-last1=Hammarström|editor-first1=Harald|editor-last2=Forke|editor-first2=Robert|editor-last3=Haspelmath|editor-first3=Martin|editor-last4=Bank|editor-first4=Sebastian|year=2020|title=Western Panjabi|work=Glottolog 4.3|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/west2386}}Shackle, C. (18 February 2014). [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/327943/Lahnda-language "Lahnda language" Encyclopædia Britannica]. Retrieved 7 May 2015. The accompanying picture shows a possible division of Punjabi dialects as a whole.

The division of Punjab along religious lines in the creation of Pakistan and India has also been significant for the Punjabi language. The Sikhs on the Indian side traditionally wrote in Gurmukhi, while the Muslims preferred Shahmukhi, which ultimately derives from the Perso-Arabic script. The greater influences of Persian and Arabic on Western Punjabi leads to differences in phonology and vocabulary from Punjabi in India, which derives more from Sanskrit and English.Karamat, N. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150923204619/http://www.cle.org.pk/Publication/Crulp_report/CR02_21E.pdf Phonemic Inventory of Punjabi p. 179]. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

At the last census in Pakistan in 1998, 44% mentioned Punjabi and 11% Saraiki as their first language. Thus, while Punjabi is the most widely spoken native language, the only official languages are Urdu and English. Everyone learns Urdu at school and that is also considered the language for social progress. Punjabi is only used informally. This has resulted in a form of diglossia in Pakistani Punjab: Speaking Punjabi is widespread only in the informal atmosphere where status is considered irrelevant, but is otherwise considered inappropriate in formal situations.Rukh, S. (6 June 2014). [http://www.languageinindia.com/june2014/samardiglossia1.pdf "Diglossic Situation in Central Punjab: A Case of Urdu and Punjabi Language"] in: Language in India vol. 14; {{ISSN|1930-2940}}. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

While the number of Punjabi speakers in India is relatively, but also much smaller, the language does have official status there, both nationally and in some states. Relatively, many publications in and about Punjabi therefore relate to Punjabi in India. There are modest initiatives to strengthen the position of Western Punjabi. Since 2009, there has been a Wikipedia in Western Punjabi. This has been used by researchers to develop a glossary.Humayoun, M. and Ranta A. (2010). [https://web.archive.org/web/20170706082015/http://www.lama.univ-savoie.fr/~humayoun/punjabi/downloads/Punjabi-paper-paclic24.pdf "Developing Punjabi Morphology, Corpus and Lexicon" in: PACLIC; pp. 163-172]. Retrieved 7 May 2015.

{{reflist}}

{{Punjabi varieties}}

{{Languages of Pakistan}}

{{Indo-Aryan languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{Draft categories|

:Category:Northwestern Indo-Aryan languages

:Category:Punjabi dialects

}}

{{Drafts moved from mainspace|date=January 2021}}