Can you tell the difference between Punjabi dialects?

[Pakistanian]

I know there are many dialects of Punjabi but having grown up outside Pakistan i don't speak much of it. I was wondering if people from Punjab can tell what part of Punjab somebody is from based off the way speak kinda like how we can tell what region somebody is from in America. I know there are easy identifiable ones such as Seraiki and Potwari which might even be considered different languages but what about the ones not too different from each other like Mahji, Doabi, and others. I mostly familiar with Mahji which I think is the most common if I'm not wrong?

 

[Pakistanian]

Like can people tell if somebody is a native of Gujranwala or if another person grew in old Lahore or Sargodha?

 

[Greenstorm]

Like can people tell if somebody is a native of Gujranwala or if another person grew in old Lahore or Sargodha?

yes that is easy to tell .

 

[Pakistanian]

yes that is easy to tell .

How so? So you van tell Shoaib Malik is a Sialkot native2and Hafeez is from Faisalabad?

 

[TQ89]

You can only tell by practice. Some have different way of saying the same words and some have minor differences in vocabulary. Like lahoris or faisalaband say cerain terms which give off their city. For example Sadda, Aapan both mean the same meaning: Us. But you will never hear a lahori say Aapan, he will always say Saada or Assi. But Faisalabadis say this a lot. Again it will sound the same to non punjabi but a native speaker can easily grasp the difference and tell.

Have you ever noticed how shopkeepers in pakistan are very good at guessing where you are from. It is because they interact with so many folks daily that they have pretty good guess from they way you. I had this guy in karim market, he was a mind reader. He could tell anybody.

 

[TQ89]

How so? So you van tell Shoaib Malik is a Sialkot native2and Hafeez is from Faisalabad?

Yes Sialkotis are the easiest to tell. They stretch words in urdu/punjabi or as we say k khench khench k bolte hain. Now Shoaib has become pretty daper in the last 6/7 years and improved his english/urdu by huge margin. But pre 2009/2010, he had that sialkoti accent which would creep up in his urdu as well.

 

[akki]

We have doabi, malwai and majhi dialects of punjabi in indian east punjab.
In western punjab (pakistan ) .- its pothohari,hindko ,multani.,puadhi
I

 

[Greenstorm]

How so? So you van tell Shoaib Malik is a Sialkot native2and Hafeez is from Faisalabad?

Yes. Hafeez speaks more like people from Sargodha as compared to Faislabad.

 

[JaDed]

We have doabi, malwai and majhi dialects of punjabi in indian east punjab.
In western punjab (pakistan ) .- its pothohari,hindko ,multani.,puadhi
I

A part of my family spoke Hindko, pretty diff tbh, although no one else speaks anymore.

Have you heard the Chattisgariah Punjabi ,mostly the Bilaspur Sikhs speak it,very sweet.
West Delhi one is the worst.

 

[akki]

A part of my family spoke Hindko, pretty diff tbh, although no one else speaks anymore.

Have you heard the Chattisgariah Punjabi ,mostly the Bilaspur Sikhs speak it,very sweet.
West Delhi one is the worst.

I have heard hindko. Its fun to listen that. I find multani dialect very funny as well.
Can you give some example of chattisgariah punjabi ? I am unable to recall that....

 

[Abdul]

Having lived in Brampton, all of them within the speed of light.

 

[Pakistanian]

You can only tell by practice. Some have different way of saying the same words and some have minor differences in vocabulary. Like lahoris or faisalaband say cerain terms which give off their city. For example Sadda, Aapan both mean the same meaning: Us. But you will never hear a lahori say Aapan, he will always say Saada or Assi. But Faisalabadis say this a lot. Again it will sound the same to non punjabi but a native speaker can easily grasp the difference and tell.

Have you ever noticed how shopkeepers in pakistan are very good at guessing where you are from. It is because they interact with so many folks daily that they have pretty good guess from they way you. I had this guy in karim market, he was a mind reader. He could tell anybody.

Cool so does your accent depend in where you grew up or where your family is from? Like my dad is from Sargodha and his fam is from sialkot but people think he's from chiniot or Faisalabad or for some reason. In cities like lahore wherr people are from all over punjab then do the people that grew up there speak like their parents or adopt the lahori dialect?

 

[Pakistanian]

Having lived in Brampton, all of them within the speed of light.

Can you describe how you can tell somebody is from say Gujranwala as opposed Sahiwal or Lahore?

 

[Pakistanian]

I have heard hindko. Its fun to listen that. I find multani dialect very funny as well.
Can you give some example of chattisgariah punjabi ? I am unable to recall that....

Multani is just seraiki, they consider it a different language.

 

[Syed1]

Multani is just seraiki, they consider it a different language.

Seraiki is closer to Sindhi than Punjabi.

 

[Pakistanian]

Seraiki is closer to Sindhi than Punjabi.

Lol you've never heard it then

 

[Syed1]

Lol you've never heard it then

Neither have you then.

 

[Pakistanian]

Neither have you then.

I have lol, I can understand about 40-50% of it whereas Sindhi just goes over my head. I've even been down to south punjab.

 

[TQ89]

Cool so does your accent depend in where you grew up or where your family is from? Like my dad is from Sargodha and his fam is from sialkot but people think he's from chiniot or Faisalabad or for some reason. In cities like lahore wherr people are from all over punjab then do the people that grew up there speak like their parents or adopt the lahori dialect?

Then he might use the faisalabadi vocabulary as i gave example above. Accent can depend on both family and surroundings. There is no hard rule about it. But mostly what i have seen is that majority of people adopt the accent of the city or village they live in.

So most lahori folks will have more or less the same accent and lahori jargon. I had a lot of friends from different cities of south punjab(Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi khan, Muzaffar garh etc) living in lahore who spoke punjabi as well as urdu in lahori style. It is only when they would talk to their parents on phone & speak fluent siraiki, i would come to know that these folks are siraiki.

 

[Halaribo]

My parents and grandparents on both sides were born in Kenya. They came from Sialkot. They left pre partition India in the 1900s. We suspect our punjabi has stayed old fashioned

Now the issue I find is that our punjabi is a lot different than what you'd call everyday punjabi in Lahore today.

Our punjabi is quite slow and sounds "respectful", almost urdu like, as opposed to what sounds like a "slang" and informal punjabi spoken in Lahore.

I have two questions.

Does anyone recognise the following words?

"Haar" (as in "like" something)

"Eh odhay haar lag de"
(He looks "like" that person)

I think the common word would be "vargan"

And secondly;

"Nithay" (or)

"Naa agg nu hath lagayi nithay saar lehn ga apnay aap nu"

(Don't touch the fire "or" you'll burn yourself)

Some insight would be very helpful.

 

[Pakistanian]

My parents and grandparents on both sides were born in Kenya. They came from Sialkot. They left pre partition India in the 1900s. We suspect our punjabi has stayed old fashioned

Now the issue I find is that our punjabi is a lot different than what you'd call everyday punjabi in Lahore today.

Our punjabi is quite slow and sounds "respectful", almost urdu like, as opposed to what sounds like a "slang" and informal punjabi spoken in Lahore.

I have two questions.

Does anyone recognise the following words?

"Haar" (as in "like" something)

"Eh odhay haar lag de"
(He looks "like" that person)

I think the common word would be "vargan"

And secondly;

"Nithay" (or)

"Naa agg nu hath lagayi nithay saar lehn ga apnay aap nu"

(Don't touch the fire "or" you'll burn yourself)

Some insight would be very helpful.

True, it's the same with my relatives. I met a really old relative years ago from the walled city of Lahore, he didn't know any urdu but the way he spoke punjabi was really respectful and sounded different from modern punjabi, although he actually grew up in Gujranwala so I suppose it's close to the Sialkoti dialect?

 

[TQ89]

My parents and grandparents on both sides were born in Kenya. They came from Sialkot. They left pre partition India in the 1900s. We suspect our punjabi has stayed old fashioned

Now the issue I find is that our punjabi is a lot different than what you'd call everyday punjabi in Lahore today.

Our punjabi is quite slow and sounds "respectful", almost urdu like, as opposed to what sounds like a "slang" and informal punjabi spoken in Lahore.

I have two questions.

Does anyone recognise the following words?

"Haar" (as in "like" something)

"Eh odhay haar lag de"
(He looks "like" that person)

I think the common word would be "vargan"

And secondly;

"Nithay" (or)

"Naa agg nu hath lagayi nithay saar lehn ga apnay aap nu"

(Don't touch the fire "or" you'll burn yourself)

Some insight would be very helpful.

Don't know about Nithay but haar is definitely used by sialkoti folks and they stretch it like haaar. This dialect is easy to spot because speakers speak slowly and gently & stretch words which to be fair most punjabis do but sialkotis do it a little bit more. Khawaja Asif is a big example of this accent. His sialkoti accent doesn't creep in when he speaks english but in urdu & punjabi, it is very evident. Ijaz Ahmed & early shoaib malik also had this accent.

 

[Pakistanian]

Don't know about Nithay but haar is definitely used by sialkoti folks and they stretch it like haaar. This dialect is easy to spot because speakers speak slowly and gently & stretch words which to be fair most punjabis do but sialkotis do it a little bit more. Khawaja Asif is a big example of this accent. His sialkoti accent doesn't creep in when he speaks english but in urdu & punjabi, it is very evident. Ijaz Ahmed & early shoaib malik also had this accent.

Would you say the Gujranwala and Sialkot dialect are the same?

 

[Nostalgic]

My parents and grandparents on both sides were born in Kenya. They came from Sialkot. They left pre partition India in the 1900s. We suspect our punjabi has stayed old fashioned

Now the issue I find is that our punjabi is a lot different than what you'd call everyday punjabi in Lahore today.

Our punjabi is quite slow and sounds "respectful", almost urdu like, as opposed to what sounds like a "slang" and informal punjabi spoken in Lahore.

I have two questions.

Does anyone recognise the following words?

"Haar" (as in "like" something)

"Eh odhay haar lag de"
(He looks "like" that person)

I think the common word would be "vargan"

And secondly;

"Nithay" (or)

"Naa agg nu hath lagayi nithay saar lehn ga apnay aap nu"

(Don't touch the fire "or" you'll burn yourself)

Some insight would be very helpful.

"Nithay" sounds like a contraction of "naheen tey," i.e. "or else."

 

[Halaribo]

"Nithay" sounds like a contraction of "naheen tey," i.e. "or else."

This must be it!

Many thanks to all of you that responded, this is extremely fascinating to me, and has answered queries I had for years.

Weirdly enough, I have never met a Pakistani Sialkoti in person! So I always found it confusing when British Pakistanis (mostly pathans, lahoris or mirpuris) couldn't understand words like haar.

It took me years to realise that swahili had also infiltrated our Punjabi.

Kameez became shaati
Istri became paasi

Another source of confusion!

 

[Nostalgic]

Incidentally, the "tey" in nithay/naheen tey is an analogue to the Urdu "tau." However, in certain Punjabi dialects, "tey" also means "and."

You will hear "horr," sort of like the Urdu "aur," but "tey" can also mean and.

(And no, horr does not mean what it means in English... and Lahore isn't French for anything naughty)

 

[PakLFC]

Lahoris tend to use "je" with every sentence. This is how I recognise them

 

[Pakistanian]

Another question that might need another thread:

How different is the Punjabi shahmukhi script from the Urdu/farsi script? If I can read some urdu would that help learning Punjabi? Also is Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi the prefered script for Punjabi? I am aware that Shahmilhi was used by great punjabi poets and the gurus of sikhism however sikhs now use gurmukhi instead of Shahmukhi.

 

[Halaribo]

Incidentally, the "tey" in nithay/naheen tey is an analogue to the Urdu "tau." However, in certain Punjabi dialects, "tey" also means "and."

You will hear "horr," sort of like the Urdu "aur," but "tey" can also mean and.

(And no, horr does not mean what it means in English... and Lahore isn't French for anything naughty)

Yes, we use "te" and "horr" without reservation.

"Paijan, thoriyan gallan karo te horr gulabjaman pa do dabay wich"

(Random sentence lol)

But "tey" only within "nithay".

 

[TQ89]

Would you say the Gujranwala and Sialkot dialect are the same?

Not entirely the same but they do have lot of similarities

 

[TQ89]

Lahoris tend to use "je" with every sentence. This is how I recognise them

Yeah that and they use words like lianda instead of lay lia. Some folks from lahore & gujranwala also use "Su" at the end of every sentence which for some reason i found very funny

 

[PakLFC]

Yeah that and they use words like lianda instead of lay lia. Some folks from lahore & gujranwala also use "Su" at the end of every sentence which for some reason i found very funny

I find that hilarious as well!)) One thing that is very noticeable is the difference between Pak Punjabi to Indian Punjabi. No, it's not the same.

 

[Rafa]

I find that hilarious as well!)) One thing that is very noticeable is the difference between Pak Punjabi to Indian Punjabi . No, it's not the same.

What differences did you notice?

 

[TQ89]

What differences did you notice?

Indian punjabi is very kadak & way more pure. Our pronunciation is lot softer than those guys. Tbh after watching some of their comedy movies, I used to feel that we are crude imposters of their language.

 

[PakLFC]

What differences did you notice?

To many to mention. Will need and entire dictionary. I don't like it when people find similarities between us and them.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

Is Punjabi language under threat?

Not a lot of people speak it in India. In Pakistan, it is a sign of being from lower class or village. Diaspora kids are more interested in mocking the English accents of people from back home. Do you think the language of Punjabi is close to being extinct?

 

[ARK Rafay]

What? No. What do you mean by not a lot of people speak it in India. Doesn't all sikhs speak Punjabi? And what about the whole punjab state of India?

Punjabi is the 3rd most spoken language in Pakistan followed by Urdu and English. A lot of people in Pakistan Army also speak Punjabi.

How is it going extinct?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Bro I am not trolling so I hope the mods don't delete this post but I think you should speak to a specialist psychologist about your experiences with your accent as you mention it far too often.

 

[Tera Gawaandi]

Not a lot of people speak it in India. In Pakistan, it is a sign of being from lower class or village. Diaspora kids are more interested in mocking the English accents of people from back home. Do you think the language of Punjabi is close to being extinct?

Punjabis speak Punjabi in India lol

India as a whole has 25+ regional languages, Hindi is first language of around 40% of Indian populace, rest have regional languages as their first language. I am sure same would be true for Pakistan, for eg. 40% Urdu/10% Balochi regional/15% Pashto or KPK regional/15% Sindhi/20% Punjabi

Punjabi songs do extremely well on YouTube, there are Punjabi TikTokers/YouTubers with 100s of thousands of subscribers.

 

[SangasCoverDrive]

What? No. What do you mean by not a lot of people speak it in India. Doesn't all sikhs speak Punjabi? And what about the whole punjab state of India?

Punjabi is the 3rd most spoken language in Pakistan followed by Urdu and English. A lot of people in Pakistan Army also speak Punjabi.

How is it going extinct?

It’s not taught in schools. In fact it’s banned in a lot of schools in Pakistan.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Punjabis speak Punjabi in India lol

India as a whole has 25+ regional languages, Hindi is first language of around 40% of Indian populace, rest have regional languages as their first language. I am sure same would be true for Pakistan, for eg. 40% Urdu/10% Balochi regional/15% Pashto or KPK regional/15% Sindhi/20% Punjabi

Punjabi songs do extremely well on YouTube, there are Punjabi TikTokers/YouTubers with 100s of thousands of subscribers.

Per the last census of Pakistan its 39% Punjabi. If you count Saraiki and Hindko as dialects of Punjabi around 53% of the population speaks Punjabi as a mother tongue.

Besides from some Punjabi's who live in multi ethnic cities like Lahore and Islamabad, almost everyone in Punjab can speak Punjabi.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Not a lot of people speak it in India. In Pakistan, it is a sign of being from lower class or village. Diaspora kids are more interested in mocking the English accents of people from back home. Do you think the language of Punjabi is close to being extinct?

You know nothing about Punjab or Punjabis.

We are the most proud community in the world. Especially our sikh brothers who even continue to talk in Punjabi while living abroad and they even teach their kids and encourage them to speak Punjabi. The Hindu Punjabi community however is easily drawn to Hindi.

It is sad to say that many Punjabi are speaking in hindi even in Chandigarh. Panjab University even has sign boards on their roads in 3 languages and none of it is Punjabi (hindi, english, urdu).

Punjabis will never forget their roots.

Punjab continues to dominate hindi cinema through Pseudo Punjabis. like Kapoors

 

[street cricketer]

You know nothing about Punjab or Punjabis.

We are the most proud community in the world. Especially our sikh brothers who even continue to talk in Punjabi while living abroad and they even teach their kids and encourage them to speak Punjabi. The Hindu Punjabi community however is easily drawn to Hindi.

It is sad to say that many Punjabi are speaking in hindi even in Chandigarh. Panjab University even has sign boards on their roads in 3 languages and none of it is Punjabi (hindi, english, urdu).

Punjabis will never forget their roots.

Punjab continues to dominate hindi cinema through Pseudo Punjabis. like Kapoors

Now I know it was bhaijaan who did this work in the Punjab university..

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/cha...niversity-signboards/articleshow/66289600.cms

 

[Bhaijaan]

Now I know it was bhaijaan who did this work in the Punjab university..

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/cha...niversity-signboards/articleshow/66289600.cms

I can neither confirm nor deny due to being under suspicion of being spied by Pegasus.

However this matter was brought up aggressively during my reign leading to a conflict with the police and our then VC.

We are also fighting our own little battle against Hindi.

 

[ARK Rafay]

It’s not taught in schools. In fact it’s banned in a lot of schools in Pakistan.

Even if its not taught it doesn't mean much. Punjabi people will continue to be proud of their community and continue to speak Punjabi at their home so the kids can speak as well.

 

[AdamM97]

Hindi/Urdu will eventually dominate most languages in Pakistan/North India. Even in Bihar, Hindi is slowly replacing native languages. Punjabi itself isn’t under threat because of the sheer number of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan and India as well as the glorification of Punjabi culture and music in India and Bollywood.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Hindi/Urdu will eventually dominate most languages in Pakistan/North India. Even in Bihar, Hindi is slowly replacing native languages. Punjabi itself isn’t under threat because of the sheer number of Punjabi speakers in Pakistan and India as well as the glorification of Punjabi culture and music in India and Bollywood.

There is no glorification of Punjabi culture. It is pure greatness and worthy of worship.

 

[transparent opacity]

If one has traveled to different cities and has spent some time there, then one can easily identify the dialect. I have been to almost all the major cities of Punjab, thereby, I can easily identify.

It would be difficult to identify for those who have never been to other cities.