Punjabi

Punjabi (also known as Panjabi) is a member of the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family.

Eastern Punjabi is spoken as a first language primarily in the state of Punjab by 27 million people (Ethnologue). Western Punjabi (also known as Lahnda) is spoken by 60 million people in the Punjab province of Pakistan (Ethnologue). There are also speakers of these dialects in a number of other countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, United Kingdom, USA, and Canada. In Canada, Punjabi is spoken by over 250,000 speakers, making it the country's sixth largest language.

Ancestors of the Punjabis are thought to have inhabited the Indus Valley at least as far back as 2,500 BC. The area suffered numerous invasions by Indo-Aryan, Persian, Greek, Arab, Afghan, and British invaders. Indo-Aryan invasions impacted the language of the ancient Punjabis with the result that, like other Indo-Aryan languages, Punjabi evolved from Sanskrit through Prakrit, a large group of ancient Indic languages spoken some time between the 6th and the 13th centuries AD.

Eastern Punjabi is one of the 22 official languages and 14 regional languages of India. It is the medium of everyday communication in the Indian state of Punjab and is also used in education, government, business and the media.

•   Western Punjabi has no official status in Pakistan. Punjabi speakers in Pakistan tend to use Urdu and English in government, media, and education, as well as in most writing.
•   Punjabi is the religious language of the Sikhs. It is also the language of the popular Bhangra folk dance and singing.

Dialects
There are up to thirty varieties of Punjabi. They form a continuum between Western and Eastern Punjabi. For the most part, the dialects are mutually intelligible, even though there are differences in pronunciation and vocabulary among them. The main dialects of Punjabi are as follows:

•   India - Majhi (standard written form of Punjabi used in both Amritsar and Lahore, Doabi, Malwai, Powadhi
•   Pakistan - Pothohari, Lahndi, Multani

Punjabi expatriates around the world speak a creolised form of the language that is increasingly deviating from the norms of Punjabi spoken in India and Pakistan.

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