[Note: This is an updated version of a monograph I originally wrote during the Covid lockdown back in 2020.]
Introduction:If you have not been exposed to Punjabi outside of the odd Coke Studio song, and a movie or two, you might think Punjabi is that language a handful of people in rural Punjab speak. Because if you have Urdu, why would you ever need Punjabi?
Even though, both Punjabi and Urdu are Indo-Iranian languages, they are historically, but more importantly linguistically, distinct from each other.
Below are a couple of features that Punjabi has, but Urdu lacks. Voiced Retroflex Nasals:While both Urdu and Punjabi have the usual alveolar nasal /n/ represented by ن. Punjabi has an additional letter for the retroflex nasal /ɳ/. This is represented by ݨ (In Pashto the ڼ makes this sound). If you are making the alveolar nasal ن sound, you just have to touch the area behind your teeth (the alveolar ridge) with your tongue as you make the /n/ sound. However, in the case of the retroflex nasal, you would need to fold your tongue while making the /n/ sound. Think of this as the difference in sounds as you go from a ر or /r/ to a ڑ or /ɽ/ except with a ن.
The clearest example of this sound that I have come across, is in the chorus of the song "Rishtedar Penchod".
| Punjabi | Translation |
|---|---|
Rishtedar Phenchod - Austad
If you pay attention to the lyrics and listen for the word for 'sister', you will notice that it is not with بہن with a ب or /b/ at the start like in Urdu, and is instead the Punjabi پہݨ with a پ or /p/ at the start, but more importantly it ends with the retroflex ݨ or /ɳ/, as opposed to the alveolar /n/, ن.
Clusivity:If you, me and our mutual friend are sitting around the house and I say:
"We are going out" or in Urdu "ہم باہر جا رہے ہیں"
Who is included in the "we"? Do I mean that both 'you' and 'I' are going out, or do I mean that 'I' am going out with a 'third person' and 'you' are not invited.
This would be such a simple problem to solve if we had separate words for the inclusive (you and I) and exclusive(I, but not you) third person pronouns.
When it comes to third person pronouns both the 'we' in English and the 'ہم' in Urdu are ambiguous and do not differentiate between the two meanings.
Fortunately, Punjabi (along with other languages like Tamil) has clusivity i.e. separate words for the two variants of the third person pronouns.
Consider the choruses of two songs, Billo De Ghar and Sharaabi:
| Punjabi | Translation |
|---|---|
Billo De Ghar - Abrar Ul Haq
| Punjabi | Translation |
|---|---|
Sharaabi - MixSingh
Both songs use a different word for 'we'.
When Abrar uses the third person pronoun اساں [asã], he is informing us that it is just him and his friends who are going to Billo's house, and we (you and I) are not invited. Though, this shouldn’t stop you from going. Billo hasn't really invited Abrar or his friends and they are going.
When MixSingh uses اپاں [apã] he is using the inclusive third person pronoun. He is telling us that you and his entire family probably need to get checked into rehab.
Disclaimer: The author takes no responsibilty for your liver cirrhosis or for you getting arrested for trespassing.