Punjabi Language (Gurmukhi Script and Grammar)
Script: Gurmukhi
The Painti Akhar has 35 characters: 32 consonants plus three vowel carriers (ੳ, ਅ, ੲ). Vowel sounds are written with matras - ਮੁਕਤਾ (inherent a), ਕੰਨਾ ਾ, ਸਿਹਾਰੀ ਿ, ਬਿਹਾਰੀ ੀ, ਔਂਕੜ ੁ, ਦੁਲੈਂਕੜ ੂ, ਲਾਂਵ ੇ, ਦੁਲਾਵਾਂ ੈ, ਹੋੜਾ ੋ, ਕਨੌੜਾ ੌ. Nasalisation uses ਟਿੱਪੀ (ਂ) and ਬਿੰਦੀ (ੰ); consonant doubling uses ਅੱਧਕ (ੱ). Numerals run ੧ ੨ ੩ ੪ ੫ ੬ ੭ ੮ ੯ ੦. Guru Angad Dev is credited with standardising the script.
Grammar essentials
- Two genders and two numbers; there are no case endings, so relations are shown by postpositions: ਨੇ (agent), ਨੂੰ (object or recipient), ਦਾ/ਦੀ/ਦੇ (possession), ਤੋਂ (from), ਵਿੱਚ (in).
- With a transitive verb in the perfective, the subject takes ਨੇ and the verb agrees with the object: ਰਾਮ ਨੇ ਰੋਟੀ ਖਾਧੀ - ਰੋਟੀ is feminine, so ਖਾਧੀ, not ਖਾਧਾ.
- Punjabi is tonal. The written ਹ often marks tone rather than a pronounced /h/, and the voiced aspirates ਘ, ਝ, ਢ, ਧ, ਭ carry a low tone.
Worked example
Fill in: 'ਉਹ ਸਕੂਲ ____ ਹੈ।' Options: ਜਾਂਦਾ / ਜਾਂਦੀ / ਜਾਂਦੇ. If the subject is a masculine singular noun such as ਮੁੰਡਾ, the answer is ਜਾਂਦਾ; with a feminine subject such as ਕੁੜੀ it becomes ਜਾਂਦੀ; with a plural subject, ਜਾਂਦੇ. Fix the subject's gender and number before looking at the options.
Traps
- Writing ਬਿੰਦੀ where ਟਿੱਪੀ belongs, and vice versa.
- Dropping the ਅੱਧਕ, which changes the word entirely.
- Matching the verb to the subject when ਨੇ is present.
- Confusing ੜ with ਡ, and ੲ with ਅ.