Punjabi Language Scripts and Dialects.

There are several different scripts used for writing the Punjabi language, depending on the region and the spoken dialect, as well as the religion of the speaker.

In the Punjab province of Pakistan, the script used is Shahmukhi and differs from the standard Nastaʿlīq script as it has four additional letters.

The eastern part of the Punjab region, located in India, is divided into three states.

In the state of Punjab, the Gurmukhī script is generally used for writing Punjabi.

Punjabi Hindus, who are mainly concentrated in the neighboring Indian states such as Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, as well as the national capital territory of Delhi, sometimes use the Devanāgarī script to write Punjabi.

While Punjabi GCSE and A-Level qualifications are available to students in the United Kingdom; their written exam is in Gurmukhi only.

Every language has dialects and bigger languages have more dialects. Punjabi language is the 9th biggest language of the world therefore, Punjabi language has many dialects.

Punjabi language dialects belong to different areas of Punjab are as under;

1. Actual dialect of Jhang, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Khanewal, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Chishtian is Jhangochi Punjabi.

2. Actual dialect of Multan is Multani Punjabi.

3. Actual dialect of Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan is Riyasti Punjabi.

4. Actual dialect of Bhakkar, Layyah, Muzaffargarh is Thalochi Punjabi.

5. Actual dialect of Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur is Derewali Punjabi.

6. Actual dialect of Khushab, Mianwali, Attock, Chakwal, Dera Ghazi Khan and parts of Dera Ismail Khan is Shahpuri Punjabi.

7. Actual dialect of Chakwal is Dhanni Punjabi.

8. Actual dialect of Peshawar, Attock, Nowshehra, Mansehra, Balakot, Abbottabad, Murree, Muzaffarabad is Hindko Punjabi.

9. Actual dialect of Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi, Murree Hills, Muzaffarabad is Pothowari Punjabi.

10. Actual dialect of Lahore, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Wazirabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Gujrat, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, Amritsar, Tarn Taran Sahib, Gurdaspur is Majhi Punjabi.

11. Actual dialect of Ludhiana, Moga, Sangrur, Barnala, Faridkot, Patiala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Mansa, Muktsar, Ambala, Bathinda, Ganganagar, Malerkotla, Ropar, Ferozepur, Ambala, Hissar, Sirsa, Kurukshetra is Malwi Punjabi.

12. Actual dialect of Jalandhar, Nawanshahr, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur is Doabi Punjabi.

13. Actual dialect of Kharar, Kurali, Ropar, Nurpurbedi, Morinda, Pail, Rajpura, Samrala is Pwadhi Punjabi.

14. Actual dialect of Jammu is Dogri Punjabi.

Majhi standard Punjabi is the written standard for Punjabi in both parts of Punjab.

Jhangochi or Rachnavi is the oldest and most idiosyncratic dialect of Punjabi.

The area of the Jhangochi dialect of Punjabi is the “Bar areas of Punjab”, i.e, areas whose names are often suffixed with 'Bar', for example, Sandal Bar, Kirana Bar, Neeli Bar, Ganji Bar and has several aspects that set it apart from other Punjabi variants.

This area has a great culture and heritage, especially literary heritage, as it is credited with the creation of the famous epic romance stories of Heer Ranjha and Mirza Sahiba.

Note: - In Indo-Aryan dialectology generally, the presence of transitional dialects creates problems in assigning some dialects to one or another "language".

Northern dialects Hindko of Hazara/Kohati/Peshawari and are now classified as a separate language Hindko.

Jummu's Dogri is also classified as a separate language.

Similarly Southern dialects of Western Punjabi (Multani, Derawali, and Riasti) are now also classified as a separate language Saraiki.

However this separation is controversial and Saraiki, Hindko and Dogri are considered as a dialect of Mainstream Punjabi because;

These are Mutually intangible, Morphologically and Syntactically similar with Standard Punjabi and is in fact dialect of Punjabi agreed by the majority of local as well as modern linguistics publications, classifying Hindko, Saraiki, Dogri as a dialect of Punjabi.