Main, Major and Sub-Dialects of Punjabi Language.

Majhi is the Main Language and Standard Dialect of Punjabi. Majhi is encircled by the 6 Major Dialects of Punjabi i.e; Malwi, Doabi, Dogri, Pothowari, Shahpuri, and Jhangochi dialect.

Besides the main and major dialects of Punjabi language, Pwadhi, Hindko, Dhani, Thalochi, Derewali, Multani, and Riyasti are sub-dialects of Punjabi language.

Sub-dialects of Punjabi language are connected with the main dialect of Punjabi language i.e; Majhi via 6 major dialects of Punjabi i.e; Malwi, Doabi, Dogri, Pothowari, Shahpuri, and Jhangochi dialects.

a). Pwadhi is connected with the Majhi via Malwi and Doabi dialect.

b). Hindko is connected with the Majhi via the Pothowari dialect.

c). Dhani is connected with the Majhi via Pothowari and Shahpuri dialect.

d). Thalochi is connected with the Majhi via Shahpuri and Jhangochi dialect.

e). Multani and Riyasti are connected with the Majhi via the Jhangochi dialect.

f). Derewali is connected with the Majhi via Thalochi via the Jhangochi dialect.

i). Pwadhi, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 8 districts of the Indian Panjab i,e; Kharar, Kurali, Morinda, Nurpurbedi, Pail, Rajpura, Ropar, Samrala and connected with the Majhi via Malwi and Doabi.

ii). Hindko, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 6 districts of Pakistani Panjab i,e; Abbottabad, Attock, Balakot, Mansehra, Nowshera, Peshawar, and connected with the Majhi via Pothowari.

iii). Dhani, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in one district of the Pakistani Panjab i,e; Chakwal and connected with the Majhi via Pothowari and Shahpuri.

iv). Thalochi, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 2 districts of the Pakistani Panjab i,e; Bhakkar, Layyah and connected with the Majhi via Shahpuri and Jhangochi.

v). Multani, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 2 districts of Pakistani Panjab i,e; Multan, Muzaffargarh and connected with the Majhi via Jhangochi.

vi). Riyasti, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 2 districts of the Pakistani Panjab i,e; Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and connected with the Majhi via Jhangochi.

vii). Derewali, the sub-dialect of the Punjabi language is spoken in 2 districts of the Pakistani Panjab i,e; Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur and connected with the Majhi via Thalochi via Jhangochi.

Jhangochi or Rachnavi is the oldest and most idiosyncratic major 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.

Majhi, the main language and standard dialect of Punjabi language is the written standard for Punjabi in both parts of Punjab.

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 linguists such as Dulai, K Narinder, Gill, Harjeet Singh Gill, A Henry. Gleason (Jr), Koul, N Omkar, Siya Madhu Bala, Afzal Ahmed Cheema, Aamir Malik, Amar Nath as well as modern linguistics publications such as the US National Advisory Committee based The UCLA Language Materials Project (LMP) along with modern Foreign linguistics such as Lambert M Surhone, Mariam T Tennoe, Susan F Henssonow, Cardona, and Nataliia Ivanovna Tolstaia classifying Hindko, Saraiki, Dogri as a dialect of Punjabi.