SCRIPT:
Punjabi is written in the Gurmukhi Script in India. It is written in Perso-Arabic script in Pakistan. The Gurmukhi script is the official recognized script of the Punjabi language in India and it is used in the teaching and learning of the language in different situations. The orthography is called /pε'ti/ as the number of its letters is thirty five. Gurmukhi is written from left to right. Punjabi is a tonal language but there are no separate symbols in the Gurmukhi Script to mark the tones. In other words, there are no separate symbols for tones, but the tones are generally clearly indicated by certain consonant signs. This is the major function of the signs for voiced aspirates, for 'h' and conjunct consonants including 'h'. The characters are normally aligned below the line of writing. The name Gurumukhi literally "from the mouth of the Guru" refers to its use in the Guru Granth Sahib, the sacred scripture of the Sikhs. As discussed above the letters of the Gurmukhi script are thirty-five. These letters are given below.
Grapheme Value -
ਓ U Ur̤
ਅ ∂ εr̤
ਏ I Iṛi
ਸ s s∂ssa
ਹ h haha
ਕ k k∂kka
ਖ kh Kh∂kha
ਗ g g∂gga
ਘ k' 'g g' k∂gga
ਙ n n∂nna
ਚ c c∂cca
ਛ ch ch∂cha
ਜ j j∂jja
ਝ c' 'j j' c∂jja
ਞ n n∂na
ਟ ṭ ṭε'ka
ਠ ṭh ṭh∂ṭha
ਡ ḍ ḍ∂ḍḍa
ਢ ta' 'd ̣ḍ' ṭ∂ḍḍa
ਣ ņ ņáņa
ਤ t t∂tta
ਥ th th∂tha
ਦ d d∂dda
ਧ t' 'd d' t∂dda
ਨ n n∂nna
ਪ p p∂ppa
ਫ ph ph∂pha
ਬ b b∂bba
ਭ p' 'b b' p∂bba
ਮ m m∂mma
ਯ y y∂ya
ਰ r rara
ਲ l l∂lla
ਵ v vava
ਡ਼ r ṛaṛa
The following letters with a dot diacritic supplements the basic alphabet. All but the first are used only is unassimilated loan words, mostly from Persian./p>
Shape of letter Value Name
ਸ਼ sa ṣ∂ṣṣa
ਖ਼ x x∂xa
ਗ਼ ga ga∂gagaa
ਜ਼ z z∂zza
ਫ਼ f f∂ffa
Punjabi has a retroflex lateral /Ia/ and in the Gurmukhi script a dot is put under the letter /l/
Shape of letter Value Name
ਲ਼ ḷ ḷaḷa
Vowels and Accessory signs:
Vowels other than /∂/ are indicated by accessory signs written around (that is, below, above, to the right and to the left) the consonant signs. When a vowel is not preceded by a consonant, it is written with one of the three vowel bearers. These accessory signs are also called matras. These signs or matras are shown alone, with the proper vowel bearer.
Primary shape Value Name of the vowel Matra
ਅ ∂ mukta - no sign
ਆ a k∂nna k
ਇ I sIhari f
ਈ i bIhari h
ਉ U ̣̂kaṛ ^
ਊ u dUlε'k∂ṛ {
ਏ e lã /
ਐ ε dUlavã ?
ਓ o hora '
ਔ ̣̂ k∂ṇ̂ṛa "
Nasality:
Nasality is distinctive in Punjabi. In the script two symbols are used for it. They are known as bindi [ A ] and tippi [ z ]. The signs of bindi and tippi are placed above the vowels. Tippi is placed over inherent or clear vowel [∂], [I] and with the matras of [U] and [u], bindi is placed over the vowels like [a], [i], [e], [ε], [o], [̣̂] and in the initial position of [U] and [u].
use of tippi.
ਸੰਤ S∂'t saint
ਅੰਤ ∂'t end
ਇੰਜ íj like this
ਸਿੰਗ síg horn
ਸੁੰਡ sU'd trunk
ਤੂੰ tù you
use of bindi
ਜਾਂਦਾ jãda going
ਪੀਂਦਾ pi'da drinking
ਜਿਵੇਂ jIve' like that
ਮੈਂ mε' I
ਤੋਂ to' from
ਸੌਂ ṣ̂' sleep
ਉਂਨ U'n wool
ਊਂਘ u'g nap
Gemination:
Gemination is phonemic in Punjabi and is indicated by the sign [ Z ) called ∂dd∂k above the letter and before the consonant to be geminated.
ਪੱਤਾ p∂tta leaf
ਪੱਖਾ p∂kkha fan
ਸੱਤ s∂tt seven
CONJUNCT CONSONANTS:
Three types of conjunct consonants are written in which the modified form of the second consonant letter is subjoined to the first unaltered consonant letter. The second member consonant letters are j o and t
Primary Shape Modified form Value
ਹ ੲ h
ਰ ੳ r
ਵ _ v
VOICED ASPIRATES:
There are five symbols of voiced aspirate sounds in the Gurmukhi alphabets. They are x, M, Y, X, GH In the borrowed lexical items in Punjabi the voiced aspirated sounds loose their aspiration and all pronounced with tone differently in the initial position and medial/final positions. In the initial position, they are pronounced as voiceless unaspirated sounds e, u, N, s, g and in the medial/final position as unaspirated voiced sounds r, i, v, d,p
Numerals and special characters:
Numerals are written in the same manner as in Devanagri or Western Arabic numeration. The symbols for the ten digits are as follows:
1 1 6 6
2 2 7 7
3 3 8 8
4 4 9 9
5 5 10 10
The sign: is used to mark abbreviations. Abbreviation is not very extensively used. Here are some of the examples:
ਪ੍ਰੋ: for ਪ੍ਰੋਫੈਸਰ Professor
ਡਾ: for ਡਾਕਟਰ Doctor
E. PUNCTUATION:
There are only two marks of punctuation in older Gurmukhi. One '1' is use to mark the end of major units, sentences in prose. The other '..' is used to mark the end of verses in poetry. The two are not used together in the same passage. In modern printed books, punctuation of the English type is used, except that '.' is used instead of the period. There is no standardization of practice other than that provided by the English models.
