| 2.1 |
Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation
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2.2 |
Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation
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2.3 |
Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation
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§ USAGE NOTES
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| 2.4 |
One English name has been introducted into the Punjabi dialogue. Listen carefully to its pronunciation. Punjabi pronunciation patterns are different in many details from those of English. Most Punjabi speakers will find it difficult to pronounce 'Brūce Banker' or any other foreign name in other than a Punjabi way when embedded in a Punjabi sentence. The result will sound strange to an American. Of course, Americans speaking of Punjabis in English will assimilate the name to English patterns in the same way. The result will sound just as strange to a Punjabi.
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If you desire to use any English name in a Punjabi sentence, be careful to modify its pronunciation to bring it into accord with Punjabi patterns. Your instructor can provide a model. If you do not give a Punjabi pronunciation to the name, you are very likely to give an English pronunciation to adjacent Punjabi words. That might be very unfortunate for your efforts to attain a good Punjabi pronunciation.
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At the beginning of your learning, at least, when you are trying to establish new speech habits, you must be sure that every word in any Punjabi sentence is pronounced in a Punjabi way.
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§ PRONUNCIATION
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| 2.5 |
Punjabi has ten basic vowels. These will be indicated in transcription by the ten letters /ī (ੀ) e (ੇ) ɛ (ੈ) ā (ਾ) ͻ (ੌ) o (ੋ) ū (ੂ) i (ਿ) u (ੁ) a (ਅ)/. Eight of these have already occurred in the dialogues and pattern practices.
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| 2.6 |
/i u a/ are very nearly like the three English vowels of 'pit' 'put', and ‘putt’. (Notice how the doubling of the ‘t’ does not indicate anything about the pronunciation of the consonant, but does mark a difference in the vowel). Like Punjabi, English has a very large system of vowel sounds. All of these must be written in ordinary spelling with five letters ‘a e i o u’ with some help from ‘y w’. That forces the use of a variety of strategems. These do the job of giving each word a characteristic spelling fairly well, but the nature of the English vowel system is concealed. For our Punjabi transcription we must use extra letters because we want to represent the pronunciation of Punjabi not only accurately, but also in a straightforward way.
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Compare the following pairs of words as you have done before. Your instructor will read a Punjabi word. Then one member of the class will read the paired English word. You may hear some very minor differences in the vowels, but most of the differences will be in the consonants. You may consider that these three vowels will give you no trouble, if you continue to imitate your instructor's speech as meticulously as possible. Hard work at this will polish off any problems with these three vowels easily. While you are working on these, be very careful about the tone or pitch of the word. More than anything else, English pitch patterns will make these words sound foreign. Most other mistakes will be minor if you master the Punjabi tone system.
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
English Word |
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ਬਿਲ |
bil |
‘bill’ |
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ਜਿਨ |
jin |
‘gin’ |
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ਕਿਸ |
kis |
‘kiss’ |
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ਪੁਲ |
pul |
‘pull’ |
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ਰੁਕ |
ruk |
‘rook’ |
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ਜੁਲਾਈ |
julāī |
‘july’ |
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ਬਸ |
bas |
‘bus’ |
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ਕਲ੍ਹ |
kál |
‘cull’ |
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ਸਬ |
sab |
‘sub’ |
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2.7 |
The four vowels /ī e o ū/ immediatly suggest English equivalents to most Americans. However, the matches are inaccurate and are likely to lead to trouble. Compare the following pairs of words :
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
English Word |
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ਚੀਜ਼ |
čīz |
‘cheese’ |
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ਬੀਤ |
bīt |
‘beat’ |
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ਲੀਕ |
līk |
‘leak’ |
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ਮੇਜ਼ |
mez |
‘maize’ |
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ਤੇਲ |
tel |
‘tail’ |
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ਰੇਤ |
ret |
‘rate’ |
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ਜੂਨ |
jūn |
‘june’ |
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ਸੂਦ |
sūd |
‘sued’ |
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ਨੂਨ |
nūn |
‘noon’ |
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ਰੋਜ਼ |
roz |
‘rose’ |
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ਚੋਰ |
čor |
‘chore’ |
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ਗੋ |
go |
‘go’ |
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These four English vowels are always diphthongizes. This is most obvious in the case of ‘o’. If you say a word like ‘go’ slowly, you can feel your tongue moving upwards and your lips rounding gradually during the course of the vowel. Your neighbour can clearly see the movement of the lips. The beginning and end of the 'o' are very different. In Punjabi, this diphthongization, if present at all, is quite weak.
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The other English vowels in this list are also diphthongized. In a word like ‘gay’, you can feel your tongue rising but the lips do not move. It is a little harder to observe when a consonant follows, as in 'rate', but comparison with a Punjabi pronunciation /ret/ will show the difference clearly. None of /ī e o ū/ are diphthongized in Punjabi the way the nearest English equivalents are. To pronounce Punjabi with the English-type diphthongized vowels gives a very foreign sound which must be avoided carefully.
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2.8 |
Punjabi vowels are affected by the tones. As a general rule, words with high tone have shorter vowels than words with normal tone. In the following pairs of words listen for the differences of length of vowel. Then practice them being careful to maintain the undiphthongized pronunciation while you practice the slight difference in length.
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Gurmukhi |
Transliteration |
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Gurmukhi |
Transliteration |
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ਪੀ |
pī |
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ਪੀਹ |
pī́ |
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ਲੀਕ |
līk |
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ਲੀਹਕ |
lī́k |
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ਤੀਰਾ |
tīrā |
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ਤੀਹਰਾ |
tī́rā |
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ਵੀ |
wī |
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ਵੀਹ |
wī́ |
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ਤੇਰ |
ter |
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ਤੇਰ੍ਹ |
tér |
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ਮੇਰ |
mer |
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ਮੇਰ੍ਹ |
mér |
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ਤੇਲ |
tel |
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ਜੇਲ੍ਹ |
jél |
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ਸੇਕ |
sek |
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ਸੇਧ |
séd |
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ਲੂ |
lū |
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ਲੂਹ |
lū́ |
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ਸੂ |
sū |
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ਸੂਹ |
sū́ |
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ਦੂਜਾ |
dūjā |
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ਦੂਹਰਾ |
dū́rā |
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ਮੋਰ |
mor |
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ਮੋਹਰ |
mór |
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ਮੋਰੀ |
morī |
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ਮੋਹਰੀ |
mórī |
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ਚੋਰ |
čor |
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ਚੋਭ |
čób |
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ਸੋਕ |
sok |
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ਸੋਧ |
sód |
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2.9 |
The vowel /ā/ gives much less trouble than most of the others. It is very nearly like the vowel in 'father'. Any small difference can be worked out by imitating your instructor. However, the same difference in length on tone must be practiced.
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Gurmukhi |
Transliteration |
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Gurmukhi |
Transliteration |
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ਜਾ |
jā |
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ਜਾਹ |
jā́ |
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ਲਾ |
lā |
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ਲਾਹ |
lā́ |
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ਵਾ |
wā |
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ਵਾਹ |
wā́ |
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ਚਾ |
čā |
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ਚਾਹ |
čā́ |
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ਕਾਰ |
kār |
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ਕਾਹਰ |
kā́r |
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ਬਾਰ |
bār |
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ਬਾਹਰ |
bā́r |
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ਜਾਲ |
jāl |
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ਜਾਹਲ |
jā́l |
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ਮਾਲ |
māl |
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ਮਾਹਲ |
mā́l |
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§ PATTERN PRACTICE
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2.10
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਇਹ ਮੇਰੇ ਦੋਸਤ ਨੇ। |
é mere dost ne. |
He is my friend.
This is my friend. |
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ਇਹ ਰਾਮ ਗੋਪਾਲ ਨੇ। |
é rām gopāl ne. |
This is Ram Gopal. |
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ਇਹ ਹਰਦਿਆਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇ। |
é hardiāl sĩ́g ne. |
This is Hardial Singh. |
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ਇਹ ਮਿਰਜ਼ਾ ਨੇ। |
é mirzā ne. |
This is Mirza. |
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ਇਹ ਸੀਤਾ ਨੇ। |
é sītā ne. |
This is Sita.
She is Sita. |
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ਓਹ ਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ ਨੇ। |
ó móṇ sĩ́g ne. |
That is Mohan Singh.
He is Mohan Singh. |
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2.11
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਇਹ ਨੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਦੋਸਤ, ਸੋਹਣ ਸਿੰਘ। |
é ne mere dost, sóṇ sĩ́g. |
This is my friend,Sohan Singh. |
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ਇਹ ਨੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਦੋਸਤ, ਮੋਤੀ। |
é ne mere dost, motī. |
This is my friend, Moti. |
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ਓਹ ਨੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਦੋਸਤ, ਬੇਗ। |
ó ne mere dost,beg. |
That is my friend, Beg. |
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2.12
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਰਾਮ ਲਾਲ ਏ। |
merā nā̃ rām lāl e. |
My name is Ram Lal. |
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ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਮੋਹਣ ਸਿੰਘ ਏ। |
merā nā̃ móṇ sĩ́g e. |
My name is Mohan Singh. |
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ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਦੀਨ ਏ। |
merā nā̃ dīn e. |
My name is Din. |
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2.13
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਚਾਹ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ? |
čā́ čā́īdī? |
Do you want tea? |
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ਕਾਫੀ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ? |
kāfī čā́īdī? |
Do you want coffee? |
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ਕੋਈ ਚੀਜ਼ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ? |
koī cīz čā́īdī? |
Do you want anything? |
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2.14
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਦੁਧ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ? |
dúd čā́īdā? |
Do you want milk? |
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ਸ਼ਰਬਤ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ? |
šarbat čā́īdā? |
Do you want fruit syrup? |
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ਕੁਝ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ? |
kúj čā́īdā? |
Do you want anything? |
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2.15
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Gurmukhi |
Transcription |
Translation |
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ਦਸ ਦਿਨ ਹੋਏ। |
das din hoe. |
Ten days ago. |
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ਵੀਹ ਦਿਨ ਹੋਏ। |
wī́ din hoe. |
Twenty days ago. |
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ਤੀਹ ਦਿਨ ਹੋਏ। |
tī́ din hoe. |
Thirty days ago. |
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2.16 |
In 2.10 three of the sentences have been given two translations. All the others might have. In Punjabi, we must use /é/ or /ó/ according to the situation and context. In comparable English sentences we must choose between ‘this’, ‘he’, ‘she’, and ‘it’. For example, in the dialogue 2.1, it seems most natural to say ‘This is my friend, Ram Gopal’. It would be perfectly understandable if you said ‘He is my friend, Ram Gopal’. Still our custom is to prefer ‘this’ in such a context. In Punjabi, the customs determining whether you should say é or ó are quite different from anything in English. In a situation like that in dialogue 2.10, /é/ is the proper one. In some other circumstance, /ó/ might be better. To try to describe the usage would make it seem unduly complex, a little practice and observation will lead you to use these two words correctly.
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At this time, only one point needs emphasis : the distinctions between /é/ or /ó/ and those between ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘this’ and ‘that’ are different. It is not possible to say simply “ /é/ means ‘this’ ”. /é/ might be used where the best English equivalent would be any one of ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’, ‘this’, or ‘that’, or even some other entirely different expression. /ó/ might be used where English would use any of them. Translation equivalence is very complicated and confusing. The Punjabi usage is much simpler. It will be much less confusing if you do not concern yourself very much with translations, but instead concentrate on observing the situations and contexts in which each Punjabi word is used.
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| 2.17 |
Patterns 2.10 and 2.11 are polite forms. There is therefore a fundamental difference in construction between these and 2.12. How this works will become clear later when there are other patterns with which you can compare these two.
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| 2.18 |
Patterns 2.13 and 2.14 are very similar, except that certain nouns (e.g. /čā́, kāfī, sabzī/) must be used in 2.13 and certain nouns in 2.14. For the present, merely learn the patterns; the explanation will come later.
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In both patterns, the crucial thing at the moment is to practice the intonation patterns of the whole sentence.
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