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Lesson 3

Welcome Home – consonants (k c t p / g j d b), r

3.1	Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਰਾਮ : ਨਮਸਤੇ ਜੀ।	rām : namaste jī.	Ram : /namaste jī./
ਮੋਹਣ : ਨਮਸਤੇ ਜੀ ਆਓ, ਕਿਵੇਂ ਆਏ?	móṇ : namaste jī. āo, kiwẽ āe?	Mohan : /namaste./ Come in. What can I do for you?
ਰਾਮ : ਸੋਹਣ ਏਧਰ ਆਇਆ?	rām : sóṇ édar āiā?	Ram : Did Sohn come here?
ਮੋਹਣ : ਨਹੀਂ ਜੀ। ਉਹ ਕਾਲਜ ਗਿਆ।	móṇ : naī̃́ jī. ó kalij giā.	Mohan : No, he has gone to the college.
ਰਾਮ : ਅੱਛਾ ਜੀ, ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ।	rām : aččhā jī, mérbānī.	Ram : Thank you.

3.2	Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ : ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ।	dalīp sĩ́g : sat sirī akāl.	Dalip Singh : /sat sirī akāl./
ਜਾਨ ਸਨੈੱਲ : ਸਤਿ ਸ੍ਰੀ ਅਕਾਲ। ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਜਾਨ ਸਨੈੱਲ ਏ। ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਤੋਂ ਆਇਆਂ।	jā́n sanɛl : sat sirī akāl merā nā̃ jā́n sanɛl e. amrīkā tõ āiā̃.	John Snell : sat sirī akāl My name is John Snell. I am from America.
ਦਲੀਪ ਸਿੰਘ : ਆਓ ਜੀ, ਏਧਰ ਆ ਜਾਓ। ਚਾਹ ਪੀਓਗੇ ਨਾ?	dalīp sĩ́g : āo jī. ãdar ā jāo. čā́ pīoge nā?	Dalip Singh : Come in, please. You will have some tea, won't you?
ਜਾਨ ਸਨੈੱਲ : ਨਹੀਂ ਜੀ, ਮਿਹਰਬਾਨੀ। ਪੀ ਕੇ ਆਇਆਂ।	jā́n sanɛl : naī̃́ jī, mérbānī pī ke āiā̃.	John Snell : No, thank you. I have just had some.

3.3	Dialogues in Gurmukhi with Transcription and Translation

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਸੀਤਾ : ਨਮਸਤੇ।	sītā : namaste.	Sita : /namaste./
ਬਿਮਲਾ : ਨਮਸਤੇ। ਮੇਰਾ ਨਾਂ ਬਿਮਲਾ ਏ। ਤੇ ਆਪ ਦਾ?	bimlā : namaste. merā nā̃ bimlā e. te āp dā ?	Bimla : /namaste./ My name is Bimla. What is yours?
ਸੀਤਾ : ਸੀਤਾ। ਆਓ, ਕਾਲਜ ਚੱਲੀਏ।	sītā : sītā. āo kālij čallīe.	Sita : Sita. Let's go to the college.
ਬਿਮਲਾ : ਅੱਛਾ।	bīmlā : aččhā.	Bimla : Fine.

§ USAGE NOTES

3.4

Introductions tend to be very much more casual in Punjab than in America. In the villages, in particular, formal introductions are seldom given. Often a conversation will go on for some time before the name of a visitor is mentioned. With foreigners, however, introductions are somewhat more common.

3.5

Tea is offered to guests at any time of day. It is good etiquette to refuse it once. Generally you will end up drinking it anyway in spite of your refusal, which will, of course, be taken only as politeness.

§ PRONUNCIATION

3.6

The Punjabi sounds /g j d b/ are voiced. This means that the vocal cords vibrate during their pronunciation. This distinguishes them from /k č t p/ which are unvoiced, that is, there is no vibration of the vocal cords.

English ‘k č t p’ and ‘g j d b’ differ mainly in that one set is usually aspirated and the other never. For some speakers ‘g j d b’ are voiced. For others, they are not. For the latter, the major distinguishing features the lack of aspiration and the weaker pronunciation. Even when English ‘g j d b’ are voiced, they are usually weakly voiced. We tend to start weak voicing in the middle of the first ‘b’ in ‘bob’ and to drop the voicing gradually during the second ‘b’.

Such a pronunciation of Punjabi is generally quite unacceptable. The voicing of /g j d b/ should be strong and extend throughout the consonant. It will require practice to get a sufficiently strong voicing in initial and final /g j d b/ . The following are some words for practice. Pronounce them after your instructor, imitating him closely.

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਗੋਲੀ	golī	ਗਾਹਕ	gā́k	ਗੋਪ	gop
ਗਾਰਾ	gārā	ਗਿਲ	gil	ਗੰਦ	gãd
ਗੇਰੀ	gerī	ਗੋਰੀ	gorī	ਗਾਦ	gād
ਜਿੰਦ	jĩd	ਜੋਰ	jor	ਜਾਲੀ	jālī
ਜੇਲ੍ਹ	jél	ਜਸ	jas	ਜੂਲਾ	jūlā
ਜੋਕ	jok	ਜਿਸ	jis	ਦੂਰ	dūr
ਦਿਨ	din	ਦੇਰ	der	ਦੂਸਰਾ	dūsrā
ਦੇਗ	deg	ਦਾਗ	dāg	ਦੀ	dī
ਦਾ	dā	ਦੋਹਰੀ	dórī	ਬੋਲੀ	bolī
ਬੋਕੀ	bokī	ਬਸ	bas	ਬੇਰ	ber
ਬੇਗ	beg	ਬਾਗ	bāg	ਬੋਰੀ	borī
ਬਾਰੀ	bārī

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਸਾਗ	sāg	ਦਾਗ	dāg	ਰੋਗ	rog
ਕਾਗ	kāg	ਲਾਗ	lāg	ਨਾਗ	nāg
ਲੋਗ	log	ਨਿਘ	níg	ਅਗ	ag
ਸੋਜ	soj	ਮੌਜ	mͻj	ਰਾਜ	rāj
ਕੋਝ	kój	ਬਾਂਝ	bā̃́j	ਸਾਂਝ	sā̃́j
ਚਜ	čaj	ਕਜ	kaj	ਲਜ	laj
ਰਿਝ	ríj	ਕਦ	kad	ਸੂਦ	sūd
ਸਾਧ	sā́d	ਨੀਂਦ	nī̃d	ਰੋਂਦ	rõd
ਦੋਂਦ	dõd	ਚੋਂਦ	čõd	ਤਦ	tad
ਮੋਦੀ	modī	ਹੋਂਦ	hõd	ਲੋਭ	lób
ਸਬ	sab	ਰੋਹਬ	rób	ਚੋਭ	čób
ਲਾਭ	lā́b	ਸਾਹਬ	sā́b	ਜੇਬ	jeb
ਸੇਬ	seb	ਅੰਬ	ãb

3.7

The distinction between /g j d b/ and /k č t p/ is often a difficult one for Americans to hear. Unaspirated voiceless stops are generally heard as /g j d b/ . Part of the reason is that we do not rely very heavily on voicing to distinguish sounds in English.

In addition, in Punjabi the tones on the following or the preceding vowels also change the voicing of the stops slightly. It is therefore important to practice with words having both tones.

Your instructor will pronounce the following pairs of words sometimes in the order shown and sometimes in the opposite order. Listen carefully for the difference. Then practice imitating his pronunciation.

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਗਾਰ	gār	ਕਾਰ	kār
ਜੋਰ	jor	ਚੋਰ	čor
ਦਾਲ	dāl	ਤਾਲ	tāl
ਬੋਲ	bol	ਪੋਲ	pol
ਸਾਕ	sāk	ਸਾਗ	sāg
ਚੋਰ	čor	ਜੋਰ	jor
ਦੰਦ	dãd	ਤੰਦ	tãd
ਬੀਰ	bīr	ਪੀਰ	pīr
ਚੁਕ	čuk	ਚੁਗ	čug
ਚਮ	čam	ਜਮ	jam
ਤਾਰ	tār	ਦਾਰ	dār
ਪੋਕ	pok	ਬੋਕ	bok
ਗੋਲ	gol	ਕੋਲ	kol
ਜਾਲੀ	jālī	ਚਾਲੀ	čālī
ਕਦ	kad	ਕਤ	kat
ਪਾਲੀ	pālī	ਬਾਲੀ	bālī
ਜੂਸ	jūs	ਚੂਸ	čūs
ਰਤ	rat	ਰਦ	rad
ਪਾਰ	pār	ਬਾਰ	bār

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਗਾਹਲ	gā́l	ਕਾਹਲ	kā́l
ਚਾਹਲ	čā́l	ਜਾਹਲ	jā́l
ਦੇਹ	dé	ਤੇਹ	té
ਪੋਹ	pó	ਬੋਝਾ	bójā
ਕੋਹ	kó	ਗੋਹ	gó
ਚਾਹ	čā́	ਜਾਹ	jā́
ਤੀਹਰਾ	tī́rā	ਦੂਹਰਾ	dū́rā
ਬੌਹ	bͻ́	ਪੌਹ	pͻ́

3.8

There is no sound in Punjabi like the consonant ‘r’ in most English dialects. The letter r has, therefore, been free to be used for some Punjabi sound which has no close match in American English. This is a tongue-tip trill /r/ which you have been hearing from the very first dialogue. The closest English equivalent, sometimes called “rolled r,” is a special sound occasionally used in place of ‘r’ in singing or in answering the telephone (in ‘thr-r—ree) While closer than the normal English ‘r’ in ‘rub’ or ‘burr’, even this kind of “rolled r” is not an entirely satisfactory equivalent for Punjabi /r/ .

You will have to learn /r/ by imitating your instructor's pronunciation. Thus following are good words for practice:

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Gurmukhi	Transcription
ਕਰ	kar	ਰਾਤ	rāt
ਰੋਕ	rok	ਰਤ	rat
ਰਾਹ	rā́	ਰੋਹ	ró
ਰੀਸ	rīs	ਤਾਹਰੂ	tā́rū
ਤਾਰੀ	tārī	ਮੋਰੀ	morī
ਲਾਰੀ	lārī	ਕਾਹਰੀ	kā́rī
ਸਾਰੀ	sārī	ਤਾਰ	tār
ਚਾਰ	čār	ਕਾਹਰ	kā́r
ਆਹਰ	ā́r	ਮੋਹਰ	mór

3.9

Using a letter like r for a Punjabi sound quite different from its usual English value is a quite normal procedure. We saw the same thing in Lesson l with /k t p/ , all of which are very different from ‘k t p’. Actually, of course, no Punjabi sound precisely matches any English one. Some are close; some are fair approximations; some just do not match at all. For example, there is nothing in Punjabi to match English ‘th’ either in ‘ether’ or in ‘either’. We will later see additional Punjabi sounds which are totally different from anything in English. But do not allow yourself to be so impressed by the few which are obviously and radically different that you forget that there are real and significant differences between all Punjabi sounds and any similar English sounds.

Why then do we attempt to transcribe Punjabi with the familiar English alphabet at all? Simply because that is the easy way. It would be laborious to learn a set of totally new marks. The tranditional ways or writing Punjabi will not serve our needs because they do not always indicate the pronunciation exactly and straightforwardly. Some way of calling attention to features of pronunciation is useful, and transcription seems to be the best.

Transcriptions in the English alphabet can be misleading if you forget one thing: They are not an attempt to show the pronunciation of Punjabi sentences in English terms. Use them only to remind you of what you have heard. Get the proper pronunciation by listening to your instructor and imitating him. Do not attempt to guess at it from transcription until all features of Punjabi pronunciation have become thoroughly familiar and you are already able to speak accurately and fluently.

There is, however, one way in which these transcriptions are very meaningful. Whenever a given letter, say /r/ is used it always means the same sound – not physically the same, but functionally the same. In a Punjabi frame of reference, every item transcribed with /r/ has a functionally identical sound in it. Every Punjabi /r/ is equivalent to every other Punjabi /r/ . This is true whether the /r/ sound alike to an ear accustomed to American English or not. A Punjabi r would not be functionally equivalent to any English sound, even if it were physically precisely the same, since they work in different ways in different systems. The transcription is designed solely to represent Punjabi in its own terms, not to make any comparisons with English. The familiar letter-forms are used merely as a matter of convenience.

§ PATTERN PRACTICE

3.10

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਓਹ ਕਾਲਿਜ ਗਿਆ ਏ।	ó kālij giā e.	He has gone to the college.
ਓਹ ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਗਿਆ ਏ।	ó šέr giā e.	He has gone to the city.
ਓਹ ਏਧਰ ਗਿਆ ਏ।	ó édar giā e.	He has gone this way.
ਓਹ ਅੰਦਰ ਗਿਆ ਏ।	ó ãdar giā e.	He has gone inside.

3.11

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਓਹ ਕਾਲਿਜ ਗਿਆ ਏ?	ó kālij giā e?	Has he gone to the college?
ਸੋਹਣ ਕਾਲਿਜ ਗਿਆ ਏ?	sóṇ kālij giā e?	Has Sohan gone to the college?
ਸੋਹਣ ਅੰਦਰ ਗਿਆ ਏ?	sóṇ ãdar giā e?	Has Sohan gone inside?

3.12

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਏਧਰ ਆ ਜਾਓ।	édar ā jāo.	Come here, please.
ਅੰਦਰ ਆ ਜਾਓ।	ãdar ā jāo.	Come in, please.
ਬਾਹਰ ਆ ਜਾਓ।	bā́r ā jāo.	Come outside, please.

3.13

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਸੋਹਣ ਏਧਰ ਆਇਆ?	sóṇ édar āiā?	Did Sohan come here?
ਓਹ ਏਧਰ ਆਇਆ?	ó édar āiā?	Did he come here?
ਓਹ ਅੰਦਰ ਆਇਆ?	ó ãdar āiā?	Did he come inside?

3.14

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਤੋਂ ਆਇਆਂ।	amrīkā tõ āiā̃.	I am from America.
ਪੰਜਾਬ ਤੋਂ ਆਇਆਂ।	pãjāb tõ āiā̃.	I am from Punjab.
ਦਿੱਲੀ ਤੋਂ ਆਇਆਂ।	dillī tõ āiā̃.	I am from Delhi.

3.15

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਅਮਰੀਕਾ ਤੋਂ ਆਏ ਨੇ।	amrīkā tõ āe ne.	He is from America.
ਪੰਜਾਬ ਤੋਂ ਆਏ ਨੇ।	pãjāb tõ āe ne.	He is from Punjab.
ਪਾਕਿਸਤਾਨ ਤੋਂ ਆਏ ਨੇ।	pākistān tõ āe ne.	He is from Pakistan.

3.16

Gurmukhi	Transcription	Translation
ਆਓ, ਸ਼ਹਿਰ ਚੱਲੀਏ।	āo, šέr čallīe.	Let's go to the city.
ਆਓ, ਅੰਦਰ ਚੱਲੀਏ।	āo, ãdar čallīe.	Let's go inside.
ਆਓ, ਬਾਹਰ ਚੱਲੀਏ।	āo, bā́r čallīe.	Let's go outside.

3.17

The only difference between the patterns of 3.10 and 3.11 is in the intonation. Listen to this carefully as your instructor pronounces these sentences, and practice the intonation thoroughly.

Lesson Topics

lesson 1

lesson 2

lesson 3

lesson 4

lesson 5

lesson 6

lesson 7

lesson 8

lesson 9

lesson 10

lesson 11

lesson 12

lesson 13

lesson 14

lesson 15

lesson 16

lesson 17

lesson 18

lesson 19

lesson 20

Lesson 3