Punjabi

Punjabi is an Indo-European language of the Northwestern branch of the Indo-Iranian family, spoken by Punjabis in the Punjab region of South Asia and by diaspora communities around the world. It is part of the Western Punjabi subgroup, with a continuum of dialects. In India, the standard written form is Eastern Punjabi, written in the Gurmukhi script; in Pakistan, Western Punjabi is commonly written in Shahmukhi.

Major dialects include Majhi (the basis for the standard form), Doabi, Malwai, Puadhi, Pothohari, and Shahpuri. Punjabi is typically written from left to right in Gurmukhi, and from right to left in Shahmukhi. The language features a rich set of phonological contrasts and a flexible word-formation system, contributing to a wide variety of stylistic expressions in speech and literature.

Punjabi has a rich literary and oral tradition, with poetry and folk literature occupying a central place in cultural expression. The Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh religious scripture, is written in Gurmukhi. Modern Punjabi literature includes poetry, novels, and journalism, produced in both India and Pakistan and increasingly in diaspora communities.

In India, Punjabi is an official language of the state of Punjab and is one of the 22 scheduled languages of the Indian constitution. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language in the Punjab province. The language has a large global diaspora, with communities in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Australia, and the Middle East maintaining Punjabi-language media and cultural institutions.