Hey! Punjabi is a Pakistani language, too!

[baghend]

My best wishes to all Punjabi's, Pakistan and India. And here in Canada.

-Bill in Canada

[ManishS19]

I don't agree with 76 million. You're adding Saraiki, Hindko and other dialects to Punjabi. Saraiki is a separate language and many dialects like Hindko and Riasati would be considered part of Saraiki. So the number is closer to 50-60 million. Yes its much more than Indian Punjab but still not accurate.

[ihaveacomputer]

@ManishS19 Hello Manish! The 2008 Pakistani census actually separates Saraiki from Punjabi. I used that census for the numbers I've included here. Perhaps their methodology was flawed, though? Please let me know if you have a more reliable source.

[GollaGandaLova]

And yes there are more way more punjabis who are paki then indian, but paki punjabis have lost their cultural identity...They talk in urdu (not a punjabi language) and think they are ARABS.

[navjot2701]

Sukhmani ji Punjabi language was not invented by the Sikh gurus, it was an already existing language that was adopted by the gurus. Although they did introduce the gurmukhi alphabets but did not invent the language.

[navideol88]

keep it up man this is preeti good.

[theeffulgentone]

Punjabi language movement in Pakistan: youtu. be/72iAP0OjJw0 (heh I can tell the reporter is Punjabi too, speaking in typical Punjabi accented urdu)

[ddsk1191]

This is a great video. As a foreigner who lived in Punjab for five years, I can vouch that this language is beautiful and that Punjabis (Pakistani AND Indian!) are great people. I think that more people need to learn Punjabi, especially because it is so prominent. I don't see many books on learning the language, but hopefully people will become more aware of this great language in years to come. Sat Siri Akal!

[Amardeep661]

this guy is right my grand pa was born in 1927 in punjab and he can write shah mukhi real good even though he is a sikh...right on man!

[theeffulgentone]

@Amardeep661 a Sikh friend of mine said her grandma still signs her name in Shahmukhi :)

It would be great if their was a newspaper in UK (Birmingham, Glasgow, Wolverhampton areas etc) and Canada (Punjabis everywhere!) etc where the newspaper was both in Shahmukhi and Gurumukhi. Maybe one already exists, but it would certainly help if you wanted to learn Gurumukhi or Shahmukhi and could already read one script.

Got to love APNA though, they're doing a lot for the cause.

[ktpunjab]

@Amardeep661 buddy, a close friend of mine, Surinder, his father still reads urdu newspapers as he learned shahmukhi when he was student. So Surinder takes copy of Urdu weekly newspaper for him from grocery shops... interesting, isn't it ?

[realplayazkickass]

damn dude ur pretty intelligent on the topics of South Asia...what got a gora like u so interested in the region? lol just curious....keep it up!

[realplayazkickass]

finally!! i hate it when Punjabi is only associated with Sikhs/India

[workhardt2]

Religion, today is mostly culture. Whether one religion is better, greater than another is unknown. But what is sure, is that when societies take up a new religion, there is a mass cultural conversion, alot of disorder and confusion follows. An identity crisis is also acquired.

[workhardt2]

With the changing to religion within the Pakistani Punjabis a script using arab letters was initiated thus we have Shahmuki. Much like in Iran, where Farsi today is written with an Arabic script, Urdu is mostly structured around 13th century Hindi, with alot of borrowed words from Persian and an Arabic script. The scared script of Islam is Arabic. Well as the scared script for Sikhs is Gurumuki. For Hindus it is Devanagiri. An Exchange of Gods causes alot of Disorder and Confusion in society.

[LAKOPUNJABI]

You know your Punjabi, When Hindi & Urdu is not overtaking you, You listen to separate music. You eat different food that is famous in the Punjab States, you use a different language, Theres No: "Hai, Haan, Ho" in our sentences, its "aa". If your Punjabi & you know it, Like the Comment! :D

[ihaveacomputer]

@LAKOPUNJABI "aa" is actually most characteristic of Doabi, a dialect with speakers who are definitely not in the majority! Very few people ever pronounce the "h" when speaking, though; "ai" and "o" are quite common in Malwai, for example. I agree with your point, though! I like using "theth" Punjabi words as often as possible. "Udeek" instead of "intazar", for example, or "partna" instead of "vaapas auna".

[sukhmani57]

@ihaveacomputer punjbai language indian language

who speaks punjabi they going in pakistan

tht s why in pakistan some people speak punjabi

this is inidan language

pakistan is the part o india lol beffore 1947,,,,,,,n the sikh gurus made punjabi lanaguage lol

[msontario18]

@sukhmani57 just cause Sikh gurus made Punjabi dosent mean that Pakistanis don't use it. i advise you to visit cities in Pakistan like multan,all you will hear is Punjabi. stop acting like you OWN Punjabi, you don't see Americans and Canadians fighting over English.. jeez.

[theeffulgentone]

@sukhmani57 So Baba Farid who died in 1288 was writing in Tamil then? Doesn't matter what script you use Punjabi is Punjabi Brother! Many people write Punjabi in Roman text, doesn't mean it's English! Also weren''t Punjabi Poetry and Punjabi folk stories written in Shahmukhi? and Yes Punjabi is both a Pakistani and Indian language as we were once country and it belongs to both! It's like saying Bangladeshis can't speak Bengali and it's only an Indian language!

[LAKOPUNJABI]

@ihaveacomputer Yeah "aa" is used but "ai" and "o" is also used. But to make the differences betwen male and female, words with "aa" is turn it neutral. As in words ending with "ee/i" to be feminine words, said by a woman not a man. Yes but the difference between Punjabi in Pakistan to India is that on the Pakistan side they use Urdu; using "z" instead of "j" e.g. Sabzi instead of Sabji and with other words.

[LAKOPUNJABI]

At some points in the vid, he bragged on. Some high advanced vocabulary. Haha in Punjabi all high advanced vocabulary words are English, or otherwise then Hindi. Words like International=Anteroshtri which is Hindi, many words are borrowed. & NO! "like villagers" where ever in Punjab, people dont use large vocabulary on a daily basis. If do in sentences, its usually English, if its the news then they use Hindi vocabulary.

[ihaveacomputer]

@LAKOPUNJABI Lots of Punjabis use higher vocabulary, and a standard exists; you can find it in any academic book. The non-academic tends to substitute English words instead, but it's not as marked a difference as exists in Hindi. A lot of educated Punjabis are comfortable speaking the way news anchors do.

Remember that Punjabi isn't necessarily borrowing from Hindi, but from Sanskrit, just as Hindi does. Pakistani Punjabi borrows from Arabic and Persian. English from Latin and Greek.

[LAKOPUNJABI]

@ihaveacomputer Yes I get the point you are stating. But as you are saying higher vocabulary is spoken by the educated Punjabi's. Its not always commonly used, although people do speak the way news reporters do, English is studied largely, so words are always used as well as Hindi. Many high vocabulary words in Punjabi are uncommon to be spoken with, unlike in Hindi where those words are more commonly said, so in a way Punjabi uses English/Hindi to fill in sentences.

[GollaGandaLova]

@ihaveacomputer I'm Pakistani myself. Muslim Punjabis in Pakistan are complex ridden assholes and they feel very inferior to other races, They're not proud of being punjabis. Unlike Indian Punjabis, Punjabis of Pakistan have lost all their culture and they only speak in Urdu and English. Pakistani Punjabis try to act like Arabs and not like true Punjabis. Punjabis of Pakistan think they're from the Middle East or Iran...and hate when someone calls them "Indian".

[workhardt2]

The fear in Pakistan, is that once they speak Punjabi, and there is a Renaissance of Punjabi culture, there will be an even more dizzying realization that the Pakistanis are Indias. A fact that Pakistan has been attempting to evade since independence.

[LAKOPUNJABI]

@workhardt2 I agree!! Urdu is kept the national language, im surprised how Pakistani Punjabi's are so Urdu notified, compare to Indian Punjabi's.

[ThePacifist91]

@workhardt2

There is no such thing as "Indian" culture since the country is so diverse. Hence, there is no need to worry and India like Pakistan did not exist pre-partition. Hind was a term often used by foreigners to refer to the land east of the Indus River but the region was never a united country but instead a region made up of different princely states and kingdoms.

[ThePacifist91]

@workhardt2

Pakistani Punjabis should embrace their ethnic language and culture as it only makes them closer to their ethnic brothers across the border and not necessarily to the rest of India. Besides, Indian Punjabis only make around 3% of the Indian population.

[workhardt2]

Dude, how the hell do u know so much about this region ?

[d3r2000]

persian has routes from sanskrit the bigger difference would be in arabic. We can promote poetry and music more so maybe even universities.

[bazookajoe77]

paksitan's punjabi is split up into different dialects...there is no standard way of talking as in india. As a result, punjabi is branded a slang language...not something to be taken seriously. this is not changing anytime soon. english>urdu>>>>>>>punjabi.

[bazookajoe77]

moreover, punjabi is a joke to these communities..they dont see any richness..only foolishness. punjabi=sikh. its very easy to learn this language if you know hindi or urdu...there is a reason why muslims and hindus don't go out and learn the language...answer is they are ashamed of being punjabi. there are few exceptions..but 99% of proud punjabis are sikhs.

[ihaveacomputer]

@bazookajoe77 Urdu is still the preferred language of the Pakistani elite, and Hindi continues to enjoy a higher level of social prestige amongst some groups within Indian Punjab. It's very easy to sit abroad, however, and make sweeping statements about all Hindus and all Muslims. 99% of proud Punjabi speakers are most definitely not only Sikh. If you look at the roster of scholars for the most recent Punjabi World Conference, there were more Muslims participating than Sikhs and Hindus combined.

[ihaveacomputer]

@ihaveacomputer There's no doubt that Punjabi's place in the Sikh community is unique, but the others are by no means ready to abandon Punjabi altogether. As I said in the video, there's a Punjabi renaissance currently underway in Pakistan. This needs to be embraced, nurtured and encouraged by other groups. No good will come out of telling Muslims or Hindus that they are traitors to the language.

[bazookajoe77]

@ihaveacomputer All I know is who are the people watching your videos...mostly sikhs who care for the language. If we look at the majority of people...not scholars...it is the sikh people promoting punjabi...it is funny because people in india are dying to call themselves punjabi and own punjabi people want nothing to do with it.

[bazookajoe77]

@ihaveacomputer well, even us first generation canadians or americans are guilty as we don't speak in punjabi with each other, but my point is that there is clearly a difference between religious communities. I'm sure u know uve lived in india...the hindu people would be the ones speaking hindi on campus. sikhs keep it real by speaking punjabi at punjab university in the state of punjab. my point: focus on sikh people for punjabi to flourish as hindus definitely dont have pride.

[bazookajoe77]

@bazookajoe77 muslims are different. Ive met muslims from gujranwala who speak very sweet punjabi. some people want that connection...others don't. i guess it depends on person for them.

[deolpukhraj]

@ihaveacomputer well said. Thanks for making this video Steven! You are right in suggesting all Punjabis to learn Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi. After watching this video i feel i must learn Shahmukhi.

Dear fellow Punjabis! lets stand united and work on keeping our beautiful language alive.

[rahulbangar786]

@ihaveacomputer I am an Hindu and Main punbabi att d bolda haan :)

[theeffulgentone]

@bazookajoe77 No it's not trust me! You go into rural Punjab (the Pakistani side) and the people are fiercely proud of the language and the culture, just youtube villages in Punjab and you'll see plenty of videos to prove that. It's just the elite that are pushing Urdu onto everyone by implying that you are somehow less Pakistani for speaking your mother tongue. As an identity it's still very much there though, even if you only speak Urdu people tend to know you're a Punjabi.

[theeffulgentone]

Punjabi is a wonderful language and this is such a great video! Thank you for making this! You're probably doing a lot more work than a lot of Punjabis are doing at preserving the language! I'd love it if you'd speak about the different dialects too. I know that in Punjab (the Pakistani side anyway) it feels like the dialect changes every 5 miles.

[theeffulgentone]

I agree, it's ignorant to think that Punjabi should only belongs to one religion, Punjabi is a language that has existed for centuries, Hindu Yogis were writing in it long before we were born, a Muslim Sufi was the first major poet of Punjabi (Baba Farid) and It the language central to Sikhism. Christian Punjabis sing beautiful hymns in the language, to assume that somehow it should belong to only one religion, is incredibly naive. I'm sure the Punjabi Atheist/Agnostics would agree with me!

[bazookajoe77]

muslims and hindu have history with punjabi...but let's be real they have no future with it. We all live in foreign countries, my question is who is promoting punjabi music, who is teaching there kids punjabi...sikh people. this is not so hard to understand, muslim people are influenced by islam...the most they will learn is urdu. hindu people... they consider themselves same with other north indians. look at indian punjabi movies...the actors are all sikh.

[theeffulgentone]

@bazookajoe77 You obviously haven't heard of the Punjabi masterpiece Maula Jatt haha! Punjabi movies probably earn more than Urdu movies in Pakistan, fair enough Lollywood has been dead lately, but the Punjabi movies bring in the money. Punjabi music is certainly a hit, not so much with the pop and bhangra, but classical music and traditional folk music has always been popular in Pakistan, even some non-Punjabi artists release a few songs in Punjabi once in a while.

[sheru7mera7naam007]

also found this ..."The first traces of Punjabi can be found in the works of the Nath yogis Gorakshanath and Charpatnath in the 9th and 10th century. "

[sheru7mera7naam007]

@imsingh24 actually the first punjabi literature was written by a Muslim Saint in the 11th century in the Shahmukhi script; Sikhism arrived in the 15th century and the language became associated with the religion afterwards

[bhattirajput1990]

AapaN punjabi haaN Pakistan touN, Punjabi saddi maaN boli aa sanu idhay tay maan a

[imsingh24]

Ok, your right but the reason punjabi is more closely related to sikhism is because the language and culture originated with sikhs. But all punjabi speakers should respect their mother tongue and learn punjabi no matter what language it is written in, it is a part of who we are and our history.

[theeffulgentone]

@imsingh24 Brother, with respect Baba Farid was writing in a language that seemed a lot like Punjabi in the 12th century! In fact the majority of Punjabi folk stories were written by Muslims (and their characters Muslims too). It wasn't a language that someone just created out of the blue! Punjabi is for everyone! Love our History <3 I doubt our ancestors whatever their religion spoke in Hindi/Urdu!

[satindersaroya]

I like your word PUNJABIAT in captian

[satindersaroya]

well ! one thing I can clearly see is that any particular language no matter punjabi, urdu, or hindi english whatever is great in itself.

[bhangrafan]

i just wanted to point out that in Delhi there are many Punjabi speakers as well, as many refugees from the 1947 partition settled in Delhi.

[sins1989]

Well put, my grandma was telling me how when she was growing up (before the partition) she was made to learn urdu at school and everyone was just meant to learn punjabi from using it at home and in the playgrounds. But during the partition the schools where told to set the exams in punjabi, so most her class failed. It's sad to see how the education system was dragged down by all of punjab because of the partition!

[sangeensingh]

great!

[jsdwar]

Great work Stephen! I'm Indian Punjabi and love Pak Punjabi music... Bhangra is fantastic and also good to hear different music genres in Punjabi and for that, West Punjabis are really superb...Listen to - Hadiqa Kiyani, Meesha Shafi, Qutar-Al-Ain Baloch, Ali Abbas, Sachal Studios Lahore and Farah Anwar, Abrar-Al-Haq..... I could go on and on....

[theeffulgentone]

@jsdwar coke studio is amazing isn't it? Indian Punjabi music is popular in West Punjab too! Gurdas Mann is a hit over there, usually it's Abrar playing in shops in the pind, but I've heard Gurdas too haha.

[merajoga]

why are they so ashamed of it then? you are not in touch with reality my friend.

[puttjattda101]

yep punjabi is well diversified, but one thing is .....not all the people who speak punjabi speak it the wayyyy "TRUEEEE JATT'S" like i do ;) hahaha, just kidding....(no im not)

[firefliforeva]

@puttjattda101 Why are you bringing caste into this? Did you even watch the video?

[spacekangaroo]

And by the way, your video nicely captures what I've always been trying to explain to people myself: that Punjabi is not an Indian or Sikh language. You don't know how many times I've heard people equate Punjabi with Sikh. My Sikh Punjabi friends are often shocked to learn that there are more Muslim Punjabis in the world than Sikh ones, and that Punjabi is, by far, Pakistan's most spoken language.

[firefliforeva]

@spacekangaroo I've seen this a lot in Canada. People in India consider anyone who's from the state of Punjab as Punjabi (no matter which religion they belong to) but here it is different. One time a Canadian girl (with Pakistani roots) asked me what my background was. I replied that I was Punjabi. She, in turn, said she was Muslim. -_- I guess she doesn't realise that Punjabi is not a religion...

[theeffulgentone]

@spacekangaroo You know why that is incredibly sad? Partition was not that long ago our nankay and dadkay lived side by side with people of various other religions and most of us have grown up with stories about those times. How could you not know that there are two Punjabs? It's like a Brit or American not knowing what World War 2 is!

[spacekangaroo]

You've inspired me to practice my Shahmukhi. I learned how to read Urdu from my dad many years ago, but after using it for a while, I stopped practicing and focused on practicing my Punjabi and Hindi instead. I've always been meaning to start practicing reading the Perso-Arabic script again, but until I watched this video, it was primarily to improve my Urdu reading, not for Punjabi. In fact, I never really gave much thought to the idea of reading Punjabi in Shahmukhi!

[doosriradha]

this guy is going to make a great professor teaching languages from india

[doosriradha]

i love listing to this guy

[ha6464]

Excellent, I'm so happy you covered this topic! Much appreciated.

[PunjabiSoulQueen]

Punjabi is the most beautiful language in the world. I'm proud to speak my mother-tongue: Punjabi.

[samuraichef999]

I am an Indian Punjabi, and my Grandfather was from Lahore originally. He taught me basic shahmukhi and how to write simple words in shahmukhi. LOLZ...Nowdays my Indian friends who are in love with Lahori Stage Drama and Comedies sometimes ask me to read the names of those videos on youtube which get posted in shahmukhi. Takes me a while, but I get it done good enough to deliver that which is needed. THANKS for your videos mate! Love your work. CHEERS!

[DrDread]

This is brilliant. Thank you for helping to delineate that language is not religiously exclusive. I am from London, and have lots of Punjabi friends (both Indian and Pakistani) who will benefit immensely from this video. I have developed great interest in learning the language (your videos have been of utmost inspiration in my pursuit!) We await future videos with anticipation!

[javbristol]

thanks bro - great video! Jeendey vasde ravo!

[bit2spam]

please make a video of understanding gurumukhi script as a non punjabi Indian..

[yoyoma1428]

I love this! I'm sikh, and i totally agree that punjabi shouldn't belong to one religion. Just like English doesn't belong to a relgion.

[TechnicolourCity]

I think your videos are just a little bit to long. Very informative though!

[pal506]

FIRST MUHAHAH LOVE YOUR VIDEOS :)