Doabi dialect
Dialect of Punjabi
title: "Doabi dialect" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["languages-of-punjab,-pakistan", "languages-of-punjab,-india", "languages-of-india", "punjabi-culture", "punjabi-dialects"] description: "Dialect of Punjabi" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doabi_dialect" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Dialect of Punjabi ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Doabi |
| nativename | |
| states | India, Pakistan |
| region | {{collapsible list |
| familycolor | Indo-European |
| fam2 | Indo-Iranian |
| fam3 | Indo-Aryan |
| fam4 | Northwestern |
| fam5 | Punjabi |
| fam6 | Eastern Punjabi |
| map | File:Dialects_Of_Punjabi.jpg |
| mapcaption | Doabi in lime |
| isoexception | dialect |
| glotto | doab1238 |
| glottorefname | Doab |
| :: |
| name = Doabi | nativename = | states = India, Pakistan | region = {{collapsible list | title = Punjab |
- Bist Doab
- Faisalabad District
- Toba Tek Singh District | familycolor = Indo-European | fam2 = Indo-Iranian | fam3 = Indo-Aryan | fam4 = Northwestern | fam5 = Punjabi | fam6 = Eastern Punjabi | map = File:Dialects_Of_Punjabi.jpg | mapcaption = Doabi in lime | isoexception = dialect | glotto = doab1238 | glottorefname = Doab Doabi (Standard: ; Doabi: ), also known as Bist Doabi or Jalandhari, is an eastern dialect of the Punjabi language. The dialect is named after the region in which it originated, Doaba or Bist Doab, between the Beas and Sutlej. Its occurrence in parts of Pakistani Punjab owes to post-1947 migration of Punjabi Muslim populace from East Punjab. The region it is now spoken includes: the Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Una and Nawanshahr districts of Indian Punjab, including the areas known as the Dona and Manjki; and the Toba Tek Singh and Faisalabad districts of Pakistani Punjab; and some areas of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
The sub dialects of Doabi include Dona and Manjki.
Phonology
Consonants
::data[format=table title="Consonantal Inventory of Punjabi"]
| Labial | Dental/Alveolar | Postalveolar | Retroflex | Velar | Glottal | Plosive/Affricate | Tenuis | Aspirated | Voiced | Fricative | Approximant | Nasal | Lateral | Tap/Flap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | * | |||||||||||||
| * | ||||||||||||||
| *, * | * | |||||||||||||
| * | * | |||||||||||||
| * | ||||||||||||||
| * | ||||||||||||||
| :: |
Spirantisation of // and // is quite common in Punjabi, but this is less apparent in Doaba. Similarly, other Persian-borrowed phonemes are also pronounced in a more indigenous manner. are pronounced respectively. Another surprising aspect is that is almost always pronounced as .
Debuccalisation of , to in between vowels also occurs.
In the modern generation, and are pronounced as and . Except, some youngsters end up replacing and with and completely, rather than preferring the alveolar counterparts. and are also often realised as nasal and lateral flaps.
Doabi's fortition at the start of a word to as in (big) to .
They also use elsewhere in a word instead of as in (dream) to . A distinctive feature of Doabi is the use of w. Where appears in the middle of a word in Standard Punjabi, Doabis use so that (wind) becomes .
Also, the vowel is pronounced . Accordingly, (happy) becomes or (to beat - noun form) becomes . In Doabi, any word beginning with stressed is pronounced . For example, the word (to pull - noun form) is pronounced as or the word (in [something]) is pronounced as .
The Doabi dialect in its eastern part blends with the Malwai dialect of Ludhiana District, and in its Northern side, it shares the linguistic features of Pahari. Some of the linguistic features of the Doabi dialect that separate it from other Punjabi dialects are as below: ::data[format=table]
| Consonant | Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| ‘moment’ (ਪਲ/) | ||
| ‘fruit’ (ਫਲ/) | ||
| ‘firewood’(ਬਾਲਣ/) | ||
| ‘wire’ (ਤਾਰ/) | ||
| ‘round tray’(ਥਾਲ/) | ||
| ‘pulse’ (ਦਾਲ/) | ||
| ‘pile’ (ਟਾਲ/) | ||
| ‘correct’ (ਠੀਕ/) | ||
| ‘mail’ (ਡਾਕ/) | ||
| ‘imprint’ (ਛਾਪ/) | ||
| leech (ਜੋਕ/) | ||
| ‘crow’ (ਕਾਗ/) | ||
| ‘open’ (ਖੋਲ/) | ||
| ‘abuse’ (ਗਾਲ਼/) | ||
| ‘peacock’ (ਮੋਰ/) | ||
| ‘male’ (ਬੰਦਾ/) | ||
| * | ‘now’ (ਹੁਣ/) | |
| ‘red’ (ਰੱਤਾ/رتہ) | ||
| * | ‘near’ (ਕੋਲ਼/) | |
| ( ) | ‘hear’ (ਸੁਣ/) | |
| ( ) | ‘lion’ (ਸ਼ੇਰ/) | |
| ( ) | ‘strength’ (ਜ਼ੋਰ/) | |
| ( ) | ‘distance’ (ਫ਼ਾਸਲਾ/) | |
| ‘more’ (ਹੋਰ/) | ||
| ‘disease’ (ਰੋਗ/) | ||
| * | ‘pain’ (ਪੀੜ/) | |
| :: |
- does not occur word initially
Vowels===
::data[format=table title=""]
| Front | Center | Back | Long | Short | Long | Short | Close | Mid-close | Mid-open | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ʊ | ||||||||||
| :: |
Doabi has ten vowels. These are
For example:
::data[format=table]
| Vowel | Word | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| ਅ | ਅੱਖ // | 'eye' |
| ਉ | ਉਠ // | ‘awake’ |
| ਇ | ਇੱਟ // | ‘brick’ |
| ਆ | ਆਸ // | ‘hope’ |
| ਐ | ਐਨਕ // | spectacles’ |
| ਊ | ਊਠ // | ‘camel’ |
| ਏ | ਸ਼ੇਰ // | ‘lion’ |
| ਓ | ਮੋਰ // | ‘peacock’ |
| ਔ | // | ‘fear’ |
| ਈ | ਤੀਰ // | ‘arrow’ |
| :: |
One of the most distinctive features of Doabi is how its short close vowels are pronounced. Phonemically, they are:
But are phonetically:
Nasalisation
Nasalisation in Punjabi is phonemic.
Suprasegmental Features
Tone
Three tones are used in Doabi: low, mid and high. For example;
::data[format=table]
| Tone | Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| Falling | ਭਾ pà | ‘rate’ |
| Neutral | ਪਾ pa | ‘put’ |
| Rising | ਪਾਹ pá | ‘harsh’ |
| :: |
This tonogenesis occurred from the loss of breathy voiced consonants. Word-initially, they became voiceless plosives, but remained voiced word-medially and finally. This loss of phonemes led to tone to distinguish between similar morphemes.
When the consonant (that was breathy-voiced) is word initial, the vowel that follows has a falling tone. When the consonant is medial or word-final, it has a rising tone.
Loss of word-final also led to a rising tone in the preceding vowel.
Stress, however can change what tone on what syllable is present.
Stress
Stress in Doabi is realized in two ways, syntagmatically and paradigmatically.
Syntagmatically, stress-shift results in change of meaning. This kind of stress is often orthographically unmarked, and may shift any tone present in a word to the stressed syllable.
For example: ::data[format=table]
| Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|
| ਘੜਾ /'kə̀ɽa:/ | ‘pitcher’ |
| ਘੜਾ /kə'ɽà:/ | ‘to shape, sculpt, mold’ |
| :: |
Paradigmatically, Doabi has stressed and unstressed syllables;
::data[format=table]
| Unstressed | Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| s | satt | ‘essence’ |
| sirnawa | ‘address’ | |
| :: |
::data[format=table]
| Stressed | Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| s | sat | ‘seven’ |
| tt | patta | ‘leaf’ |
| :: |
Some basic vocabulary items
::data[format=table]
| Doabi word | English translation |
|---|---|
| ਪੇਅ | ‘father’ |
| ਭੈਣ | ‘sister’ |
| ਭਰਾ | ‘brother’ |
| ਸੇਂਅ | ‘apple’ |
| ਝੋੱਨਾ | ‘paddy’ |
| ਬੱਡਾ | ‘elder’ |
| :: |
Fortition of {{IPA|/ʋ/}} word-initially
Doabi's drop the letter "v" at the start of a word and use the letter "b" as in "vàdda" (big) to "bàdda". They also use the letter "o" elsewhere in a word instead of a "v" as in "Khvab" (dream) to "Khoaab". A distinctive feature of Doabi is the use of the "w" sound. Where "v" appears in the middle of a word in standard Punjabi, Doabis use "w" so that "hava" (wind) becomes "hawa". Also, the vowel "u" is pronounced with an "o". Accordingly, "khush" (happy) becomes "khosh" or "kuht" (to beat) becomes "koht". In Doabi, any word beginning with "i" is pronounced with "e". For example, the word "khich" (to pull) is pronounced as "khech" or the word "vich" (inside) is pronounced as "bech".
Doabis do not use "z" and therefore substitute "j". This is common in the Punjabi language as "z" is not indigenous to the area.
Grammar
Sentence structure
Doabi's end sentences with "aa" (present tense) and "sigey" (past —tense), instead of "han" (present tense) and "san" or "si" (past tense). "Aiddan", "Jiddan", "Kiddan" are all commonly used adverbs in Doabi as opposed to the "Aistaran/Enj," "Jistaran/Jivven," and "Kistaran/Kivven," used in Punjabi's prestige dialect, Majhi.
Present Tense: Usage of aa (sing.) and aa (plu.)
Examples: ::data[format=table]
| *spoken forms | |
|---|---|
| :: |
Past Tense: Uninflected sī, or number- and gender-inflected sīgā/sīgī/sīge/sīgīā, in Doabi
Examples: ::data[format=table]
| We were doing | āppā karde sī/sīge | asī̃ karde sã |
|---|---|---|
| :: |
Vocabulary
::data[format=table]
| Doabi | English | Standard Punjabi |
|---|---|---|
| ਹੋਊਗਾ "hōūgā" | Will Happen | "hōvēgā" |
| "bāɽa" | Cow shed | "havelī" |
| ਧੌਣ "dhauṇ" | Neck | "gardan" |
| "pāḷā " | Cold | "thand" |
| "kunjī" | Key | "chābbī" |
| "gaṭhe" | Onions | "ganḍē" |
| "niāṇe" | Children | "bacche" |
| "Dekhṇa" | To See | "Vekhṇā" |
| "kardā sī | To Be Doing | "kar ría ɛ̀" |
| "gábbe" | Middle | "vichkār" |
| "līre/talle" | Clothes | "kappaṛe" |
| "lītā" | Bought | "Leyayea" |
| :: |
Orthograpy
Doabi uses the Gurmukhi script.
Tone that occurs from the loss of breathy voiced consonants is shown through the following characters in orthography:
- ਘ
- ਝ
- ਢ
- ਧ
- ਭ
- ੜ੍ਹ
Notes
References
References
- "Punjabi University, Patiala.".
- [http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090629/punjab.htm Tribune 28 January 2009 Sarbjit Dhaliwal]
- "Chapter-III".
- "Density of Population".
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