I don’t know why it is, but for some reason, people today like to think that Punjabi is a language that is “improper” and that Urdu is a more decent language to speak. My own parents have developed this concept into their minds, which is a shame because they’re both pure Punjabis. I say this because they grew up speaking Punjabi with their families and also learned Urdu later. But one thing I noticed (and this is common amongst all my cousins as well) is that neither I nor any of my siblings actually speak in Punjabi. Our parents always spoke to us in Urdu, and so we are not good at speaking Punjabi, but we can understand it for the most part. I once even told my Ammi that I wanted to learn to speak Punjabi and I would speak that instead of Urdu and she said that I should “fix up my Urdu first, and besides, Punjabi isn’t a very decent language.”
Now, I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think any of the upcoming generation in America or even in Pakistan (aside from the pindhaaN) has a good grasp on Punjabi and I’m certain that their children will hardly even know it at all, if they ever even have the chance to hear it. I give credit to all the Sardars in the UK for forming such a strong Punjabi community because there is great influence there and from what I know, Punjabi is very commonly spoking in certain areas there.
Punjabi is one of the 5 oldest languages of the world. That’s pretty amazing and not many people know it. I don’t see how a language like Urdu is superior to Punjabi because not only was it developed afterwards, but there are also words in Punjabi that acknowledge the proper respect that should be given to certain people. (For example, instead of saying “tu” for the word “you”, one would say “tussi” if they wanted to be more respectful towards someone).
Anyways, I’d just like to know why it is that people have such a negative view of Punjabi.
Hmm, I'll bet whoever made that is an ABCD who, in fact, knows not the least bit of Punjabi to begin with. I don't see how that person can call themself a Punjabi then. :D
BIBI JEE, I’M MORE PUNJABI THAN THE MAYOR OF LAHORE …
i hear what your saying tho…but as long as there is swearing and cursing…punjabi will live on! (seriously, no better language to curse in than punjabi)
it’s like saying "aapki ki ammijaan ki blah blah" instead of “teri maa dey…”punjabi is pure rustic!
I know what you're talking about phati. It's been the case with my family as well, which is weird since one side of my family's been born and raised in the village, and the other side is just one generation away from it. We have been taught Urdu, while Punjabi was a language that only the adults spoke with each other. So much so, that the next generation of kids (my cousins) and their kids (neices and nephews) speak in urdu first, then english, and then punjabi, for the heck of it.
But you have to admit, Punjabis is a harsh language. It sounds tough. Not wishy washy and civilized like Urdu. (don't get me wrong, I love urdu) That's because Punjabi is a language of the villages. And that's what's so cool about it. At the same time, there is amazing Punjabi based literature out there. Listen to Heer Ranjha and you'd know. But, then again, there are some things that you just can't write in Punjabi because it doesn't have that caliber as say Urdu. And again, there are things such as folk songs that don't have the same meaning when translated into urdu or english.
You can't ignore the weirdness of it, or the fact that you really really can swear awesomely in it :D
My imam was Punjabi and he kept his kids from speaking punjabi cause he would slap(on the hand) the little girl named Ruxana every time she said something in punjabi. We would all be reading Quran and this would be done on a daily basis because her friends in the mosque spoke punjabi/urdu and when I asked him why do you do that he replied saying, 'It'll give her a hard time reading the Quran and it's a language that requires no effort and has no manners." I replied saying but aren't you punjabi, he said indeed and that was it.
^ your imam was a confused soul. I was brought up with the same mentality but i think punjabi is great energetic language. It is false to think that it is an impolite langauge because it all depends on who is speaking. If a person is jahil doesnt matter what language he speaks... they will make a mess of it.
There's curse words in every language. Now, if you think that insults "sound more harsh" when said in Punjabi, well then that's an opinion. That does not prove that Punjabi is an impolite language. It can be spoken with the utmost decency and respectfulness.
I disagree. Punjabi's not a formal language. To me atleast it doesn't sound formal. Urdu is a formal language. Punjabi's your every day, loosen your tie kinda language. I'm not saying it's impolite, but you can't just sit in your sunday best and try to be formal with punjabi.
i wus also brought up speaking urdu..n just like u fatty my parents are also pure punjabis.....my parents did speak punjabi with us her en there...but urdu wus prefereed...n with all the youngsters we speak urdu as its more "respectful"
I have already mentioned this before in a thread in cafe couple of weeks back that the universal rules established by linguists do not apply on the language punjabi.
First, it does not have a unanimous script of writting agreed upon by all punjabies. Keyword: Unanimous.
Punjabies in India, for the most part, if not all, write the language in GURUMUKHI script whereas Pakistani punjabies use Arabic script...
Second, although there have been many great poets and writters in the language, it did not evolve to the extent of it being considered as a FORMAL, and LITERAL language. It is more of a langauge that is widely used for conversation and not for literature.
Take the example of urdu. SOME OF the literature of Urdu is not even understood by a common speaker of Urdu, especially the old one... (anyone remembers Qissa Chahaar Dervaish by Meer Amman Dehlvi:D) The diction often is different and more eloquent than the spoken words. Some expressions are meant to be written than expressed in Urdu. Punjabi lacks that right there...
Ofcourse, such a description often offends some emotional punjabies but it is, not in any way, a disrespect to that language. It is just a judgement based on some rules. Nothing more, nothing less... Great language and I avoid it because of the reasons mentioned above by Lajawab :D
But I see you’ve made the point that Punjabi has not evolved to the point where most people can not understand it. Is this the criteria for a “formal language”?
Then, I used an example of Urdu and in fact, I mentioned that written urdu is often difficult to understand due to its LITERARY factor whereas Punjabi, being a common language, does not make use of eloquent words that are only known to literature but words that are commonly used.
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(seriously, no better language to curse in than punjabi)
I said: