75km
50miles

Baramulla

Srinagar

Bagh

Rajouri

Poonch

Jhelum

Murree

Mirpur

Gujarkhan

Bharakao

Abbottabad

Muzaffarabad

  

There are at least three major dialects: Pothwari, Mirpuri and Pahari.

The dialects are mutually intelligible, but the difference between the northernmost and the southernmost dialects (from Muzaffarabad and Mirpur respectively) is enough to cause difficulties in understanding.

Pothwari (پوٹھواری), also spelt Potwari, Potohari and Pothohari (پوٹھوہاری), is spoken in the north-eastern portion of Pothohar Plateau of northern Punjab, an area administratively within Rawalpindi division. Pothwari is its most common name, and some call it Pindiwal Punjabi to differentiate it from the Punjabi spoken elsewhere in Punjab.

Pothwari extends southwards up to the Salt Range, with the city of Jhelum marking the border with Majha Punjabi. To the north, Pothwari transitions into the Pahari-speaking area, with Bharakao, near Islamabad, generally regarded as the point where Pothwari ends and Pahari begins. In Attock and Chakwal districts of Pothohar, Pothohari comes in contact with other Lahnda varieties, namely Chacchi, Awankari and Dhanni. In Pindi Gheb, yet another dialect is spoken, Ghebi.

Pothwari has been represented as a dialect of Punjabi by the Punjabi language movement, and in census reports the Pothwari areas of Punjab have been shown as Punjabi-majority.

East of the Pothwari areas, across the Jhelum River into Mirpur District in Azad Kashmir, the language is more similar to Pothwari than to the Pahari spoken in the rest of Azad Kashmir. Locally it is known by a variety of names: Pahari, Mirpur Pahari, Mirpuri, and Pothwari, while some of its speakers call it Punjabi. Mirpuris possess a strong sense of Kashmiri identity that overrides linguistic identification with closely related groups outside Azad Kashmir, such as the Pothwari Punjabis. The Mirpur region has been the source of the greater part of Pakistani immigration to the UK, a process that started when thousands were displaced by the construction of the Mangla Dam in the 1960s and emigrated to fill labour shortages in England. The British Mirpuri diaspora now numbers several hundred thousand, and Pahari has been argued to be the second most common mother tongue in the UK, yet the language is little known in the wider society there and its status has remained surrounded by confusion.

Pahari (پہاڑی) is spoken to the north of Pothwari. The central cluster of Pahari dialects is found around Murree. This area is in the Galyat: the hill country of Murree Tehsil in the northeast of Rawalpindi District (just north of the capital Islamabad) and the adjoining areas in southeastern Abbottabad District. One name occasionally found in the literature for this language is Dhundi-Kairali (Ḍhūṇḍī-Kaiṛālī), a term first used by Grierson who based it on the names of the two major tribes of the area – the Kairal and the Dhund. Its speakers call it Pahari in Murree tehsil, while in Abbottabad district it is known as either Hindko or Ḍhūṇḍī. Nevertheless, Hindko – properly the language of the rest of Abbottabad District and the neighbouring areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – is generally regarded as a different language. It forms a dialect continuum with Pahari, and the transition between the two is in northern Azad Kashmir and in the Galyat region. For example, on the road from Murree northwest towards the city of Abbottabad, Pahari gradually changes into Hindko between Ayubia and Nathiagali.

A closely related dialect is spoken across the Jhelum River in Azad Kashmir, north of the Mirpuri areas. Names associated in the literature with this dialect are Pahari (itself the term most commonly used by the speakers themselves), Chibhālī, named after the Chibhal region or the Chibh ethnic group, and Pahari (Poonchi) (پونچھی, also spelt Punchhi). The latter name has been variously applied to either the Chibhali variety specific to the district of Poonch, or to the dialect of the whole northern half of Azad Kashmir. This dialect (or dialects) has been seen either as a separate dialect from the one in Murree, or as belonging to the same central group of Pahari dialects. The dialect of the district of Bagh, for example, has more shared vocabulary with the core dialects from Murree (86–88%) than with the varieties of either Muzaffarabad (84%) or Mirpur (78%).

In Muzaffarabad the dialect shows lexical similarity of 83–88% with the central group of Pahari dialects, which is high enough for the authors of the sociolinguistic survey to classify it is a central dialect itself, but low enough to warrant noting its borderline status. The speakers however tend to call their language Hindko and to identify more with the Hindko spoken to the west, despite the lower lexical similarity (73–79%) with the core Hindko dialects of Abbottabad and Mansehra. Further north into the Neelam Valley the dialect, now known locally as Parmi, becomes closer to Hindko.

Pahari is also spoken further east across the Line of Control into the Pir Panjal mountains in Indian Jammu and Kashmir. The population, estimated at 1 million, is found in the region between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers: most significantly in the districts of Poonch and Rajouri, to a lesser extent in neighbouring Baramulla and Kupwara, and also – as a result of the influx of refugees during the Partition of 1947 – scattered throughout the rest of Jammu and Kashmir. Pahari is among the regional languages listed in the sixth schedule of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir. This Pahari is sometimes conflated with the Western Pahari languages spoken in the mountainous region in the south-east of Indian Jammu and Kashmir. These languages, which include Bhadarwahi and its neighbours, are often called "Pahari", although not same they are closely related to Pahari–Pothwari.

Pahari-Pothwari is also very widely spoken in the United Kingdom. Labour shortages after World War II, and the displacement of peoples caused by the construction of the Mangla Dam, facilitated extensive migration of Pahari-Pothwari speakers to the UK during the 1950s and 1960s, especially from the Mirpur District. Academics estimate that between two thirds and 80% of people officially classified as British Pakistanis originate as part of this diaspora, with some suggesting that it is the second most spoken language of the United Kingdom, ahead of even Welsh, with hundreds of thousands of speakers. However, since there is little awareness of the identity of the language among speakers, census results do not reflect this. The highest proportions of Pahari-Pothwari speakers are found in urban centres, especially the West Midlands conurbation and the West Yorkshire Built-up Area.

A long diphthong /ɑi/ can be realized as [äː].

• Sounds [f, ʒ, χ, ʁ, q] are heard from Persian and Arabic loanwords.
• /h/ is realized as voiced [ɦ] in word-initial position.
• /n/ before a velar consonant can be heard as [ŋ].

The future tense in Pothwari is formed by adding -s as opposed to the Eastern Punjabi gā.

This tense is also used in other Western Punjabi dialects such as the Jatki dialects, Shahpuri, Jhangochi and Dhanni, as well as in and Hindko and Saraiki.

This type of future tense was also used by classical Punjabi poets. Punjabi poet Bulleh Shah sometimes uses a similar form of future tense in his poetry

Shahmukhi: جو کُجھ کرسَیں, سو کُجھ پاسَیں

Transliteration: Jo kujh karsãĩ, so kujh pāsãĩ

Translation: Whatsoever you do, is what you shall gain

- From one of Bulleh Shah's poems

Similar to other Punjabi varieties, Pothwari uses peyā (past tense form of pēṇā) to signify the continuous tense.

The past tense in Pothwari resembles that of Eastern Punjabi, however depending on the dialect, there may be slight variations.

The place of "pyā" may sometimes be switched with respect to the verb. This is common in Majhi (e.g: Noor Jehan's "Chann Māhi Teri Rāh Pyi Takkni Aā̃) and as well as in Jhangochi, Shahpuri, etc

"Tusā̃ báhū̃ changā kamm karne ò pa'e", meaning "You (plural/sing. formal) are doing a very good thing"

"Mē̃ vī tā̃ éhe gall ākhnā sā̃ peyā", meaning "I was also saying the same thing"

"Mē̃ vī tā̃ ehe gall peyā ākhnā ā̃̀", meaning "I am also saying the same thing"

These are typically the same in Pothohari and Standard Punjabi, but some differences can be noted.

Note:

• Some Majhi subdielcts do use کٹھّیوں for کٹھّیاں
• Standard Punjabi makes use of اُپّر
• In Pothohari مسیں means now, while in other dialects مسیں / مساں means "barely/hardly"
• The pronunciation وِشکار is not unique to Pothohari alone
• The word and expression ہلا / Hala is common throughout Western Punjab, also used in Majhi

Pahari-Pothwari speakers belong to the same tribes found in Punjab. While the names of the tribes remain the same, the Punjabi word for tribe Birādrī/Barādarī (برادری) becomes Bilādrī/Balādarī (بل ادری) in Pahari-Pothwari and several other Punjabi dialects such as Jatki/Shahpuri.

Pahari-Pothwari follows the numbering traditions of Standard Punjabi. A point of departure from Eastern Punjabi dialects occurs in the use of Trai (ترَے) instead of Tinn (تِنّ) for the number 3. Other Western Punjabi dialects also tend to use trai over tinn.

Similarly, Pothwari, Majhi and other Western Punjabi dialects use "Yārā̃" (یاراں) for "Gyarā̃" (گیاراں), "Trei" (ترئی) for "Tei" (تئی) "Panji" (پنجِی) for "Pachchi" (پچّی) and "Trih" (ترِیہہ) for "Tih" (تِیہہ), for the numbers 11, 23, 25, and 30.

Unlike Jhangochi, Shahpuri and Dhanni Punjabi dialects, Pothohari does not use "Dāh" for 10, and instead uses "Das" as in Eastern Punjabi and Urdu/Hindi.

The numbers in their oblique form function the same throughout Punjabi dialects.

The ordinal numbers are largely the same. The only difference occurs in the words for Second and Third. Second is Doowa (دووا) in Pothwari, whilst it is Dooja (دوجا) in Punjabi. Likewise Third is Treeya (تریا) in Pothwari whilst it is Teeja (تیجا) in Punjabi. Western Punjabi in general tends to follow this trend.

Pronominal suffixes

Pothohari makes use of the general Punjabi suffixes.

These cases remain the same between Pothohari and other dialects.

As example of the vocative case:

The dative and definite object marker in Pothwari is kī (ਕੀ /کی) as opposed to nū̃ (ਨੂੰ / نوں) in Standard Punjabi.

• The phrase: lokkā̃ nū̃ (ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨੂੰ / لوکاں نوں), meaning "to the people" in Standard Punjabi, would become lokkā̃ kī (ਲੋਕਾਂ ਕੀ / لوکاں کی) in Pothwari.

Hence, the objective personal pronouns would be as follows:

The genitive marker in Pahari-Pothwari is represented through the use of nā (ਨਾ / نا) as opposed to dā (ਦਾ / دا) in common Punjabi.

• The phrase: lokkā̃ dā (ਲੋਕਾਂ ਦਾ / لوکاں دا), meaning "people's" or "of the people" in Pahari-Pothwari, would become lokkā̃ nā (ਲੋਕਾਂ ਨਾ / لوکاں نا)

It should also be noted that in Pahari-Pothwari, the present form of verb does not end with the standard dā sound either, and is replaced with nā. This means that ākhdā would be ākhnā in Pahari-Pothwari meaning "to say" and similarly the word takkdā would be takknā in Pahari-Pothwari meaning "to look/to watch".

For example:

• Miki eh nih si cāhinā (میکی ایہہ نِیہ سی چاہینا), meaning "This is not what I wanted"
• Oh kai pyā ākhnā ae? (اوہ کے پیا آخنا ہے؟), meaning "What is he saying?"
• This also affects the common Punjabi passive tense: Is tarhā̃ nih ākhī nā (اِس طرحاں نہیں آخی نا), instead of "ākhee dā", meaning "That's not how it should be said"

Pahari-Pothwari has unique forms for nouns in oblique cases. This is not observed in Standard Punjabi, but is seen in Hindko.

A peculiar feature of Pahari-Pothwari is to end the basic root form of verbs with an "i" sound.

A majority of the general verbs between Pothohari and most other dialects of Punjabi appears to be the same.

Note:

• Eastern Majhi and Malvai use Khichchna for pulling, while Western Majhi, Jhangochi, Shahpuri, Pothohari use Chhikkna.
• Eastern dialects will use Bhann-Toṛ and Ṭuṭṭ-Bhajj, while Western dialects like Pothohari use Bhann-Troṛ and Truṭṭ-Bhajj.
• Saṭṭna for throwing is used in Western dialects, and Chaana for picking. (As opposed to Suṭṭna / Chukkna), though Pothohari may use Chukkna as well.
• Pothohari verbs do not seem to involve the -aavna or -aauna sound. This is similar to certain Majhi sub-dialects.
• Labbhna is used for obtaining and receiving as in most dialects of Punjabi, however it is often not used in the active sense. For this Pothohari prefers Loṛna. (The passive form of this word "Loṛeenda" is commonly used in Standard Punjabi)
• The Pothohari word for grabbing and holding is Nappṅa (common in Punjabi) and Lapaṛna (unique verb)

• Bhannṅa (to break) and Bhajjṅa (to be broken)
• Bhunnṅa (to roast) and Bhujjṅa (to be roasted)
• Rinnhṅa (to cook) and Rijjhṅa (to be cooked)
• Ḍolhṅa (to spill) and Dullhṅa (to be spilt)
• Laahṅa (to take off) and Lehṅa (to descend/come off)
• Laveṛna (to besmear) and Livaṛna (to be besmeared)

Differences in brackets.

• Khaadhā
• Peetā
• Dittā
• Keetā
• Suttā
• Moeā
• Seāṅtā (Jhangochi/Shahpuri/Dhanni: Seātā, Majhi: Seāṅeā)
• Latthā
• Ḍhaṭṭhā
• Baddhā
• Nahātā
• Dhotā
• Khaltā (In other dialects: Khalotā) e.g.: Miki saɽke apar khalteon addhā ghantā hoi gya sā
• Baṅtā (In other dialects: Baṅeā) e.g.: Chāʼ kadū̃ ni banti hoi ae
• Guddhā

Used throughout Punjabi dialects (e.g.: Majhi, Jhangochi, etc.)

• Gall suṅeṉ na (Please listen)
• Gall suṅ khā̃ (Listen up!)

Word for sleep

The names of family relations are mostly the same throughout the Punjabi dialects.

Some words unique to Pothohari include:

• Daad-Potraa to refer to a cousin (Son of father's brother, Potraa is a common Punjabi word)
• Be for mother (Eastern Punjabi does use Be-Be for mother)
• Bhaapaa for brother (Sometimes used in Eastern-Majhi)

Names of body parts are the same throughout Punjabi dialects with minimal differences if any.

The Pahari-Pothwari word for "coming" is acchṇā, whereas for "going" gacchṇā, julṇā and jāṇā are used.

The imperative for gacchṇā is both gacch and gau.

Pahari-Pothwari causative verbs end with -ālnā. This feature also exists in the Eastern Majhi dialect. (e.g.: Vikhālṇā)

*Notes

Not all causative verbs are formed like this, e.g. to play -kheṛṇā to khaṛāṇa,

Commonly observed in the Lahnda dialects is the use of Ghinṇā (گھِننا) and Aaṇnā (آننا) instead of the Eastern Punjabi words Laiṇā (لَینا) and Lyāṇā (لیانا).

Notice how Ghin āo becomes Ghini achho, and Ghin ghidā becomes Ghini ghidā in accordance with Pothwari grammar and vocabulary.

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• Pahari Language Textbook for Class2
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class3
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class4
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class5
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class6
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class8 (Part A)
• Pahari Language Textbook for Class8 (Part B)

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