Punjabi
Ma-noo Pa-ani Cha-hida Hai.
Me-Water-Want-is
Pronoun-noun-Verb-Verb
English
I want water
Noun-verb-noun
In Negative
Punjabi
Ma-noo pa-ani Nah-nee cha-hida hai
Me- water no want is
Pronoun-noun-adjective-verb-verb
In English
I do not want water
Noun verb adverb verb object
Interrogative
Punjabi
Kee Ma-noo Pa-ani Mil Sa-kada hai ?
What me water find can is
Subject-object-verb-verb-verb
In English
May I have water?
Verb-Noun-verb-nounSen
The two languages have few similarities, except for the fact that all the sentences do start with a subject. However the stretcher of the sentences differs between the two languages. When speaking Punjabi there is a distension in tone. Also, when compared to English, the Punjabi sentences structures are very different than they are in English; the structure of grammar is totally different. If one was trying to learn English as a second language there would be many barriers (in addition to learning new words). One would have to learn a completely new way of putting those words together in order to form coherent speech. I imagine such a person would have to actively suppress using newly learned English words in the patterns of their native language. They would have to attempt to remember how the English words should be ordered to convey a thought in English.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Contrastive Consonant Chart
I found this assignment difficult. C.P is very fluent in speaking Punjabi; however does not read or write Punjabi well, since she was born and raised in Orange County. However, we were able to work though it.
I realized that there are two forms types of alphabets used when writing Punjabi:
Gurmukhi script
Shahmukhi script
Gurmukhi (meaning from the mouth of the Guru) is mostly used in Hindu Punjabis in eastern Punjab in India. According to C.P., Gurmukhi is derived from the ancient language of Sanskrit-one of the oldest languages in use today. Also, the Gurmukhi script is used in Hindi, Braj Bhasha and other Hindustani dialects.
Shahmukhi (meaning from the mouth of the king) is mostly used in Muslim Punjabis in the Punjabi provinces in Pakistan. The script is derived from ancient Persian text dating back to the 14-15th century. It is currently still used in many languages and is considered a form of art. Shahmukhi is also used in other Pakistani languages such as Urdu and Pashto.
Since I am familiar with the Persian text, C.P and I decided to work with Gurmukhi script, which encompasses a very complex alphabet. All together we found forty one consonants and three main vowels. However there are ten different vowel sounds. Out of all the consonants, we feel only eight are similar to the English language. Besides this commonality, there are few similarities. When working with C.P to develop a contrastive consonant chart I noticed that the two languages are really different. Punjabi is a very tonal language, C.P explained that Punjabi has three tones: high, middle and low.
Starting from Bilabial to Glottal with the exceptions Uvular and Post alveolar sounds, C.P and I noticed that there are no stops when uttering these sounds. The use of fricatives and nasal tones are also used frequently. Punjabi tones are distinguished by symbols above the letter. For example, placing a [/] symbol on top of a letter would change the tone and thus, the meaning of the word.
English does not use symbols, and also uses stops when speaking. Tones are not as significant in English as they are in Punjabi. Overall, this was the first assignment in which we were asked to study the alphabet of C.P’s language. I found my first experience very enlightening, and I hope that my next experience will be the same.
I realized that there are two forms types of alphabets used when writing Punjabi:
Gurmukhi script
Shahmukhi script
Gurmukhi (meaning from the mouth of the Guru) is mostly used in Hindu Punjabis in eastern Punjab in India. According to C.P., Gurmukhi is derived from the ancient language of Sanskrit-one of the oldest languages in use today. Also, the Gurmukhi script is used in Hindi, Braj Bhasha and other Hindustani dialects.
Shahmukhi (meaning from the mouth of the king) is mostly used in Muslim Punjabis in the Punjabi provinces in Pakistan. The script is derived from ancient Persian text dating back to the 14-15th century. It is currently still used in many languages and is considered a form of art. Shahmukhi is also used in other Pakistani languages such as Urdu and Pashto.
Since I am familiar with the Persian text, C.P and I decided to work with Gurmukhi script, which encompasses a very complex alphabet. All together we found forty one consonants and three main vowels. However there are ten different vowel sounds. Out of all the consonants, we feel only eight are similar to the English language. Besides this commonality, there are few similarities. When working with C.P to develop a contrastive consonant chart I noticed that the two languages are really different. Punjabi is a very tonal language, C.P explained that Punjabi has three tones: high, middle and low.
Starting from Bilabial to Glottal with the exceptions Uvular and Post alveolar sounds, C.P and I noticed that there are no stops when uttering these sounds. The use of fricatives and nasal tones are also used frequently. Punjabi tones are distinguished by symbols above the letter. For example, placing a [/] symbol on top of a letter would change the tone and thus, the meaning of the word.
English does not use symbols, and also uses stops when speaking. Tones are not as significant in English as they are in Punjabi. Overall, this was the first assignment in which we were asked to study the alphabet of C.P’s language. I found my first experience very enlightening, and I hope that my next experience will be the same.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Basic Colors
During this assignment Cp identified ten colors. They are as follows:
Orange: Narangi
Brown: Bhura
Yellow: Peela
Green: Haara
Blue: Neela
Purple: Jamuni
Pink: Gulabi
Red: Laal
White: Safait
Black: Kaala
I really did not find much difficulty when working with Cp on this assignment, she filled the color chart very similar to how I filled it out. Although Cp and I did not have any miscommunication when describing the colors of specific items, I can understand how this can happen. We may have had different perceptions of color categories based on our respective languages, and this may have cause confusion. There is no concrete definition of color- it is a subjective experience based on the different types (and amounts) of color words and their descriptions that each language has.
Orange: Narangi
Brown: Bhura
Yellow: Peela
Green: Haara
Blue: Neela
Purple: Jamuni
Pink: Gulabi
Red: Laal
White: Safait
Black: Kaala
I really did not find much difficulty when working with Cp on this assignment, she filled the color chart very similar to how I filled it out. Although Cp and I did not have any miscommunication when describing the colors of specific items, I can understand how this can happen. We may have had different perceptions of color categories based on our respective languages, and this may have cause confusion. There is no concrete definition of color- it is a subjective experience based on the different types (and amounts) of color words and their descriptions that each language has.
Kinship Terms
After I reviewed the kinship terms diagram completed by Cp, I found the terms very interesting. I found that the terms bore little resemblance to their English counterparts. I noticed that when addressing an elder; the term Gi is added (spoken) after the kinship term. This signifies respect.
PATERNAL:
Grandfather: Dadhi
Grandmother: Dadha
Aunt: Bua
Younger Uncle: Chacha
Older Uncle: Taya
Father: Pitha
MATERNAL:
Grandfather: Naani
Grandmother: Naana
Aunt: Masi
Uncle: Mamoo
Mother: Matha
Brother: Bhai
Sister: Bahain
When I asked about the terms for cousin, I was told that there really is no term for cousin. I asked Cp why there is no term, I was told because family is valued differently in Punjabi culture. There is no concept of subfamilies such as we see in America; in the Panjabi culture, every member of the extended family is considered part of one unit. I asked Cp what term is used when referring to a cousin- she told me that the same terms as brother and sister are used. I found that very interesting. I also found how the paternal side distinguishes between younger uncle and older uncle to be very interesting. When looking at the mother kinship terms, the sounds and structure of the words are all very similar; while the terms regarding the father’s side of the family sound dissimilar. Overall I found that this assignment afforded me some insight on the Punjabi language and culture, and I will continue to learn more with more assignments.
PATERNAL:
Grandfather: Dadhi
Grandmother: Dadha
Aunt: Bua
Younger Uncle: Chacha
Older Uncle: Taya
Father: Pitha
MATERNAL:
Grandfather: Naani
Grandmother: Naana
Aunt: Masi
Uncle: Mamoo
Mother: Matha
Brother: Bhai
Sister: Bahain
When I asked about the terms for cousin, I was told that there really is no term for cousin. I asked Cp why there is no term, I was told because family is valued differently in Punjabi culture. There is no concept of subfamilies such as we see in America; in the Panjabi culture, every member of the extended family is considered part of one unit. I asked Cp what term is used when referring to a cousin- she told me that the same terms as brother and sister are used. I found that very interesting. I also found how the paternal side distinguishes between younger uncle and older uncle to be very interesting. When looking at the mother kinship terms, the sounds and structure of the words are all very similar; while the terms regarding the father’s side of the family sound dissimilar. Overall I found that this assignment afforded me some insight on the Punjabi language and culture, and I will continue to learn more with more assignments.
Punjabi
My Conversation partner’s language is Punjabi; a language centered mostly in northern Pakistan and India. It is a an indo-European language within the smaller indo-Iranian subfamily. Punjabi is considered one of the most widely spoken languages in the world- with a total of 104 million speakers today. In this assignment I will refer to my conversation partner as Cp. Cp was born and raised in Orange County. However Cp is very fluent in Punjabi.
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