Punjabi (ਪੰਜਾਬੀ in Gurmukhi script and پنجابی in Shahmukhi/Perso-Arabic script) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region (north western India and in north eastern Pakistan). For Punjabis in India, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most spoken language, but with no official status nor is it used as medium of education at any level.[4]. Punjabi can be subdivided into two varieties, known as Eastern Punjabi and Western Punjabi.
According to the Ethnologue 2005 estimate,[1] there are 88 million native speakers of the Punjabi language, which makes it approximately the12th most widely spoken language in the world. According to the 2008 Census of Pakistan,[5] there are 76,335,300 native Punjabi speakers in Pakistan and according to the 2001 Census of India, there are 29,102,477 Punjabi speakers in India.[6]
Punjabi language has many different dialects, spoken in the different sub-regions of greater Punjab. Since the Partition of British India in 1947, the Punjabi spoken in the two countries has deviated from each other, with Pakistanis relying increasingly on Persian and Arabic vocabulary through Urdu, while Indians since the partition are relying more heavily on Sanskrit vocabulary through Hindi. The Majhi dialect is Punjabi’sprestige dialect. This dialect is considered as textbook Punjabi and is spoken in the historical region of Majha,[7] centralizing in Lahore andAmritsar.
Along with Lahnda and Western Pahari languages, Punjabi is unusual among modern Indo-European languages because it is a tonal
