| Gurmukhī ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ | |
|---|---|
 Modern Gurmukhi letter set | |
| Script type | |
Time period | 16th century CE-present |
| Direction | Left-to-right  |
| Languages | |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | Anandpur Lipi |
Sister systems | Khudabadi,Khojki,Mahajani,Multani |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Guru(310), Gurmukhi |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Gurmukhi |
| U+0A00–U+0A7F | |
| This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
| Brahmic scripts |
|---|
| TheBrahmi script and its descendants |
Gurmukhī (Punjabi:ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ[ˈɡʊɾᵊmʊkʰiː],Shahmukhi:گُرمُکھی) is anabugida developed from theLaṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the secondSikh guru,Guru Angad (1504–1552).[2][1] Commonly regarded as aSikh script,[3][4][5][6][7] Gurmukhi is used inPunjab, India as the official script of thePunjabi language.[6][7]
The primary scripture ofSikhism, theGuru Granth Sahib, is written in Gurmukhī, in various dialects and languages often subsumed under the generic titleSant Bhasha[8] or "saint language", in addition to other languages like Persian and various phases of Indo-Aryan languages.
Modern Gurmukhī has thirty-five original letters, hence its common alternative termpaintī or "the thirty-five",[6] plus six additionalconsonants,[6][9][10] ninevoweldiacritics, two diacritics for nasal sounds, one diacritic thatgeminates consonants and three subscript characters.
The Gurmukhī script is generally believed to have roots in theProto-Sinaitic alphabet[11] by way of theBrahmi script,[12] whichdeveloped further into the Northwestern group (Sharada, or Śāradā, and its descendants, includingLanda andTakri), the Central group (Nagari and its descendants, includingDevanagari,Gujarati andModi) and the Eastern group (evolved fromSiddhaṃ, includingBangla,Tibetan, and some Nepali scripts),[13] as well as several prominentwriting systems of Southeast Asia and Sinhala in Sri Lanka, in addition to scripts used historically in Central Asia for extinct languages likeSaka andTocharian.[13] Gurmukhi is derived from Sharada in the Northwestern group, of which it is the only major surviving member,[14] with full modern currency.[15]Notable features include:
| Phoenician | 𐤀 | 𐤁 | 𐤂 | 𐤃 | 𐤄 | 𐤅 | 𐤆 | 𐤇 | 𐤈 | 𐤉 | 𐤊 | 𐤋 | 𐤌 | 𐤍 | 𐤎 | 𐤏 | 𐤐 | 𐤑 | 𐤒 | 𐤓 | 𐤔 | 𐤕 | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aramaic | 𐡀 | 𐡁 | 𐡂 | 𐡃 | 𐡄 | 𐡅 | 𐡆 | 𐡇 | 𐡈 | 𐡉 | 𐡊 | 𐡋 | 𐡌 | 𐡍 | 𐡎 | 𐡏 | 𐡐 | 𐡑 | 𐡒 | 𐡓 | 𐡔 | 𐡕 | ||||||||||||||
| Brahmi | 𑀅 | 𑀩 | 𑀪 | 𑀕 | 𑀥 | 𑀠 | 𑀏 | 𑀯 | 𑀤 | 𑀟 | 𑀚 | 𑀛 | 𑀳 | 𑀖 | 𑀣 | 𑀞 | 𑀬 | 𑀓 | 𑀘 | 𑀮 | 𑀫 | 𑀦 | 𑀗 | 𑀜 | 𑀡 | 𑀰 | 𑀑 | 𑀧 | 𑀨 | 𑀲 | 𑀔 | 𑀙 | 𑀭 | 𑀱 | 𑀢 | 𑀝 |
| Gurmukhi | ਅ | ਬ | ਭ | ਗ | ਧ | ਢ | ੲ | ਵ | ਦ | ਡ | ਜ | ਝ | ਹ | ਘ | ਥ | ਠ | ਯ | ਕ | ਚ | ਲ | ਮ | ਨ | ਙ | ਞ | ਣ | (ਸ਼) | ੳ | ਪ | ਫ | ਸ | ਖ | ਛ | ਰ | ਖ | ਤ | ਟ |
| IAST | a | ba | bha | ga | dha | ḍha | ē | va | da | ḍa | ja | jha | ha | gha | tha | ṭha | ya | ka | ca | la | ma | na | ṅa | ña | ṇa | śa* | ō | pa | pha | sa | kha | cha | ra | ṣa* | ta | ṭa |
| Greek | Α | Β | Γ | Δ | Ε | Ϝ | Ζ | Η | Θ | Ι | Κ | Λ | Μ | Ν | Ξ | Ο | Π | Ϻ | Ϙ | Ρ | Σ | Τ | ||||||||||||||
| Possible derivation of Gurmukhi from earlier writing systems.[17][note 1] The Greek alphabet, also descended from Phoenician, is included for comparison. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Gurmukhi evolved in cultural and historical circumstances notably different from other regional scripts,[14] for the purpose of recording scriptures ofSikhism, a far less Sanskritized cultural tradition than others of the subcontinent.[14] This independence from the Sanskritic model allowed it the freedom to evolve unique orthographical features.[14] These include:
and other features.
From the 10th century onwards, regional differences started to appear between the Sharada script used in Punjab, the Hill States (partlyHimachal Pradesh) andKashmir. Sharada proper was eventually restricted to very limited ceremonial use in Kashmir, as it grew increasingly unsuitable for writing theKashmiri language.[26] With the last known inscription dating to 1204 C.E., the early 13th century marks a milestone in the development of Sharada.[26] The regional variety in Punjab continued to evolve from this stage through the 14th century; during this period it starts to appear in forms closely resembling Gurmukhī and otherLanda scripts. By the 15th century, Sharada had evolved so considerably thatepigraphists denote the script at this point by a special name,Dēvāśēṣa.[26] Tarlochan Singh Bedi (1999) prefers the nameprithamă gurmukhī, or Proto-Gurmukhī. It was through its recording in Gurmukhi that knowledge of the pronunciation and grammar of the Old Punjabi language (c. 10th–16th century) was preserved for modern philologists.[27]
TheSikh gurus adopted Proto-Gurmukhī to write theGuru Granth Sahib, the religious scriptures of the Sikhs. TheTakri alphabet developed through theDēvāśēṣa stage of the Sharada script from the 14th-18th centuries[26] and is found mainly in theHill States such asChamba, Himachal Pradesh and surrounding areas, where it is calledChambeali. InJammu Division, it developed into Dogri,[26] which was a "highly imperfect" script later consciously influenced in part by Gurmukhi during the late 19th century,[28] possibly to provide it an air of authority by having it resemble scripts already established in official and literary capacities,[29] though not displacing Takri.[28] The local Takri variants got the status of official scripts in some of the Punjab Hill States, and were used for both administrative and literary purposes until the 19th century.[26] After 1948, whenHimachal Pradesh was established as an administrative unit, the local Takri variants were replaced byDevanagari.
Meanwhile, the mercantile scripts of Punjab known as the Laṇḍā scripts were normally not used for literary purposes.Laṇḍā means alphabet "without tail",[15] implying that the script did not have vowel symbols. In Punjab, there were at least ten different scripts classified as Laṇḍā,Mahajani being the most popular. The Laṇḍā scripts were used for household and trade purposes.[31] In contrast to Laṇḍā, the use of vowel diacritics was made obligatory in Gurmukhī for increased accuracy and precision, due to the difficulties involved in deciphering words without vowel signs.[1][32]
In the following epochs, Gurmukhī became the primary script for the literary writings of the Sikhs. Playing a significant role in Sikh faith and tradition, it expanded from its original use for Sikh scriptures and developed its own orthographical rules, spreading widely under theSikh Empire and used by Sikh kings and chiefs of Punjab for administrative purposes.[22] Also playing a major role in consolidating and standardizing the Punjabi language, it served as the main medium of literacy in Punjab and adjoining areas for centuries when the earliest schools were attached togurdwaras.[22] The first natively produced grammars of the Punjabi language were written in the 1860s in Gurmukhi.[33] TheSingh Sabha Movement of the late 19th century, a movement to revitalize Sikh institutions which had declined duringcolonial rule after the fall of the Sikh Empire, also advocated for the usage of the Gurmukhi script formass media, with print media publications andPunjabi-language newspapers established in the 1880s.[34] In the 1940s leading up to the 1947 partition, the Akali Dal held talks with the Muslim League where official recognition of Gurmukhi was demanded in-order to win the Sikhs over to the Pakistani cause.[35] Later in the 20th century, after the struggle of thePunjabi Suba movement, from the founding of modern India in the 1940s to the 1960s, the script was given the authority as the official state script of thePunjab, India,[6][7] where it is used in all spheres of culture, arts, education, and administration, with a firmly established common and secular character.[22] It is one of theofficial scripts of the Indian Republic, and is currently the 14th most used script in the world.[36]
The prevalent view among Punjabi linguists is that as in the early stages the Gurmukhī letters were primarily used by the Guru's followers,gurmukhs (literally, those who face, or follow, the Guru, as opposed to amanmukh); the script thus came to be known asgurmukhī, "the script of those guided by the Guru."[14][37]Guru Angad is credited in the Sikh tradition with the creation and standardization of Gurmukhi script from earlierŚāradā-descended scripts native to the region. It is now the standard writing script for the Punjabi language in India.[38] The original Sikh scriptures and most of the historic Sikh literature have been written in the Gurmukhi script.[38]
Although the word Gurmukhī has been commonly translated as "from the Mouth of the Guru", the term used for the Punjabi script has somewhat different connotations. This usage of the term may have gained currency from the use of the script to record the utterances of the Sikh Gurus as scripture, which were often referred to as Gurmukhī, or from themukhă (face, or mouth) of the Gurus. Consequently, the script that was used to write the resulting scripture may have also been designated with the same name.[1]
The name for the Perso–Arabic alphabet for the Punjabi language,Shahmukhi, was modeled on the termGurmukhi.[39][40]
![[]](/image.pl?url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2fthumb%2f1%2f1a%2fParentesi_Quadre.svg%2f30px-Parentesi_Quadre.svg.png&f=jpg&w=240)
The Gurmukhī alphabet contains thirty-five base letters (akkhară), traditionally arranged in seven rows of five letters each. The first three letters, ormātarā vāhakă ("vowel bearer"), are distinct because they form the basis for independent vowels and are not consonants, orvianjană, like the remaining letters are, and except for the second letteraiṛā[note 2] are never used on their own;[31] see§ Vowel diacritics for further details. The pair of fricatives, ormūlă vargă ("base class"), share the row, which is followed by the next five sets of consonants, with the consonants in each row beinghomorganic, the rows arranged from the back (velars) to the front (labials) of the mouth, and the letters in the grid arranged byplace andmanner of articulation.[41] The arrangement, orvarṇămāllā,[41] is completed with theantimă ṭollī, literally "ending group." The names of most of the consonants are based on their reduplicative phonetic values,[22] and thevarṇămāllā is as follows:[6]
| Group Name (Articulation) ↓ | Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mātarā vāhakă (Vowels) | mūlă vargă (Fricatives) | ੳ | ūṛā [uːɽaː] | – | ਅ | aiṛā [ɛːɽaː] | a [ə] | ੲ | īṛī [iːɽiː] | – | ਸ | sassā [səsːaː] | sa [s] | ਹ | hāhā [ɦaːɦaː] | ha [ɦ] |
| Occlusives → | Tenuis | Aspirates | VoicedStops | Tonal | Nasals | |||||||||||
| kavargă ṭollī (Velars) | ਕ | kakkā [kəkːaː] | ka [k] | ਖ | khakkhā [kʰəkʰːaː] | kha [kʰ] | ਗ | gaggā [gəgːaː] | ga [ɡ] | ਘ | kàggā [kə̀gːaː] | kà [kə̀ ] | ਙ | ṅaṅṅā [ŋəŋːaː] | ṅa [ŋ] | |
| cavargă ṭollī (Affricates/Palatals) | ਚ | caccā [t͡ʃət͡ʃːaː] | ca [t͡ʃ] | ਛ | chacchā [t͡ʃʰət͡ʃʰːaː] | cha [t͡ʃʰ] | ਜ | jajjā [d͡ʒəd͡ʒːaː] | ja [d͡ʒ] | ਝ | càjjā [t͡ʃə̀d͡ʒːaː] | cà [t͡ʃə̀ ] | ਞ | ñaññā [ɲəɲːaː] | ña [ɲ] | |
| ṭavargă ṭollī (Retroflexes) | ਟ | ṭaiṅkā [ʈɛŋkaː] | ṭa [ʈ] | ਠ | ṭhaṭṭhā [ʈʰəʈʰːaː] | ṭha [ʈʰ] | ਡ | ḍaḍḍā [ɖə'ɖːaː] | ḍa [ɖ] | ਢ | ṭàḍḍā [ʈə̀ɖːaː] | ṭà [ʈə̀ ] | ਣ | nāṇā [naːɳaː] | ṇa [ɳ] | |
| tavargă ṭollī (Dentals) | ਤ | tattā [t̪ət̪ːaː] | ta [t̪] | ਥ | thatthā [t̪ʰət̪ʰːaː] | tha [t̪ʰ] | ਦ | daddā [d̪əd̪ːaː] | da [d̪] | ਧ | tàddā [t̪ə̀d̪ːaː] | tà [t̪ə̀ ] | ਨ | nannā [nənːaː] | na [n] | |
| pavargă ṭollī (Labials) | ਪ | pappā [pəpːaː] | pa [p] | ਫ | phapphā [pʰəpʰːaː] | pha [pʰ] | ਬ | babbā [bəbːaː] | ba [b] | ਭ | pàbbā [pə̀bːaː] | pà [pə̀ ] | ਮ | mammā [məmːaː] | ma [m] | |
| Approximants andliquids | ||||||||||||||||
| antimă ṭollī (Sonorants) | ਯ | yayyā [jəjːaː] | ya [j] | ਰ | rārā [ɾaːɾaː] | ra [ɾ]~[r] | ਲ | lallā [ləlːaː] | la [l] | ਵ | vāvā [ʋaːʋaː] | va [ʋ]~[w] | ੜ | ṛāṛā [ɽaːɽaː] | ṛa [ɽ] | |
The nasal letters ਙṅaṅṅā and ਞñaññā have become marginal as independent consonants in modern Gurmukhi.[42] The sounds they represent occur most often asallophones of [n] in clusters with velars and palatals respectively.[43][note 3]
The pronunciation of ਵ can vary allophonically between[[ʋ]~[β]] precedingfront vowels, and[[w]] elsewhere.[45][46]
The most characteristic feature of the Punjabi language is its tone system.[6] The script has no separate symbol for tones, but they correspond to the tonal consonants that once represented voiced aspirates as well as older *h.[6] To differentiate between consonants, the Punjabi tonal consonants of the fourth column, ਘkà, ਝcà, ਢṭà, ਧtà, and ਭpà, are often transliterated in the way of the voiced aspirate consonantsgha,jha,ḍha,dha, andbha respectively, although Punjabi lacks these sounds.[47] Tones in Punjabi can be either rising, neutral, or falling:[6][48]
The letters now always represent unaspirated consonants, and are unvoiced in onset positions and voiced elsewhere.[6]
In addition to the 35 original letters, there are six supplementary consonants in official usage,[6][9][10] referred to as thenavīnă ṭollī[9][10] ornavīnă vargă, meaning "new group", created by placing adot (bindī) at the foot (pairă) of the consonant to createpairĭ bindī consonants. These are not present in theGuru Granth Sahib or old texts. These are used most often for loanwords,[6] though not exclusively,[note 4] and their usage is not always obligatory:
| Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | Name | Sound [IPA] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ਸ਼ | sassē pairĭ bindī [səsːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | śa [ʃ] | ਖ਼ | khakkhē pairĭ bindī [kʰəkʰːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | xa [x] | ਗ਼ | gaggē pairĭ bindī [gəgːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | ġa [ɣ] |
| ਜ਼ | jajjē pairĭ bindī [d͡ʒəd͡ʒːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | za [z] | ਫ਼ | phapphē pairĭ bindī [pʰəpʰːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | fa [f] | ਲ਼ | lallē pairĭ bindī [ləlːeː pɛ:ɾɨ bɪn̪d̪iː] | ḷa [ɭ] |
The letter ਸ਼, already in use by the time of the earliest Punjabi grammars produced, along with ਜ਼ and ਲ਼,[50] enabled the previously unmarked distinction of /s/ and the well-established phoneme /ʃ/, which is used even in nativeecho doublets e.g.rō̆ṭṭī-śō̆ṭṭī "stuff to eat"; the loansoundsf,z,x, andġ as distinct phonemes are less well-established,[51] decreasing in that order and often dependent on exposure toHindi-Urdu norms.[43]
The character ਲ਼ (ḷa), the only character not representing africative consonant, was only recently officially added to the Gurmukhī alphabet.[52] It was not a part of the traditional orthography, as the distinctive phonological difference between /lə/ and /ɭə/, while both native sounds,[27] was not reflected in the script,[25] and its inclusion is still not currently universal.[note 5] Previous usage of another glyph to represent this sound, [ਲ੍ਰ], has also been attested.[46] The letters ਲ਼ḷa, like ਙṅ, ਞñ, ਣṇ, and ੜṛ, do not occur word-initially, except in some cases their names.[44]
Other characters, like the more recent [ਕ਼] /qə/,[52] are also on rare occasion used unofficially, chiefly for transliterating old writings inPersian andUrdu, the knowledge of which is less relevant in modern times.[note 6]
Three "subscript" letters, calledduttă akkhară ("joint letters") orpairī̃ akkhară ("letters at the feet") are utilised in modern Gurmukhī: forms of ਹha, ਰra, and ਵva.[22]
The subscript ਰra and ਵva are used to make consonant clusters and behave similarly; subjoined ਹha introduces tone.
| Subscript letter | Name, original form | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| ੍ਰ | pairī̃ rārā ਰ→ ੍ਰ | For example, the letter ਪ (pa) with a regular ਰ (ra) following it would yield the wordਪਰ /pəɾə̆/ ("but"), but with a subjoined ਰ would appear asਪ੍ਰ- (/prə-/),[6] resulting in a consonant cluster, as in the word ਪ੍ਰਬੰਧਕ (/pɾəbə́n̪d̪əkə̆/, "managerial, administrative"), as opposed to ਪਰਬੰਧਕ /pəɾᵊbə́n̪d̪əkə̆/, the Punjabi form of the word used in natural speech in less formal settings (the Punjabi reflex for Sanskrit /pɾə-/ is /pəɾ-/) . This subscript letter is commonly used in Punjabi[47] for personal names, some native dialectal words,[54] loanwords from other languages like English and Sanskrit, etc. |
| ੍ਵ | pairī̃ vāvā ਵ→ ੍ਵ | Used occasionally inGurbani (Sikh religious scriptures) but rare in modern usage, it is largely confined to creating the cluster /sʋə-/[47] in words borrowed from Sanskrit, the reflex of which in Punjabi is /sʊ-/, e.g. Sanskrit ਸ੍ਵਪ੍ਨ /s̪ʋɐ́p.n̪ɐ/→Punjabi ਸੁਪਨਾ /sʊpə̆na:/, "dream", cf. Hindi-Urdu /səpna:/. For example, ਸ with a subscript ਵ would produceਸ੍ਵ (sʋə-) as in the Sanskrit word ਸ੍ਵਰਗ (/sʋəɾᵊgə/, "heaven"), but followed by a regular ਵ would yieldਸਵ- (səʋ-) as in the common word ਸਵਰਗ (/səʋəɾᵊgə̆/, "heaven"), borrowed earlier from Sanskrit but subsequently changed. The natural Punjabi reflex, ਸੁਰਗ /sʊɾᵊgə̆/, is also used in everyday speech. |
| ੍ਹ | pairī̃ hāhā ਹ→ ੍ਹ | The most common subscript,[47] this character does not create consonant clusters, but serves as part of Punjabi's characteristic tone system, indicating a tone. It behaves the same way in its use as the regular ਹ (ha) does in non-word-initial positions. The regular ਹ is pronounced in stressed positions (as in ਆਹੋāhō "yes" and a few other common words),[55] word-initially in monosyllabic words, and usually in other word-initial positions,[note 7] but not in other positions, where it instead changes the tone of the applicable adjacent vowel.[6][58] The difference in usage is that the regular ਹ is used after vowels, and the subscript version is used when there is no vowel, and is attached to consonants. For example, the regular ਹ is used after vowels as in ਮੀਂਹ (transcribed asmĩh (Punjabi pronunciation:[míː]), "rain").[6] The subjoined ਹ (ha) acts the same way but instead is used under consonants: ਚ (ca) followed by ੜ (ṛa) yields ਚੜ (caṛă), but not until the rising tone is introduced via a subscript ਹ (ha) does it properly spell the word ਚੜ੍ਹ (cáṛĭ, "climb"). This character's function is similar to that of theudātă character (ੑ U+0A51), which occurs in older texts and indicates a rising tone. |
In addition to the three standard subscript letters, another subscript character representing the subjoined /j/, theyakaśă orpairī̃ yayyā ( ੵ U+0A75), is utilized specifically in archaizedsahaskritī-style writings in Sikh scripture, where it is found 268 times[59] for word forms and inflections from older phases of Indo-Aryan,[60] as in the examples ਰਖੵਾ /ɾəkʰːjaː/ "(to be) protected", ਮਿਥੵੰਤ /mɪt̪ʰjən̪t̪ə/ "deceiving", ਸੰਸਾਰਸੵ /sənsaːɾəsjə/ "of the world", ਭਿਖੵਾ /pɪ̀kʰːjaː/ "(act of) begging", etc. There is also a conjunct form of the letteryayyā,ਯ→੍ਯ,[6] a later form,[61] which functions similarly to theyakaśă, and is used exclusively for Sanskrit borrowings, and even then rarely. In addition, miniaturized versions of the letters ਚ, ਟ, ਤ, and ਨ are also found in limited use as subscript letters in Sikh scripture.
Only the subjoined /ɾə/ and /hə/ are commonly used;[19] usage of the subjoined /ʋə/ and conjoined forms of /jə/, already rare, is increasingly scarce in modern contexts.
| Vowel | Transcription | IPA | Closest English equivalent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ind. | Dep. | with /k/ | Name | Usage | ||
| ਅ | (none) | ਕ | mukḁ̆tā ਮੁਕਤਾ | a | [ə] | likea inabout |
| ਆ | ਾ | ਕਾ | kannā ਕੰਨਾ | ā | [aː]~[äː] | likea incar |
| ਇ | ਿ | ਕਿ | siā̀rī ਸਿਹਾਰੀ | i | [ɪ] | likei init |
| ਈ | ੀ | ਕੀ | biā̀rī ਬਿਹਾਰੀ | ī | [iː] | likei inlitre |
| ਉ | ੁ | ਕੁ | auṅkaṛă ਔਂਕੜ | u | [ʊ] | likeu input |
| ਊ | ੂ | ਕੂ | dulaiṅkaṛă ਦੁਲੈਂਕੜ | ū | [uː] | likeu inspruce |
| ਏ | ੇ | ਕੇ | lā̃/lāvā̃ ਲਾਂ/ਲਾਵਾਂ | ē | [eː] | likee inChile |
| ਐ | ੈ | ਕੈ | dulāvā̃ ਦੁਲਾਵਾਂ | ai | [ɛː]~[əi] | likee insell |
| ਓ | ੋ | ਕੋ | hōṛā ਹੋੜਾ | ō | [oː] | likeo inmore |
| ਔ | ੌ | ਕੌ | kanauṛā ਕਨੌੜਾ | au | [ɔː]~[əu] | likeo inoff |
To expressvowels (singular,sură), Gurmukhī, as anabugida, makes use of obligatorydiacritics calledlagā̃.[22] Gurmukhī is similar toBrahmi scripts in that all consonants are followed by an inherentschwa sound. This inherent vowel sound can be changed by using dependent vowel signs which attach to a bearing consonant.[6] In some cases, dependent vowel signs cannot be used – at the beginning of a word or syllable[6] for instance – and so an independent vowel character is used instead.
Independent vowels are constructed using the three vowel-bearing characters:[6] ੳūṛā , ਅaiṛā, and ੲīṛī.[23] With the exception ofaiṛā (which in isolation represents the vowel[ə]), the bearer vowels are never used without additional vowel diacritics.[31]
Vowels are always pronounced after the consonant they are attached to. Thus,siā̀rī is always written to the left, but pronounced after the character on the right.[31] When constructing the independent vowel for[oː],ūṛā takes an irregular form instead of using the usualhōṛā.[22][23]
Gurmukhi orthography prefers vowel sequences over the use ofsemivowels ("y" or "w") intervocally and insyllable nuclei,[62] as in the words ਦਿਸਾਇਆdisāiā "caused to be visible" rather thandisāyā, ਦਿਆਰdiāră "cedar" rather thandyāră, and ਸੁਆਦsuādă "taste" rather thanswādă,[45] permitting vowels inhiatus.[63]
In terms of tone orthography, the short vowels [ɪ] and [ʊ], when paired with [h] to yield /ɪh/ and /ʊh/, represent [é] and [ó] with high tones respectively, e.g. ਕਿਹੜਾkihṛā (Punjabi pronunciation:[kéːɽaː]) 'which?' ਦੁਹਰਾduhrā (Punjabi pronunciation:[d̪óːɾaː]) "repeat, reiterate, double."[6] The compounding of [əɦ] with [ɪ] or [ʊ] yield [ɛ́ː] and [ɔ́ː] respectively, e.g. ਮਹਿੰਗਾmahingā (Punjabi pronunciation:[mɛ́ːŋgaː]) "expensive", ਵਹੁਟੀvahuṭṭī (Punjabi pronunciation:[wɔ́ʈːiː]) "bride."[6]
The diacritics for gemination and nasalization are together referred to as ਲਗਾਖਰlagākkhară ("applied letters").
The diacritic ਅੱਧਕáddakă ( ੱ ) indicates that the following consonant isgeminated,[19][6] and is placed above the consonant preceding the geminated one.[22] Consonant length is distinctive in the Punjabi language and the use of this diacritic can change the meaning of a word, as below:
| Withoutáddakă | Transliteration | Meaning | Witháddakă | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ਦਸ | dasă | ten | ਦੱਸ | dassĭ | tell (verb) |
| ਪਤਾ | patā | aware of/address | ਪੱਤਾ | pattā | leaf |
| ਬੁਝਣਾ | bújăṇā | to burn out, be extinguished | ਬੁੱਝਣਾ | bújjăṇā | to think through, figure out, solve |
| ਕਲਾ | kalā | art | ਕੱਲਾ | kallā | alone (colloquialism) |
It has not been standardized to be written in all instances of gemination;[62] there is a strong tendency, especially in rural dialects, to also geminate consonants following a long vowel (/a:/, /e:/, /i:/, /o:/, /u:/, /ɛ:/, /ɔː/, which triggers shortening in these vowels) in thepenult of a word, e.g. ਔਖਾaukkhā "difficult", ਕੀਤੀkī̆ttī "did", ਪੋਤਾpō̆ttā "grandson", ਪੰਜਾਬੀpanjā̆bbī "Punjabi", ਹਾਕhākă "call, shout", but plural ਹਾਕਾਂhā̆kkā̃.[note 8]Except in this case, where this unmarked gemination is oftenetymologically rooted in archaic forms,[64] and has becomephonotactically regular,[65] the usage of theáddakă is obligatory.
It is also sometimes used to indicate second-syllable stress, e.g. ਬੱਚਾba'cā, "save".[62]
The diacritics ਟਿੱਪੀṭippī ( ੰ ) and ਬਿੰਦੀbindī ( ਂ ) are used for producing a nasal phoneme depending on the following obstruent or a nasal vowel at the end of a word.[19] All short vowels are nasalized usingṭippī and all long vowels are nasalized usingbindī except fordulaiṅkaṛă ( ੂ ), which usesṭippī instead.
| Diacritic usage | Result | Examples (IPA) |
|---|---|---|
| Ṭippī on short vowel (/ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/), or dependent long vowel /u:/, before a non-nasal consonant[6] | Addsnasal consonant atsame place of articulation as following consonant (/ns/, /n̪t̪/, /ɳɖ/, /mb/, /ŋg/, /nt͡ʃ/ etc.) | ਹੰਸ /ɦənsə̆/ "goose" ਅੰਤ /ən̪t̪ə̆/ "end" ਗੰਢ /gə́ɳɖə̆/ "knot" ਅੰਬ /əmbə̆/ "mango" ਸਿੰਗ /sɪŋgə̆/ "horn, antler" ਕੁੰਜੀ / kʊɲd͡ʒiː/ "key" ਗੂੰਜ /guːɲd͡ʒə̆/ "rumble, echo" ਲੂੰਬੜੀ /luːmbᵊɽiː/ "fox" |
| Bindī over long vowel (/a:/, /e:/, /i:/, /o:/, independent /u:/, /ɛ:/, /ɔː/)[6] before a non-nasal consonant not including /h/[46] | Adds nasal consonant at same place of articulation as following consonant (/ns/, /n̪t̪/, /ɳɖ/, /mb/, /ŋg/, /nt͡ʃ/ etc.). May also secondarily nasalize the vowel | ਕਾਂਸੀ /kaːnsiː/ "bronze" ਕੇਂਦਰ /keːn̯d̯əɾə̆/ "center, core, headquarters" ਗੁਆਂਢੀ /gʊáːɳɖiː/ "neighbor" ਭੌਂਕ /pɔ̀ːŋkə̆/ "bark, rave" ਸਾਂਝ /sáːɲd͡ʒə̆/ "commonality" |
| Ṭippī over consonants with dependent long vowel /u:/ at open syllable at end of word[6] or ending in /ɦ/[46] | Vowel nasalization | ਤੂੰ /t̪ũː/ "you" ਸਾਨੂੰ /sanːũː/ "to us" ਮੂੰਹ /mũːɦ/ "mouth" |
| Ṭippī on short vowel before nasal consonant (/n̪/ or /m/)[6] | Gemination of nasal consonant Ṭippī is used to geminate nasal consonants instead ofáddakă | ਇੰਨਾ /ɪn̪:a:/ "this much" ਕੰਮ /kəm:ə̆/ "work" |
| Bindī over long vowel (/a:/, /e:/, /i:/, /o:/, /u:/, /ɛ:/, /ɔː/),[6] at open syllable at end of word, or ending in /ɦ/ | Vowel nasalization | ਬਾਂਹ /bã́h/ "arm" ਮੈਂ /mɛ̃ː/ "I, me" ਅਸੀਂ /əsĩː/ "we" ਤੋਂ /t̪õː/ "from" ਸਿਊਂ /sɪ.ũː/ "sew" |
Older texts may follow other conventions.
_of_the_Gurmukhi_script.png)
The ਹਲੰਤhalantă, or ਹਲੰਦhalandă, ( ੍ U+0A4D) character is not used when writing Punjabi in Gurmukhī. However, it may occasionally be used in Sanskritised text or in dictionaries for extra phonetic information. When it is used, it represents the suppression of the inherent vowel.
The effect of this is shown below:
Theḍaṇḍī (।) is used in Gurmukhi to mark the end of a sentence.[31] A doubledḍaṇḍī, ordoḍaṇḍī (॥) marks the end of a verse.[66]
Thevisarga symbol (ਃ U+0A03) is used very occasionally in Gurmukhī. It can represent an abbreviation, as theperiod is used in English, though the period for abbreviation, like commas, exclamation points, and other Western punctuation, is freely used in modern Gurmukhī.[66][31]
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Gurmukhī has its own set of digits, which function exactly as in other versions of theHindu–Arabic numeral system. These are used extensively in older texts. In modern contexts, they are sometimes replaced by standardWestern Arabic numerals.[62]
| Numeral | ੦ | ੧ | ੨ | ੩ | ੪ | ੫ | ੬ | ੭ | ੮ | ੯ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Name | ਸੁੰਨ | ਇੱਕ | ਦੋ | ਤਿੰਨ | ਚਾਰ | ਪੰਜ | ਛੇ | ਸੱਤ | ਅੱਠ | ਨੌਂ |
| Transliteration | sunnă | ikkă | dō | tinnă* | cāră | panjă | chē | sattă | aṭṭhă | na͠u |
| IPA | [sʊnːə̆] | [ɪkːə̆] | [d̪oː] | [t̪ɪnːə̆] | [t͡ʃaːɾə̆] | [pənd͡ʒə̆] | [t͡ʃʰeː] | [sət̪ːə̆] | [əʈːʰə̆] | [nɔ̃:] |
*In some Punjabi dialects, the word for three is ਤ੍ਰੈtrai (Punjabi pronunciation:[t̪ɾɛː]).[67]
The scriptural symbol for the Sikh termਇੱਕੁ ਓਅੰਕਾਰੁikku ōaṅkāru (ੴ U+0A74) is formed from੧ ("1") andਓ ("ō").
In the earliest Gurmukhi texts,interpuncts in the form of a dot were used to mark a long "a" vowel.[69] This would later develop into akannā mark, where the initially used interpunct vowel marker becoming a longer mark that starts at the top of the line where the words are connected and moving down to cover the top half of the letter space.[69] Shorter kanna marks are indicative of a work dating to an earlier period.[69]
_written_Larivar_(scriptio_continua)_Gurmukhi_script.jpg)
Before the 1970s,Gurbani and otherSikh scriptures were written in the traditionalscriptio continua method of writing the Gurmukhi script known as ਲੜੀਵਾਰlaṛīvāră, where there were no spacing between words in the texts. This is opposed to the comparatively more recent method of writing in Gurmukhi known aspadă chēdă, which breaks the words by inserting spacing between them.[70][71][72]
First line of theGuru Granth Sahib, theMul Mantar, inlaṛīvāră (continuous form) andpadă chēdă (spaced form):[73]
laṛīvāră: ੴਸਤਿਨਾਮੁਕਰਤਾਪੁਰਖੁਨਿਰਭਉਨਿਰਵੈਰੁਅਕਾਲਮੂਰਤਿਅਜੂਨੀਸੈਭੰਗੁਰਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ॥
padă chēdă: ੴ ਸਤਿ ਨਾਮੁ ਕਰਤਾ ਪੁਰਖੁ ਨਿਰਭਉ ਨਿਰਵੈਰੁ ਅਕਾਲ ਮੂਰਤਿ ਅਜੂਨੀ ਸੈਭੰ ਗੁਰ ਪ੍ਰਸਾਦਿ ॥
Transliteration:ikku ōaṅkāru sati nāmu karatā purakhu nirapàu niravairu akāla mūrati ajūnī saipàṅ gura prasādi
Various historical styles and fonts, or ਸ਼ੈਲੀśailī, of Gurmukhi script have evolved and been identified. A list of some of them is as follows:[75]
Gurmukhī script was added to theUnicode Standard in October 1991 with the release of version 1.0.
Many sites still use proprietary fonts that convert Latin ASCII codes to Gurmukhīglyphs.
The Unicode block for Gurmukhī is U+0A00–U+0A7F:
| Gurmukhi[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+0A0x | ਁ | ਂ | ਃ | ਅ | ਆ | ਇ | ਈ | ਉ | ਊ | ਏ | ||||||
| U+0A1x | ਐ | ਓ | ਔ | ਕ | ਖ | ਗ | ਘ | ਙ | ਚ | ਛ | ਜ | ਝ | ਞ | ਟ | ||
| U+0A2x | ਠ | ਡ | ਢ | ਣ | ਤ | ਥ | ਦ | ਧ | ਨ | ਪ | ਫ | ਬ | ਭ | ਮ | ਯ | |
| U+0A3x | ਰ | ਲ | ਲ਼ | ਵ | ਸ਼ | ਸ | ਹ | ਼ | ਾ | ਿ | ||||||
| U+0A4x | ੀ | ੁ | ੂ | ੇ | ੈ | ੋ | ੌ | ੍ | ||||||||
| U+0A5x | ੑ | ਖ਼ | ਗ਼ | ਜ਼ | ੜ | ਫ਼ | ||||||||||
| U+0A6x | ੦ | ੧ | ੨ | ੩ | ੪ | ੫ | ੬ | ੭ | ੮ | ੯ | ||||||
| U+0A7x | ੰ | ੱ | ੲ | ੳ | ੴ | ੵ | ੶ | |||||||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
Panjab Digital Library[76] has taken up digitization of all available manuscripts of Gurmukhī Script. The script has been in formal use since the 1500s, and a lot of literature written within this time period is still traceable. Panjab Digital Library has digitized over 45 million pages from different manuscripts and most of them are available online.
Punjabi University Patiala has developed label generation rules for validating international domain names for internet in Gurmukhi.[77]
...the Guru Granth Sahib, written in a script particular to the Sikhs (Gurmukhi)...
...until the early 1970s all copies of the Guru Granth Sahib were presented in larivaar format, in which all the words were connected without breaks, after which point the SGPC released a single-volume edition in which the words were separated from one another in 'pad chhed' format (Mann 2001: 126). Whereas previously readers would have to recognize the words and make the appropriate breaks while reading, pad chhed allowed "reading for those who were not trained to read the continuous text." (Mann 2001: 126). The AKJ promotes a return to the larivaar format of the Guru Granth Sahib.
The following Punjabi-language publications have been written on the origins of the Gurmukhī script:
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