Malwai ( ; ) is an eastern dialect of the Punjabi language, spoken in the Malwa region of Punjab.
History During the British colonial period, Malwai was spoken in the Ferozepore and Ludhiana districts. It was also spoken in much of the princely states of the Punjab, barring Kapurthala. However, Ferozepore and Zira had been influenced by Majhi owing to commercial, cultural, and logistic ties to Majha despite being in Malwa. The Fazilka and Abohar areas were influenced by Western Punjabi. After the partition in 1947, Majhi speaking refugees from rural Lahore district settled in Muktsar tehsil, influencing the local dialect there.
Distribution
India
Punjab Major Malwai speaking centers are Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar,The language spoken in some southern villages of Fazilka, Muktsar and Bahawalnagar districts forms a dialect continuum with Bagri language, which is classified as a dialect of Rajasthani language. Moga, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala, Barnala, Mansa districts and Jagraon, Raikot and Ludhiana (West) tehsils of Ludhiana district.The Punjabi spoken in eastern tehsils of Ludhiana district (Ludhiana (East), Payal, Khanna and Samrala) forms a dialect continuum with Pwadhi dialect.
Haryana Many Malwai speakers also live in Dabwali, Kalanwali and Rania tehsils of Sirsa district and Kaithal district of Haryana, India; the Jakhal and Ratia tehsils of Fatehabad district of Haryana, India.
Rajasthan The dialect is also found spoken in Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan, India.
Pakistan In Pakistan, it is spoken in Vehari district of Punjab by the communities migrated from Indian Punjab after Partition 1947. It is also spoken in Bahawalnagar and Nankana Sahib districts.
Characteristics Although the characteristic distinction among the various dialects of Punjabi language lies in the speech pattern, the Malwai dialect most notably differs from the other dialects through its distinctive 'ū' (ਊ) sound in all future-tense verb endings. +Verb Conjugation DifferencesStandard PunjabiMalwai Dialectāvegāāūgāāvegīāūgīāvogeāūŋgepīvegāpīūgāpīvegīpīūgīpīvogepīūŋge Another notable difference is that where other Punjabi dialects have (ਲ) in Malwai many of those words are pronounced with an (ਰ) or (ਲ਼) instead.
The following peculiarities in vocabulary are also observed:
English Standard Punjabi MalwaiGurmukhiShahmukhiGurmukhiShahmukhi He will come. ਉਹ ਆਵੇਗਾاوہ آویگا ਉਹ ਆਊਗਾاوہ آؤگا I am coming. ਮੈਂ ਆ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂمیں آ رہا آں ਮੈਂ ਆਈ ਜਾਨਾਂ। میں آئی جاناں۔ He is coming. ਉਹ ਆ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈاوہ آ رہا اے ਉਹ ਆਈ ਜਾਂਦੈ। اوہ آئی جاندَے۔ To lift/to pick (up) ਚੁੱਕਣਾچُکنا ਚੱਕਣਾ چَکنا To uproot/to dig (out) ਪੁੱਟਣਾ پُٹنا ਪੱਟਣਾ پَٹنا Your ਤੁਹਾਡਾ تَہاڈا ਥੋਡਾ/ਸੋਡਾ تُہاڈا (My/your/his/her) own ਆਪਣਾاپنا ਆਵਦਾ آودا By me/from me ਮੇਰੇ ਤੋਂ/ਮੇਰੇ ਕੋਲੋਂ میرے توں/میرے کولوں ਮੈਥੋਂ میتھوں By you/from you ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਤੋਂ/ਤੁਹਾਡੇ ਕੋਲੋਂ/ਤਾਡਾ تہاڈے توں/تہاڈے کولوں/تاڈا ਥੋਤੋਂ تُہاتھوں Camel ਊਠ اُوٹھ ਬੋਤਾ اُٹھ Son ਪੁੱਤਰپُتر ਪੁੱਤ پُت Friend ਮਿੱਤਰ یار/مِتر ਮਿੱਤ بیلی Urine ਮੂਤਰ مُوتَر ਮੂਤ مُوت Dew drop ਤ੍ਰੇਲ਼ تریل ਤੇਲ਼ تیل
Also, in contrast with Majhi dialect, 'ਹ' is not tonal. Exceptions are encountered when 'ਹ'/'ہ' is not followed by a schwa ending or a vowel sound, as in, ਕਹਿਣਾ, ਰਹਿ, ਘਾਹ / ۔کہنا، رہِ، گھاہ
See also Punjabi dialects Languages of India List of Indian languages by total speakers List of Punjabi television channels
Notes
References
Further reading