lingvo.wikisort.org - Alphabet

Shahmukhi (شاہ مُکھی, Gurmukhi: ਸ਼ਾਹਮੁਖੀ, lit. 'from the mouth of the Shah') is a modified Perso-Arabic alphabet used by Punjabi Muslims (primarily in Punjab, Pakistan) to write the Punjabi language.[1][2][3][4] It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq calligraphic hand,[3][4] which is also used for Urdu.[5] Perso-Arabic is one of two scripts used for Punjabi, the other being Gurmukhi, used by Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab, India.[3][6][4]

Shahmukhi شاہ مُکھی
"Shahmukhi" written using the Nastaliq calligraphic hand
Script type	Abjad
Direction	right-to-left script
Languages	Punjabi
Related scripts
Parent systems	Proto-Sinaitic Phoenician Aramaic Nabataean Arabic Perso-Arabic Shahmukhi
Unicode
Unicode range	U+0600 to U+06FF U+0750 to U+077F U+08A0 to U+08FF U+FB50 to U+FDFF U+FE70 to U+FEFF
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Shahmukhi alphabet
ا ب پ ت ٹ ث ج چ ح خ د ڈ ذ ر ڑ ز ژ س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ک گ ل ࣇ م ن ݨ (ں) و ه (ھ) ء ی ے
Extended Perso-Arabic script
History Transliteration Diacritics Hamza Numerals Numeration
v t e

Shahmukhi is written from right to left, while Gurmukhi is written from left to right.[7][8][4] It is also used as the main alphabet to write Pahari–Pothwari in Azad Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir.

The Shahmukhi alphabet was first used by the Sufi poets of Punjab,[9] and became the conventional writing style for the Muslim populace of the Pakistani province of Punjab following the Partition of India, while the largely Hindu and Sikh modern-day state of Punjab, India adopted the Gurmukhi or seldom, the Devanagari scripts to record the Punjabi language.[6]

Shahmukhi script is a modified version of the Arabic script. It was introduced by the Muslim Sufi poets in the 12th century for Punjabi language. While it is virtually identical to the Urdu alphabet, it is sometimes considered as a superset when additional letters are attempted to be included, representing Punjabi phonology; hence all Urdu readers can naturally read Shahmukhi (and vice versa) without any practical difficulty.^{[citation needed]} For writing Saraiki, an extended Shahmukhi is used that includes 4 additional letters for the implosive consonants (ٻ, ڄ, ݙ, ڳ).[10]

History

The name 'Shahmukhi' is a recent coinage, imitating its counterpart 'Gurmukhi'.[11] However, the writing of Punjabi in the Perso-Arabic script is well-attested from the 12th century onwards.[12] According to Dhavan, Punjabi began to adopt the script as a "side effect" of educational practices in Mughal-era Punjab, when Punjabi Muslims learned the Persian language in order to participate in Mughal society. Educational materials taught Persian to Punjabi speakers by using Punjabi written in Persian's alphabet, which was a novel innovation. This was one of the first attempts in writing and standardising the Punjabi language; prior to this, Punjabi was primarily a spoken language, not formally taught in schools.[13]

Shackle suggests that the Gurmukhi script was not favoured by Punjabi Muslims due to its religious (Sikh) connotations.[12]

Alphabet

Vowel diacritics

Though only implied, like Urdu, Shahmukhi also has diacritics, which are implied - a convention retained from the original Arabic script, to express short vowels.[4][14]

Diacritics used in Shahmukhi

Name	Symbol	Usage	IPA	Notes	Examples
Short Vowels
Zabar	◌َ‎	a	[ə]	Written underneath a letter
Zer	◌ِ‎	i	[ɪ]	Written above a letter
Pesh	◌ُ‎	u	[ʊ]
Noon Gunna	◌٘‎	ṉ	[◌̃], [ŋ]	Nasal vowel diacritic	‘مُون٘ہہ‎’ (‘face’)
Tashdeed	◌ّ‎	Geminite	[ː]	Doubles a consonant - goes above the letter being prolonged	‘کّ’ ('kk')
Loan diacritics
Khari Zabar	◌ٰ	á	[äː]	Used in certain Arabic loanwords only	‘عیسیٰ’ (‘Jesus’)
Zabar Tanwīn	◌ً	an	[ən]		‘فوراً’ (‘Immediately’)
Other diacritics
Hamza	◌ٔ	varied		Indicates a diphthong between two vowels, examples such as: ‘ئ’, ‘ۓ’, ‘ؤ‘, and أ , not written as a separate diacritic

Consonants

No.	Name[15]		IPA	Final glyph	Medial glyph	Initial glyph	Isolated glyph	Gurmukhi
1	الف	alif	/äː/, /ə/, /ɪ/, /ʊ/	ـا	ـا	ا	ا	ਅ, ਆ (medial)
2	بے	bē	/b/	ـب	ـبـ	بـ	ب	ਬ
3	پے	pē	/p/	ـپ	ـپـ	پـ	پ	ਪ
4	تے	tē	/t/	ـت	ـتـ	تـ	ت	ਤ
5	ٹے	ṭē	/ʈ/	ـٹ	ـٹـ	ٹـ	ٹ	ਟ
6	ثے	s̱ē	/s/	ـث	ـثـ	ثـ	ث	ਸ
7	جيم	jīma	/d͡ʒ/	ـج	ـجـ	جـ	ج	ਜ
8	چے	cē	/t͡ʃ/	ـچ	ـچـ	چـ	چ	ਚ
9	وڈّی حے	waḍḍi ḥē	/ɦ/	ـح	ـحـ	حـ	ح	ਹ
10	خے	k͟hē	/x/	ـخ	ـخـ	خـ	خ	ਖ਼
11	دال	dāla	/d/	ـد	ـد	د	د	ਦ
12	ڈال	ḍāla	/ɖ/	ـڈ	ـڈ	ڈ	ڈ	ਡ
13	ذال	ẕāla	/z/	ـذ	ـذ	ذ	ذ	ਜ਼
14	رے	rē	/r/	ـر	ـر	ر	ر	ਰ
15	ڑے	ṛē	/ɽ/	ـڑ	ـڑ	ڑ	ڑ	ੜ
16	زے	zē	/z/	ـز	ـز	ز	ز	ਜ਼
17	ژے	zhē	/ʒ/	ـژ	ـژ	ژ	ژ	-
18	سین	sīna	/s/	ـس	ـسـ	سـ	س	ਸ
19	شین	shīna	/ʃ/	ـش	ـشـ	شـ	ش	ਸ਼
20	صاد	ṣwāda	/s/	ـص	ـصـ	صـ	ص	ਸ
21	ضاد	ẓwāda	/z/	ـض	ـضـ	ضـ	ض	ਜ਼
22	طوۓ	t̤oʼē	/t/	ـط	ـطـ	طـ	ط	ਤ
23	ظوۓ	z̤oʼē	/z/	ـظ	ـظـ	ظـ	ظ	ਜ਼
24	عین	ʻaina	/∅/, /äː/, /ə/, /eː/, /oː/,	ـع	ـعـ	عـ	ع	varied
25	غین	ġaina	/ɣ/	ـغ	ـغـ	غـ	غ	ਗ਼
26	فے	fē	/f/	ـف	ـفـ	فـ	ف	ਫ਼
27	قاف	qāfa	/q/	ـق	ـقـ	قـ	ق	ਕ਼
28	کاف	kāfa	/k/	ـک	ـکـ	کـ	ک	ਕ
29	گاف	gāfa	/ɡ/	ـگ	ـگـ	گـ	گ	ਗ
30	لام	lāma	/l/	ـل	ـلـ	لـ	ل	ਲ
31[16]	ࣇام	ḷāma	/ɭ/	ـلؕ	ـلؕـ	لؕـ	لؕ	ਲ਼
32	میم	mīma	/m/	ـم	ـمـ	مـ	م	ਮ
33	نون	nūna	/n, ɲ/	ـن	ـنـ	نـ	ن	ਨ
34[16]	ݨون	ṇūna	/ɳ/	ـݨ	ـݨـ	ݨـ	ݨ	ਣ
35	نون غنّہ	nūn ġunnah	/◌̃, ŋ/	ـں	ـن٘ـ	ن٘ـ	ں (ن٘)	ੰ, ਂ, ਙ
36	واؤ	wāʼoa	/ʋ, uː, ʊ, oː, ɔː/	ـو	ـو	و	و	ੳ, ਵ
37	نکی ہے گول ہے	nikkī hē gol hē	/ɦ, ɑː, e:/	ـہ	ـہـ	ہـ	ہ	ਹ
38	دو چشمی ہے	do-cashmī hē	/ʰ/ or /ʱ/	ـھ	ـھـ	ھ	ھ	varied / ੍ਹ
39	ہمزہ	hamzah	/ʔ/, /∅/	ء	ء	ء	ء	-
40	چھوٹی يے	choṭī yē	/j, iː/	ـی	ـیـ	یـ	ی	ੲ, ਯ
41	وڈّی يے	waḍḍi yē	/ɛː, eː/	ـے	N/A	N/A	ے	ੇ, ੈ

No Punjabi words begin with ں, ھ, or ے. Words which begin with ڑ are exceedingly rare, but some have been documented in Shahmukhi dictionaries such as Iqbal Salahuddin's Waddi Punjabi Lughat.[17] The digraphs of aspirated consonants are as follows. In addition, ل and لؕ form ligatures with ا: لا (ـلا) and لؕا (ـلؕا).

Aspirates

No.	Digraph[18]	Transcription[18]	IPA	Example
1	بھ	bh		بھاری
2	پھ	ph		پھل
3	تھ	th		تھم
4	ٹھ	ṭh		ٹھیس
5	جھ	jh		جھاڑی
6	چھ	ch		چھوکرا
7	دھ	dh		دھوبی
8	ڈھ	ḍh		ڈھول
9	رھ	rh		بارھویں
10	ڑھ	ṛh	[ɽʱ]	کڑھنا
11	کھ	kh		کھولنا
12	گھ	gh		گھبراہٹ
13	لھ	lh	[lʱ]	کولھ
14	مھ	mh	[mʱ]	ڈمھ
15	نھ	nh	[nʱ]	چنھاں
16	وھ	wh	[ʋʱ]	No example?
17	یھ	yh	[jʱ]	یھاوا[19]

• ے (waddi ye) is only found in the final position, when writing the sounds e (ਏ) or æ (ਐ), and in initial and medial positions, it takes the form of ی.
• Vowels are expressed as follows:

Romanization	Final		Middle	Initial
a (ਅ)	ـہ		ـَ	اَ
ā (ਆ)	یٰ	ـَا		آ
i (ਇ)	N/A		ـِ	اِ
ī (ਈ)	ـِى		ـِيـ	اِی
ē (ਏ)	ـے‬		ـيـ	اے
ai (ਐ)	ـَے‬		ـَيـ	اَے
u (ਉ)	N/A		ـُ	اُ
ū (ਊ)	ـُو			اُو
o (ਓ)	ـو			او
au (ਔ)	ـَو			اَو

Difference from Persian and Urdu

Shahmukhi has more letters added to the Urdu base to represent sounds not present in Urdu, which already has additional letters added to the Arabic and Persian base itself to represent sounds not present in Arabic. Characters added which differ from Persian but not Urdu include: ٹ to represent /ʈ/, ڈ to represent /ɖ/, ڑ to represent /ɽ/, ں to represent /◌̃/, and ے to represent /ɛ:/ or /e:/. Furthermore, a separate do-cashmi-he letter, ھ, exists to denote a /ʰ/ or a /ʱ/, this letter is mainly used as part of the multitude of digraphs, detailed below. Characters added which differ from Urdu include: ࣇ to represent /ɭ/ and ݨ to represent /ɳ/. These characters, however are rarely used.

Loanwords

In Punjabi, there are many Arabic and Persian loanwords. These words contain some sounds which were alien to South Asian languages before the influence of Arabic and Persian, and are therefore represented by introducing dots beneath specific Gurmukhi characters. Since the Gurmukhi alphabet is phonetic, any loanwords which contained pre-existing sounds were more easily transliterated without the need for characters modified with subscript dots.

Shahmukhi Letter	Gurmukhi Letter
ذ	ਜ਼
ص	ਸ
ض	ਜ਼
ط	ਤ
ظ	ਜ਼
غ	ਗ਼
ح	ਹ
ث	ਸ
گ	ਗ
چ	ਚ
پ	ਪ
ژ	ਜ਼
خ	ਖ਼
ز	ਜ਼
ف	ਫ਼
ق	ਕ਼
ع	variable

ژ is pronounced 'j' in French or as vision in English

ع is often transliterated in many ways due to its changing sound in various Arabic and Persian words.

Gallery

• 
  An example of poetry in Shahmukhi by Bulleh Shah, a prominent Sufi-poet
• 
  Another example of poetry by Bulleh Shah in Shahmukhi

See also

• Gurmukhī alphabet
• Saraiki alphabet

References

Further reading

• Mumtaz Ahmad (1 April 1992), Punjabi Reader: in the Arabic Script (in Punjabi), Kensington: Dunwoody Publishing & Press, Wikidata Q113235868
• Iqbal Salah-ud-Din (2002). Waddi Punjabi Lughat: پنجابی توں پنجابی (in Punjabi). Lahore: Aziz Publishers. ISBN 978-969-455-042-8. LCCN 2010341553. OCLC 629702100. OL 31212991M. Wikidata Q113450202.
• Rehman Akhter (2019), Gulshan-e-Urdu (in Punjabi and Urdu) (2nd ed.), Malerkotla: Brar Sons, Wikidata Q113270613
• پلاک ڈکشنری (in Punjabi). Punjab Institute of Language, Art, and Culture. 2018. ISBN 978-969-9199-55-4. LCCN 2019331117. OCLC 1110151124. Wikidata Q113301763.
• Gurpreet Singh Lehal; Tejinder Singh; Joga Singh; Suman Preet (2009), Punjabi-English Dictionary (in English and Punjabi), Patiala: Publication Bureau, Punjabi University, OCLC 1036828588, Wikidata Q112690336
• Gurpreet Singh Lehal; Tejinder Singh Asani (2012), Conversion between Scripts of Punjabi: Beyond Simple Transliteration (PDF) (in English and Punjabi), Wikidata Q112672112

External links

• Shahmukhi to Gurmukhi Transliteration System: A Corpus based Approach
• The Western Panjabi Alphabet Archived 2017-11-30 at the Wayback Machine
• Learn Shahmukhi
• Likhari in Shahmukhi
• Kalam-e-Baba Nanak
• Punjabi and Punjab
• E-Book on Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi
• PDF on Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi

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