Malwai ( ; ) is an eastern dialect of the

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

, spoken in the

Malwa Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the ...

region of

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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 The Bagri language is a dialect of Rajasthani that takes its name from the Bagar tract region of Northwestern India in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. Bagri is a typical Indo-Aryan language akin to Rajasthani and Haryanvi with ...

, which is classified as a dialect of

Rajasthani language The Rajasthani languages are a group of Western Indo-Aryan languages, primarily spoken in Rajasthan and Malwa, and adjacent areas of Haryana, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh in India and South Punjab and the adjacent areas of Sindh in Pakistan. T ...

. Moga,

Bathinda Bathinda is a city and municipal corporation in Punjab, India. The city is the administrative headquarters of Bathinda district. It is located in northwestern India in the Malwa Region, west of the capital city of Chandigarh and is the fifth ...

Sangrur Sangrur is a city in the Indian state of Punjab, India. It is the headquarters of Sangrur District. Geography Sangrur is located at . It has an average elevation of 237 metres (778 feet). Climate Health services City has PGIM ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

, Barnala, Mansa districts and Jagraon, Raikot and Ludhiana (West) tehsils of

Ludhiana district Ludhiana district is one of the 23 districts in the Indian state of Punjab. It is Punjab's largest district by both area and population. Ludhiana, the largest city in Punjab, is the district headquarters. The main industries are bicycle parts ...

.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 Sirsa district is the largest district by area in Haryana state, India. Sirsa is the district headquarters. It is located on National Highway 9 and from the capital Delhi. On 1 September 1975, Sirsa became a district by taking Sirsa and Dabw ...

and

kaithal district Kaithal district is one of the 22 districts of Haryana, a state in northern India. Kaithal town is the district headquarters. History This district came into existence on 1 November 1989. Theh Polar archaeological site Theh Polar, the ...

Haryana Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

; the Jakhal and Ratia tehsils of

Fatehabad district Fatehabad district is one of the twenty two districts of the state of Haryana, India. Fatehabad was founded by Firuz Shah Tughlaq. Fatehabad district was carved out of Hisar district on 15 July 1997. It borders districts of Mansa and S ...

Rajasthan

The dialect is also found spoken in

Sri Ganganagar Sri Ganganagar is the northernmost city of the Indian state of Rajasthan, near the international border of India and Pakistan. It is the administrative headquarters of Sri Ganganagar district. It is named after Maharaja Shri Ganga Singh Bahad ...

and

Hanumangarh Hanumangarh is a city and municipal council in the Indian state of Rajasthan, situated on the banks of the river Ghaggar also identified as ancient Sarasvati river, located about 400 km from Delhi. It is the administrative headquarter o ...

districts of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

Pakistan

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, it is spoken in

Vehari Vehari, also spelled Vihari, is a city and the headquarters of Vehari District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is Pakistan's 62nd largest city. Vehari is about from the historical city of Multan. Vehari is located at the Multan-Delhi ...

district of

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

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. 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. For example: Majhi dialect 1(ghaddi khalarna), 2 (banda khalota). Malwai dialect 1(ghaddi kharaona), 2 (banda kharota). The following peculiarities in vocabulary are also observed: Also, in contrast with

Majhi dialect Majhi may mean: *of, from, or related to Majha, a region in Punjab * Majhi dialect, the principal dialect of Punjabi * Majhi people, an ethnic group of Nepal and Sikkim * Majhi language Majhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of Ne ...

, '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

Notes

References

{{Authority control Punjabi dialects Languages of Punjab, India Punjabi language in Pakistan