Punjabi dialects and languages

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Punjabis
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Punjabi sub-regions Bagar Bars (Ganji • Gondal • Jungle • Kirana • Neeli • Sandal) Bhatiore Bhattiana Chhachh Cholistan Bahawalpur Derajat Doabs (Bari • Bist • Chaj • Indus Sagar • Rachna) Galyat Hazara Kachhi Kashmir (south-western) Kirana Hills Majha Malwa Margalla Hills Multan Pothwar Kala Chitta Range Puadh Salt Range Sakesar Sivalik Hills Soon Valley Sulaiman Mountains Thal
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The Punjabi dialects (Punjabi: پنجابی بولیاں (Shahmukhi), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਬੋਲੀਆਂ (Gurmukhi); romanized: Pañjābī bōlī'ã) or Punjabi varieties (Punjabi: پنجابی قِسماں (Shahmukhi), ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਕਿਸਮਾਂ (Gurmukhi); romanized: Pañjābī kisamã) are the dialects and varieties of the Punjabi language that are part of the Northwestern Indo-Aryan language group of the Indo-European language family widely spoken in the Punjab region of South Asia. The spoken dialects of Punjabi are mutually intelligible with neighbouring dialects and form a dialect continuum.^[1]

They have sometimes been referred to as the Greater Punjabi macrolanguage.^[2] Punjabi may also be considered as a pluricentric language with more than one standard variety; almost all standardized varieties of the language are based on the Majhi dialect (Central Punjabi) but with varying influences. Indian Standard Punjabi has more influence from the eastern dialects while standard varieties being cultivated in Pakistan are influenced by the western dialects.^[3]

Punjabi, in its various standard forms, dialects and varieties, is spoken by ethnic Punjabis, predominantly in Pakistan and India. It is also spoken by Punjabi diaspora communities around the world.

The varieties of Punjabi have a number of characteristics in common, for example the preservation of the Prakrit double consonants in stressed syllables.^[4] During the colonial-era, the classification of Punjabi varieties was a point of debate with some linguists classifying the western dialects as Northwestern and assigning the eastern ones to the Central zone alongside Hindi.^[5] In the modern-era, almost all linguists are in an agreement over its classification. Punjabi, as a whole, is classified under Northwestern branch of Indo-Aryan languages, alongside Sindhic.