Malwai is a Punjabi dialect spoken in the Malwa region of Punjab.
Distribution
India
Punjab
Major Malwai speaking centers are Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar, Moga, Bathinda, Sangrur, Patiala, Barnala, Mansa districts and Jagraon, Raikot and Ludhiana (West) tehsils of Ludhiana district.
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.
| Standard Punjabi | Malwai Dialect |
|---|---|
| āvegā | āūgā |
| āvegī | āūgī |
| āvoge | āūŋge |
| pīvegā | pīūgā |
| pīvegī | pīūgī |
| pīvoge | pīūŋge |
Another notable difference is that where other Punjabi dialects have /l/ (ਲ) in Malwai many of those words are pronounced with an /r/ (ਰ) or [ɭ̆] (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:
| English | Standard Punjabi | Malwai | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gurmukhi | Shahmukhi | Gurmukhi | Shahmukhi | |
| He will come. | ਉਹ ਆਵੇਗਾ | اوہ آویگا | ਉਹ ਆਊਗਾ | اوہ آؤگا |
| I am coming. | ਮੈਂ ਆ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ | میں آ رہا آں | ਮੈਂ ਆਈ ਜਾਨਾਂ। | میں آئی جاناں۔ |
| He is coming. | ਉਹ ਆ ਰਿਹਾ ਹੈ | اوہ آ رہا اے | ਉਹ ਆਈ ਜਾਂਦੈ। | اوہ آئی جاندَے۔ |
| To lift/to pick (up) | ਚੁੱਕਣਾ | چُکنا | ਚੱਕਣਾ | چَکنا |
| To uproot/to dig (out) | ਪੁੱਟਣਾ | پُٹنا | ਪੱਟਣਾ | پَٹنا |
| Your | ਤੁਹਾਡਾ | تَہاڈا | ਥੋਡਾ/ਸੋਡਾ | تُہاڈا |
| (My/your/his/her) own | ਆਪਣਾ | اپنا | 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 | ਉੱਠ | اُٹھ |
| Son | ਪੁੱਤਰ | پُتر | 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