Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Palatals

Till now we have learnt the letters contained in the first two rows of Gurmukhi. The letters are ੳ, ਅ, ੲ, ਸ, ਹ, ਕ, ਖ, ਗ, ਘ and ਙ. In this lesson we will learn the letters of the third row of Gurmukhi. The letters of the third row are called Palatals for they are articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth).

Third row of Gurmukhi

The third row of Gurmukhi consists of ਚ ਛ ਜ ਝ ਞ These are called ਚ - chucha, ਛ - chhuchha, ਜ - jujja, ਝ - jhujja and ਞ -neya. Their pronunciation is ਚ -/ch/, ਛ - /chh/, ਜ - /j/, ਝ - /jh/ and ਞ - /ny/. We now breifly explain each of these letters.

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Chucha is equivalent to /ch/ of English. Now, how do you write catch in Gurmukhi? I write it for you below

ਕੈ + ਚ = ਕੈਚ = catch

This example illustrates the use of ਚ as well as ਕ which you learnt in Lesson 2. Here are some more examples illustrating the use of ਚ.

ਚੈੱ + ਕ = ਚੈੱਕ = cheque

ਸੱ + ਚ = ਸੱਚ = such

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Chhuchha is the next letter of Gurmukhi. The nearest English equivalent of ਛ is /sh/. The difference between the two is that while the former is produced by stopping the air flow by placing the tongue against the palate as in the case of ਚ, the air continues to flow out of the mouth in the case of the later, albeit with friction and consequent noise. Have a look at the following Punjabi examples

ਛੈ + ਵ + ਰ + ਲੇ = ਛੈਵਰਲੇ = Chevrolet (a car brand)

ਛਾਂ /chhan/ = shade

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Jujja is equivalent to English /j/. Writting judge in Gurmukhi will illustrate its use.

ਜੱ + ਜ = ਜੱਜ = judge

Here are some more illustrations

ਜੈੱ + ਟ = ਜੈੱਟ = jet (plane)

ਜੱ + ਗ = ਜੱਗ = jug

ਜੈ + ਕ = ਜੈਕ = jack

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Jhujja is not spoken in English. ਝ sound is produced by combining ਚ sound with a high tone. A tone is produced with a rush of air out of mouth. Its use in Punjabi is not infrequent.

ਝੱ + ਟ = ਝੱਟ /jhatt/ = instantly

ਝੁ + ਗੀ = ਝੁਗੀ /jhuggii/ = cottage

ਝੰ + ਡਾ = ਝੰਡਾ /jhandhaa/ = flag

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Neya is also not spoken in English. It nasalized version of /y/ sound in English and will be represented with /ny/. Its use in Punjabi is also becoming scarce. A marriage party in Punjabi is called

ਜੰ + ਞ = ਜੰਞ = marriage party

Exercises

1. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi

1. ਚਾਕ
2. ਐੱਜ
3. ਹੈਚ
4. ਚੈੱਸ
5. ਸਕੈੱਚ
6. ਜੌਗ

Solutions

1. Chalk
2. Edge
3. Hatch
4. Chess
5. Sketch
6. Jog

2. Write the above listed words in Gurmukhi and English side by side.

3. Write these English words in Gurmukhi

1. Jaw
2. Jockey
3. Inch
4. Eschew
5. Chick
6. Each
7. Junk

Solutions

1. ਜਾ
2. ਜੌ + ਕਿ = ਜੌਕਿ
3. ਇੰ + ਚ = ਇੰਚ
4. ਇ + ਸ + ਚੂ = ਇਸਚੂ
5. ਚਿ + ਕ = ਚਿਕ
6. ਈ + ਚ = ਈਚ
7. ਜੰ + ਕ = ਜੰਕ

Summary

In this lesson we have learnt the alphabets of the third row of Gurmukhi. The letters are ਚ called chucha, ਛ called chhuchha, ਜ called jujja, ਝ called jhujja and ਞ called neya. In the next lesson we will learn the alphabets of the fourth row.