Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Dentals

Fifth row of Gurmukhi - the Dentals

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We have already learnt the velars, palatals and retroflexes besides the vowel carriers and ਸ and ਹ. We now move on to the fifth row (ਤ ਵਰਗ ) of Gurmukhi consisting of the dentals. The dentals are so called because of the fact that they are articulated with the tongue touching the upper teeth.

The Gurmukhi dentals are

These are called ਤ - tutta, ਥ - thuththa, ਦ - dudda, ਧ - dhudda and ਨ - nunna. They are pronounced ਤ - /t/, ਥ - /th/, ਦ - /d/, ਧ - /dh/ and ਨ - /n/. Each of these letters is explained below.

Tutta
ਤ sound is not found in English. It is produced the same way as /t/ except that instead of the tongue touching the roof of the mouth it touches the teeth. The world famous monument of love Taj is spelt in Gurmukhi as
ਤਾ + ਜ = ਤਾਜ = Taj
Tibet will be written in Gurmukhi as under
ਤਿੱ + ਬ + ਤ = ਤਿੱਬਤ = Tibet
ਤ /t/ is a dental sound. It is produced the same way as /t/ but by placing the tongue against the upper teeth, as is done to produce th sound in then. To produce ਤ sound repeat the /t/ sound and continue to do so by placing the tongue against the upper teeth. This will produce the ਤ sound.
Thuththa
ਥ is same as /th/ in thank. Let us see some examples of its use in English words
ਥੈਂ + ਕ = ਥੈਂਕ = thank
ਥੀ + ਸਿ + ਸ = ਥੀਸਿਸ = thesis
ਥਿੱ + ਕ = ਥਿੱਕ = thick
Dudda
ਦ is equivalent to /th/ as in the. Here are some examples of its use in English words
ਦਿੱ + ਸ = ਦਿੱਸ = this
ਦੈ + ਟ = ਦੈਟ = that
Dhuddaa
ਧ has no equivalent in English. ਧ sound is produced by speaking ਤ combined with a tone in an initial position of a word and a tone with ਦ sound elsewhere.
ਬੁੱ + ਧਾ = ਬੁੱਧਾ /Budhaa/ = Buddha
Nuna
ਨ is equivalent to /n/. Let us see some examples of use of ਨ in English words written in Gurmukhi
ਨੈੱ + ਟ = ਨੈੱਟ = net
ਨਿ + ਬ = ਨਿਬ = nib
ਨੋ + ਟ = ਨੋਟ = note

Exercises

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1. Use Practice module to write the letters of the fifth row many times in your note book as you did earlier. You can click one of the letters below to go to relevant page of the practice module.

2. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi

  1. ਤਾਜ
  2. ਸੋਵੀਅਤ
  3. ਥੈਂਕ
  4. ਦੈਂਸ
  5. ਨਾਇਨ
Solutions
  1. Taj
  2. Soviet
  3. Thank
  4. Thence
  5. Nine

3. Write these words in Gurmukhi and English side by side.

  1. ਥਿੱਕ
  2. ਕਜ਼ਾਖਸਤਾਨ
  3. ਨਥਿਙ
  4. ਥੀਸਿਸ
  5. ਬੁੱਧਾ
Solutions
  1. ਥਿੱਕ - Thick
  2. ਕਜ਼ਾਖਸਤਾਨ - Kazakhstan
  3. ਨਥਿਙ - Nothing
  4. ਥੀਸਿਸ - Thesis
  5. ਬੁੱਧਾ - Buddha

4. Write these English words in Gurmukhi

  1. Tibet
  2. Noon
  3. Thatch
  4. Sooth
  5. Than
  6. Then
  7. Notice
  8. Nuisance
  9. Thin
  10. Night
Solutions
  1. ਤਿੱ + ਬ + ਤ = ਤਿੱਬਤ
  2. ਨੂ + ਨ = ਨੂਨ
  3. ਥੈ + ਚ = ਥੈਚ
  4. ਸੂ + ਨ = ਸੂਨ
  5. ਦੈ + ਨ = ਦੈਨ
  6. ਦੈੱ + ਨ = ਦੈੱਨ
  7. ਨੋ + ਟਿ + ਸ = ਨੋਟਿਸ
  8. ਨ + ਊ + ਸੰ + ਸ = ਨਊਸੰਸ
  9. ਥਿ + ਨ = ਥਿਨ
  10. ਨਾ + ਇ + ਟ = ਨਾਇਟ

Summary

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In this lesson we have learnt the five letters of the second row of Gurmukhi script. These letter are ਤ tuta, ਥ thutha, ਦ duda, ਧ dhuda and ਨ nunna. In the next lesson we will introduce the next five letters of Gurmukhi.