Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Dentals

Fifth row of Gurmukhi - the Dentals

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

ਤ ਥ ਦ ਧ ਨ

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.

ਤ 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.

ਥ 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

ਦ 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

ਧ 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

ਨ 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

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.

ਤ ਥ ਦ ਧ ਨ

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

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.