Panjabi is a language with regional voices. Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi are writing systems. Neighbouring languages have their own histories and communities. Preservation begins by keeping those distinctions, the original evidence and the names people use for themselves.
This register was updated on 3 November 2026. Source preservation has begun. Saved scans and dataset transcriptions still need comparison with the original pages and review with speakers; this is not a complete dialect census.
Preservation has begun
The first private working archive preserves historical survey scans, their available OCR and page metadata, Bailey’s Himalayan studies, the Takri proposal and the modern Himachal survey. It also contains 677 attributed word-form records selected from 20 relevant ASJP wordlists. These are source records and machine extractions, not newly verified teaching entries.
The Lyallpuri supplement has been saved with an inventory of 240 audio files. Cambridge permits personal downloads and requires permission before incorporation into another product. The recordings and bulk source archive are not served by this page.
Original labels, source references and reuse restrictions are retained. The ASJP selections exclude unrelated namesakes and reconstructed proto-language rows. Doabi, Malwai and Puadhi still need a larger, independently checked lexical collection.
ASJP source release and attribution ↗ · Lyallpuri study and audio terms ↗
Panjabi regional speech
Majhi, Doabi, Malwai and Puadhi
Historical sources preserved
The Library of Congress schedule indexes Majhi and regional labels including Jullundur Doabi, Malwai and Powadhi. These are useful search terms for older grammars and district literature; catalogue headings are not a final statement of community identity.
Library of Congress, PK2631 to PK2639 ↗Recovery task: Check the saved survey specimens against their page images, then locate later local editions and record each author, place and date.
Panjabi regional speech
Lyallpuri
Study and audio preserved privately
A published phonetic description documents this variety associated with Faisalabad. Its recording context matters: evidence from one consultant should not be presented as representing every local speaker.
Journal of the International Phonetic Association, Lyallpuri study ↗Recovery task: Align the saved sound files with the study. Obtain Cambridge permission before incorporating audio into the site, and retain the single-consultant context.
Related regional language traditions
Pothwari, Hindko and Saraiki
Historical and modern descriptions
Older literature groups several western varieties under Lahnda. Modern descriptions question those boundaries and recognise distinct language identities, including Saraiki. Keep each community's name, source spelling and classification visible rather than automatically relabelling everything as a Panjabi dialect.
Linguistic Survey of India, Volume 8 Part 1; compare the Lyallpuri study above ↗Recovery task: Compare historical wordlists with current community publications before assigning dialect labels.
Neighbouring Western Pahari language
Bhadrawahi / Bhadarwahi
Vocabulary resource located
The Endangered Languages Project lists a compiled vocabulary resource. Glottolog records a threatened assessment and exposes the underlying source and its uncertainty. A historical wordlist is evidence of recorded words, not proof that a language is extinct or that its vocabulary has been fully recovered.
Endangered Languages Project, Bhadrawahi wordlist ↗Assessment and its evidence ↗Recovery task: Check the 22 selected ASJP form records against the saved Bailey source and seek current speaker confirmation; these are a partial wordlist.
Neighbouring language
Churahi
Language record located
A separate language record and bibliography provide a starting point for finding descriptions. Endangerment assessments differ between resources and dates; no single current status is assigned here.
Glottolog language record and references ↗Recovery task: Identify local recordings, current community publications and the evidence behind each vitality assessment.
Neighbouring speech and script tradition
Kangri / Kangra
Historical script specimens
The Takri proposal reproduces a handwritten Kangra specimen and a comparison of regional letterforms. These document writing practices; they do not by themselves establish pronunciation or current language vitality.
Takri proposal, figures 14 and 34 ↗Recovery task: Align the manuscript image with a checked transcription and preserve uncertain readings.
Neighbouring language and script tradition
Bhateali / Bhattiyali
Handwritten specimen located
A handwritten Bhateali specimen survives in the Takri proposal. Retain the historical label on the source image alongside any modern community-preferred name.
Takri proposal, figure 29 ↗Recovery task: Find the original specimen's provenance before preparing a teaching transcription.
Neighbouring language and script tradition
Mandeali
Chart and specimen located
The Takri proposal includes a regional character chart and a specimen. These offer a concrete starting point for recovering legible text from surviving writing.
Takri proposal, figures 25 and 26 ↗Recovery task: Transcribe a short passage, record alternatives and obtain a reader's review.
Neighbouring language and script tradition
Sirmauri
Chart and specimen located
Regional letterforms and a specimen are reproduced in the same proposal. A recovered script reading and a translation are separate editorial tasks.
Takri proposal, figures 19 and 20 ↗Recovery task: Document letter identification separately from the proposed meaning of each word.
Neighbouring language traditions
Chambeali and Dogri
Printed and written specimens
The Takri proposal distinguishes Chamba and Dogra styles and reproduces examples for these language traditions. Keep language names separate from script style names.
Takri proposal, figures 10 to 16 ↗Recovery task: Compare historical print with current community orthographies without silently modernising the original.
Where the surviving evidence leads
The digitised Linguistic Survey offers comparative vocabulary and historical specimens. Its colonial categories need comparison with current scholarship and community names. The British Library recording catalogue explicitly notes that Panjab, Kashmir and the North West Frontier governments did not participate in that recording effort. Do not infer a complete Panjabi dialect sound archive from the existence of the survey.
Digitised survey volumes ↗ · British Library recording catalogue, IOR/S/2 ↗
A recovered item needs a traceable record
Keep the source image or recording reference, exact page or time, original spelling, place, date, speaker or author where known, rights, transcription, translation and review history. Mark uncertain readings. Keep synthetic audio separate from historic recordings. Speaker consent and community access belong in the record before publication.
