Malwai dialect

Malwai is a Punjabi dialect spoken in the Malwa region of Punjab. People of Malwa are down to earth according to other regions of Punjab. Major Malwai speaking centers are Ferozepur, Fazilka, Faridkot, Muktsar,[note 1] Moga, Bathinda, Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa districts and Jagraon, Raikot and Ludhiana (West) tehsils of Ludhiana district.[note 2] In Pakistan, it is spoken in Bahawalnagar and Vehari districts of Punjab. Many Malwai speakers also live in Dabwali, Kalanwali and Rania tehsils of Sirsa district of Haryana, India; the Jakhal, Ratia, and Tohana tehsils of Fatehabad district of Haryana, India; and the Sri Ganganagar and Hanumangarh districts of Rajasthan, India.

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Dialects of Punjab Graphcal Representation

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.

Another notable difference is that where other Punjabi dialects have an 'L' sound, in Malwai many of those words are pronounced with an 'R' (ਰ) or 'ɭ̆' (ਲ਼) instead.

The following peculiarities in vocabulary are also observed:

Also, in contrast with Majhi dialect, 'ਹ' is not tonal. Exceptions are encountered when 'ਹ' is not followed by a schwa ending or a vowel sound, as in, ਕਹਿਣਾ, ਰਹਿ, ਘਾਹ.