Comments on: Discrepancy: So What Is It?

By: Watan Aziz

Watan Aziz — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 01:38:10 +0000

But Punjabi is best when spoken in Urdu accent!

It is both stiff and raw all at the same time. And the strain that gets created, searching for words and emphasis all at the same time (generally in wrong places). With arms flying and body moving in disconnected directions, it is a sight to behold. (I am roasting my best friend and doubling over with fond memories of our youth).

If you have not seen it, you have not been in Lahore long enough!

My favorites are:

Nav’aid or Naveed (Punjabi version / Urdu version)
Wasim or Waseem (2nd spelling seems right to me)
ekbal or Akbaal (pronuciation)
Lahore or la-oar (pronuciation)
Rawalpindi or Pindi
Duska or Deskay (pronuciation)
Leiah or Leyyah or leyeaa (pronuciation)
Rickshaw or rakshaw
government or gorment (this is all time classic in my books for poor transliteration)
dahi or daeee (yougart, Urdu / Punjabi? not sure)
Said or Syed or Sayid
Cigarette or sirget
Fanta or funta
Birthday or birday (this tops the list)
Biscuit or beskut

Then there are a whole bunch of Arbic words that have gone south:
Hadees or Hadith
Usman or Othman
Ramzan or Ramadan

However, given a chance to Urdu media, the transliteration will put you over the top:
Jersey became jercey (and I have seen it spelled right back in English as New Jercey; go figure)
Connecticut is kun-kati-kat

By: Pervaiz Munir Alvi

Pervaiz Munir Alvi — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:52:15 +0000

Ayaz K.: Some speak Urdu with ‘Hindustani’ accent while other speak with Punjabi, Sindhi or Pashto accent. One hears them all. That is the beauty of Urdu language. Much of Urdu vocabulary comes from Turkish, Persian and Arabic languages. Natives of those three languages have accent and pronunciation (of words found in Urdu) different than say those of Punjabi, Pashto or Hindustani origin. So, should we say that the ‘Hindustani’ accent and pronunciation of Persian/Arabic/Turkish origin words be ‘corrected’ in favor of their origin. And then again even those three languages have their internal variations. Have you ever heard of the ‘murder’ of English words by the Urdu speakers of all regions. Where does one stop in this ‘correction’.

By: Ayaz K.

Ayaz K. — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:00:17 +0000

Why do you have to speak Urdu in this Punjabi accent all the time? — if you can’t pronounce it right then do some research or ask those who can pronounce it correctly.

This “tenu kee” attitude shows people don’t care and Urdu won’t be sounding so cool to our ears if nobody cares about its diction and the way words and sentences are delivered.

Jilani and Gilani is a very trivial issue. First people should learn how to say “Nasir” properly — it is “Nasir” not Naasar :) — it is “Waqt” not “Wakat” ..it is “Sirf” not “Siraf” …. a long list is there but you get the idea :0)