PUNJABI LANGUAGE AND LITER- ATURE. Punjabi (also Panjabi from Persian Punyautn—"Five Rivers))) is an ancient Indian or Hindi dialect. Of a total population of about 26 000,000 inhabiting the Punjab (or Panjab) a large district in northwest India, some 18,000,- 000 to 19,000,000 speak Punjabi as their common vernacular; some 4,000,000 use Hindustani, the remainder speak the hill dialects; the Pahari 6 Hindustani is, however, employed in the law courts and officially in all intercourse with the natives. Punjabi has been enforced by many words borrowed from Persian and Arabic, and is, therefore, an Aryan language belonging to the central group. But the number of original Sanskrit words in its vocabulary (called tatsania) is small, especially when compared with Bengali and Uriya (two eastern forms of Hindi). Punjabi again has a number of lects, fusing into one another, as is invariably the case with dialects throughout India. Ile main ones of these are Multani (in the south) whichpartakes both of Punjabi and Sindhi; next, Jathki (in the Centre) and Dogeri (in the north). There are also several alphabdts in use, the most ancient of which is Gurmukhi, derived from the Dervanagari phabet, a Sanskrit form, though somewhat altered, omitting also a number of sign,s. The Gurmukhi is likewise in vogue among the Sikhs.
Then there is the Lundi alphabet, used for mercial purposes. However, the British ernment adopted the Arabic character, as being the most convenient for the purpose. There is really no literature in Punjabi, with the single exception of the Siloh Granths. Parts of the Bible, though, have been lated into Multani and Chibhali-Dogeri. The Sikh Granths in Punjabi, or Adi Grand', are a compilation of the laws and precepts of the Khalsa, a peculiar sect whose holy city was Amritsar, founded by Manak. Ile Khalsa (lit., the Pure) aimed in their teaching partly for political, partly for religious reasons, at the brotherly amalgamation of Hindus and Moslems in the Punjab. For several centuries the Khalsa played a conspicuous role in that portion of India. This was more especially the case during the 17th century. Under British influence, however, the Khalsa gradually ceased to promulgate their doctrine. The Granths spoken of, show the Punjabi vernacular at its best. Consult Bhai Maya Singh, (Punjabi tionary) (Lahore 1895) ; Bailey, Win., (Punjabi Grammar) (ib. 1904); Grierson, Sir G. B., (Linguistic Survey of India: Western Hindi and Punjabi) (Vol. IX, part I, Calcutta 1908). WOLF VON SCHIERBRAND, Author of (America, Asia and the Pacific.)