Punjabi SPN - Vocabulary And More

Antonia

Lets see how many different types of birds we can learn in Panjabi. I'm not sure of the English equivalent of some of the Panjabi ones I know. For instance is a tittarh a pheasant, partridge quail or what? What is a bataira? I used to think it was a pigeon but then that is called a kabooterh. Confusion confusion.
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Dalsingh ji

The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is a good starting place -- if you don't start right away with the dictionary, but read the English against the Punjabi, it exercises the brain better.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/learn-punjabi/21711-punjabi-spn-vocabulary-and-more.html

One problem though is that sometimes the words are used by the gurus in a global way -- for example, chatrikh is used but chatrikh is a family of songbirds including mocking birds, pheasant, peacocks, cuckoos, and a few others. So when Guruji says Chatrikh you don 't which one Guruji was thinking about. Same problem with "tittarh" as you point out -- it a category that includes pheasant, partridge and quail.

Here are some starters -- use a search engine to find them, instead of the dictionary for brain exercise.

Swan
Hawk
Falcon (trick question)
Cuckoo
Crane
Heron
Vulture
Crow
Peacock

Big mix-up area: the "kokil" and the "kohel" - are they different words for the same bird, or not? So what bird are we talking about here? Heh Heh
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711

But once we get these nouns memorized then we can work on changing them around with verbs to make different sentences.

Then we can enjoy "elephant" and "crocodile" -- these are only slight problems. More than one word for both.

Futurekaur ji, forgive us for going off topic, but we are having a little fun.

Ok, here goes:

Swan - Hans
Hawk - Ill or baaj?
Falcon (trick question) - Baaj
Cuckoo - Kokil
Crane - Bagula
Heron - Bag
Vulture - Gilje
Crow - Kaa (kawaan)
Peacock - Mor

Get used to that. Plenty of different words for each thing in Panjabi.

Dalsingh ji

Good job. Guruji checks you out as correct. All but vulture -

ਬਾਰਹ ਜੋਜਨ ਛਤ੍ਰੁ ਚਲੈ ਥਾ ਦੇਹੀ ਗਿਰਝਨ ਖਾਈ ॥੨॥
baareh jojan shhathra chalai thhaa dhaehee girajhan khaaee ||2||
Their royal procession extended over sixty miles, and yet their bodies were eaten by vultures.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711

But the difference looks like old punjabi versus modern punjabi. What do you think?

Here's another bird - Nightingale - Koil

ਕਾਲੀ ਕੋਇਲ ਤੂ ਕਿਤ ਗੁਨ ਕਾਲੀ ॥
काली कोइल तू कित गुन काली ॥
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711
Kālī ko*il ṯū kiṯ gun kālī.
O black bird, what qualities have made you black?
ਅਪਨੇ ਪ੍ਰੀਤਮ ਕੇ ਹਉ ਬਿਰਹੈ ਜਾਲੀ ॥
अपने प्रीतम के हउ बिरहै जाली ॥
Apnė parīṯam kė ha*o birhai jālī.
I have been burnt by separation from my Beloved".

NamJap,

Guruji says, Yes -- but ko*il is another spelling for kohel. The same thing.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711

Here is the tricky part about ko*il in that shabad. Guruji is saying "black bird" and the ko*il or kohel is a mocking bird. But only the male is a dark purple to black color. So a reader could think that Bhagat ji is talking about a crow or raven -- but not so. That threw me off the first time I was looking into the subject of birds in Gurbani.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=21711

What about crocodile and elephant? More than one word for each.

This is a lot of fun, now with 3 people involved. Maybe we should move these posts on learning Punjabi here in the forum to a special thread. What do you think?

I don't think its that modern. Rattan Singh Bhangu mentions this as a slang term used by Khalsa warriors to describe Afghan invaders of the mid 1700s in Panth Prakash. Maybe its the difference between Sant Bhasha and colloquial Panjabi?

Another very likely explanation is the difference in pronunciation between regions in Panjab. For instance some people will say vekho (for look) whilst in other areas they will exchange the v/w sound for d and say dekho.

We should do this so we don't annoy people and get off topic!

Respected Forum Members,

A conversation was started earlier today about learning Punjabi grammar and vocabulary. Turns out this conversation was enjoyable, but not consistent with the thread topic. So this new thread is the new home for the ongoing discussion.

We have been discussing ways to learn vocabulary, experiences learning a new language, resources that work for those of us who have been struggling or want to learn more, and more.

Please participate.

Note to other leaders and admin. I had a hard time deleting the earlier comments from the thread that pertain to the Scholarly Literature thread. Every time I tried, this entire thread was deleted and had to be reinstated. So the older messages may have to stay put.