Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Palatals

Third row of Gurmukhi - the Palatals

Let us recall that besides vowels and diacritics you have already learnt the first ten letters of Gurmukhi viz. ੳ, ਅ, ੲ, ਸ, ਹ, ਕ, ਖ, ਗ, ਘ and ਙ. We now move on to the third row (ਚ ਵਰਗ). These letters are called palatals for they are articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate, the middle part of the roof of the mouth. The palatals are

ਚ ਛ ਜ ਝ ਞ

These are called ਚ - chucha, ਛ - chhuchha, ਜ - jujja, ਝ - jhujja and ਞ -neya. Their pronunciation is ਚ -/ch/, ਛ - /chh/, ਜ - /j/, ਝ - /jh/ and ਞ - /ny/.
We now briefly explain each of these

ਚ Chucha

The eleventh letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to /ch/ of English. Now, how do you write catch in Gurmukhi? I write it for you below

ਕੈ + ਚ = ਕੈਚ = catch

This example illustrates the use of ਚ as well as ਕ which you learnt in the last chapter. Here are some more examples illustrating the use of ਚ.

ਚੈੱ + ਕ = ਚੈੱਕ = cheque

ਸੱ + ਚ = ਸੱਚ = such

ਛ Chhuchha

There is no English equivalent of ਛ, the twelfth letter of Gurmukhi. It is the aspirated form of ਚ and is articulated the same way as ਚ with much breath being ejected from the mouth. Examine the following Punjabi example

ਛਾਂ /chhan/ = shade

ਜ Jujja

The thirteenth letter of Gurmukhi is equivalent to English /j/. Writing judge in Gurmukhi will illustrate its use.

ਜੱ + ਜ = ਜੱਜ = judge

Here are some more illustrations

ਜੱ + ਗ = ਜੱਗ = jug

ਜੈ + ਕ = ਜੈਕ = jack

ਝ Jhujja

The fourteenth letter of Gurmukhi is not spoken in English. ਝ sound is produced by combining ਚ sound with a tone in the initial position and a tone with ਜ sound elsewhere. Its use in Punjabi is not infrequent.

ਝੱ + ਟ = ਝੱਟ /jhatt/ = instantly

ਝੁ + ਗੀ = ਝੁਗੀ /jhuggii/ = cottage

ਝੰ + ਡਾ = ਝੰਡਾ /jhandhaa/ = flag

ਞ Neya

The twentieth letter of Gurmukhi is also not spoken in English. It is equivalent to the sound made by the letter Ñ in Spanish (like in the word jalapeño). It is not commonly used in modern Punjabi.

ਜੰ + ਞ = ਜੰਞ = marriage party

Exercises

1. Use Practice module to write the letters of the third row many times in your note book. You can click one of the letters below to go to relevant page of the practice module.

ਚ ਛ ਜ ਝ ਞ

2. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi

1. ਚਾਕ
2. ਐੱਜ
3. ਹੈਚ
4. ਚੈੱਸ
5. ਸਕੈੱਚ
6. ਜੌਗ

Solutions

1. Chalk
2. Edge
3. Hatch
4. Chess
5. Sketch
6. Jog

3. Write the above listed words in Gurmukhi and English side by side.

4. Write these English words in Gurmukhi

1. Jaw
2. Jockey
3. Inch
4. Eschew
5. Chick
6. Each
7. Junk

Solutions

1. ਜਾ
2. ਜੌ + ਕਿ = ਜੌਕਿ
3. ਇੰ + ਚ = ਇੰਚ
4. ਇ + ਸ + ਚੂ = ਇਸਚੂ
5. ਚਿ + ਕ = ਚਿਕ
6. ਈ + ਚ = ਈਚ
7. ਜੰ + ਕ = ਜੰਕ

Summary

In this chapter we have learnt the alphabets of the third row (ਚ ਵਰਗ) of Gurmukhi. The letters are ਚ called chucha, ਛ called chhuchha, ਜ called jujja, ਝ called jhujja and ਞ called neya. In the next lesson we will learn the alphabets of the fourth row.