G'day!
I've got a couple of questions concerning the interesting language situation in Pakistan.
From what I've read so far, the national language Urdu, which in its basic conversational form is identical to Hindi, is the mother tongue of a relatively small part of the population, whilst Panjabi is the largest mother tongue.
1) So how different are Panjabi and Urdu?
2) Is it true that there's a certain mutual intelligibility between the two languages?
3) Is it usual to mix Panjabi and Urdu?
4) Does Panjabi has less prestige than Urdu?
5) Is it considered inopportune to address a stranger in Panjabi? Considering the fact that s|he might be not a Panjabi speaker?
6) Do most Pakistanis understand Bollywood productions from India? Or do they use too many "Indian" words?
Many thanks in advance and if there's any webpage/forum/thread/site containing useful info about the languages in Pakistan, I'd really appreciate it if you could share them. :)
Cheers!

I just stumbled upon this video.
rwjMT-OughQ
It's interesting to hear what the interviewer says near the end:
"so many punjabis out there.. we are so conscious, embarassed, ashamed to speak punjabi in front of our fellow friends."
Is what she says true?

1. The pure form of Punjabi is quite different from Urdu. However, the 'Urban Punjabi', has lots of Urdu words in it.

2. This depends upon the area one lives in. If you are a native Urdu-speaker and live in Punjab, it is most likely that you'll easily understand the language. However, here in Sindh, most of the Urdu-speakers I've met do not get Punjabi at all.

3. Yes.

4. Urdu/English are preferred officially.

5. Again, if you're living in Punjab, there's nothing wrong with addressing a stranger in Punjabi, but elsewhere, they'll only get 'parts' of what you're trying to speak.

6. Yes. In fact, we understand lots of Hindi words as well. So it's never a problem. If you're alien to both languages, you probably won't be able to tell Hindi from Urdu. The main difference is because of their scripts. Urdu is written in a modified form of Persian script and Hindi has a Sanskrit (as far as I know) script.

ohh thank you to share such a great infomration, i find this post very use full, appreciated

Yes. Thanks a lot! :)

^^ Xolang.... some alternative answers for q 2 & 6:

2) Most Urdu speakers in any part of the country can understand some basic Punjabi. Most who have had exposure to Punjab or Punjabi can understand quite a bit of it.

6) Hindi spoken in dramas and on TV (using large amount of Sanskritization) is only understandable to people who regularly watch indian dramas (small portion of urban folks). Majority of the people however do not understand sanskritized words and cannot understand their meaning.

Thank you! :)

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/76337_10152402102810012_1640152606_n.jpg

Hello friends :)

I have one question concerning names for dishes in Persian(Afganistan) but since I cannot find Afghan forum I believe that people from Pakistan could provide me with answers.

1. Here is the thing. In the Balkans (Europe) kebab evolved into cevapi, a grilled dished of minced meat served in 5/10 pieces, served on a plate with chopped onions. Moreover, kebab is here used exclusively to refer to doner kebab (meat cooked on a vertical spit, wrapped in a flatbread).

How would you define kebab in that region? Is it served on plates, sandwiches or in bowls. Do shish kebab and kofta kebab exist and do you make difference between them? How about doner kebab?

2. Do you have another word for chai? Does chai differ in any way from western tea?


Thank you very much. I tried to find these answers on wikipedia but some things remain unclear :)

If I posted on a wrong thread, may the moderator fell free to move my post on some other thread

We have all kinds of kebabs in Pakistan:

1) Shish kebab - lamb or chicken pieces cooked in skewers.
2) Shami kebab - patties of ground beef mixed with other stuff and fried.
3) Kofta kebab - meatballs in a curry.
4) Chapli kebab - fried patties of ground beef.
5) Bihari kebab - spicy beef cooked on skewers.

There's a big overlap in Pakistani and Afghan cuisine, especially shish kebab and chapli kebab. Doner kebab is more prevalent in Turkish or Lebanese restaurants, not so much in Pakistan.

Afghan restaurants in the Canada are very popular with Pakistanis. The only major difference is that their dishes are very mild in terms of spices. This is one of the most popular Afghan restaurants. Check out their menu:

http://www.bamiyankabob.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=6

Entry on Afghan cuisine in Wikipedia:

Kebab

Afghan kebab is most often found in restaurants and outdoor vendor stalls. The most widely used meat is lamb. Recipes differ with every restaurant. Afghan kebab is served with naan (bread), rarely rice and customers have the option to sprinkle sumac or ghora, dried ground sour grapes, on their kebab. The quality of kebab is solely dependent on the quality of the meat. Pieces of fat from the sheep's tail (jijeq) are usually added with the lamb skewers to add extra flavor.

Other popular kebabs include the lamb chop, ribs, kofta (ground beef) and chicken; all of which are found in better restaurants.

Chapli kebab, a specialty of Eastern Afghanistan, is a patty made from beef mince, and is one of the most popular barbecue meals in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. The word Chapli comes from the Pashto word Chaprikh which means flat. It is prepared flat and round, and served with naan. The original recipe of chapli kebab dictates a half meat (or less), half flour mixture, which renders it lighter in taste, and less expensive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_cuisine

Kebabs being cooked in Pakistan:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Kebab.jpg/800px-Kebab.jpg

Two locations in Desisauga. I'll have to go next time I visit the folks. I like BBQ Tonite on Dundas, as well.

Two locations in Desisauga. I'll have to go next time I visit the folks. I like BBQ Tonite on Dundas, as well.

"Desisauga"? LOL! :lol: I swear every Torontonian Pakistani, apart from James-Bond, said that he or she lives in Mississauga. The list include FK, babygurl (when she used to live there), cntower, BPS, mercenary and a couple of guys with Toronto or Canada in their usernames who even mentioned that they lived there. Lol! :lol:

I haven't live in Canada since '89, but brother, sister and parents are there, so there is a once a year visit for sure. I grew up there when my sister and I were the only desis in our high school. Now it's 60% desi in some schools

Metropole, thank you very much for your exhaustive answer :):cheers:

"Desisauga"? LOL! :lol: I swear every Torontonian Pakistani, apart from James-Bond, said that he or she lives in Mississauga. The list include FK, babygurl (when she used to live there), cntower, BPS, mercenary and a couple of guys with Toronto or Canada in their usernames who even mentioned that they lived there. Lol! :lol:

I also lived in Mississauga for many years and most of my friends and relatives are there, but I moved out a few years ago. :)

Metropole, thank you very much for your exhaustive answer :):cheers:

You're welcome. :)

I also lived in Mississauga for many years and most of my friends and relatives are there, but I moved out a few years ago. :)
I wouldn't live in Mississauga if you put a gun to my head. It's a glaring example bad urban planning.

I wouldn't live in Mississauga if you put a gun to my head. It's a glaring example bad urban planning.

How exactly is it an example of bad urban planning?

How exactly is it an example of bad urban planning?
Cookie cutter suburbs, urban sprawl, no downtown to speak of, no transit systems except for buses, no decent connection to downtown Toronto, except for GO trains, city council and mayor too used to financing govt. through developer fees so they approve all development no matter how bad it is, etc, etc.

How exactly is it an example of bad urban planning?

You live there too? Or was it Brampton?

Cookie cutter suburbs, urban sprawl, no downtown to speak of, no transit systems except for buses, no decent connection to downtown Toronto, except for GO trains, city council and mayor too used to financing govt. through developer fees so they approve all development no matter how bad it is, etc, etc.

Mississauga was made as a suburb of Toronto so just like any other suburb it has to be an urban sprawl but in the last 5 years, Mississauga has completely changed.
It's skyline has evolved so much, more and more highrises are being built. So it's no more of an urban sprawl and true there isn't a proper downtown in Sauga but city centre is vastly improving and looks amazing with all the highrises now. Also, a masterplan for Mississauga's downtown has been approved so expect massive changes in the next decade.
As for the transit system, all of GTA's public transit system is pretty bad. BRT is going be operational by fall. And a LRT is planned.

One last thing residents of Mississauga like living in peace and quiet. There's no need for it to turn into a giant concrete jungle like Toronto:)

You live there too? Or was it Brampton?

Yeah currently living in Sauga but as soon as I graduate from uni, I'm moving to downtown Toronto (hopefully). And yeah also lived in Brampton for a short while, a complete shithole tbh.

http://www.bamiyankabob.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=6


Aghh, I hate this restaurant.

"Desisauga"? LOL! :lol: I swear every Torontonian Pakistani, apart from James-Bond, said that he or she lives in Mississauga. The list include FK, babygurl (when she used to live there), cntower, BPS, mercenary and a couple of guys with Toronto or Canada in their usernames who even mentioned that they lived there. Lol! :lol:

I live in Scarborough, probably the equivalent of East end London for you british fellas. Densly populated with immigrants.

I live in Scarborough, probably the equivalent of East end London for you british fellas. Densly populated with immigrants.

Ouch. :nuts:

All languages are beautiful, they each have their own charm. :)