Punjabi/Gurmukhi/Retroflexes

We have learnt the first three rows of Gurmukhi letters in the previous lessons. In this lesson we will learn the letters of the fourth row of Gurmukhi. The fourth row of Gurmukhi constists of five letters called the Retroflexes. They are so called because of the fact that the tongue curls round with a flap and touches at the roof of the mouth.

Fourth row of Gurmukhi

The letters of the fourth row of Gurmukhi are ਟ ਠ ਡ ਢ ਣ These are called ਟ - tainka, ਠ - thutha, ਡ - dudda, ਢ - dhuda and ਣ -nhanha. They are pronounced as ਟ - /t/, ਠ - /th/, ਡ - /d/, ਢ - /dh/ and ਣ - /nh/. Each of these letters is explained below.

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Tainka is equivalent to /t/. This is how tank and test are written in Gurmukhi

ਟੈਂ + ਕ = ਟੈਂਕ = tank

ਟੈ + ਸ + ਟ = ਟੈਸਟ = test

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Thutha denoted /th/ is not spoken in English. Nevertheless there are words in languages like Hindi/Punjabi which are familiar to and are spoken by speakers of English language and which can illustrate the use of this sound. Take e.g. words thug and Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, will be written in Gurmukhi as under

ਠੱ + ਗ = ਠੱਗ = thug

ਕ + ਠ + ਮੰ + ਡੂ = ਕਠਮੰਡੂ = Kathmandu

Note : If you did not notice the diferrence between /th/ as in thank and ਠ /th/ from the above example, here is a practical guide. /th/ is a dental sound which means that it is produced by touching the tongue with the upper teeth. ਠ /th/ is a retroflex sound which means that it is articulated by a flap of tongue touching the roof of the mouth. Now repeat the /th/ sound five/six times and continue to do so with a flap of tongue touching the roof of the mouth. Try doing so repeatedly and succes will come sooner than later.

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Dudda : ਡ is equivalent to /d/. In the above example Kathmandu you came across the use of ਡ. The words desk and date will further demonstrate its use.

ਡੈ + ਸ + ਕ = ਡੈਸਕ = desk

ਡੇ + ਟ = ਡੇਟ = date

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Dhudda : ਢ sound is produced by combining ਟ sound with a high tone. A tone is produced when air passes out of mouth with a rush. This is how the word Dhaka, the Bagladesh capital, will be transcribed in Gurmukhi

ਢਾ + ਕਾ = ਢਾਕਾ = Dhaka

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Nahnha : Let's now go to the last letter ਣ of this row which is equivalent to /nh/. It is similar to /n/ except that instead of tongue touching the teeth, here it touches the roof of the mouth with a flap. So to produce the sound ਣ /nh/ repeat /n/ five/six times and then try to produce this sound by flapping the tongue on the roof of the mouth to produce ਣ /nh/ sound. ਣ is also not spoken in English. Haryana, a state of India, will be written as

ਹ + ਰਿ + ਆ + ਣਾ = ਹਰਿਆਣਾ /Hariaanhaa/ = Haryana

Exercises

1. Read these English words written in Gurmukhi

1. ਟੈਸਟ
2. ਏਇਟ
3. ਕਾਇਟ
4. ਕਠਮੰਡੂ
5. ਗੈੱਸਟ

Solutions

1. Test
2. Eight
3. Kite
4. Kathmandu
5. Guest

2. Write the following words in Gurmukhi and English.

1. ਡਾਇਜੈਸਟ
2. ਢਾਕਾ
3. ਡੈਡਿਕੇਇਟ
4. ਡਿਸਾਇਡ
5. ਠੱਗ

Solutions

1. ਡਾਇਜੈਸਟ - Digest
2. ਢਾਕਾ - Dhaka
3. ਡੈਡਿਕੇਇਟ - Dedicate
4. ਡਿਸਾਇਡ - Decide
5. ਠੱਗ - Thug

3. Write these English words in Gurmukhi

1. Seed
2. Toast
3. Stick
4. Daddy
5. Cheat
6. Diet
7. Dictate
8. Toad
9. Dust
10. Sudan

Solutions

1. ਸੀ + ਡ = ਸੀਡ
2. ਟੋ + ਸ + ਟ = ਟੋਸਟ
3. ਸ + ਟਿ + ਕ = ਸਟਿਕ
4. ਡੈ + ਡੀ = ਡੈਡੀ
5. ਚੀ + ਟ = ਚੀਟ
6. ਡਾ + ਇ + ਟ = ਡਾਇਟ
7. ਡਿ + ਕ + ਟੇ + ਟ = ਡਿਕਟੇਟ
8. ਟੋ + ਡ = ਟੋਡ
9. ਡੱ + ਸ + ਟ = ਡੱਸਟ
10. ਸੂ + ਡਾ + ਨ = ਸੂਡਾਨ

Summary

In this lesson we have learnt the five letters of the fourth row of Gurmukhi script. These letter are ਟ tainka, ਠ thutha, ਡ dudda, ਢ dhudda and ਣ nahnha. In the next lesson we will introduce the next five letters of Gurmukhi.