Punjabi language
1
3.7
- noun
- /pʌnˈdʒɑːbi ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
- She learned the Punjabi language to connect with her family's roots.
Examples
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The Punjabi language is widely spoken in Punjab, both in Pakistan and India.
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Many explicitly discouraged their wives and children from learning about India or speaking the Punjabi language, clearly viewing themselves, and certainly their children, as Americans.
Academic text (1993) -
Children in the region often grow up speaking the Punjabi language at home.
Synonyms
2
4.6
A language spoken mainly in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India
1
4.5
The language spoken by people in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is fully compositional: 'Punjabi' names the regional/ethnic group and 'language' denotes a system of speech, so the meaning 'the language of the Punjab region' is directly derivable from the constituents. This noun + noun/compound pattern is a common, cross-linguistic way to name languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
Punjabi language comes from the region name Punjab. Punjab comes from two older words, panj meaning 'five' and ab meaning 'water', because the land has five big rivers. So Punjabi language simply means the language of the 'land of five waters' and the people who live there.