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Abstract

The present study highlights lexical variation in Dhani and Majhi dialects of Punjabi language spoken in Pakistani Punjab that may lead to a communication gap. It focuses on the description of vocabulary differences of words of daily use. It is partly qualitative and partly quantitative research, which was conducted through a survey. Data were collected from thirty participants (15 speakers from each variety) from Chakwal district of Rawalpindi Division and Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib districts of Lahore Division in Punjab province, Pakistan. It was collected through a word list consisting of two hundred and sixty vocabulary items that are used in daily conversation. Results retrieved from analysis of the collected data show that two hundred and nine Dhani words, i-e 80 %, do not exist in Majhi variety at all and have their alternatives in Majhi whereas, fifty-one words i-e 20 % exist but are pronounced differently in Majhi.