Interest in Punjab and its culture has increased immensely in the recent days. Reasons for this may be many, ranging from socio-religious to economic and political and even general interest. The emergence of the new situation may also be responsible for are using interest in the minds of general public. In order to understand the cultural ethos and collective psyche of the Punjabis, it is only but natural that people start taking an interest in Punjabi language as a vehicle of culture Very few studies are available on the subject of linguistic analysis, fewer stillo on its spoken aspect. Certain expressions, currently in vogue, need to be pronounced properly before their nuances are fully comprehended.
This study presents a linguistic analysis of an important aspect of Punjab Grammar, though the theoretical framework can equally well be applied to other languages Prosodic Analysis", propounded by Prof. JR. Firth and developed by his colleagues and students at London is a technique of linguistic analysis which treats language as a mode of living and statements made at every level of analysis are 'statements of meaning In the early American approaches, mixing of levels of analysis was not only disliked but was thought to be non-scientific. Firth, however, was in favour of using information obtained from one level of analysis at another level. The present study, therefore, following Firthian principles has put forward an analysis of the phonology of the verbal phrase. The position of the verbal phrase in a sentence in Punjabi being final and the presence of the phenomenon known as 'tone' has made the study more interesting. The interplay of tonal phenomena and intonation has made the analysis somewhat complicated. It is hoped that this work will prove to be useful for all those interested in the study of 'tone languages and also for those who would like to have an analysis of a non-European language on Firthian lines. Those who have a general interest in language learning will also find plenty of material about Punjabi.
The help and guidance provided by Dr. R.K. Sprigg. formerly of the School of Oriential & African Studies, London. is gratefully acknowledged. I am deeply indebted to Dr. H.S. Gill, presently Professor English and Linguistics, Jawahar Lal Nehru University for his help and useful suggestions. The help and guidance received from my teachers in London must also be appreciated. I must thank H.S. Joshi. Dr. A. Joshi my brothers and Mrs. Shashi Joshi, my wife for their moral and material help during this study.
I am also thankful to Sh.B.K. Taneja for his help in presenting the study in this form. Any suggestions from the learned readers are cordially invited.
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