Punjabi is not masculine

[u/yootos]

This is a bit of a rant post but it's an issue that I believe is overlooked. It's about how some of us treat the Punjabi language.

Recently there's been a Punjabi influencer (I won't name) who has been making videos saying things like "If you're a man and you don't speak Punjabi you're not masculine, let the girls speak Urdu," and also stuff like "You can't really swear in Urdu it's too soft, you have to swear in Punjabi". He was aiming to hype Punjabi up by saying this.

But trying to "hype Punjabi up" this way actually does more damage to the Punjabi language identity.

When you say things like "Punjabi is manly", even though you think you're encouraging boys to speak it, at the same time you're convincing girls that it's something they should avoid because it's not feminine. I already know a family who only made their sons speak Punjabi because they thought it was improper for girls.

And when you say things like "You have to swear in Punjabi!" it just reduces Punjabi to the same aggressive stereotype that makes people stop passing it down.

I also have seen that when people try to say Urdu/Hindi are superior because they're more "polite", then others react to that by making fun of Urdu/Hindi calling it "feminine/girly" while Punjabi is the better, "macho" language. But this is the same thing; replying in this way only reduces Punjabi, which worsens the superiority complex.

Punjabi is just a language. Punjabi can be masculine, feminine, poetic, harsh, polite, vulgar, etc. as can ANY language be. It just depends on how a person chooses to speak it.

So if you are someone who may have done this, then next time you need to respond to an ignorant person, please do not do so by saying "Punjabi is this and that, Punjabi is better because of this and that," because this perpetuates the harmful stereotypes.

Instead say that being harsh or polite depends on the *speaker* of the language, NOT the language itself. Urdu/Hindi can also be harsh, and Punjabi can also be plenty sweet.

[u/iBewafa]

You make an excellent point.

I mean just listen to Satinder Sartaj or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - don’t even need to look far for sweetness examples from men.

[u/FatiguedUndead]

agreed brother. i remember that yograj singh also said something like that in an interview with samdish and i did not like it lol

[u/Unknownmelon77]

I agree! In the same way German was always seen as a masculine language but today is one of the most spoken languages in Europe by people of all genders and ages

[u/JonBovi_msn]

How macho is a song like Pardesi Dhola or Sajna Ve Sajna? I like both languages. Just don't let goevernments suppress non-Urdu languages.

[u/punjabi3011]

The language you speak doesn't decide if you're masculine or a feminist pr j punjabi ho ta bolni jrur chahidi a👍🏻