Punjabi vs SEDANG

Sound inventory comparison

Only in Punjabi

Shared

Only in SEDANG

Only in Punjabi 60

˦˥ ˧ ˩ l̻ l̻ː n̻ n̻ː z̻ d̻ d̻ː r ʊ o̞ ɒ õ̞ ũ mː ʊ̃ ɒ̃ b bː ɦ ɪ ĩ ɪ̃ d̠ʒ d̠ʒː ɭ ɳ ɖ ɖː ɽ æ e̞ ə ã ẽ̞ æ̃ ə̃ ɡ ɡː s̻ s̻ː t̻ʰ t̻ t̻ʰː t̻ː pː pʰː f t̠ʃʰ t̠ʃː t̠ʃʰː ʂ ʈ ʈʰ ʈː ʈʰː kː kʰː

Shared sounds 13

w u m j i ɲ a ŋ p pʰ t̠ʃ k kʰ

Only in SEDANG 42

l̪̥|l̥ n̪̥|n̥ r̪̥|r̥ m̥ j̥ ɲ̥ ŋ̥ l̪|l l̪̰|l̰ n̪|n n̪̰|n̰ n̪d̪|nd d̪̰|d̰ r̪|r r̪̰|r̰ o ɔ o̰ ṵ ɔ̰ w̰ m̰ mb b̰ ḭ j̰ n̠d̠ʒ ɲ̰ e ɛ a̰ ḛ ɛ̰ ŋ̰ ŋɡ s̪|s t̪ʰ|tʰ t̪|t ʍ h ʔ ʃ

What this means for learners

Punjabi and SEDANG share 13 sounds — roughly 18% of SEDANG's inventory overlaps with Punjabi. Shared sounds are ones a speaker already knows from their native language and will generally produce and perceive accurately without explicit training.

The 42 sounds found only in SEDANG represent the greatest pronunciation challenge for Punjabi speakers. The adult brain tends to map unfamiliar sounds onto the closest native equivalent — a process that produces the characteristic "accent" of a second-language speaker. Learning to hear and produce these sounds as distinct requires focused ear training, not just repetition.

Conversely, Punjabi has 60 sounds not used in SEDANG. Native SEDANG speakers learning Punjabi will face the mirror-image challenge with these sounds.

Phoneme inventories from PHOIBLE. Data reflects one documented inventory per language; some variation exists across dialects and sources.

Compare with another language

Punjabi vs Lahu Punjabi vs Dafla Punjabi vs Yao Punjabi vs Hakka Chinese Punjabi vs Kharia Punjabi vs Bhumij Punjabi vs Kota Punjabi vs Burushaski Punjabi vs Kabardian Punjabi vs Lak Punjabi vs Ket Punjabi vs Garo