Relative days need a reference point

The 1851 Lodiana appendix groups today with words for nearby days. Its English explanations give the same listed word for yesterday and tomorrow, and another for the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow. A detached headword therefore leaves a choice that the surrounding account must resolve. In a dated letter or narrative, identify the speaker’s reference day and the direction of the statement before converting a relative expression into a calendar date. The table is evidence for the alternatives the author records, rather than a rule that every occurrence has one fixed English equivalent.[1]

Weekday columns record alternatives

On the same page, the Lodiana table presents parallel weekday lists under historically religious labels. Monday and Friday, for example, have alternatives in those columns. The layout documents the compiler’s way of presenting naming traditions; it cannot assign a religion to every person who uses a listed word. Below the weekdays, the month list begins with Chet, paired approximately with the middle of March to the middle of April. The English range makes clear that the Punjabi month does not simply occupy the same span as a single English-named month.[1]

Month pairs are approximate guides

Wilson’s 1899 vocabulary similarly pairs twelve month names with English month ranges. Its sequence starts with chétur beside March–April and visakh beside April–May, then continues through the year. A note says that each listed month begins about the middle of an English month. The word about matters: these are broad approximate correspondences within a vocabulary table. They do not supply the year, calendar convention and exact boundaries needed for converting an individual historical date. Preserve the original month name when recording the source, and keep any independently established conversion separate from this approximate gloss.[2]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Lodiana American Presbyterian Mission Press; J. Newton attribution in the archive catalogue; Rev. J. Porter, press superintendent. A Grammar of the Panjabi Language; with Appendices ↗Historical descriptive and teaching grammar · Source date: 1851 · Locator: Appendix IV, printed p.88/PDF101: relative days, two weekday columns and first month correspondences. Accessed 2026-11-02.Selected actual original pages were inspected, with page images controlling script and table alignment. This is a dated description, without a listening check or certification of current universal usage. Original attribution and finite text scope remain qualified.Return to Relative days need a reference point, paragraph 1 ↑Return to Weekday columns record alternatives, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. J. Wilson; acknowledged assistance of Munshi Mahbub Alam; Punjab Government Press. Grammar and Dictionary of Western Panjabi, as Spoken in the Shahpur District, with Proverbs, Sayings and Verses ↗Historical district grammar and dictionary · Source date: 1899 imprint; preface September 1898 · Locator: Vocabulary printed p.2/PDF86: weekday/month tables and approximate-middle-of-month note; adjacent Gazetteer reference for times of day is not used. Accessed 2026-11-02.Selected actual original pages were inspected, with page images controlling script and table alignment. This is a dated description, without a listening check or certification of current universal usage. Original attribution and finite text scope remain qualified.Return to Month pairs are approximate guides, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-LAN-0092 · English edition · human review not performed