Punjabi dialects

The Punjabi language has a variety of dialects (bōlīyāṁ) which form a dialect continuum and are primarily subdivided into two groups: Eastern Punjabi in the east, and Lahnda (Western Punjabi) in the west. The dialects vary based on geographical, cultural, and historical factors. Punjabi may also be considered as a pluricentric language with more than one standard variety (mi'ārī bōlī). There was a historic disagreement on whether they form part of a single language group within the Indo-Aryan language family, with early classifications assigning the western dialects to the Northwestern zone and the eastern ones to the Central zone; but broadly all modern classifications agree on their forming a single group within the Northwestern zone. A number of classification schemes have been devised by individual scholars and linguistic institutions regarding the Punjabi dialects.