THIS SKETCH CONSTITUTES A PRELIMINARY STUDY FOR A DESCRIPTIVE GRAMMAR OF PANJABI, THE LANGUAGE SPOKEN BY NEARLY 30 MILLION PEOPLE IN THE INDIAN AND PAKISTANI PROVINCES OF PUNJAB, AND BY SIKHS AND PANJABI MUSLIMS IN EAST AFRICA. AN INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGE, PANJABI (ALONG WITH HINDI) IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF EAST PUNJAB, AND THE PRESENT STUDY IS BASED ON THE EDUCATED SPEECH OF THE MALWI DIALECT. AN OUTLINE OF THE BASIC PHONOLOGY IS GIVEN WITH A BRIEF DISCUSSION OF THE SUPRASEGMENTAL PHONEMES, INTONATION PATTERNS, AND SEGMENTAL PHONEMES WHICH INCLUDE VOWELS AND CONSONANTS. PANJABI INTONATION IS COMPLICATED BY THE USE OF PITCHES AND TONES, OF WHICH THERE ARE THREE TONE PHONEMES, OCCURRING ONLY IN STRESSED SYLLABLES. TEN CONTRASTING VOWEL POSITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN PANJABI, AND ALL VOWELS OCCUR IN BOTH STRESSED AND UNSTRESSED SYLLABLES. SEMIVOWELS ARE NOT CONSIDERED DISTINCT PHONEMES, BUT ARE GENERALLY INTERPRETED AS ALLOPHONES OF OTHER SHORT VOWELS. DIPHTHONGS ALSO OCCUR. ALL CONSONANTS, OF WHICH THERE ARE 26, OCCUR LONG (PROLONGED AND FORTIS). ASPIRATION IS PHONEMIC. THE SYLLABIC STRUCTURE CONSISTS OF A NUCLEUS PLUS PRECEDING AND/OR FOLLOWING CONSONANTS, AND CLUSTERS ARE COMMON. THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN "STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS (SIL)," VOLUME 18, NUMBERS 1 TO 4, SEPTEMBER 1966, AND IS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM GEORGE L. TRAGER, EDITOR, "STUDIES IN LINGUISTICS," SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY, DALLAS, TEXAS 75222. (FB)