I'll give you a tight slap

A well known meme claims that Eskimo-Aleut languages have a hundred words for snow. Scholars question this, saying that these languages are polysynthetic, in which bigger words are composed of smaller parts and employ suffixes, or postbases. This makes it appear that there are more unique words than actually exist. Linguistic relativists used this to postulate that the structure of a language affected its speakers' worldview or cognition; so people's perceptions are relative to the language they speak. Universalists, famously Steven Pinker, say no - thought and perception exist independently of language.

So what cultural-linguistic-psychological theory explains the rich North Indian vocabulary around the word slap? The many variations suggest that the slap is deeply rooted in our culture, personal assault traditions and parenting techniques.

Thappad, lappad, chaanta, chapedh, jhaapad, tamaacha, raipta, kantaap, chapat, rappak, jhaap.

I attempted a taxonomy with some friends.

Thappad is just a generic slap.
Chanta is light but sharp.
Chapedh is a resounding slap.
Jhapad is more of a swipe.
And tamaacha is an almighty flat hander from hell.

A Punjabi insisted that the meanings of chapedh and jhapadh be exchanged.

UP options - raipta and kantaap - were deemed more poetic.

Lappad was claimed by a Bhopali.

The longer, descriptive versions:

"Ulte haath ka" (Hindi) "putthe hutth di" (Punjabi equivalent), both quite deadly by all accounts.
"Ek doonga kaan ke neechey rappak", maliciously targetting the soft, vulnerable area below the ear.
The simple but menacingly passive-aggressive "ek lagaun?"
And the evocative "baal ki khaal utarna".

So what then of "I'll give you a tight slap," a phrase which doesn't exist in English outside the Sub-continent? Probably a direct translation from "kheench ke" or "kas ke" chaanta - a delightful example of South Asians adapting English to more accurately express something really close to their hearts.