Punjabi Maboli Zindabad!
Early last month, UNESCO ‘supposedly’ released a report that said Punjabi will become extinct in the next 50 years. Soon our one-man PR campaigners (we have many in our community) came to the forefront. In the lead was Kuldip Nayar, who said:
“I have gone through a report prepared by Unesco which says the Punjabi language will disappear from the world in 50 years. It shocked me. I am out to save Punjabi language and culture… Our roots, Punjabi language and culture, are decaying and none in Punjab is worried about it,” he said, adding, “I have been to Pakistan and people there also feel their new generation feels hesitant to converse in Punjabi.” [link]
Ranked in the top 20 most spoken languages in the world, it created quite a sensation to believe that within 50 years the Punjabi language would go extinct. However, some ACTUAL journalists that took the time to delve into the subject without jumping on the hysteria-bandwagon found that no UNESCO report ever existed. So I guess it begs the question, what was Kuldip Nayar reading when he said he ‘[went] through the report’? What was he reading that ‘shocked’ him?
So while Punjabi does not seem to be endangered for the time being, it is under severe threat due to Punjabi Sikhs’ own lackadaisical treatment of it, as well as it not being a language of commerce. The World Sikh News report has some fine suggestions for its preservations. One of our own langa(w)riters had their own take as well.
So as we get ready for the weekend, I celebrate my maboli as a universal language. Punjabi Maboli Zindabad! Chak De!
58 Responses to “Punjabi Maboli Zindabad!”
One solution to have a Punjabi language not only surviving but thriving on this planet is to do following things for a begining.
1 ) Each Sikh/Punjabi in his life time to translate one book from any where in this world into Punjabi language .
It will also require invention of new Punjabi words for which a central core group with a web site can be set up at a Punjabi Univ.
This will require not more than 15 minutes each day for 10 years of every PUNJABI.
Punjabi univ can then award the best translated book.
After all we are we not people of "BOOKS"
One solution to have a Punjabi language not only surviving but thriving on this planet is to do following things for a begining.
1 ) Each Sikh/Punjabi in his life time to translate one book from any where in this world into Punjabi language .
It will also require invention of new Punjabi words for which a central core group with a web site can be set up at a Punjabi Univ.
This will require not more than 15 minutes each day for 10 years of every PUNJABI.
Punjabi univ can then award the best translated book.
After all we are we not people of “BOOKS”
Harinder Singh before we can even take that step we need to be able teach our youth hell even ourselves (especially myself) how to readwrite Punjabi, but more so speak it.
From my vantage point my nieces and nephews those born to parents who predominantly were either raised in the wester or even born here cannot speak Punjabi to save their life. They understand some of it but even the basics aren't there. Though I can say my nieces and nephews whose parents came from India either in their late teens or even 20 are able to speak Punjabi but may never readwrite it. Its not a blame thing but its just happens naturally Punjabi is spoken in one household more so than another.
My Wife and I were discussing this last night that our Punjabi speaking skills since moving to the States has gone down the tubes. Since moving and living in Socal we don't speak it very often except amongst ourselves and sometimes around family, but even they tend to converse in English. When you don't use something you lose it when you never learn it you don't even realize your missing out losing something.
Harinder Singh before we can even take that step we need to be able teach our youth hell even ourselves (especially myself) how to read\write Punjabi, but more so speak it.
From my vantage point my nieces and nephews those born to parents who predominantly were either raised in the wester or even born here cannot speak Punjabi to save their life. They understand some of it but even the basics aren’t there. Though I can say my nieces and nephews whose parents came from India either in their late teens or even 20 are able to speak Punjabi but may never read\write it. Its not a blame thing but its just happens naturally Punjabi is spoken in one household more so than another.
My Wife and I were discussing this last night that our Punjabi speaking skills since moving to the States has gone down the tubes. Since moving and living in Socal we don’t speak it very often except amongst ourselves and sometimes around family, but even they tend to converse in English. When you don’t use something you lose it when you never learn it you don’t even realize your missing out losing something.
We only communicate in punjabi to the little ones in our family. I don't think punjabi will ever disappear. As long as there's Bhangra, there will be Punjabi.
From my own conversations, I've seen that some people in India attempt to speak Hindi/English or non-pendu Punjabi to be considered more educated. But I haven't seen that to be the case in the states, at least in CA. Most of the people I know how to speak Punjabi or at least try to.
We only communicate in punjabi to the little ones in our family. I don’t think punjabi will ever disappear. As long as there’s Bhangra, there will be Punjabi.
From my own conversations, I’ve seen that some people in India attempt to speak Hindi/English or non-pendu Punjabi to be considered more educated. But I haven’t seen that to be the case in the states, at least in CA. Most of the people I know how to speak Punjabi or at least try to.
Dear All,
We need to improve ourself, our language our personality our faiths our daily Nitname, it should be a part of daily routeen.
W.G.K.K
W.G.K.F.
Dear All,
We need to improve ourself, our language our personality our faiths our daily Nitname, it should be a part of daily routeen.
W.G.K.K
W.G.K.F.
[…] posted in the past on issues surrounding the preservation of the Panjabi language here, here, and here. Be it anywhere from Panjab to North America, the preservation of the Panjabi language is […]
it is quit nice and intresting i like it so carry on
it is quit nice and intresting i like it so carry on
Again I have tried to contribute to this mainly by teaching myself, and now writing stories in Punjabi which will and is shaky for Desi Punjabis, but I think at the right level fo western born punjabis. Please google Rupinderpal Dhillon or Roo Dhillon to find these stories written to encourage western kids to love Punjabi and relate to it
Again I have tried to contribute to this mainly by teaching myself, and now writing stories in Punjabi which will and is shaky for Desi Punjabis, but I think at the right level fo western born punjabis. Please google Rupinderpal Dhillon or Roo Dhillon to find these stories written to encourage western kids to love Punjabi and relate to it
After all we are we not people of "BOOKS" ..we must become people of books Harinder, but I agree with most here the first step is to speak it
After all we are we not people of "BOOKS" ..we must become people of books Harinder, but I agree with most here the first step is to speak it
@Administrators of the blog.
Quick question: Can we express our views on this blog in Gurmukhi script? I recently discovered the way to type in Punjabi and can use some inspiration to build up speed.
@Administrators of the blog.
Quick question: Can we express our views on this blog in Gurmukhi script? I recently discovered the way to type in Punjabi and can use some inspiration to build up speed.
?? ??? ?????? ???? ???! ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????
?? ??? ?????? ???? ???! ???? ???? ????? ?? ???? ??? ????
Stop writing in this alphabet, this is an English language website…diaspora Sikhs are not pindoos
Stop writing in this alphabet, this is an English language website…diaspora Sikhs are not pindoos
Sewa if you dont know punjabi no problem.
But dont abuse people who Know it and love it.
GOD speaks in MANY languages ( wait till you see the aliens twitter ).
Incidentally the language of this website is
"Computer language "
" The first generation language (1GL). 1GL programming was quickly superseded by similarly machine-specific, but mnemonic, second generation languages (2GL) known as assembly languages or "assembler". This was followed by the development of "third generation" programming languages (3GL), such as FORTRAN, LISP, and COBOL. 3GLs are more abstract and are "portable", or at least implemented similarly on computers that do not support the same native machine code. ALGOL 60 was introduced, and most later programming languages are, in many respects, descendants of Algol..
So if you only know English that is none of the fault of other members of Homo-Sapiens species.
Sewa if you dont know punjabi no problem.
But dont abuse people who Know it and love it.
GOD speaks in MANY languages ( wait till you see the aliens twitter ).
Incidentally the language of this website is
"Computer language "
" The first generation language (1GL). 1GL programming was quickly superseded by similarly machine-specific, but mnemonic, second generation languages (2GL) known as assembly languages or "assembler". This was followed by the development of "third generation" programming languages (3GL), such as FORTRAN, LISP, and COBOL. 3GLs are more abstract and are "portable", or at least implemented similarly on computers that do not support the same native machine code. ALGOL 60 was introduced, and most later programming languages are, in many respects, descendants of Algol..
So if you only know English that is none of the fault of other members of Homo-Sapiens species.
Ha ! Wonder if someone will ever comment to a post written in Hebrew on a Jewish diaspora website
"Stop writing in this alphabet, this is an English language website…diaspora Jews are not hebes"
Ha ! Wonder if someone will ever comment to a post written in Hebrew on a Jewish diaspora website
"Stop writing in this alphabet, this is an English language website…diaspora Jews are not hebes"
I can't read Punjabi…not my fault..my Parents left it to Gurdwara who did not know how to interest me…okay maybe Roop has written something about robots or such like ( judgeing by the images), but it's a little too late, whatever he has written for me…if such like stories had been used years ago in the west, we might have taken Punjabi seriously, like people take Bengali..
I want to know, How many of you can actually read his work? Is it any good, or typicallly Freshi? Would it get you reading Punjabi?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by…
if you look at this Punjabi is outside the band at 12th..Bengali and Hindi are the big boys!! That said maybe in teh future we won't be writing in Englishm but in Spanish!!
I can’t read Punjabi…not my fault..my Parents left it to Gurdwara who did not know how to interest me…okay maybe Roop has written something about robots or such like ( judgeing by the images), but it’s a little too late, whatever he has written for me…if such like stories had been used years ago in the west, we might have taken Punjabi seriously, like people take Bengali..
I want to know, How many of you can actually read his work? Is it any good, or typicallly Freshi? Would it get you reading Punjabi?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_total_speakers
if you look at this Punjabi is outside the band at 12th..Bengali and Hindi are the big boys!! That said maybe in teh future we won’t be writing in Englishm but in Spanish!!
Some languages in the same category include french, German, Telugu, Marathi, and Tamil. What is so wrong, unsophisticated, or difficult about Punjabi that we should consider it a dying language. Come to say, language movements in south India were quite strong. Was there a similar reaction in those cases? Why not? Why can those of us who know and are learning Punjabi be left to do so, to say nothing about any kind of enducement? What faults do we have that our language and faith by their simple presence offend so?
Some languages in the same category include french, German, Telugu, Marathi, and Tamil. What is so wrong, unsophisticated, or difficult about Punjabi that we should consider it a dying language. Come to say, language movements in south India were quite strong. Was there a similar reaction in those cases? Why not? Why can those of us who know and are learning Punjabi be left to do so, to say nothing about any kind of enducement? What faults do we have that our language and faith by their simple presence offend so?
Hebrew is a fully functioning religion. We can keep Punjabi going. Also consider Gaelic. Irish writers have crafted some of the most beautiful work in English, yet have now worked hard to preserve Gaelic. There is nothing wrong with Punjabi, nothing wrong with learning it
Sorry meant Hebrew is a fully functioning language
Hebrew is a fully functioning religion. We can keep Punjabi going. Also consider Gaelic. Irish writers have crafted some of the most beautiful work in English, yet have now worked hard to preserve Gaelic. There is nothing wrong with Punjabi, nothing wrong with learning it
Sorry meant Hebrew is a fully functioning language
We can just about speak Punjabi, how many sikhs do you really know who have gone out of their way to learn to read and write Pure Punjabi, and then use it?
Most now speak Urdu or Hindi. And everyone in Punjabi is proud of English speaking, Punjabi is uncool
Punjabi Language won't die. But Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus in West will forget it. In case of Muslims, they have Urdu and Islam, so don't care. Hindus are fast speaking only Hindi.
Sikhs in west are shedding so much that not only will they forget Punjabi, but eventually we will have thousands of Empty Gurdwaras in the west, as they lose all connection with Sikhi
We can just about speak Punjabi, how many sikhs do you really know who have gone out of their way to learn to read and write Pure Punjabi, and then use it?
Most now speak Urdu or Hindi. And everyone in Punjabi is proud of English speaking, Punjabi is uncool
Punjabi Language won’t die. But Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus in West will forget it. In case of Muslims, they have Urdu and Islam, so don’t care. Hindus are fast speaking only Hindi.
Sikhs in west are shedding so much that not only will they forget Punjabi, but eventually we will have thousands of Empty Gurdwaras in the west, as they lose all connection with Sikhi
There are quite a few people who learn to read or write, it is actually a good work out for the brain, given it is a fairly intuitive script. Given the result of partition there are understandable reasons Punjabi is under utilized until now in both countries. That will change and I do not see Punjabi losing its value. Actually it is a useful thing to have an in depth understanding id at least two systems of though, and Gurubani provides access to classical south Asian thought from centuries to now.
It would be throwing away a valuable treasure house of knowledge to forget Punjabi and Gurubani. Some people might do so as a short sided thing, but even people whose. own understanding of Punjabi is limited want to provide this knowledge for future generations. For a lot of us we have been focused on educating ourselves in English, but as time goes own develop an appreciation for learning this additional way of looking at things. Why neglect this treasure at our finger tips? Most people are not, and it is not an either or thing in any context
There are quite a few people who learn to read or write, it is actually a good work out for the brain, given it is a fairly intuitive script. Given the result of partition there are understandable reasons Punjabi is under utilized until now in both countries. That will change and I do not see Punjabi losing its value. Actually it is a useful thing to have an in depth understanding id at least two systems of though, and Gurubani provides access to classical south Asian thought from centuries to now.
It would be throwing away a valuable treasure house of knowledge to forget Punjabi and Gurubani. Some people might do so as a short sided thing, but even people whose. own understanding of Punjabi is limited want to provide this knowledge for future generations. For a lot of us we have been focused on educating ourselves in English, but as time goes own develop an appreciation for learning this additional way of looking at things. Why neglect this treasure at our finger tips? Most people are not, and it is not an either or thing in any context
http://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/punjabi.html
This is a very good link about its history
http://www.thesikhencyclopedia.com/punjabi.html
This is a very good link about its history
I just wrote this, I hope you enjoy
http://rubru.ca/dunghapaani.html
I just wrote this, I hope you enjoy
http://rubru.ca/dunghapaani.html
Well I'm British so logically should write and speak in English… But I have chosen punjabi as any visit on google will show
I mean since I wrote Dunga Pani this is where I am at
http://www.5abi.com/dharavahak/urra-onkar/28-babb…
So if I can do this for punjabi ma boli so can you all