Above: detail from artwork by Sundeep.
Current Events
Punjabi: Now Among Canada's Top Spoken Languages
NEWS REPORT
Canada's Minister for Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism - the Hon. Jason Kenney - has confirmed that Punjabi is now, or is soon to be, the fourth largest spoken language in Canada, after English, French and Chinese.
The Minister made this announcement on Friday night (September 25, 2009) during his remarks while inaugurating The Seventh Annual Spinning Wheel Film Festival at the Gala in the Bronfman Hall of The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.
At the Gala, the Minister also unveiled two huge portraits of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and his son, Maharaja Duleep Singh, by renowned New York portrait artist, Manu Kaur Saluja.
These iconic portraits will be displayed as a special exhibit at the same museum for four months, beginning at the end of November, 2009.
Citing the enormous and disproportionate contribution made by Sikhs to Canadian society, the minister said they have thrived after their initial struggles and carved a prime place for themselves in Canada.
Punjabi is expected to surpass Chinese before long and become the largest spoken language in Canada after the two official languages, English and French.
The figures for Chinese are in fact a combination of two different languages - Cantonese and Mandarin.
Also, the Punjabi figures do not include most of the Punjabi-speaking Hindus from India who continue to shoot themselves in the foot by denying their mother tongue.
Referring to the 1914 incident when a shipload of passengers from the subcontinent - primarily Sikhs, but also a sprinkling of Hindu and Muslims - were not allowed to disembark from the Komagata Maru ship and sent back to Calcutta. The Minister reiterated the Canadian government's apology, recognizing the nation's racist past.
October 1, 2009
Conversation about this article
1: Manpreet Singh (Fremont, California, U.S.A.), October 01, 2009, 7:12 PM.
All this I attribute to the Sikhs and Punjabi-speakers there in Canada. I salute those families who encourage their kids to speak Punjabi at home. It's been a while I have been here in the U.S., and everytime I meet a fluent Punjabi speaking kid here, I always ask, 'Are you born here or in India?' Surprisingly, their answer is 'Here!' My next question has always been, 'How come you speak such a fluent Punjabi?' Their reply has always been, "Because our parents want us to communicate in Punjabi at home". Home is the first school for any kid. Until and unless we speak Punjabi at home, it's not going to be welcomed much outside the walls of the home as well. We should encoruage our kids to speak Punjabi at home. Lastly, thanks to Waheguru for keeping Sikhs in Canada in Chardi Kalaa.
2: Jagdeep (London, England), October 02, 2009, 9:05 AM.
I don't really share the triumphalism that some display over this news.
3: Amitoj (U.S.A.), October 06, 2009, 5:55 PM.
It is important to emphasize that we need to be fluent in English and Punjabi, both. English, because it is the language of business and provides job security. Punjabi, because it serves as a living museum to preserve the Punjabi culture on the tongue of each and every Punjabi speaker. English has already prevailed as a language of business, including in India, where regional languages still prevail and rightly so. Interestingly, inspite of the anti-English brigade's efforts, English has prevailed in India and served to connect India with the rest of the world, which none of the regional languages could have done. It can be said that multi-lingual population is an asset, not a problem. Question: Is there not a dearth of good Punjabi teachers in Punjab and in the Diaspora?
4: Sujit Singh (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), October 07, 2009, 10:02 PM.
True, it is a proud moment to read the news that Punjabi is now the 4th largest spoken language in Canada. But it would be a greater acheivement if Sikhs were recognised by their articles of faith and their high quality of truthful living, and don't get discriminated in jobs and employment opportunities. There are now a minority in the comminity who are brave enough and believe in themselves. Many simply do not bother to follow their cultural and religious heritage.
5: Aamir Riaz (Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan), October 14, 2009, 3:51 PM.
It is our colonial masters who introduced Urdu under their imperial designs known as frontier-forward policy after annexation of the Punjab in 1849. After 160 years, no one can destroy the Punjabi language. To learn foreign languages is not a bad idea but not at the cost of our mother tongue. Post and pre-British times witnessed a policy of dividing Punjabis along religion, script and ethnicity lines. It is Punjabi music and the Sufi poets who are still the binding forces of Punjab.
6: Jagjeet (Amritsar, Punjab), November 02, 2009, 12:38 PM.
Punjabi will do even better ... provided we all speak it.