Above: detail from a painting in the series titled "Games We Play", by Sukhpreet Singh.
Current Events
Punjabipedia.org
A New Online Encyclopaedia Launched by Punjabi University
NEWS REPORT
Patiala, Punjab
Punjabi University, Patiala has launched the first-of-its-kind online Punjabi encyclopedia, which will have detailed meanings of over 55,000 words, phrases and proverbs related to Punjabi language, literature, history, art and culture.
Developed on the pattern of the popular web-encyclopedia "Wikipedia", the new portal -- Punjabipedia.org -- can be accessed both on computer and mobile phones through the internet.
The portal is already functional, having been formally launched by Punjabi University Vice-Chancellor Jaspal Singh on Wednesday, February 26, 2014.
Besides having all the entries listed in Bhai Kahn Singh Nabha's "Mahan-Kosh", the first encyclopedia on Sikhism and Sikh history, the portal will also contain entries listed in the university's other publications like Bal Vishav Kosh (encyclopedia for children) and encyclopedia of Punjabi grammar and linguistic encyclopedia.
The university spokesperson said that the online encyclopedia was developed aiming at world-wide promotion of Punjabi language as it was expected to be of immense use to the writers, scholars, students, teachers and common man active in the field of Punjabi.
Please CLICK here to access Punjabipedia.org.
[Courtesy: TNN. Edited for sikhchic.com]
February 28, 2014
Conversation about this article
1: P J Dhillon (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA), February 28, 2014, 8:45 AM.
Good work.
2: R Singh (Canada), February 28, 2014, 10:44 AM.
They might as well promote Hindi. "Bal Vishva Kosh" indeed! Of the three words, neither is Punjabi! Most of us will need translations. The universities in India, including in Punjab, have actually actively alienated people from speaking Punjabi.
3: Gurmeet Kaur (Atlanta, Georgia, USA), February 28, 2014, 11:54 AM.
R Singh, I agree with you. I have been so terribly frustrated with Punjabi University, Patiala's resources they have made a huge fuss about in the last few years. In producing my children's books, my most important priority is to preserve the authenticity of the Punjabi language. Most of the modern material and references I come about are Hindi wrapped in Punjabi grammar.
4: Devendra Singh Wadhavan (Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, India), March 01, 2014, 8:16 AM.
I want to learn more about Sikhi. Hopefully, this will help.
5: Harinder (Punjab), March 01, 2014, 10:45 AM.
This is the first phase. In subsequent phases, they should also translate literature from different countries and post it on this site in Punjabi.
6: Gurteg Singh (New York, USA), March 01, 2014, 11:39 AM.
Punjabi University is now the latest target of the RSS / Hindutava gang. Punjab University, which was a premier institute of undivided Punjab, is now under the firm control of the central government and anti-Sikh forces. Punjab Technical University is now run by a rabid RSS minion who is promoting the Hindutava agenda in text books. Parkash Badal for the sake of power and pelf, has sold the entire Punjab to the RSS and anti-Sikh forces while his appointed minions in Sikh religious institutions, who are corrupt and cowardly, are watching all of this as mute spectators.
7: R Singh (Canada), March 01, 2014, 3:31 PM.
Punjabi language as we know it is being killed by these self serving intellectuals. We know kids in urban centres, affluent or upwardly mobile homes, are not speaking it any more, however much they may shake their booty to the music or pretentiously croon to 'Sufi' music. The sanskritization posse that has been busy shredding it, under the guise of promoting it, is purging its grassroots appeal by weaning out its vast vocabulary and replacing it with words that are totally out of sync with its natural rhythm. If they keep directing the language away from the masses, then like Sanskrit, we will arrive at a dead language. I love my grandma's stories and songs, but I cannot wrap my tongue around "bhroon hatya" or "sampark". We need our pristine Punjabi to enjoy its literature, but walls are being built to keep people away, for the benefit of these encyclopedia writers and 'budhi-jeevi' know-it-alls!
8: Sunny Grewal (Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada), March 01, 2014, 5:15 PM.
I guess this is one of the good things about growing up in the diaspora. The Punjabi spoken in the diaspora is the same kind that my parents spoke over thirty years ago when they first came here from Punjab.
9: Kaala (Punjab), March 01, 2014, 9:51 PM.
The kind of Punjabi being promoted by these universities is alien to us. A lot of Hindi words and expressions are deliberately inserted to corrupt the language. It is sad to see our language, customs and culture getting corrupted. It is because the young generation and even old people drunk on Bollywood fare want to conform to the majority's culture which does not belong to us. It is good to see quality Punjabi movies being made and becoming popular.
10: Harinder (Punjab), March 03, 2014, 9:13 AM.
All Languages undergo evolution in the way it is spoken in different parts of the world. Thus English is different in the US from that in the UK, for example. Punjabi too must adapt itself to its new environments and the various time zones, and expand its vocabulary by picking up words from different languages of the world and this should get reflected in the Punjabi dictionary. Last but not least, it must piggy-back on Science, Entertainment and Computer languages. Thus, the new Punjabipedia must grow by accretion each day.
11: Sangat Singh (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), March 04, 2014, 6:55 AM.
Here is a Punjabi spanner in the works. Thermometer translated in Punjabi would be "Bakh Machu." Any improvement!
12: Gulzar Singh (Karnal, Punjab), August 24, 2014, 1:59 AM.
I like this site.