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Punjabi attracts foreigners
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As a language, Punjabi is not only dear to about one million Punjabis settled in Canada, but it is also catching fancy of thousands of Canada-based English, French, Chinese and Polish people, who are making all-out efforts to learn it as their second or third language.
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Punjabi is one of those 6000 languages of the world that has been recognised by the United Nations (UN) and it is a matter of pride for Punjabis that their mother tongue has been rated the 10th from the top by the UN.
"It is heartening to observe that everyone and almost every non-Indo-Canadian person - be it French or Polish or Chinese - is keen to learn Punjabi nowadays. In fact, globalisation has contributed to rising popularity of Punjabi in a big way, at least in Canada," says Mr Balwant Singh Sanghera, a Richmond-based retired school psychologist and president of the Punjabi Language Association, British Columbia.
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"Almost all those business houses, which have some business links with India or Punjab, want to recruit those employees, who know Punjabi so that they can easily interact with people in India and Punjab from business point of view. In Surrey alone, nearly 2000 government jobs are awaiting Punjabi-knowing people," he adds.
Mr Sanghera migrated to Canada about 40 years back and hails from Farwala village near Bilga. The Punjabi Language Association, he says, has been striving to get the status of a national language in Canada for long.
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"We hope we will succeed. Punjabi has already attained the second official language status in the BC. It has become a rage among young and old Canadians to learn Punjabi," he observed.
"Two-three English professors of Kwantlen University College, Surrey, have enrolled themselves for learning Punjabi language. Since India is the second fastest-growing economy after China, Canadian firms want to have business ties with it and in their endeavour they want their employees to learn Punjabi. So, globalisation and its impact on India and Canada have helped Punjabi in a big way," Mr Sanghera adds.
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"Another biggest factor is that Canadians, especially the non-Indo-Canadians, treat any third language as a big asset. So, they are opting for Punjabi, he says.
"I think that Punjabi has a very bright future ahead at the global level," predicted Mr Sanghera, a recipient of the Order of British Columbia and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal for his community services.
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Source: tribuneindia.com
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