Punjabi set to become Canada's fourth top language

[Harold Schiffman]

Punjabi set to become Canada's 4th top language

Monday, 11 February , 2008, 09:13

Vancouver: With the latest census showing a 35 per cent increase in
its speakers since 2001, Punjabi is set to become the fourth largest
spoken language in Canada. Today, it is the sixth largest spoken
language after English, French, Chinese, Italian and German, though it
is already at the fourth position in the province of British Columbia.
But as India overtakes China as the largest source of immigration for
Canada in 2008, Punjabi is projected to surpass Italian and German by
2011 to become the fourth largest spoken language in the country.
According to Balwant Sanghera, president of the Punjabi Language
Education Association (PLEA) that is celebrating the sixth
International Mother Language Day February 24, 2008 "Punjabi is
growing by leaps and bounds in Canada, and within the next three to
four years it will become Canada's fourth largest spoken language."

Citing the latest census figures, he said 3,67,505 people said Punjabi
was their mother tongue, showing a growth of 35 per cent since 2001.
"This places Punjabi as the sixth most spoken language (after English,
French, Chinese, Italian and German). The difference between the
number of Punjabi speakers and those of German and Italian is very
small. By the next census of 2011, Punjabi will overtake both to
occupy the fourth place," he added. Sanghera, who retired as a school
psychologist in British Columbia, said Punjabi is one among ten most
spoken languages out of a total of 6,000 in the world.

"More than 150 million people in 150 countries speak this language.
Mini Punjabs in Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and Singapore are
testaments to it. Here in Surrey and Abbotsford cities, Punjabi is the
second most spoken language after English," he said. In British
Columbia province, Punjabi is taught in the University of British
Columbia (UBC), Simon Fraser University, University College of the
Fraser Valley, Kwantlen University College and many schools.
Hospitals, city halls, airports and markets carry Punjabi signs. And
it is common see the Punjabi sign of Aseen Punjabi Bolde Haan (We
speak Punjabi) at banks.

Guidelines on provincial issues — elections, health, old age and
education — come out in Punjabi, as do government bills and notices.
Interestingly, Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan is a Punjabi speaker who
surprised everyone last year by delivering his speech in Punjabi at a
Sikh function. "As India booms, I see there is an upsurge in interest
in Punjabi among business people here. We have many non-Punjabi
students enrolled in our classes. In fact, one university class in
Punjabi has all non-Punjabi students," said Sadhu Binning, professor
of Punjabi at the University of British Columbia. Both Binning and
Sanghera have pioneered the Punjabi movement in British Columbia
province, which has the largest concentration of Punjabis outside
Punjab. "International Mother Language Day is part of our efforts to
get official recognition for Punjabi at the federal level. Punjabi has
been in Canada for over a hundred years, yet it is not recognised by
the Canadian government because of its two-language policy," said
Binning.

http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14602571

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