KARACHI: A Punjabi-English dictionary, the first of its kind has been published by Dunwoody Press in the U.S. The authors of the dictionary are Kanwal Bashir, an accomplished linguist and educationist, and Abbas Kazmi, a noted linguist and a senior former Pakistani diplomat. This scholarly work is an embodiment of hard work of several years.

The first edition of the Dictionary, contains approximately 2,500 main entries of the most frequently used words. In each entry, the headword is provided in Perso-Arabic script along with romanization followed by pronunciation, part of speech and definition.

The authors have taken great pains in including sentences in each language, which is a unique feature of this endeavor. This is very important and useful from the point of view of students and learners.

This dictionary is an important and valuable contribution in spreading awareness about Punjabi language in English speaking countries as well as in Pakistan itself. Another significant element of the dictionary is the verb charts and grammar portion given at the end of the book.

At the price of $125/- ,the dictionary is out of the reach for a common man in Pakistan. It would be great if this dictionary was published in Pakistan as well. In that case it will not only be available at a lower price but will also benefit the language students.

The News: May 29, 2012