Toronto – Though in its homeland Punjab, the Punjabi language is struggling due to lackadaisical attitude of the successive governments but here in Canada the Punjabi is gaining popularity with each passing day, thanks to the love for the mother tongue, shown by the concerned Punjabis.
It’s been four years since Punjabi became Canada’s third most common language. And now, following the election of 20 Punjabi-speaking candidates to the House of Commons, Punjabi has attained the same status in the country’s new Parliament after English and French.
The Punjabi schools run by various Gurdwaras in Toronto, Vancouver and other cities are also working a great deal for the promotion of Punjabi language among the new generations.
Such is growing dominance of Punjabi that sign boards in Punjabi can be seen everywhere on roads, education institutes, government offices , hospitals and banks and most of the government offices have staff that speak Punjabi to deal with Punjabi clients.
Just to throw some statistics at you:
* 430,705 Canadians identified Punjabi as their mother tongue, making it the third most common language in the country after English and French.
*Punjabi speakers make up about 1.3 per cent of Canada’s population.
* The above-mentioned 20 Punjabi-speaking lawmakers elected recently represent almost six per cent of the House of Commons.