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My First Panjabi Alphabet – Book Review

MFPA-Cover
Punjab2000 were delighted when they were asked to review the Panjabi workbook by Kiran Lyall (author) and Venisha Sudra (graphic designer) and Dr.Rishi Handa (language consultant). This is the fourth book to be released by Kiran and Venisha. Their previous releases were ‘Have fun with Panjabi’ and ‘Ria and Raj and the gigantic Diwali surprise’.

We believe the workbook is aimed at children under the age of 11 and individuals who’s first language is not Panjabi. The first page already stands out with the whole alphabet. Throughout the book each Panjabi letter is visually appealing and makes you want to learn.

In the age where Panjabi language is ‘apparently’ dying, the book aims at engaging the young minds of today. It gets them learning in an interesting way as the book has different methods to help one understand the alphabet.

On one side of the page you learn how to write a letter, pronounce it with assisted English association and on the second side there are a variety of puzzles associated with the letter they have just written.

For example ‘Jhajjā’ as in Fridge-handle and the puzzle on the other side of the page it asks students to guess which country each chunda (flag) belongs too.

For someone who was born in the 90’s and went to Panjabi school every weekend the books we had to use were not engaging and were very detailed. However the layout to this workbook is clear, spacious and bright.

The book also includes a bonus chapter of loan letters and numbers 1-10. The author Kiran Lyall has stated that

“Learning through practice and puzzles is a great way to keep children focused and equally entertained through out. My main aim is to make language learning, especially Panjabi, more fun and accessible to early years and beginners.”

The workbook was released on the 22nd January 2016 and available via all major bookstores.

Kiran Lyall  with Jagmeet Singh

Press Release:

‘My First Panjabi Alphabet’ is a workbook guiding children and beginners to learn and perfect their Panjabi/Gurmukhi script through practice and puzzles.

All 35 letters have an alphabet tracing formation guide on how to create the letter, example sounds/translations and challenging puzzles. Bonus chapters include loan letters and numbers 1 to 10.
A proud bilinguist, author Kiran Lyall, wanted to create a workbook that would engage children who have little or no knowledge of the Panjabi/Gurmukhi script. “Learning through practice and puzzles is great way to keep children focused and equally entertained throughout. My main aim is to make language learning, especially Panjabi, more fun and accessible to early years learners and beginners”.
Sponsor Manak Solicitors said “Gurmukhi is a script which was codified by the second Guru of the Sikh religion and this script holds the key to being able to undertstand and full appreciate the Gurbani (holy text) contained in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. What more can one say to emphasise the importance of learning Panjabi”.
Language consultant, Dr Rishi Handa said “Learning a script at a young age offers children a potential future of increased cultural awareness as they gain literary access to a culture’s heritage. For young children to learn the Gurmukhi script, there has been a need for children-friendly resources. This book not only fulfills that need but sets a new standard of early teaching materials for Panjabi”.
My First Panjabi Alphabet is out on the 22nd January 2016 and is available via all major bookstores. It is published by Buzzword UK.

Author website www.kiranlyall.com