I am happy to report that this week I confirmed my inquiry topic! I have decided to try and learn some basic words and phrases in Punjabi and track my progress using voice notes on my phone.
I would love to develop my language skills in this area because my boyfriend, Jerin, is a second-generation Indian-Canadian, with his grandparents being born in India and moving here in their late teens. Whenever I am over at their house, I hear conversations in English and Punjabi. Although Jerin does not speak very much Punjabi, he understands a lot of it and can respond in English when asked something in Punjabi, usually by his grandparents.
One part of this inquiry that makes me a little nervous is my ability to pronounce words with the correct accent; I have always struggled with that aspect of languages, such as French and Spanish. Because of this, my goal is to put emphasis on correct pronunciation from the start and not try to move on to another word or phrase until I have done my best to master the previous one.
The first website I explored for this project is PunjabiKidz, which offers interactive resources, videos, and games suitable for all ages. This site provided a solid baseline of background information and a direction for my learning journey and I am excited to investigate this further in the coming weeks. I also found an app called Ling, that I installed on my iPad. It is a game-based language learning program that incorporates cute visuals and sounds, using a levelled format. The only complaint I have is that the free version of the app maxes out eventually, and you have to start paying monthly or yearly if you want to continue moving up.
