Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) will compile the first-ever comprehensive digital dictionary of more than 70 Pakistani languages.

The project has been approved by the relevant authorities and work on collection of resource material has already been started.

“The idea of compiling this dictionary is to create a dictionary of different Pakistani languages to keep these languages alive for the future generations,” co-coordinator of the project Asim Butt said.

He said that there are over 80 regional languages, adding that those having script have been included in the dictionary. “The dictionary will provide meanings of a single word in different Pakistani languages, which is a unique idea.”

Initially, the dictionary will be launched digitally. It will be published in print form in the next stage, he added.

Asim Butt said that the basic reference for the initiative would be one of the dictionaries published by the Urdu Dictionary Board or the one compiled by Jamil Jalbi to ensure authenticity.

“This is an ambitious idea. Formal work has been started on the project by collecting resource material and inviting linguists of various languages at a single platform to form a team of experts,” he said.

“This project will prove as a precious asset in the field of literature and will take years of hard work to complete.”

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk