Punjabi is an Indo-European language that originated in north South Asia a millennium ago. Punjab means “the land of five rivers” that descend from the Himalaya mountain range. There are over 130 million Punjabi speakers in the world today. Punjabi is also an important language in California; it is the third most common language spoken in the Central Valley. Our campus is located in the heart of the historic Punjabi community, the first sizeable South Asian American community, that started in the 1890s.

Elementary Punjabi (PUN 1, 2, and 3) is a three-course sequence taught in an in-person format where you will learn listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in Punjabi and to Punjabi culture.

Intermediate Punjabi (PUN 21, 22, and 23) is the next three-course sequence taught in an in-person format where you will learn integrated listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in formal and informal contexts.

In addition, virtual courses for Punjabi (PUN 1V, 2V, and 3V) are also available via UC Online. This course series is hosted by the UC Davis Middle East/South Asia Studies Program, but is open to all UC students. It was developed due to a generous UC Innovative Learning Teaching Initiative (ILTI) grant.

Source: Gurmeet Kaur, Fascinating Folktales of Punjab.

Language Placement Exam

ME/SA Studies and the Punjabi program require that students who have not previously taken Punjabi at UC Davis, but have prior experience or study of Punjabi elsewhere, take the Punjabi Placement Test at the UC Davis Language Center (https://llc.ucdavis.edu). Students who have no experience of Punjabi or previous coursework do not need a placement test, and should simply enroll in Punjabi 001.

Grading in Beginning Language Courses