ISLAMABAD: Nations that document their cultural history have nothing to fear from foreign cultural invasion, said President Mam­noon Hussain at the launch of the Urdu dictionary’s web edition on Wednesday.

Addressing the launching ceremony at Aiwan-i-Sadr, the president said the development was a big step forward in the promotion of Urdu as the dictionary was now accessible to internet users.

Digitalisation of the Urdu dictionary would help the new generation learn more about the language, he added.

“Those languages become immortal whose historic background, vocabulary, forms and usage of words in different ages and lingual experiences are compiled in the form of a proper and scientific glossary,” President Hussain said.

Making the Urdu dictionary available on the web was not just an academic activity but also a technical achievement, he added.

Although the overall expression and style of dictionaries worldwide was more or less the same, in Pakistan it required further improvement, the president said.

Observing that languages change with the passage of time by absorbing new words, he called upon the Urdu Dictionary Board to get ready for addressing future challenges.

The price of a complete set of the dictionary, comprising 22 volumes and having 264,000 words typed in Naskh font, was Rs50,400, whereas it has now been made available on the internet and in the shape of two CDs at a nominal price, said Irfan Siddiqui, Adviser to the Prime Minister on National History and Literary Heritage.

He said the web edition was part of a process involving computerisation of Urdu dictionary, software development for mobile phones, web hosting and establishment of a “server room project” at a cost of Rs13.2 million.

Mr Siddiqui said the 22 volumes of the dictionary were the result of untiring efforts by individuals like Baba-i-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq, Josh Maleehabadi, Naseem Amrohvi, Shanul Haq Haqqi, Dr Farman Fatehpuri, Jaun Elia, Qudrutullah Shahab and many others.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2018