Grants:Project/Jagseer S Sidhu/Punjabi Audiobooks Project

What problem are you trying to solve by doing this project? This problem should be small enough that you expect it to be completely or mostly resolved by the end of this project. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Punjabi script is written in two various scripts Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi. Gurmukhi is utilized in India, and Shahmukhi is utilised in Pakistan (and each among their respective Diaspora communities. Beyond difference, Punjabi is a primary language among those living in both the large section of Punjab, the Pakistani Punjab (with approximately 70 million speakers)^[1], and the India (with perhaps 30 million)^[2], with a significant number of speakers of the language outside the two nation, in South Asia, and in the wider Diaspora. Though the scripts are different, the words are pronounced the same way and have the same meaning.

People of both countries learn their respective Punjabi script thus folks of Pakistan are unable/face difficulties to understand Gurmukhi and Indian Punjabies also face the same regarding Shahmukhi. This is the main challenge in exchanging literature between the two regions. In present days, many people, even though they are interested in literature, they don’t have time or interest to read books, and there is an increasing trend of audio books to bring more visibility and usage to literature.^[3]

What is your solution to this problem? edit

For the problem you identified in the previous section, briefly describe your how you would like to address this problem. We recognize that there are many ways to solve a problem. We’d like to understand why you chose this particular solution, and why you think it is worth pursuing. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

The said countries have the same spoken language,^[4] so the solution to this problem is to provide literature in the shape of "Audiobooks". Studies have proved that readers' use of audiobooks had a positive impact on reading skills and attitudes toward reading.^[5] Thus this project aims to create audiobooks by using content from Punjabi Wikisource to follow the demand of time, interests of people, promote literature among new generations and provide material to Illiterate (some kind of olders or senescence) who want to spend their time, sort of, useful stuff. This project will be for those listeners who prioritize audio rather than written matter.

Project goals edit

What are your goals for this project? Your goals should describe the top two or three benefits that will come out of your project. These should be benefits to the Wikimedia projects or Wikimedia communities. They should not be benefits to you individually. Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Enhance Wiki content reach - Through the audiobooks the reach of Wiki content will get a boost among the Punjabi speaking communities within the country and their respective diaspora.
Upgrading skill - There will be a training program for the participants to develop and enrich their vocal skill for the audiobooks. The training will be beneficial in future for running the likewise projects.
Diversity - This project will be a bridge to have people from different professions and skills in the Wiki community and involvement of multi skills will build a strong community.
Promotion - The promotion program will be run to get more traffic on Punjabi Wikisource.
Sustainability - Since in our local Wiki the audiobook project has not been done before, we are taking it as a pilot project. After working on 10 books successfully, we will follow-up. The equipment will be helpful for volunteers to continue working on audiobooks even after the project is over. In the next project we will have a core team of volunteer voice-over volunteers and those will be great assets for the community.
Understanding audio content creation - We have never tried to create focused audio content, the idea is also to explore various ways through which this can be done (volunteers, professionals, and campaigns) and try to understand what works best, what are the pros and cons of each. These learning will not be helpful for our community, but also for others to learn.

Project impact edit

How will you know if you have met your goals? edit

For each of your goals, we’d like you to answer the following questions:

During your project, what will you do to achieve this goal? (These are your outputs.)
Once your project is over, how will it continue to positively impact the Wikimedia community or projects? (These are your outcomes.)

For each of your answers, think about how you will capture this information. Will you capture it with a survey? With a story? Will you measure it with a number? Remember, if you plan to measure a number, you will need to set a numeric target in your proposal (i.e. 45 people, 10 articles, 100 scanned documents). Remember to review the tutorial for tips on how to answer this question.

Punjabi Wikinedians are actively working on both Punjabi Wikipedia and Wikisource and taking this further we want to promote content in Punjabi language not merely in written form but in audio form too. We have already created some audio stories and a complete audiobook of poems which are uploaded on Commons and are attached with their respective Wikisource item. These files can be in Wikimedia Commons categoaries.

The impact metrics are:

Total 10 audiobooks will be created.
2 audiobooks will be created by the professional voice-over artists.
8 audiobooks will be created by the local Wiki community.
10 new volunteers will be engaged in the community.
At least 5 trained voice-over volunteers.

Do you have any goals around participation or content? edit

Are any of your goals related to increasing participation within the Wikimedia movement, or increasing/improving the content on Wikimedia projects? If so, we ask that you look through these three metrics, and include any that are relevant to your project. Please set a numeric target against the metrics, if applicable.

Project plan edit

Activities edit

Tell us how you'll carry out your project. What will you and other organizers spend your time doing? What will you have done at the end of your project? How will you follow-up with people that are involved with your project?

May to July - Selecting, proofreading the works.

Selection - The books will be selected by the community consultation. We have some experienced Wikimedians in our community who can suggest works that are important and will have public interest. Some of the books are listed below:

Sr no	Book and Wikidata Item	Writer	Publisher	Period	Theme	Importence
1	ਚੰਬੇ ਦੀਆਂ ਕਲੀਆਂ, Wikidata	Leo Tolstoy - Writer Abhay Singh - Translator	Bhai Arjan Singh etc, Amritsar	1933	Stories	Tolstoy is a prominent name in word literature, We feel that his work should be available in audio format.
2	ਬੁਝਦਾ ਦੀਵਾ Wikidata	Kartar Singh Sahni	Bhai Gurdial Singh and sons	1944	Stories	This is an old stories book written by Kartar Singh Sahni. We found the content of stories is interesting. These stories are for Punjabi reader who is interested to Punjabi literature.
3	ਰੇਤ ਦੇ ਘਰ Wikidata	Paramjeet Maan	Autumn Art	2019	Stories	This is a contemproty book and the author has aggreed to release it to public domain.
4	ਸਭਿਆਚਾਰ ਅਤੇ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਭਿਆਚਾਰ Wikidata	Gurbax Singh Frank	Waris Shah Foundation	2017	Sylabus book	This is an important book which is related to Culture specifically Punjabi culture. As well as this the crucial book for Literature and Arts students.
5	ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਲੋਕ ਨਾਇਕ WIkidata	Sukhdev Madpuri	Lahore Book Shop	2005	Stories	This book contains stories of Folk Legends and Folk Heroes of Punjab. The content related to Punjabi folk and culture must available on Internet in Audio form.
6	ਜਿਨ੍ਹਾਂ ਵਣਜ ਦਿਲਾਂ ਦੇ ਕੀਤੇ Wikidata	Sukhdev Madpuri	Chetna Parkashan	2013	Stories	This book also contains stories of Folk Legends and Folk Heroes of Punjab and they are the part of Punjabi Culture.
7	ਪਾਦਰੀ ਸੇਰਗਈ [Wikidata	Leo Tolstoy - Writer Gurbax Singh Frank - Translator	Lokgeet Parkashan	2005	Novel	A classic book by Tolstoy and it has its importance in Punjabi Literature.
8	ਆਓ ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਸਿੱਖੀਏ Wikidata ਰੇਲੂ ਰਾਮ ਦੀ ਬੱਸ	Charan Puadhi	Sangam Publications	~~2015~~ 2017	Poems	This is a poem book from Children's literature. The poems are based of 35 letter of Punjabi Script and school children, non-Punjabi listeners can easily understand about Punjabi alphabets. Also this will helpful to know the correct pronunciation of the same. This is a poem book from Children's literature.
9	ਨਵਾਂ ਜਹਾਨ WIkidata	Dhani Raam Chatrik	Lahore Book Shop	1945	Poems + Prose	Dhani Ram Chatrik was a great Punjabi Poet. He has done amazing work in Punjabi literature .
10	ਰਾਜਾ ਧਿਆਨ ਸਿੰਘ Wikidata	Karam Singh	Bhai Ladha Singh	NA	Biographical novel	Raja Dhian Singh was the longest serving minister of the Sikh empire, during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. This book represent a aspect on Punjab history.

Proofreading and Validation - After selecting the books we will conduct proofreading and validation competition. The competition will be prize based.

August to November - Recording, Training and Editing.

The recording of audio will be done in two ways, firstly with a voice over artist, secondly with community members. The recording by the voice over artist will provide a quality parameter and according to that the community recording will be done.

Training - Community members will get a voice-over training by a professional theatre artist. The training will aim to teach them the techniques of using the voice for an audiobook.

Editing - In our community we have some volunteers who attended and organised Audacity workshops and User:Jagseer S Sidhu, who is leading this project, has already edited the audio files. So editing will be done by the community.

December to February - Uploading and Promotion on Social Media.

The completed audiobooks will be uploaded on Wikimedia Commons and will be integrated with their respective files on Wikisource. The same file will be created as a Youtube video to be shared through Facebook and other social media platforms.

March 2022 - Final report submission.

Budget edit

How you will use the funds you are requesting? List bullet points for each expense. (You can create a table later if needed.) Don’t forget to include a total amount, and update this amount in the Probox at the top of your page too!

Item	Quantity	Price (INR)
Microphones (Rode NT-USB USB Condenser Microphone)	2	40,000/-
Sound Isolation Shield (Maono Professional)	2	10,000/-
Headphones (Sennheiser HD 400s)	2	10,000/-
Proofread and Validation Competition	-	15,000/-
Appreciation Stuff of volunteer	-	20,000/-
Voice-over Training for community	-	40,000/-
Accommodation	-	30,000/-
Voice over artist (INR 100/- page) 2 books	300 pages	30,000/-
Social Media Promotion	-	20,000/-
Travel	-	30,000/-
Miscellaneous	-	25,000/-
	Total	2,70,000/- INR 3700 USD

Community engagement edit

How will you let others in your community know about your project? Why are you targeting a specific audience? How will you engage the community you’re aiming to serve at various points during your project? Community input and participation helps make projects successful.

Get involved edit

Participants edit

Please use this section to tell us more about who is working on this project. For each member of the team, please describe any project-related skills, experience, or other background you have that might help contribute to making this idea a success.

Role	User
Advisor(s)	Satdeep Gill, KC Velaga, Charan Gill
Project Lead	Jagseer S Sidhu
Co-Lead	Nitesh Gill,
Other Volunteers	Simranjeet Sidhu, Dugal Harpreet, Gill Jassu, Satpal Dandiwal, Mulkh Singh

Community notification edit

You are responsible for notifying relevant communities of your proposal, so that they can help you! Depending on your project, notification may be most appropriate on a Village Pump, talk page, mailing list, etc.--> Please paste links below to where relevant communities have been notified of your proposal, and to any other relevant community discussions. Need notification tips?

Punjabi Wikipedia - village pump - here Done

Endorsements edit

Do you think this project should be selected for a Project Grant? Please add your name and rationale for endorsing this project below! (Other constructive feedback is welcome on the discussion page).

Support I strongly support this initative.- Mulkh Singh (talk) 16:44, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

Support Support! I've just noticed this project and would like to know more about this. I believe the outcome of the project can be a model for other coummunities to follow. Especially, when those dying languages are not widely noticed and written down. To keep the voice of the languages can be important. iyumu 02:58, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Reference edit

[1] ttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Punjabi-language

[2] ttp://www.punjabdata.com/Punjabi-Population-In-India.aspx

[3] ttps://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200104-audiobooks-the-rise-and-rise-of-the-books-you-dont-read

[4] ttps://www.britannica.com/topic/Punjabi-language

[5] ttps://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1012831

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