Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
lexicographer
Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines:
* Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries.
* The ...
,
linguist
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
, humorist and a
Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
newspaper columnist
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...
.
Early life and career
Born in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
on August 26, 1958, Parekh was educated in
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
. Having obtained MA and PhD degrees in
Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
from the
University of Karachi
The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...
, he worked for the ''Urdu Lughat Board'' or
Urdu Dictionary Board
The Urdu Dictionary Board () is an academic and literary institution of Pakistan, administered by National History and Literary Heritage Division of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Its objective is to edit and publish a comprehensive ...
Farman Fatehpuri
Farman Fatehpuri () (born Syed Dildar Ali (), 26 January 1926 – 3 August 2013) was an Urdu linguist, researcher, writer, critic and scholar of Pakistan.
He is widely regarded as a leading authority on the life and work of Ghalib. He w ...
, president of the ''Urdu Lughat Board'', said in an interview, "The Urdu Lughat Board plans to publish 22 volumes containing 300,000 words, give or take a few hundred words." He praised Rauf Parekh for bringing out two volumes of the Urdu Lughat in two years.
Urdu Lughat Board began its work in 1958, the first volume of the Urdu Lughat came out in 1967.
In 2017, Rauf Parekh taught Urdu at the University of Karachi and wrote a weekly literary column in ''
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...
'' newspaper. In addition to writing research articles, humorous essays and critical writings, he has written over 20 books. Rauf Parekh was appointed director general of National Language Promotion Department, Islamabad, in December 2020.He also writes columns in English for the newspaper DAWN.
Bibliography
Some of his books are:
* Urdu Lughat (vol. 19, 20, 21) (Urdu Dictionary)
* Awwaleen Urdu Slang Lughat
* Urdu Lughat Navisi (Writing Dictionary in Urdu)
* The Oxford Urdu-English Dictionary
* Asri Adab Aur Samaji Rujhanaat
*
Allama Iqbal
Muhammad Iqbal (9 November 187721 April 1938) was a South Asian Islamic philosopher, poet and politician. Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
by Atiya Begum
Awards and recognition
*
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...
Award by the
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.