Dr Gurpreet Singh Lehal ( pa, ਗੁਰਪ੍ਰੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ ਲਹਿਲ (

Gurmukhi Gurmukhī ( pa, ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, , Shahmukhi: ) is an abugida developed from the Laṇḍā scripts, standardized and used by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad (1504–1552). It is used by Punjabi Sikhs to write the language, commonly r ...

), (

Shahmukhi Shahmukhi (, ) is a Persian alphabet, Perso-Arabic alphabet script used historically by Punjabi Muslims (primarily in present-day Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab) to write the Punjabi language. It is generally written in the Nastaʿlīq Callig ...

)) (born 6 February 1963) is a professor in the Computer Science Department,

Punjabi University Punjabi University is a collegiate state public university located in Patiala, Punjab, India. It was established on 30 April 1962 and is only the second university in the world to be named after a language, after Hebrew University of Israel. ...

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

and Director of the Advanced Centre for Technical Development of Punjabi Language Literature and Culture. He is noted for his work in the application of

computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...

in the use of the

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first language in Pakistan, with 80.5 m ...

both in the

and

script. A post graduate in

Mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

from

Panjab University Panjab University (PU) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Chandigarh, Punjab. Funded through both Punjab, India, State and Government of India, Union governments, it is considered a state university (Indi ...

, he did his masters in Computer Science from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology and Ph.D. in Computer Science on Gurmukhi Optical Character Recognition (OCR) System from Punjabi University, Patiala.

Background

As a

researcher Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

, Dr. Lehal’s main contribution has been development of technologies related to computerization of Punjabi language. Prominent among these are first Gurmukhi OCR, first bilingual Gurmukhi/Roman OCR, first Punjabi font identification and conversion system, first multi-font Punjabi spell checker, first high accuracy Gurmukhi-Shahmukhi and Shahmukhi-Gurmukhi transliteration systems and first Intelligent Predictive Roman-Gurmukhi transliteration techniques for simplifying Punjabi typing. Dr. Lehal has published more than 100 research papers in various national and international journals and conference proceedings. Dr. Lehal has handled research projects worth more than 43 million Rupees including three international projects, which were awarded in an open competition among contestants from more than 30 countries. As a software engineer, Dr. Lehal has developed more than 25 software systems including first commercial Punjabi word processor, Akhar. As an academician, Dr. Lehal has taught and supervised research activity of postgraduate and doctorate students. He has guided more than 100 post graduate Research scholars and 11 PhD students on various topics related to computerization of Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Sindhi languages.

Main achievements

Dr. Lehal has been working for more than fifteen years on different projects related to computerization of Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Sindhi languages and has been a pioneer in developing technical solutions for these languages. For the first time, many new technologies have been developed by him including Intelligent Predictive Roman-Gurmukhi transliteration techniques for simplifying Punjabi typing, Punjabi spell checker, Intelligent Punjabi and Hindi font converter, bilingual Gurmukhi/Roman OCR and Sindhi-Devnagri transliteration . Many other products for popularizing Punjabi and breaking the script and

language barriers Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

have been developed under his leadership. Some of these products which are being widely used include a multi-media based website for Punjabi teaching, Gurmukhi-Shahmukhi transliteration utility, Punjabi-Hindi

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

software, Urdu-Hindi transliteration software, Punjabi Search Engine, Punjabi Text-to-Speech Synthesis System, Punjabi text summarization system and Punjabi

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

checker

Language Software and Technologies developed

* First Gurmukhi Optical Character Recognition System * First Bilingual Gurmukhi/Roman Optical Character Recognition System * First Punjabi word processor (Akhar) * First Intelligent Predictive Romanized typing utility for Gurmukhi text * First Punjabi font to Unicode & Reverse conversion utility * First Intelligent Punjabi/Hindi Font Recognition System * First Sindhi to Devnagri and reverse Transliteration System * First Punjabi Text Summarization System (Project Leader) * First Punjabi Text to Speech Synthesis System (Project Leader) * Urdu Optical Character Recognition System
Sodhak:: Punjabi Spell Checker
* Urdu/Kashmiri to Roman Script Transliteration Software
Urdu to Devnagri Transliteration Software

Devnagri to Urdu Transliteration Software

Gurmukhi-Shahmukhi (Urdu) transliteration Software

PunjabiKhoj, Customized Search Engine for Punjabi (Project Leader)

Shahmukhi (Urdu) to Gurmukhi Transliteration online software (Project Leader)

Online Punjabi teaching website (Project Leader)

Multi-media enabled Gurmukhi-Shahmukhi-English Dictionary (Project Leader)

Punjabi to Hindi Machine Translation System (Project Leader)

Hindi to Punjabi Machine Translation System (Project Leader)

Punjabi Grammar Checker (Project Leader)
* Punjabi Morphological Analyser & Generator (Project Leader) * Gurmukhi to Roman Transliteration System (Project Leader)

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090601224432/http://www.asianaffairs.in/may2009/punjabi.html Breaking the script barrier, Asian Affairs, May 2009
Punjabi varsity develops 'text-to-speech' software for blind, Times of India, 22 December 2012

Patiala University's online Punjabi spellchecker hailed, Hindustan Times, 30 August 2014

Software to melt India, Pakistan’s Sindhi script barrier, Times of India, 3 September 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehal, Gurpreet Singh Living people 1963 births Academic staff of Punjabi University