A START IN PUNJABI and A REFERENCE GRAMMAR OF PUNJABI were first published in the United States as Hartford Series in Linguistics in 1962. They were subsequently reprinted by the Punjabi University in 1970. The present editions are thoroughly revised and annotated by Professor Mukhtiar Singh Gill.

The Audio version of A START IN PUNJABI has been prepared at the Advanced Centre for the Technical Development of Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture under the supervision of its Director, Professor Gurpreet Singh Lehal and its highly professional staff working in close cooperation with Professor Mukhtiar Singh Gill.

For each example, word or sentence there is a corresponding pronunciation. There are extensive notes on the phonology, morphology and syntax of the Punjabi language. They are especially meant for the English speaking audience with frequent examples from the phonologic and syntactic patterns from Punjabi and English.

This series is also accompanied by twenty-one lessons presented by Professor Harjeet Singh Gill. They cover instructions and illustrations in the phonetic structure of Punjabi : the vowels, the consonants and especially the tones. There are numerous examples in different phonologic and syntactic contexts. There are two specific lessons on Gurmukhi alphabet with corresponding phonetic realisations. After the first ten lessons, each presentation deals with compact interrelated paragraphs. At this advanced stage, the students get demonstrations of syntactic correlations with simultaneous interaction of phonology and grammar. Very often these structures are compared with English and French to show linguistic and cultural differences amongst these languages. This obviously leads to the realisation of the unique linguistic characteristics of the Punjabi language.