Duolingo has launched its new ‘Learn English from Punjabi’ course, making English learning available to Punjabi speakers through Gurmukhi script. The free course is aimed at making English education more accessible to Punjabi-speaking learners in India and across global Punjabi communities.
The launch is accompanied by a campaign titled ‘Ullu Da Pattha’, conceptualised by Talented and produced by Calm Kaam. Rather than simply translating the product proposition into Punjabi, the campaign uses regional humour, language and everyday cultural references to introduce Duolingo’s English-learning offering to Punjab.
Punjabi is spoken by more than 100 million people worldwide, with significant Punjabi-speaking communities across India, Canada, the UK, the US and Australia. The new course allows learners to start their English-learning journey from their native language and Gurmukhi script.
The Punjabi course marks Duolingo’s second regional-language course for North India after Hindi. It joins the platform’s existing regional-language offerings, which include Hindi, Bengali, Telugu and Tamil.
The move reflects Duolingo’s broader approach of making language learning more accessible by allowing users to learn through languages they are already familiar with.
The campaign films place Duo in recognisably Punjabi situations, with humour and absurdity driving the storytelling. English learning enters these everyday moments in unexpected ways, while Duo takes on a more approachable and affable role as he attempts to build his community of ‘Ullu Da Patthas’.
The films have been produced by Bushra Shariff’s Calm Kaam, completing the creative partnership behind the launch.
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Karandeep Singh Kapany, Regional Marketing Director, India and South East Asia, said, “Being able to launch this course in my mother tongue is incredibly meaningful and a moment of real pride for me,” said Karandeep Singh Kapany, Regional Marketing Director, India and South East Asia. “Punjabis have long embraced opportunities beyond borders, pursuing education, careers and new beginnings around the world. By making English learning available in Punjabi, we’re helping remove language barriers and enabling even more people to access the opportunities that English can unlock.”
“This launch reflects our commitment to making high-quality education more accessible, inclusive and relevant for learners across South Asia and beyond.” he added.
For the accompanying campaign, Talented has built the creative around ‘Ullu Da Pattha’, a familiar Punjabi phrase that is commonly used playfully to refer to someone as a fool or mischief-maker.
Ankush Sabharwal and Leena Gupta, Creatives at Talented, said, “Being called an ‘Ullu Da Pattha’ is a rite of passage if you grew up in a Punjabi household. We loved how naturally the phrase lent itself to Duo, and how it gave us an opportunity to show a dif erent side of him. We’ve mostly seen him in his more unhinged avatars, so we wanted to make him lovable and af able, like this guy who has arrived in Punjab and is slowly building his community. There was something very funny about imagining Duo going around, winning people over and turning them into Ullu Da Patthas. It felt like a very natural way for him to find his place in Punjab.”
Anant Sharma, Director, said, “Working with Duo, both the brand and the mascot, was tons of fun. The whacky, silly humour, combined with Duo’s signature snark, makes you love the brand even more, especially when placed in typically Punjabi contexts. I’m super excited to see the response from Punjabis, hoping that they find a representation of our culture in these quick, fun snippets!”
