#literature
#books
The Anglo Indian Dictionary.
The British Empire was called the Empire where the sun never sets. The British occupation of India and South Asia for centuries resulted in a large number of words being incorporated into the English language.
In 1872, two Europeans started the project of compiling a glossary of words of Indian origin that were used by the British. Curiously Sir Henry Yule, who had served in India as a Colonel in the Army was living in Palermo, Italy while Arthur Coke Burnell was serving as an officer of the Madras Civil Service in South India especially Thanjavur.
Yule died in 1882 but Burnell continued the work and published the dictionary in 1886.
It was called the Hobson -Jobson.
Many words in modern English have Indian origins, for example: bungalow, cash, chintz, curry, loot, pariah, pundit, shampoo, thug, etc.
Even the title of this “dictionary” itself is an example; “Hobson-Jobson is an anglicisation of “Ya Hasan, ya Husain!” — the wail of Shiya Muslims during Muharram, the procession commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Ali’s two sons, Hasan and Husain.
As with many other names, words and phrases in South Asian languages, the British misheard and transformed the words into their own mangled spellings – “Ya Hasan, ya Husain” became “Hosseen Gosseen” then “Hossy Gossy” to “Hossein Jossen” and ultimately
“Hobson – Jobson.”
A revised and enlarged edition was prepared by William Crooke and published in 1903.
The work received the praise of many great writers including Rudyard Kipling. The dictionary was used as a source of reference by James A Murray for including many words in the Oxford English Dictionary.
However the dictionary has received criticism from modern day scholars. The authors had no deep knowledge about the words and usages and their true meaning in the local context. Very often the words were used in a condescending manner regarding the natives. The title of the dictionary itself is a prime example.
– Joy Kallivayalil.
