Now, students of Indlish have paan to chew on
Lalitha Suhasini

Mumbai, March 14

"Achcha! chup badmash!," spits a Brazilian to a Japanese, who in turn understands perfectly, and promptly shuts up. Macmillan and the Oxford English dictionaries no longer solely cater to Queen’s English. The 2002 Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners breaks the monotony this year by incorporating Indian words such as baba, chunni, roti and paan that no other dictionary includes.

The inclusion of Indian words adds flavour to the English language and most people are only too pleased by this endeavour. Says V R Balaporia, retired vice-principal and head of the English Department and current academic advisor of Jai Hind College: "Sometimes foreigners are puzzled with the way some words have crept into our vocabulary," says Balaporia, highlighting the fact that such dictionaries would also be of great help to foreign readers of Indian writing in English, when a glossary is unavailable. She adds, "As a teacher of English, I have always maintained that English is not the property of the British but a world language and there are a list of Indian-English words that are important parts of communication in courts, etc."

Writer Kalpana Sharma who wrote Rediscovering Dharavi agrees completely when she says, "These dictionaries now ease the process of writing, since we don’t have to go through the laborious process of translating or providing a glossary and it’s easier for the reader too." But she also feels that writers should use such Indo-Anglian words only when no other substitutes exist, so that their writing will not deteriorate with the sloppy use of Indian words.

Though Milind Malshe, professor of English Language and Literature, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Powai, feels that merely including these Indian words will not serve the dictionary’s purpose. "I also see the need for the Indian usage of English words such as ‘backbencher’, which take on different meanings and connotations in the Indian context," says Malshe. While ‘backbencher’ refers to an ordinary member of the British Parliament, who does not hold a senior position, the word commonly refers to unattentive students in India. Though there are quite a few words which do, such as baby and baba with their Indian usage of female child in the case of baby, and sadhu, father or male child reference for baba listed in the Macmillan English Dictionary.

The field of advertising, notorious for coining words extensively, uses the local dialect of English to reach out to the target audience. Author-adman Frank Simoes, however, feels that the use of Indian words has become common parlance the world over. "It is right that any good dictionary reflects changes in language," says Simoes, citing an example in Kenya, where words derived from both Swahili and English have been appended to a few dictionaries.

Another genre that popularises Indo-Anglian words and phrases across the globe is poetry. Poet Adil Jussawala says that additions to the English language have been taking place since the last 200 years. "I really don’t know how many of these words are really used, but I presume that with the migration of Indians, it is important for people to know these words," he says.

From a marketing point of view, Varad Bhat, senior manager, Macmillan India, thinks the Macmillan English Dictionary will hit the jackpot with its users. "Our advantage is that this dictionary is more updated than that of our main competitors as we have more words in general as well as more Indian words in particular," says Bhat. Also, the comprehensive CD-ROM User Guide is another ace up Macmillan’s sleeve.

To sum up in the words of Paul Smith, director of the British Council, "The vitality and strength of a culture can be tested by many means but probably by none better than the quality of its dictionaries. Great dictionaries are sensitised to society’s endlessly changing surfaces and to the idiom of the day."

The paperback version of the 2002 International Student Edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, which costs Rs 495 with CD-ROM, and hardcover priced at Rs 595, was launched at the British Council, Mumbai, on March 26.

Reproduced by kind permission of the Indian Express