“Call me however what thou wilt.I am who I must be. I call myself Zarathustra.” The Glossary Named Hobson–Jobson, 1886
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66121/2ky62h76Keywords:
Hobson–Jobson; Anglo-Indian English; , Lexical borrowing; , Colloquialism and slang;, Historical lexicography; , Indian loanwords in EnglishAbstract
This article relates to an 1886-published glossary titled Hobson–Jobson, being a glossary of Anglo-Indian colloquial words and phrases and of kindred terms; etymological, historical, geographical, and discursive, compiled by Henry Yule and Arthur Burnell, two Britons working in India. This is an intellectually intrepid effort of lexicalizing Indian words used by the British in India in the mid and later decades of the 19th century. On closer reading, this volume impresses more as a lexicon that extensively catalogues words assimilated into spoken and written English by the British residents in 19th century India, from various Indian languages. Joseph Rudyard Kipling, while serving as the sub-editor of the Civil and Military Gazette (C.M.G.) in Lahore, commented on this glossary in C.M.G.–1886. Kipling’s commentary is exhaustive. It is delightful and hilarious. Hence, parts of that are reproduced in the present article. The present article aims to highlight that a comprehensive knowledge of historical lexicons, dictionaries, and glossaries of the English language is essential for present-day English teachers in India, mainly because such volumes provide conceptual clarity on the evolution of the English language, in addition to value-added meanings and origins of words. I am convinced that such an understanding will go a long way toward improving the classroom teaching of English in India, particularly in teaching English as a second language.
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