Hobson Jobson Dictionary

Prepared By: Shabana Khalani

Roll No:28

Sem-III

Paper No: 11

Unit No: 3

Department Of English

Maharaja Krishnakumarsihji University, Bhavnagar

Hobson Jobson

• The Hobson Jobson is the legendary Dictionary of British India.

• The pages are full of those words which are unparalleled in meaning and usage in Indian languages.

• Cultural words are adopted in the English language without changing them.

• They are described in the Dictionary with their roots and derivations.

Hobson Jobson

• Some Words are: Pundits, Palanquins, Gymkhana, Memsahibs etc.

• Some words have the origins in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and other Indian Languages.

• Word Original Word Language

Cash Karsha Sanskrit

Champo Champana Hindi

Tank Tanki Gujarati/Marathi

Hobson Jobson• There are few words which have quite a different

usage then their current usages.

• They are incharge, undertrial, police encounter etc.

• While some words samjao, jadoogurs, khubberdaurkaffir nogully are adopted with the same meaning and same usage.

• Pariah, Ghopulish, pukka, curry, cummerbund, thugs, dungarees, bandannas, toddy, verandahs, moguls, Raj like words stand in the dictionary as the proof of richness in the Indian Languages.

Hobson Jobson

• The language was known as Anglo- Indian language.

• The word Poggle comes from the Hindi Word Pagal.

• Common word Cheese has got transformed from the Hindi word Chiz means ‘thing’.

• The word cheese gave English man a sense of having good quality thing; ‘This Cheroots are like real cheese!!!!’

Hobson Jobson

• In Anglo-Indian English, the term Hobson-Jobson referred to any festival or entertainment, but especially ceremonies of the Mourning of Muharram.

• In origin the term is a corruption by British soldiers of "Yā Ḥasan! Yā Ḥosain!" which is repeatedly cried by Shia Muslims as they beat their chests throughout the procession of the Muharram; this was then converted ultimately Hobson-Jobson.

• Yule and Burnell were looking for a catchy title for theirdictionary and decided upon this since it was a "typicaland delightful example" of the type of highlydomesticated words in the dictionary and at the sametime conveyed "a veiled intimation of dual authorship.

Hobson Jobson