Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924012794628#page/n7/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : http://ia700407.us.archive.org/18/items/cu31924012794628/cu31924012794628.pdf

...the illustration on the dust cover of this 'Wordsworth Reference' edition ~ i.e. John Mowbray with his 'banian' - a watercolour by Thomas Hickey (1790) ~ precedes the first publication of 'Hobson-Jobson' by almost exactly one hundred years ...( ! )...

I have a got a recent edition given by a friend as a gift..

Hobson -Jobson. One would think these are the two who compiled this fantastic reference book. The authors are Col. Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell. Then who are Hobson-Jobson or what is Hobson-Jobson? For one, 'Hobson Jobson' is a short tiltle for a really long title of this reference work. Here is how the full title goes: " Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive, a historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages which came into use during the British rule of India." But why Hobson-Jobson? It is a phrase with its origins among the British soldiers and commonly used by Anglo-Saxons to denote "a native festal excitement; a Tamasha". The origins of the phrase lies in the lamentations shouted during Moharram "Yas Hasan, Ya Husain". See the full entry on page 319 of the tome.

Another little gem - thank you

The Story Behind "Hobson-Jobson" ....And in the dictionary itself, Hobson-Jobson is described as an Anglicization of "Ya Hasan, ya Husain!" — the wail of Shi'i (and sometimes Sunni) Muslims during Muharram, the procession commemorating the martyrdom of Ali's two sons Hasan and Husain. The citations in the entry show how this got transformed by the British à la the Telephone game: Hosseen Gosseen, Hossy Gossy, Hossein Jossen, and ultimately Hobson-Jobson.... http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1874/

The most famous phrases of Hobson-Jobson I have heard is as under: There was a bad crow = Darwaza band karo. There was a cold day = Darwaza khol de.

I wonder just how important the role was of Indian and Eurasian mistresses in helping British merchants, officials and officers with translations in India during the 18th Century, long before Dictionaries such as Hobson-Jobson were available. Such mistresses were later referred to in Burma, Malaya and other parts of the British Empire in the Far East as "Sleeping Dictionaries".

Sleeping Dictionaries !...now thats a creative expression. : )

Oh, bugger. You've all gone doolally.

Arun...I had to look this up : http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/161900.html

...I'm surprised that you had to look that one up RBSI... "doolally" is well known and just one of numerous 'Anglo-Indian' terms that one might hear in everyday conversation in Britain to this day...

I was somewhat surprised When a brother who had served with the British Army told me that not only did he know what dhobi meant but the British Army still uses the term. Nice to know where doolally comes from.

There's a more up-to-date Hobson-Jobson called Hanklyn Janklin by the late Nigel Hankin. Hankin went to India during WW2 and just stayed on, living in Delhi. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanklyn-Janklyn-Rumble-Tumble-Customs-Quiddities-Indo-British/dp/8187943041/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293997546&sr=8-1

Sadly, Mr Hankin died in 2008 ~ here is a link to his obituary ( 'Daily Telegraph', London): http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1574988/Nigel-Hankin.html

In fact, there's still a very active Indian Air Force base in Deolali. If I recall correctly,Sqd Ldr (later Wing Cdr I think) Rakesh Sharma was posted there as a test pilot after his space trip.

http://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/allahakbarries-c-c/

@Julian Craig: A fitting obituary in the daily telegraph. Thanks for the link. The phrases "prepone" and "passenger train" do entertain. I am sure there are a lot of such Indian English words one should look out for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wGBLQZW-mc