Hobson-Jobson

Hobson-Jobson

"Hobson-Jobson" is the short (and better-known) title of "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.

It was written by Henry Yule and Arthur C. Burnell and first published in 1886. Burnell had died before the work was finished, and most of it was finished by Yule, who however deeply acknowledges Burnell's contributions. [Yule & Burnell, vii] A subsequent edition was edited by William Crooke in 1903, with extra quotations and an index added. [Yule & Burnell, xi] The first and second editions are collector's items, though otherwise the second edition is widely available in numerous facsimile reprints.

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. [Yule & Burnell, 419] Yule and Burnell were looking for a catchy title for their dictionary and decided upon this as it was a "typical and delightful example" of the type of the highly domesticated words in the dictionary and at the same time conveyed "a veiled intimation of dual authorship". [Yule & Burnell, ix]

The dictionary has over 2,000 entries, generally with citations from literary sources, many of which date to the first European contact with the Indian subcontinent, frequently in other non-English European languages. Most entries also have etymological notes.

ee also

* List of English words of Hindi origin
* "Hanklyn-Janklin"

References

*Henry Yule & A.C. Burnell (2006). "Hobson-Jobson". Edited by William Crooke. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.

Notes

External links

* [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/hobsonjobson Online, searchable version of "Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Anglo-Indian Colloquial Words and Phrases"] , hosted by the Digital South Asian Library of the University of Chicago


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  • Hobson-Jobson — 1690s, hossen gossen, said to have been British soldiers mangled Anglicization of the Arabic cry they heard at Muharram processions in India, Ya Hasan! Ya Husayn! ( O Hassan! O Husain! ), mourning two grandsons of the Prophet who died fighting… …   Etymology dictionary

  • hobson-jobson — /hɒbsən ˈdʒɒbsən/ (say hobsuhn jobsuhn) noun the assimilation of a word or words from a foreign language to the sound of a familiar word or words in the mother tongue. {modification (originally derogatory) of Arabic Hassan! Hussain! names of the… …  

  • hobson-jobson — |häbsən|jäbsən noun ( s) Usage: usually capitalized H&J Etymology: Anglo Indian modification (influenced by the English surnames Hobson and Jobson) of Arabic yā Ḥasan! yā Ḥusayn! O Hasan! O Husain! (cry repeated at the Muharram festival as an… …   Useful english dictionary

  • hobson-jobson — noun A word or phrase borrowed by one language from another and modified in pronunciation to fit the set of sounds the borrowing language typically uses. See Also: law of Hobson Jobson …   Wiktionary

  • Hobson-Jobson — noun /ˌhɒb.sənˈdʒɒb.sən,ˌhɑb.sənˈdʒɑb.sən/ A word or phrase borrowed by one language from another and modified in pronunciation to fit the set of sounds the borrowing language typically uses. If the French for pun, calembour, derives (as Spitzer… …   Wiktionary

  • hobson-jobson — n British the linguistic process whereby foreign words or phrases are anglicised for use by English speakers. The practice was particularly noticeable during the colonial era and World War I. Hobson Jobson is itself a rendering of the Muslim… …   Contemporary slang

  • Hobson-Jobson — /hob seuhn job seuhn/, n. the alteration of a word or phrase borrowed from a foreign language to accord more closely with the phonological and lexical patterns of the borrowing language, as in English hoosegow from Spanish juzgado. [1625 35;… …   Universalium

  • hobson-jobson — hob·son job·son …   English syllables

  • hobson-jobson —   n. Anglicized word or language corrupted from Oriental word or words …   Dictionary of difficult words

  • law of Hobson-Jobson — noun The rule that words or phrases borrowed between languages will be modified in their pronunciation as necessary to conform to the set of sounds used by the borrowing language. Its variations show a familiar effort to bring a new and strange… …   Wiktionary

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