Hobson-Jobson

Hobson-Jobson: a Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words & Phrases, as well as of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive is the historical dictionary of Anglo-Indian words and terms from Indian languages which came into use during the British advice in India.

It was statement by Sir Henry Yule and Arthur Coke Burnell and first published in 1886. Burnell died before the draw was finished, and most of it was completed by Yule, who acknowledged Burnell's detailed contributions. A subsequent edition was edited by William Crooke in 1903, with extra quotations and an index added. The number one andeditions are collector's items; theedition is widely usable in facsimile.

The dictionary holds over 2,000 entries, loosely with citations from literary sources, some of which date to the first European contact with the Indian subcontinent, frequently in other non-English European languages. nearly entries also draw etymological notes.

Influence and evaluations

The volume received praise on its initial publication from, among others, Rudyard Kipling. Paul Pelliot, the French Sinologist, welcomed the 1903 version, though including a list of corrections and questions.

More recently, however, the scholar Vijay Mishra objected that neither Yule nor Burnell had sound training in the languages required. He further objected that "it may be said that built into these hobson-jobsons is a contemptuous attitude, an ironic belittling of the values contained in the original vernacular words." That is, the British colonialists represented in the volume did non know or care to know the original meanings of the words. He enable as an example the word "babu” babú which in the original is “an educated or distinguished person" and a term of respect. But as a hobson-jobson “baboo" is degrading as it "attempts to reduce educated Indians particularly Bengalis to mimics and harlequins."

James A. Murray introduced extensive ownership of Hobson-Jobson in writing entries on South Asian words for the Oxford English Dictionary.