Synthesized answer
The provided passages indicate that "Anglo-Indian colloquial words" are not mere translations but represent a unique linguistic and cultural phenomenon, aligning with the principles of Iamblichus and Verstegan. Iamblichus stated that "every nation has some idiomatic expressions which it is impossible to render perfectly in the language of another" [1]. Verstegan echoed this, noting that introducing foreign words into a language without proper assimilation can lead to a form of discourse that is not understood even by native speakers of the same tongue [1].
The passages demonstrate this by explaining that some "Anglo-Indian colloquial words" are new compounds formed by the English language in India, applicable to new objects or shades of meaning not previously covered by the mother-tongue, or that speakers *supposed* were not expressible by existing English terms [2, 5]. Other terms are corruptions of Oriental words, given an "English mask" [2]. These instances illustrate how new concepts and linguistic nuances arise from the interaction of cultures, creating terms that are distinct from simple translations and embody a unique shared understanding among speakers [2, 5].
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From the book
αθ' ἕκαστον ἔθνος ἰδιώματα ἀδύνατα εἰς ἄλλο ἔθνος διὰ φωνῆς σημαίνεσθαι "— Iamblichus , De Mysteriis , vii. cap. v. i.e. "For it is by no means always the case that translated terms preserve the original conception; indeed every nation has some idiomatic expressions which it is impossible to render perfectly in the language of another." "As well may we fetch words from the Ethiopians , or East or West Indians , and thrust them into our Language, and baptize all by the name of English , as those which we daily take from the Latine or Languages thereon depending; and hence it cometh, (as by…
ng; whilst in other cases our language has formed in India new compounds applicable to new objects or shades of meaning. To one or other of these classes belong outcry , buggy , home , interloper , rogue (-elephant), tiffin , furlough , elk , roundel ('an umbrella,' obsolete), pish-pash , earth-oil , hog-deer , flying-fox , garden-house , musk-rat , nor-wester , iron-wood , long-drawers , barking-deer , custard-apple , grass-cutter , &c. Other terms again are corruptions, more or less violent, of Oriental words and phrases which have put on an English mask. Such are maund , fool's rack ,…
ts which have been imported, such as loquot , leechee , chow-chow , cumquat , ginseng , &c. and (recently) jinrickshaw . For it must be noted that a considerable proportion of words much used in Chinese ports, and often ascribed to a Chinese origin, such as mandarin , junk , chop , pagoda , and (as I believe) typhoon (though this is a word much debated) are not Chinese at all, but words of Indian languages, or of Malay, which have been precipitated in Chinese waters during the flux and reflux of foreign trade. Within my own earliest memory Spanish dollars were current in England at a…
er into Hindustani generally, or into that shade of it which is in use among natives in habitual contact with Europeans. Of words which are essentially Portuguese, among Anglo-Indian colloquialisms, persistent or obsolete, we may quote goglet , gram , plantain , muster , caste , peon , padre , mistry or maistry , almyra , aya , cobra , mosquito , pomfret , cameez , palmyra , still in general use; picotta , rolong , pial , fogass , margosa , preserved in the South; batel , brab , foras , oart , vellard in Bombay; joss , compradore , linguist in the ports of China; and among more or less…
e to affect its distinctive character, in which something has been aimed at differing in form from any work known to us. In its original conception it was intended to deal with all that class of words which, not in general pertaining to the technicalities of administration, recur constantly in the daily intercourse of the English in India, either as expressing ideas really not provided for by our mother-tongue, or supposed by the speakers (often quite erroneously) to express something not capable of just denotation by any English term. A certain percentage of such words have been carried to…
More questions about this book
- What core phenomenon about language does this compilation of quotes aim to illuminate, and how do the diverse perspectives (from trade records to ancient philosophy) collectively build a comprehensive understanding of it?
- The Surat Factors expressed concern about the "growing use of 'Hobson-Jobsons'" in 1617. From their perspective, what specific "dangers" or "corruptions" might these foreign words represent, and how does Ovid's quote offer an alternative, perhaps more natural, view of linguistic change?
- Consider the act of compiling a glossary like "Hobson-Jobson." Beyond just defining words, what deeper cultural, historical, or even political insights might such a collection inadvertently reveal about the power dynamics between the "Anglo" and "Indian" languages during their interaction?
- If you were to explain the purpose and significance of "Hobson-Jobson" to a modern audience using a contemporary example of language evolution (e.g., internet slang or globalized business terms), what analogies would you draw from the provided quotes to make its complexities easily understandable?