Synthesized answer
The passages do not directly describe how Pliny’s quote about human limitations applies specifically to Yule and Burnell’s work. However, the preface acknowledges that “in a work intersecting so many fields, only a fool could imagine that he had not fallen into many mistakes; but these when pointed out, may be amended” [3]. This reflects Pliny’s sentiment that humans are fallible and busy with duties, working only in spare moments (“subsicivisque temporibus”) [1]. For Yule and Burnell, compiling a glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian terms would involve tracing words to their true origin, a task where “those who hourly use them are profoundly ignorant” [2], and dealing with dual or doubtful ancestry of words like “bearer” and “mangrove” [5]. These inherent challenges—limited time, human error, and the complexity of etymological research—would manifest as inevitable mistakes and inconsistencies in their glossary.
The passages imply that linguistic study is an ongoing, never-perfected endeavor. Yule notes that mistakes “when pointed out, may be amended” [3], and he expresses doubt about achieving full accuracy, saying “only a fool could imagine that he had not fallen into many…
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
dem est; VOCEM sic semper eandem Esse, sed in varias doceo migrare figuras." Ovid. Metamorph. xv. 169-172 (adapt.). "... Take this as a good fare-well draught of English-Indian liquor ."— Purchas , To the Reader ( before Terry's Relation of East India), ii. 1463 (misprinted 1464). "Nec dubitamus multa esse quae et nos praeterierint. Homines enim sumus, et occupati officiis; subsicivisque temporibus ista curamus."— C. Plinii Secundi , Hist. Nat. Praefatio, ad Vespasianum . "Haec, si displicui, fuerint solatia nobis: Haec fuerint nobis praemia, si placui." Martialis , Epigr. II. xci.…
lity, however vulgar they may be, neither vernacular nor profane, but phrases turning upon innocent Hindustani vocables. We proposed also, in our Glossary, to deal with a selection of those administrative terms, which are in such familiar and quotidian use as to form part of the common Anglo-Indian stock, and to trace all (so far as possible) to their true origin—a matter on which, in regard to many of the words, those who hourly use them are profoundly ignorant—and to follow them down by quotation from their earliest occurrence in literature. A particular class of words are those indigenous…
rous aid had been given to work of mine). Among other friends who have been ever ready with assistance I may mention Dr. Reinhold Rost , of the India Library; General Robert Maclagan , R.E.; Sir George Birdwood , C.S.I.; Major-General R. H. Keatinge , V.C., C.S.I.; Professor Terrien de la Couperie ; and Mr. E. Colborne Baber , at present Consul-General in Corea. Dr. J. A. H. Murray , editor of the great English Dictionary, has also been most kind and courteous in the interchange of communications, a circumstance which will account for a few cases in which the passages cited in both works…
UM FERME LUSTRORUM OBLECTAMENTUM ET SOLATIUM NEC PARVI LABORIS OPUS ABSOLUTUM TANDEM SENEX SENI DEDICAT H. Y. PREFACE. The objects and scope of this work are explained in the Introductory Remarks which follow the Preface. Here it is desired to say a few words as to its history. The book originated in a correspondence between the present writer, who was living at Palermo, and the late lamented Arthur Burnell , of the Madras Civil Service, one of the most eminent of modern Indian scholars, who during the course of our communications was filling judicial offices in Southern and Western India,…
me mangle is undoubtedly the parent of the French manglier , and not improbably therefore of the English form mangrove . The words bearer , mate , cotwal , partake of this kind of dual or doubtful ancestry, as may be seen by reference to them in the Glossary. Before concluding, a word should be said as to the orthography used in the Glossary. My intention has been to give the headings of the articles under the most usual of the popular, or, if you will, vulgar quasi-English spellings, whilst the Oriental words, from which the headings are derived or corrupted, are set forth under precise…
More questions about this book
- Explain how the concept of 'Hobson-Jobson' words, as described by the 17th-century Surat Factors and R. Verstegan, highlights a fundamental tension between linguistic purity and the natural evolution of language through cultural contact.
- How do the diverse perspectives on language evolution and translation, articulated by Iamblichus, R. Verstegan, and Ovid, collectively lay the theoretical groundwork for understanding the necessity and complexity of compiling a dictionary like 'Hobson-Jobson'?
- Imagine you are teaching a friend about the impact of cultural exchange on language. Using specific examples from the text, explain why a glossary of "Anglo-Indian colloquial words" would be crucial for understanding both colonial history and the English language's development.
- Considering the challenges of translating idiomatic expressions (Iamblichus) and the potential for incomprehension (Verstegan), how does the 'Hobson-Jobson' glossary serve as both a record of cultural fusion and a tool for navigating linguistic divides?