Translation 59. The use of English Loanwords in Narendra Modi’s 70th Independence Anniversary Address

 

In February 2016, as part of my ongoing research on Hindi lexicography, I published an e-book and separate blogs about the history of the relationship between English and Hindi in India.

Since then I have continued my study of Hindi media and my already large collection of English loanwords in contemporary Hindi has increased by a further 1,500. At the time I made the point that the list is so long and the constant additions so frequent that important English loanwords should be considered by Hindi lexicographers as relevant additions to be included in future Hindi to English Dictionaries (or Hindi to German / French / Chinese, etc.).

Last week’s official preliminary transcript of the Indian Prime Minister’s 56-minute Hindi Address on the 70^th Anniversary of Indian Independence offers fascinating evidence for further consideration of the phenomenon of English loans and also of the current relationship between Hindi and English in India (as well as other major Indian languages and English).

Since his successful years as Chief Minister of the State of Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made excellent use of Information Technology and social media to communicate with his supporters and the general public. His predilection for pithy Hindi slogans and maxims is supplemented by a penchant for examples in English, like his annual international “vaaibraNT gujaraat” Global Summits. During the three years of his current Prime Ministership of India, P.M. Modi has increased his IT contributions and his involvement with social media.

Although P.M. Modi’s choice of Hindi as his main channel of public communication in India is justified by Hindi’s status as official language, it should also be remembered that there are hundreds of millions of Indians who do not speak or understand that language. For these citizens (and also for many Hindi speakers), English, as the de facto lingua franca of India, continues, after 70 years to play an increasingly important role. This is specifically noticeable in central language fields or registers like technology, sciences, administration and education, as well as in the media and the world of advertising. (As I have pointed out in my 2016 studies, and earlier, the basis of most Hindi abbreviations and acronyms is English phonetics: pee em, en Dee Tee vee, aar bee aaee, bee je pee, etc.)

In the Devanagari version of the 6,500 word, 56-minute Address, P.M. Modi includes the following standard English loans in Hindi, adapted, as is usual, to Devanagari script (which is here transliterated into my basic system of roman script for easy keyboard use and reading). Newcomers to the topic cannot fail to notice the extraordinary versatile nature of Hindi phonetics in adapting quite closely to the English sounds.

aspataal, baiNkoN, eyarporT (or earporT), garaNTee, gais griD, iNTarvyoo, kaMpaniyoN, keroseen, kilomeeTar, naurth eesT, ek nayaa iNDiyaa, noTbaNdee, noTis kiyaa, peTrol, phaiktarariyoN, phaurm, rajisTreshan  (rej-?), rel, relve sTeshan, rikaurD, skool, Taiknaulojee, Tan (ton or tonne), TauyleT, Tren, ‘van raiNk – van peNshan’, yoonivarsiTiyoN.

Such borrowings are typical of daily media (and general) usage in India. However, what  really drew my attention to the official published Devanagari version of P.M Modi’s Address was that:

He chooses a larger number of less familiar English words and phrases to refer to concepts which he wishes to emphasise in his political agenda. These consist mainly of technical management terms, new proposals and coinages. As stylistic choices by the author (presumably for highlighting the concepts), these English words replace common Hindi equivalents.

and

Curiously, on P.M. Modi’s website (and possibly on the tele-prompter?), these words are written not in Devanagari but in English letters, often with initial capital letters. This is a departure from the normal procedure for dealing with English loans in Hindi (as part of the language) by printing Devanagari approximations of their pronunciation in Indian English (as shown in the samples given above).

What some observers may conclude is that the inclusion of English terms (rather than Hindi words) in their English script could indicate the author’s special gesture to connect with those many Indians for whom the Devanagari is unintelligible. In other words, to get parts of his political message across in spite of the Hindi “barrier”. And also to benefit from the special status that English enjoys in contemporary Indian life.

*

The terms presented in this way in the Address are as follows, in English alphabetical order. A number of traditional transliterations from Devanagari in my roman system are listed in square brackets. This is how the borrowings would usually be presented in the print media.

99   (pronounced “naaiNTee naain”)

address

Bank Accounts khulate haiN  [baiNk akaauNTs]

banking system [baiNkiNg sisTam]

Cancel kar diyaa [kaiNsal]

cash vaalee arthyavyavasthaa  sp? [kaish]

check-post [chek-posT – recently superseded by the Government’s jee es Tee]

Co-operative Federalism aur ab Competitive Co-operative Federalism [koauparaTiv feDaralizam aur ab kaMpeTiTiv koauparaTiv feDaralizam]

Cyber ho yaa Space ho  [saaibar / spes]

Debates [DibeTs]

Demand aur Technology

Dialysis [Daaiailisis]

Digital [DijiTal]   Also: Digital Currency and Digital Transaction

Double (se bhee zyaadaa!) [Dabal]

Efficiency

expert [eksparT]

Foreign Direct Investment

form [faurm]

formal economy

Gallantry Award

GEM naam kaa Ek porTal banaayaa hai

Good Governance (an old favourite with CM and PM Modi)  [But the transliteration guD gavarnaNs is more usual.]

Governance kee process ko simplify karnaa [proses or prosais  / siMplifaaee] Here, and elsewhere in this list, one notices examples of the very frequent hybrid loanword + karnaa Conjunct Verb structure, endlessly productive, as Professor Rupert Snell has pointed out.

GPS System [jee pee es sisTam]  (Note the English phonetics which dominate the majority of Hindi acronyms and abbreviations. I have a collection of 600.]

GST [jee es Tee]

hamaare desh ke In Uniform meN rahane vaale logoN ne balidaan kee paraakaaShThaa kee hai

income tax return [iNkam Taiks riTarn]

infiltrators

infrastructure

Is prakaara se roll-out honaa [rol-aauT]

IT [aaee Tee]

labour field [lebar feelD]

Labour laws

LED Bulb [leD balb or el ee Dee balb]

Left-Wing Extremism [lefT viNg eksTreemizam]

loan  [lon]

Maternity Leave

nature of job

New India [nyoo iNDiyaa] (used several times to announce the author’s project)

Operation

Prepaid bhugtaan [preepeD] (a hybrid phrase)

uske dvaaraa government procure kar rahee hai

Quit India Movement  [Bhaarat chhoro aaNdolan]

research [risarch]

RuPay Card [kaarD]

shell kaNpaniyaaN

Smart City

Soil Health Card [for farmers]

speed

supply: apnaa maal supply kar saktaa hai, apne product supply kar sakataa hai

supply chain [saplaaee]

Surgical Strike [sarjikal sTraaik. Much used this year in the Indian media.]

surrender kiye

Team India [Teem iNDiyaa]

Technology kee madad se

Technology ko intervene karte huE

Technology meN Ek miracle hai,

to sirph vo projekTee vilaNb naheeN hotaa [elsewhere: projekTaa]

training [TreniNg]

Transparency [TraaNspareNsee]   and transparency laane meN saphalataa milee hai

Transport  and Transportation

har Uniformed Forces, koEE bhee ho, sirph Army, Air Force, Navy naheeN, saare Uniformed Forces

water-way

website launch kar rahee hai

Women Empowerment

maanav working hours

World Class Universities

*

Other references:

The Doordarshan video of the Narendra Modi 70^th Anniversary Address on 15 August 2017 is available on You Tube.

On Hindi transliteration.

 

 

Translation 55. English Loanwords in Hindi. Addendum on Demonetisation (noTbaNdee)

In the past 5 weeks of turmoil in India, the following English loanwords or phrases have been  heard or read in the Hindi media. They offer important additional evidence of the ever-present influence of English on the use and development of the Hindi language. Contributions (and corrections) from readers would be most welcome.

More background information on my Loanword collection is available here:

baileNs, (bank) balance

chek, or chaik, cheque, check (USA)

DebiT kaarD, debit card

ekaauNT, account

eTeeem, ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)

haaee kamaan, High Command (military)

haaee Deenomineshan (noTs), high denomination (notes)

haaipothesis, hypothesis

haikar, m, hacker

haiNDlar, m, handler (military, etc.)

iNkam Taiks, income tax

kaishles sasayaTee, f, cashless society [Also: les-kaish, less cash]

kareNsee, f, currency

kreDit kaarD, credit card

laain, line, queue, laain karnaa, to queue (EH) [English/Hindi hybrid form] [Hindi: qataar]

manee, money; remiTens manee, remittance money (from Indians abroad)

manee aurDar, money order

manee lauNDariNg, money laundering

noT, note, banknote

noTbaNdee, f, (bank)note cancellation, “demonetisation” (EH)

prauparTee, property

railee, political rally

rizaarv baiNk auf iNDiyaa, Reserve Bank of India (Also: aarbeeaaee, RBI)

sarkooleshan, circulation

smaarT fon, smart phone

Taiks, tax

vaaTs aip, or vhaaTs aip, WhatsApp (message softwARE (Int.)

vauleT, wallet

yoojars, or yoozars, users

(More to follow soon on English loanwords observed in the Hindi media between February and December 2016.)

Translation 53. English Loanwords in Hindi. Lexical References

This useful collection of annotated bibliographical information on Hindi/Urdu is posted here both as a further sample of my book English Loanwords in Hindi and (for those who do not need the book) as a further contribution to my blog series on Translation and Interpreting.

The Bibliography of the multi-faceted book is divided into Lexical References and General Bibliography (4 A-4 pages).

Lexical References (annotated)

Agnihotri, Rama Kant, Hindi. An Essential Grammar, Routledge, London & New York, 2006.

Allied’s Hindi-English Dictionary, edited by Henk Wagenaar and Sangeeta S. Parikh (New Delhi, Allied Publishers Pvt., 2002 [1996.] [romanised],1167 pages ISBN 81-7764-357-6 Allied Chambers (India) Limited, Transliterated Hindi-English Dictionary, ed. Henk W. Wagenaar, New Delhi, Allied Chambers,1993 [reprint 2008], 1149 pp. ISBN 81-86062-10-6.
[romanised and alphabeticised, with a Glossary of Hindu Mythology (also romanised, pp. 903-1149)]
Bahri, Hardev, Rajpal Advanced Learner’s Hindi-English Dictionary, 2 vols. Delhi, Rajpal Publishing, ?2006. ISBN 978-81-7028-667-7
This is an excellent (romanised) reference book, possibly the most helpful bilingual romanised dictionary for intermediate and advanced English-speaking learners of Hindi.
It is the only romanised Hindi-English dictionary of those I consulted in which the lexicographer has methodically tried to cover this important aspect of the contemporary Hindi language. (An updated version would be a welcome improvement.)

DK Visual Bilingual Dictionary of Hindi, New York, DK Publishing, 2008. [dk.com]
Based on a common template of English semantic areas and items (and photographs) for all the languages that the series covers, it is an excellent quick-reference source of many examples of technical anglicisms and everyday borrowings from English. One important caveat is that the Introduction informs readers: “Where no suitable Hindi words exist, or are not commonly used, we have retained the English words, but the romanization has been adapted to show how native Hindi speakers pronounce them” (p. 8).
Hindi/Urdu Flagship Program of the University of Texas (Austin) (Director: Professor Rupert Snell) Although the whole website is free for non-commercial use, this is a University level web-based series of teaching and learning aids for students and teachers who are aiming at an advanced professional competency in Hindi or Urdu. Among the large quantity of materials (including videos and Power Point presentations) is the series of podcasts on Spoken Thesaurus (also directed by Rupert Snell)

Kachru, Yamuna, Hindi, Amsterdam, John Benjamins, 2006.
Kumar, Arvind, Arvind Word Power. English-Hindi. A Dictionary with a Difference, New Delhi, Arvind Linguistics Private Limited, 2015. (1350 pages)
Kumar, Arvind and Kusum, The Penguin English-Hindi / Hindi-English Thesaurus, 3 vols., New Delhi, (Arvind Lingusitics Private Limited), 2007.
McGregor, R.S., Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, 1993.
McGregor, R.S., Outline of Hindi Grammar, 3rd ed. Revised and Enlarged, Oxford University Press, 1995.
Niladri, Shekhar Dash, Payel Dutta Chowdhury, Abhisek Sarkar (2009). ‘Naturalisation of English Words in Modern Bangla’, Language Forum , Vol. 35, Jul- Dec 2009.
Platts, John T., A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English, London, 1884.
Rahman, Tariq, From Hindi to Urdu: a Social and Political History, Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2011. (Note: Professor Rahman’s website offers many downloads of his writings on this and other related topics.)
Schuermann: Volker Schuermann’s Bollywood Dictionary.
Available online: http://www.wupper.de/sites/unnet/bolly-dictionary.pdf
Shabdkosh Forums: especially for Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati and Punjabi. (Shabdkosh also offers very useful online dictionaries.)
Snell, Rupert, ‘The Hidden Hand: English Lexis, Syntax and Idiom as Determinants of Modern Hindi Usage’, South Asia Research, 1990, 10, 53-68.
(For some academic institutions, available from http://sar.sagepub.com/content/10/1/53.citation)
(To see a read-only copy: Google Search: C.L. Anand, The Constitution of India, choose the Google sample Item, which opens on this article (pp. 74-90). Or, Google Search: David Arnold and Peter Robb, Institutions and Ideologies. A SOAS South Asia Reader. Then open the item from “books.google.com.au”.)
(This is a very important study, worth re-issuing, in which Snell presents a cornucopia of detailed evidence on the massive influence of English on Hindi. The rapid growth of borrowings and the spread of Hinglish over the followng 20 years was to reinforce his thesis, leading to his equally excellent survey (and Trojan Horse warning) in the edited results of the ‘Chutnefying’ Conference: ‘Hindi: Its Threatened Ecology and Natural Genius’, pp. 22-36, in Rita Kothari and Rupert Snell (eds.) 2011. [q.v.]
Snell, Rupert, Teach Yourself Essential Hindi Dictionary, USA, McGraw-Hill, 2011.
Snell, Rupert and Simon Weightman, Teach Yourself Hindi, [2nd. ed.], London, Hodder education, 2003.[There is a different first ed., Hodder and Stoughton, 1989.]
Snell, Rupert with Simon Weightman, Teach Yourself Complete Hindi, USA, McGraw-Hill, 2010.
Steel, Brian: On WordPress and briansteel.net.

Translation 49. French loanwords in English. Pronunciation Guide for Hindi speakers. Introduction

https://www.briansteel.net/writings/india/bsteelhindi3_suffixes, pdf/
Suntharesan, V., The Impact of Borrowings from English on Jaffna Tamil. (A Textbook for University Students, Language in India, Vol. 14, 6 June 2014. (A downloadable 125-page book)
Urdulist: Urdu listserv.
*

Translation 49. French loanwords in English. Pronunciation Guide for Hindi speakers. Introduction

The bi- and trilingual abilities of Indians are well-known and greatly admired or envied, especially by monolinguals. Another established fact is that those who are proficient in Hindi and English also tend to use (or understand) a large number of English loanwords even when speaking, writing, or listening to Hindi. (The rise of Hinglish, although obviously related, is a separate issue.)

Although these English loanwords in Hindi (my latest count is 3,000) are adapted to the phonology of Hindi and the Devanagari script, their English origin is still quite clear in a majority of cases. That in itself I find quite remarkable  ̶  perhaps unique. (As instant proof, listen to any news bulletin in Hindi.) (For more examples, see here.

English is also the depository of loanwords from many languages, including, for almost 1,000 years, French, which has had a major influence in the development of the English lexicon. Bilingual speakers of Hindi and English will be well aware of many of these French borrowings but I wonder to what extent they transfer these French borrowings into their use of Hindi. Having tested the phonetic adaptability of many French loanwords into Hindi, I have found the results to be almost as satisfactory as the English loanwords. Therefore, where relevant, they could be inserted into bilingual English and Hindi dictionaries. (The same applies, of course, to the vast number of English loanwords in Hindi, but that is not relevant to my point here.)

The rest of this introductory article is an attempt to show how a romanised transliteration of French loanwords can help Hindi speakers to pronounce the words in the (more or less) French way that they are pronounced in contemporary English, whether they are using them in their English or in their Hindi.

Possible further articles may enlarge on these preliminary findings and underline the usefulness of transliterating more of the French borrowings in teaching materials for courses on English as a second Language for speakers of Hindi.

French loanwords are present in large numbers in English dictionaries, but they are particularly noticeable in those areas in which France has excelled, like diplomacy, politics and military affairs, the arts, sports, fashion and perfumes, gastronomy (and kweezeen – cuisine) and oenology. Some brief specific and other general lists follow.

This is merely a Daybyoo for this topic. début डेब्यू

bauNzhoor! [zh reflects more accurately the ‘s‘ sound of the English words vision and treasure] Bonjour बॉन्जूर

auNshauNTe! Enchanté! ऑनशॉन्टे

bauN vwaayaazh! [w is the ‘soft’ pronunciation variant of Hindi v.] Bon voyage! बॉन व्वायाज

bauN shaaNs! Bonne chance! बॉन शौंस

*

Preliminary examples

Eating and drinking

kweezeeN, cuisine

noovail kweezeen, nouvelle cuisine [A bit passé, thank goodness!]

bauN aapayTee, Bon appétit.

kafé, café

raisTaurauN, restaurant

keesh, quiche

kaanaape, canapé

krooDiTe, crudité

paaTay duh fwaa gras, pâté de foie gras

pyooray, purée

raaTaaTooee, ratatouille

vaaN aurDeenair, vin ordinaire

pruhmyay Kroo, premier cru

krem duh mauNth, crème de menthe

Fashion (faishaN)

aa laa mauD, à la mode

Daykaulte, décolleté (and DaykaulTazh)

kaursaajh, corsage [very different from kaurTaizh – cortège]

laaNzhuhree, lingerie

o duh kaloN, eau de Cologne

oT kooTyoor, haute couture

preTaa paurte, prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear)

Arts

baalay, ballet

paa duh dur, pas de deux

Diplomacy and politics

auNsyaaN rayzheem, ancien régime

aunTauNT kaurDeeyal, Entente Cordiale

Deereezheezma, dirigisme

DeereezheesT, dirigiste

faurs maazhur, force majeure

Military

aazhauN prauvaukaTur, agent provocateur

aide duh kauM, aide-de-camp

aispree duh kaur, esprit de corps

aur duh kaumbaa, hors de combat

kaurDauN saaneeTair, cordon sanitaire

koo daytaa, coup d’état

koo duh graas, coup de grâce

Administration

ayshalauN, échelon

Description

baiT nwaar, bête noire

boorzhwaa, bourgeois

boorzhwaazee, bourgeoisie

Doobla auNTaunDra, double-entendre

kauNfeeDauN (m), confidant

kaunfeedaunT (f), confidante

maynaazh aa Trwaa, ménage à trois

pyais duh rayzeestauNs, pièce de résistance

shay Durvra, chef-d’oeuvre

Attributes

aamoor praupra, amour-propre

ahplaum, aplomb

DeesTray, distrait

naaeevtay, naiveté

panaash, panache

saNg frwaa, sangfroid

zhwaa Duh veevra, joie de vivre

Sports

aypay, épée

kauNkoor daylegauNs, concours d’élégance

Miscellaneous

Dayzhaa vyoo, déjà vu

Duh Tro, de trop [superfluous]

kree Duh kur, cri de coeur

raizauN DaiTra, raison d’être

Occupations

auNTruhprunur, entrepreneur

Nouns in -é

aymeegray, émigré

feeauNsay, fiancé, m, and fiancée, f.

prauTayzhay, protégé

rayzyoomay, résumé

Adjectives in -é

blaazay, blasé

deesTaNgay, distingué

reeskay, risqué

ruhTroosay, retroussé (turned up – esp. nose)

Sayings

plyoo saa shaaNzh (plyoo se laa maiM shoz). Plus ça change, (plus c’est la même chose.) (Nothing really changes.)

aapre mwaa luh Daylyoozh. Après moi, le déluge. (Who cares what happens when I go?)

auNee swaa kee maal ee pauNs. Honi soit qui mal y pense. (Evil be to he who thinks evil of it. [The motto of the British Order of the Garter.]

veev laa DeefayrauNs! Vive la différence! [Long may the difference continue to exist!]

reeyaaN na vaa plyoo. Rien ne va plus. (No more bets!)

*

o ruhvwaar.

aabyaaNTo?

Translation 47. Linguistic Glimpses of the 2014 Indian General Election through English loanwords in Hindi

With two further weeks of campaigning and staggered voting in the Indian election still to go, there seemed to be time to while away prior to the March 16 result so I checked my files to see which aspects of this event and process are described by the exponentially expanding number of English loanwords and calques in contemporary Hindi. These are considerably bolstered by a collection of Hindi acronyms, most of which are based on English phonetics (with mainly minor variations due to the influence of Hindi phonology).

I hope the results below are of interest to my fellow students of Hindi and Urdu.

Meanwhile, may the most appropriate parties and coalition win!

*

The election process: Parliament

ilekshan, election (though native ‘chunaav’is far more frequent)
seeT, seat(s), or seeToN (esp. in Parliament)
kaNsTiTyooeNsee, constituency
kaNDiDeT, candidate (though ummeedvaar is much more usual)
em.pee., MP
pee.em., P.M.
[Note also see.em., C.M. (Chief Minister of a State); also sometimes cheef minisTar, though the usual full form is ‘mukhya maNtree’)]
pee.em. iN veTiNg, PM-in-waiting
speekar, speaker or Speaker (Political)
vipakshee leeDar, Leader of the Opposition (vipakshee netaa is much more common.)
leeDar auf Da opozishan, Leader of the Opposition (rather clumsy and not very frequent)
leeDarship, leadership
bil paas, the passing of a Bill
bil pass huaa, the Bill was passed
paas karnaa, to pass a Bill (paas honaa, to pass an exam)
bil paas naa aaegaa, the bill will not go through
lokpaal bil, ombusdsman Bill / Law
voT, vote; voT denaa or Daalnaa, to cast a vote; voTar, voter
voT baink(s), vote bank(s); voT baiNk raajneeti, vote bank politics (hybrid)
booth, booth
ee.vee.em., EVM (Electronic Voting Machine) Also referred to as ‘ilaikTraunik voTiNg masheen’.
NOTA (noTaa), None of the Above (A new 2013 addition to the ballot papers or voting screens for those wishing to register a protest.)

*

Some Official Bodies involved

jee.o.aaee., GoI (Government of India)
ailaikshan kamishan, Election Commission (EC) or: ee.see., EC (Election Commission)

aaee.e.es., IAS (Indian Administrative Service: Bharateey prashaasnik sevaa)
es.aaee.Tee., SIT (Special Investigation Team: VisheSh JaaNch Dal)

see.aar.pee.ef., CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force)
see.bee.aaee., CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)
pulis, police; pulisvaalaa, policeman

Some Official processes available

aaee.pee.see., IPC (Indian Penal Code)
aar.Tee.aaee., RTI (Right to Information: – FOI) (soochnaa adhikaar adhiniyam)
Also : raaiT Too iNfaurmeshan, Right to Information (RTI).
raaiT Too reekaul, Right to Recall
chaarj sheeT, f, charge sheet
e.ef.es.pee.e., AFSPA (Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act)
ef.aaee.aar., FIR, (Police) First Information Report
laatheechaarj, lathi charge (police)

The participants

1. Political parties

The main contenders are the two current coalitions and their major party bases:

UPA (The current ruling coalition):

yoo.pee.e., UPA (United Progressive Alliance: saMyukt pragatisheel gaThbaNdhan)

led by: aaee,en.see., INC (Indian National Congress)

 and

NDA (The current opposition coalition):

en.Dee.e., NDA (National Democratic Alliance) 
led by bee.je.pee., BJP (Bhaarateeya Janata Party)  (Also: bhaa.ja.paa. or bhaaj.paa as rare Devanagari acronyms)

*

Some Other Major Parties

es.pee., S.P. (Samaajvaadee PaarTee: Socialist Party) (Also sa.paa, a Hindi acronym)
bee.es.pee., BSP (Bahujan Samaaj Party: Majority Social Party)
e.aaee.e.dee.em.ke., AIADMK (All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) (A.I.D.M.Association, in Tamil)
Dee.em.ke., DMK, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) (D.M.Association, in Tamil)
je.Dee.yoo., JDU /JD(U) (Janataa Dal YoonaaiTeD: United People’s Party)

aar.je.dee., RJD (RaaShTreeya Janata Dal: National People’s Party)
e.e.pee., AAP (Aam Aadmee PaarTee)
em.en.es., MNS (Maharashtra Navnirman Senaa: Maharashtra Reformation Army
see.pee.aaee.em., CPI(M) (Communist Party of India – Marxist)
Shiv Senaa, Shiva’s Army
Tee.Dee.pee., TDP (Telangana Desam Party)
Tee.em.see, (TMC Trinamool Congress. Also e.aaee.Tee.em.see., AITMC (All-India Trinamool Congress)  

*

Other prominent groups appearing in the election news:
aar.es.es., RSS (RaaShTreeya Svayamsevak SaNgh: National Volunteer Organisation)
vee.ech.pee., VHP (Vishwa Hindoo Parishad – World Hindu Council) (also: vihip, Hindi)

*

2. The voters

814,000, including:

ef.see., FC (Forward Castes)
en.aar.aaee., NRI (Non-Resident Indian)
es.see., SC (Scheduled Castes)
es.Tee., ST (Scheduled Tribes)
o.bee.see, OBC (Other Backward Castes)
pee.aaee.o., PIO (Person of Indian Origin) But no votes for OCIs: o.see.aaee. Overseas Citizens of India.

3. Media and IT components

meeDiya, media
aaee.Tee, IT (Information technology)
Taiknolojee, technology
iNTarneT, Internet
vaaee-faaee, Wi-fi
auNlaaeen, online
kampyooTar, computer
laipTaup, laptop
aaee.paiD, iPad
vebsaaiT(s), website(s)
yoozarnem, username (Internet)
baTan (klik kareN, (click) button (Internet)
DaaunloD (karnaa), (to) download (EH)
yoo-tyoob, You Tube
ReT karnaa, to rate something
seTelaaiT, satellite
reDiyo, radio
Tee.vee., TV
chainal, (TV) channel(s)
saTalaaiT Dish, satellite dish
neTvaRk, network
pauDkasT, podcast
veeDiyo, video
film , f, film

Taaims auv iNDeeya, the Times of India Or: Tee.o.aaee.,ToI
iNTarvyoo
kaimramaan, cameraman
see.see.Tee.vee.,CCTV (surveillance TV camera)
fuTej, footage

soshal meeDiyaa,
mobaail, mobile phone or sailfon, cellphone
es.em.es., SMS (Short message Service: Text message)
haish Taig, hash tag (#)
fesbuk, Facebook
*faulo karnaa, to follow (Internet) (hybrid)
fauloar, follower (Facebook, etc.)
TviTar. Twitter
*TveeT karnaa, to Tweet (hybrid)
*apDeT karnaa, to update (hybrid)
ef.e.kyoo., FAQ (Also: aksar poochhe paane vaale savaal)
brekiNg nyooz, breaking news
pheeDbak, feedback

prais kaNfreNs, Press conference
rikaarD, record
riporT, f, report
sikyooriTee, f, security
sTiNg aupreshan, sting operation
Taupik, topic

*Note: Hybrid (English-Hindi compound verbs with karnaa (to do) are extremely numerous, e.g. iNvaaiT karnaa, to invite; iNfaurm karnaa, to inform;’ pRiNT karnaa, to print; pramoT karnaa, to promote.

*

Election campaigns and associated media terminology

kaMpeN, campaign
laubee, lobby; laubeeiNg, lobbying
railee, rally
phaNDiNg, funding
thiNk TaiNk, think tank
blem gem, blame game

laauDspeekar, loudspeaker
maaik, “mike”, microphone
haiNDbil, flier, leaflet
horDiNg, hoarding (for posters)
posTar, poster
sTikar, sticker
sadasyataa phaurm, membership form, application (hybrid)AlaayaNs, alliance
marjar, merger
pauliTikal seenaariyo, political scenario
sTej shayar karnaa, sharing the stage
saporT, support (but native ‘samarthan’ is far more commonly used)

Some Campaign Debating Topics

aunar kiliNg, honour killing
bajaT, budget
gavarnans, governance. Especially guD gavarnans, good governance.
global varmiNg, global warming
jeneTik iNjaneeriNg, genetic engineering
naaiNTeen faurTee saivan, 1947 (Independence Year) (Some Hindi speakers and writers seem not to know, or not to like, the complex Hindi system of numbering from 30 to 99 and prefer the English versions.)
reeTel, retail
soshal iNjaneeriNg,
spektram, (2G Spectrum broadband scandal, 2010) or: Too jee, 2 G.
Taiks hevan, tax haven
kamyoonalism, communalism
saikyoolarism, secularism
Tokenism, tokenism

aaee.e.ke., IaK (Indian-administered Kashmir)
aaee.es.aaee., ISI (Pakistan) (Inter-Services Intelligence [Agency])
also: iNTarsarvis iNTailijens ejensee
aaee.o.e., IOA (Indian Olympic Association)
dabalyoo.Tee.o., WTO (World Trade Org: vishva vyaapaar saNgaThan)
ef.aaee.aaee., FII (Foreign Institutional Investors)
ef.Dee.aaee., FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)
ef.see.aar.e., FCRA (Foreign Control (Regulation) Act)
el.e.see., LAC (Line of Actual Control: India and China)
el.bee.zaiD., LBZ (Lutyens-Bungalow Zone, New Delhi)
el.o.see., LoC (Line of Control) (Kashmir) (Also: laain auv kanTrol, Line of Control)
en.aar.ee.jee.es., NREGS (National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme)
em.es.em.ee., MSME (Micro Small Medium and Large Enterprises)
es.ee.zaiD / es.ee.zee., SEZ (Special Economic Zone
pee.e.ke. (Pakistan-administered Kashmir)
pee.o.Tee.e., or poTaa, POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act)
yoo.aaee.Dee.e.aaee., UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India)

End note

Even some of the less glorious side of electioneering is reflected through English loanwords.

In two of the less sensitive recent political speeches in Hindi, the following loanwords were used to maul political rivals. (In both cases, the crass insults backfired, which is surely a healthy sign.)

From controversial election speeches:

a) haneemooN (honeymoon) and pikniks (picnics)
b) AK-47 and AK-49 (e.k.faurTee saivan; and e.ke. faurTee naain)

*

An unthinkable concept for confident candidates: fel ho jaanaa, to fail.

*

Earlier articles on English loanwords and acronyms are available here and here.

Translation 41. Hindi Learning Hints 4. English Loanwords in Contemporary Hindi

Introduction to a Glossary of 2,000 Hindi Words and Expressions of English origin

As I have recently pointed out here,
the growing phenomenon of Hinglish as a hybrid language has aroused public interest and is the subject of academic research. Since Hinglish is widely used by urban Indians (especially young ones and especially in the northern ‘Hindi belt’), by advertisers, and by Bollywood, Hinglish does not lack media publicity. With its impressive linguistic gymnastics, code-switching and code-mixing of Hindi and English at a very fast colloquial rate, Hinglish well deserves continued professional study and tracking because it may have a strong long-term impact on the shape of Hindi. However, from the viewpoint of teaching practical Hindi as a Second Language (HSL), especially to non-Indians, it is not of vital concern at the moment. What does need incorporating into HSL now, via Hindi to foreign language dictionaries and other teaching materials, is a selection of the extraordinary large number of loanwords and loan translations (calques) from English which have already entered into contemporary daily life, and on which Hinglish is partly based.

This sizeable windfall of English Hindi words for lucky English speakers is entirely due to the very special historical links between Hindi and English. In contemporary Hindi, English loan words and phrases have become an essential part of contemporary Hindi. They are taken for granted by Hindi speakers.

Most of the items in this selection will not help students much with conversations in the street or booking a train ticket (although tren and tikat are two very commonly used borrowings, as is a whole family of words based on rel – rail). The borrowings are, however, useful for English speakers to begin to understand bits and pieces of the spoken and written Hindi currently used by the media and in bureaucratic life as well as by the Indian middle classes in their daily conversation. (Many are also understood by Indians from other social backgrounds.) There are many more of these anglicisms to be picked up as you listen to or read the media or watch Bollywood films.

My credentials are a lifetime interest in language, lexicography, and teaching, and four years as a keen student of HSL (for the purposes of comprehension of written and spoken current affairs in India, rather than as a means of personal communication, which can be more efficiently achieved in English). In the process of this arduous learning experience, I have sought shorcuts. In addition to my personal Romanised Glossary of Hindi words, I have compiled two separate lexical collections, the major one being this list of 2,000 English loanwords encountered in contemporary urban Hindi, and a minor but substantial collection of acronyms used in Hindi, which are also based on the English phonetic system and are therefore instantly recognisable to “us” – like bee.je.pee (BJP), see.bee.aaee (CBI), bee.bee,see, BBC, etc. The smaller acronym collection consists of two types: entities restricted to India and other more universal references, which are also of importance to foreign learners, as well as to native Hindi speakers. The short acronym glossary will be published soon in this series, as ‘Hindi Learning Hints, 5’. (Parts 2 and 3, on Affixes (a VERY essential shortcut for serious students of any language), are still in preparation.) A few very common acronyms, familiar to urban Hindi speakers (and others), are included in the present list.

Notes on the Devanagari and Roman scripts and on my transliteration system

English speakers have an advantage over other HSL learners because of the extraordinary capacity of Hindi phonetics to present near equivalents of almost all English sounds. (This is just not possible with French, Spanish, etc.) The English loans sound like Hindi to Hindi speakers but they also (usually) sound like English and so are instantly recognisable for us in the flow of speech. Although this helps a little in the comprehension process, for most foreign learners, Hindi is a very distant cousin, twice removed, in lexicon (virtually NO cognate words) and in its arcane syntax.

Because of my inbred ‘Roman’ bias, I have found reading Hindi to be a major issue, so my simple transliteration system has been tailored to allow speedy transfer of the Devanagari script to Roman script, for writing and typing. In my opinion, this system also allows more efficient transfer to Internet bilingual translating and transliteration aids, such as those offered by Google and Microsoft. For these purposes, the short ŏ sound of English (as in ‘box’, and ‘Bollywood’) is often best represented by the digraph ‘au’.

Using a capital N or M for nasals seemed a good idea and my laborious attempts to distinguish with italics between various alternative sounds and spellings (Hindi’s multiple t’s, th’s, d’s, dh, r, rh, sh, n, h, and ri, etc.) do seem to work. In short, I find this system more practical and easier to read than some of the official transliteration schemes.

To allow the English words to ‘emerge’ from the transliterations below, simply pronounce what you see. Some may amuse you; smile while you learn!

Here Hindi ‘ee’ is equivalent to ‘ee’ in English, but single ‘e’ rhymes with ‘rate’, or sometimes with ‘ten’. So ‘pee.em.’ in Hindi is pronounced more or less as P.M. Similarly, ‘tren‘ = train, and ‘em.e.‘ is M.A. (‘aim-eh’). The very frequent double vowel ‘aa+ee’ rhymes with ‘my’ or ‘high’: hence Hindi ‘haaee kort‘ (High Court), or ‘aaee.e.ess.‘ (IAS: I = aaee; A = e; S = ess, the Indian Administrative Service).

Also the letter ‘v’ is often pronounced as a soft version of ‘w’, as in ‘vikeeleeks’. Do not be distracted by the lack of capital letters in the transliterations. That is the Devanagari alphabet in action. Also, for your and my convenience, I have not used Devanagari alphabetical order. I am sorry if that offends language purists but this makes it easier for me to cope with a daunting task.

Although most of the items below are single lexical items, special notice should be given to those marked (EH). These are hybrid English-Hindi phrases, which give a very fleeting glimpse of the sorts of ways in which Hindi speakers can assimilate some English words into the Hindi morphological system (the commonest case being combinations of English loan + karnaa, to form compound verbs, which, as Rupert Snell (1990, p.55) has pointed out, are constantly being coined. denaa and honaa also appear in such hybrid compounds.

To obtain a Devanagari version of any (or most) of the words and phrases listed below, type them into the Google or Microsoft ‘Hindi to English’ box and press Enter (for each word).

The extent to which English permeates Hindi is perhaps most easily visible in the use of English initial letters not only for acronyms but for Hindi names. Note that each (English) letter is followed by a full stop (period). This is particularly important if entering a search term on Wikipedia in Hindi, e.g, Pee. Jee. Chidambaran प.ग. चिदंबरम

And, for even more instant evidence of English penetration of the Hindi system, here is the frequently used English alphabet as it appears in Hindi, for example in Hindi acronyms.
*

e. , A
bee. , B
see. , C
dee. , D
ee. , E
ef, , F
gee. , G
ech. , H
aaee. , I
je. , J
ke. , K
el. , L
em. , M
en. , N
o. , O
pee. , P
kyoo. , Q
aar. , R
es. , S
tee. , T
yoo. , U
vee. , V
dablyoo, , W
eks. , X
vaaee. , Y
zed. , Z
(zee. , Z – USA)
*

English loanwords, a sample:

My 2,000 item collection covers most aspects of contemporary Indian life. Many have been carried over from Imperial times but the majority are post-Independence coinages.

karnaa, honaa, denaa compounds:

aapreshan karnaa, to operate
kvaalifaaee karnaa, to qualify
dismis karnaa, to dismiss
distarb karnaa, to disturb
iNvaait karnaa, to invite
iNfaurm karnaa, to inform
saspaiNd karnaa, to suspend

paas honaa, to pass (exam)
naurmalaaeez honaa, to normalise

riport denaa, to report
vot denaa, to vote

From English -tion, -sion

standiNg oveshan, standing ovation
steshan, station
aupreshan, operation
peNshan, pension
blad doneshan, blood donation

Countries and nationality

aarjenteenaa, Argentina
briten, Britain
dubaaee, Dubai
eerak, Iraq
iNglaiNd, England
landan, London
polaiNd, Poland
saaipras, Cyprus
svis, Swiss
svitserlaiNd, Switzerland
thaaeelaiNd, Thailand
vetikan (sitee), The Vatican, V. City
yoo.pee., UP (Uttar Pradesh)
yookren, Ukraine
yoorap, Europe

Personal

baig, bag,
fan, fan; seeliNg fan, ceiling fan
kaimra, camera
peNsil, f, pencil
plag, plug
saiNtimeetar, centimetre, centimeter
shatar, m, shutter
sileNdar, (gas) cylinder
suparmarkat, supermarket

Food and drink

saiNdvich, sandwich
tost, toast
sodaavaatar, soda water
tee baig, teebag
aaisd tee, iced tea
aaisd vaalee chaaee, iced tea (EH)
aaiskreem, icecream
aamlet, omelette
chuiNgam, chewing gum
vetar, waiter

Travel and transport

kaar, f, car
start karnaa, to start (car, etc.)
deezal, diesel
eyarport, airport
steshan, station
bas, bus; bas adda, bus station
rel, rail; relve, railway
rel bhavan, railway office(s) (EH)
ekpatraa rel, monorail (EH)
tez gati rel, hidhspeed rail (EH)
relgaree, f, train
tren, train
rel maarg, (railway) track
riNg rod, Ring Road

tikat, ticket
tikat baaboo, ticket clerk

taiksee, taxi
taikseevaalaa, taxi-driver
meetar se chalo!, drive by the meter (taxi/rickshaw)
veezaa, visa
traival ejensee, travel agency

Media, Films & Internet

rediyo, radio
teevee, TV
satalaait dish, satellite dish

seeriyal, serial, and cereal
veediyo, video
film , f, film
futej, footage
kaimraa, camera
bauleevud, Bollywood,
suparstar, suparstar

iNtarnet, Internet
kampyootar, computer
hardveyar, hardware
aakaash taiblet, Sky Tablet (Indian)
sauftveyar, software
sim kard, Sim card
priNt kareN, Print!
storee ko ret kareN, Rate this story

mobaail, mobile phone
sailfon, mobile phone, cellphone

Education

vee.see., V.C. (Vice Chancellor)

Sport

krikat, cricket
vikat, wicket
aaut!, Out! (cricket)
ampayar, umpire
refaree, referee,
maichfiksiNg, matchfixing
saspaiNd karnaa, to suspend
rikaard tornaa, to break a record(EH)
vestiNdees, West Indies
olampik (kheloN), Olympic (Games) (EH)
besbaul, baseball

Careers and Offices

kareeyar, career
aarkitekt, architect
kamishnar, Commissioner
depyootee kamishnar, Deputy Commissioner
pee.em., P.M.
see.em., C.M (Chief Minister (of a State)
iNjaneeyar, engineer
baaristar,, barrister
mejar jenral, major general
freelaiNs, freelance
kaimraman, camera man
klarkee, f, clerical job (EH)

Commerce

baiNk, bankl; b. akaauNt, b. account
vishva baiNk, World Bank
chaik, cheque
daalar, dollar
hed ofis, head office
siNdiket, syndicate
sentar, Centre

tredmark, trademark
shedyool, schedule
sheyar markat, share market
sheyar bazaar, share market (EH)

taiks, tax
teNdar, tender
pepar klip, paper clip

Medical

iNjekshan, injection
blad, blood; b. preshar, b. pressure
chaikap, check-up
terapee, therapy
hart atak, heart attack
kainsar, cancer; kainsar vigyaan, oncology
teebee, TB
eds, AIDS
veNtiletar, breathing apparatus; life support,

Technical

taiknolojee, technology
seedee., CD
teevee, TV
ilaktranik, electronic
voltej, voltage
shart sarkat, short circuit
jenretar, generator
sailseeas, Celsius
laiNs, lens
staurm vautar drenej, storm water drainage

Science

maiNgneez, m, manganese
global varmiNg, global warming
gobar gais, methane from cow dung (EH)
phaaspharas, phosphorus
plaastik, plastic

Administration, Politics and Law

sartificat, m, certificate
iNdaiks, index
sabsidee, subsidy

vipaksh leedar, Leader of the Opposition
lokpaal bil, ombusdsman Bill/. Law (EH)
bil paas, the passing of a Bill
pulis, police
chaarj sheet, f, charge sheet
laain auf kantrol, Line of Control (Kashmir)

Miscellaneous

bilyan, billion
pop, the Pope
aarkestraa, orchestra
janvaaree, January
sitaMbar, september
aktoobar, October
disaMbar, December
etc.
pistaul, pistol
bam, bomb
*

A further alphabetical sample is available here:
‘Basic Hindi Vocabulary for Lucky English Speakers’

*
The above selection represents just one tenth of my (Romanised) alphabetical list of 2,000 selected English loanwords (not exhaustive by any means) which will shortly be available by email as a .pdf document to those who are particularly interested in the phenomenon. (ompukalani AT hotmail.com)

For those of you who will not see the full document, I would like to share my Acknowledgments for this whole project since there are references which may be of special use to you, as they were to me.

Acknowledgements

Over the two and a half years of my search for English loanwords, etc. I have gleaned vital information from many written sources (dictionaries, grammars, and articles on the Hindi language), which substantially supplemented my own intensive observations of media and Internet usage.

I am grateful to my Hindi tutor, Mr Indramohan Singh, for his constant help and encouragement.

I was also extremely fortunate to come across three immensely useful sources of English borrowings in Hindi. From these three sources, my collection was boosted by several hundred examples, even though I made a judicious selection of their offerings.

My very special sources were:

Hardev Bahri’s Advanced Learner’s Hindi-English Dictionary (2 vols.). This is an excellent (and Romanised) reference book, the only Hindi dictionary of those I consulted which has methodically tried to cover this important aspect of the contemporary Hindi language. (An updated version would be most welcome.)

Volker Schuermann’s Bollywood Dictionary – available online.
and the
DK Visual Bilingual Dictionary of Hindi, which deals realistically and in great depth with the nomenclature of everyday life. [dk.com]
*

Hindi Acronyms are based on English phonetics

New legislation on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) has been creating lively controversy in the Indian Parliament and in the streets. (See here and here.)

FDI is an official Hindi term but it is also pronounced as if it were an English acronym: F.D.I. – efdeeaaee. The same is true of all Indian acronyms, including those which are the initials of Hindi words (like BJP – beejepee – or RJD – aarjedee – below).

The following basic reference list of about 150 other Hindi (English) abbreviations which occur in the media may therefore be of use to those who follow Indian affairs from abroad. The interesting linguistic factor is, of course, that (like personal initials in Hindi, e.g. P. J. – Pee jay) they are based on the phonetics of English and the clear majority refer to English words, so once transliterated from the Devanagari script, they are recognisable as acronyms by English speakers. The meaning, or reference, of the acronyms, however, may need further investigation! It is evident that, given the nature of acronyms, Hindi speakers may be unaware of the English words represented, just as English speakers may not know, and, indeed, do not need to know, the exact constituents which have produced the acronyms, only the entity they refer to.
(The handful of glosses missing below will be supplied as soon as possible. Sooner if someone is kind enough to send them to me!)

[‘aaee’ = I.] [‘eee’ is either ee [E] plus e [A], or e [A] plus ee [E]

aaeeaaeetee, IIT = Indian Inst of Technology
aaeeeees, IAS, Indian Administrative Service: (‘Bharateey prashaasnik sevaa’)
aaeeefes, IFS, Indian Foreign Service
aaeeensee, INC. Indian National Congress [Party](The leading member of the current Government coalition. (See yoopeee, UPA.)
aaeeesaaee, 1. ISI (Pakistan) Inter-Services Intelligence
aaeeesaaee, 2. ISI, Indian Statistical Institute
aaeeesoh, ISO International Standard Organisation
aaeeseeaaee, ICI, Imperial Chemical Industries
aaeeseesee, ICC, International Cricket Council (‘antarrashtreeyaa krikat parishad’)
aaeeseeyoo, ICU Intensive Care Unit

aarbeeaaee, RBI, Reserve Bank of India
aardeeaaee, RDI, Rural Development Institute
aarjedee, RJD, Rashtreeya Janata Dal (Bihar) National People’s Party
aarpeeaaee, RPI, Republican Party of India
aarteeaaee, RTI, Right to Information

beeaaeees, BIS, Bureau of Indian Studies
beeesef, BSF, Border Security Force
beejepee, BJP, Bharaateeya Janata Party
beeemsee, BMC, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
beeesee, BSE, Bombay Stock Exchange
beeesef, BSF, Border Security Force (Seema Surakshaa Bal)
beeespee, BSP, Bahujan Samaj Party (Society of the Majority of the People. The leading party in U.P. The Majority People are the Dalits and others.)
beejepee, BJP Bhaarateeys Janata Party (Indian People’s Party)
beeseeseeaaee, BCCI, Board of Control for Cricket in India

deeem, DM, District Magistrate
deeemaaeesee, DMIC, Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor
deeemjee, DMG, Department of Mines and Geology
deeemke, DMK, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The leading party of Tamil Nadu
deejeeseee, DGCA, Directorate General of Civil Aviation
deeseepee, DCP, Deputy Commissioner of Police
deeveedee, DVD

deeemaaeesee, DMIC, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor
deeteesee, DTC, Delhi Transport Corporation

eaaeeseesee, AICC, All-India Congress Committee
ebeeseedee (jocular or satirical), ABCD, American-born confused Desi [Indian]
echaaivee, HIV
efdeeaaee, FDI, Foreign Direct Investment

eme, M.A. Master of Arts
endeee, NDA, National Democratic Alliance (The centre-right coalition)
endeeteevee (Indeeyaa), NDTV (India) New Delhi TV
esaaeetee, SIT, Students Islamic Trust
esspee, SP, Superintendent of Police

echdeesee, HDC, Higher Divisional Clerk
ee yoo, EU, European Union
eefespeee [ = e,ef…], AFSPA, Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act
eeteeef, ETF, Exchange-traded Fund
efaaeeaaee. FII, Foreign Institutional Investors
efdeeaaee, FDI, Foreign Direct Investment
efem, FM, Foreign Minister
effaaeeaar, FIR, (Police) First Information Report

elaaeesee, LIC, Life Insurance Corporation
eldeesee, LDC, Lower Divisional Clerk
elosee, LoC, Line of Control (in Kashmir)

em. phil., M.Phil. (Master of Philology)
emeee, MEA, Minister of External Affairs
emele, MLA, Member of the Legislative Assembly

emenes, MNS, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Maharashtra Reformation Army. A political party.
empee, MP

enaaeee, NIA, National Investment Agency
enaaeesee, NIC, National Integration Council
enaaraaee, NRI, Non-Resident Indian
enaareejeees, NREGS, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
endeee, NDA, National Democratic Alliance
enemteebeeese, NMTBSA, Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association (The world famous lunch delivery “dabbawallas” of Mumbai)
enseeaarbee, NCRB, National Crime Records Bureau
enseeeeartee, NCERT, National Council of Educational Research & Training
enseepee, NCP, Nationalist Congress Party
enseepeearaaee, NCPRI, National Campaign for People’s Right to Information
ensseear, NCR, National Capital Region

esaaeebee, SIB, State Intelligence Bureau
esaaeeemaaaee, SIMI, Student Islamic Movement of India
esaaeetee, 1. SIT, Special Investigation Team
esaaeetee, 2. SIT, Students Islamic Trust
eseebeeaaee, SEBI, Securities Exchange Board of India
eseezed, SEZ, Special Economic Zone
esesaaee, SSI, Small-Scale Industries
espeeo, SPO, Special Police Officer
eteees, ATS, Anti-terrorism Squad
eteesee, ATC, Air Traffickers Association
jedeeyoo, JDU, Janata Dal United, (People’s Association United (Bihar)

jeepeeess, GPS [Sat Nav]
jepeesee, JPC, Joint Parliamentary Committee

obeesee, OBC, Other Backward Classes
oenjeesee, ONGC, Oil and National Gas Corporation

peeaaeeo, PIO, Person of Indian Origin
peeechdee, PhD, Doctor(ate) of Philosophy
peeele, PLA, People’s Liberation Army (China)
peeem, P.M.
peeoke, PoK, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir

seeaaeeaaee, CII, Confederation of Indian Industry
seeaares, 1. CRS, Catholic Relief Society
seeaares, 2. CRS, Congressional Research Service
seeaarpeeef, CRPF, Central Reserve Police Force
seebeeaaee, CBI, Central Bureau of Investigation
seebeesee, CBC [?]
seedee, CD
seeeeoh, CEO
seeem, CM, Chief Minister (State)
seepeeaaee, CPI, Communist Party of India
seepeeem, CPM, or CPI(M) seepeeaaeeem, Communist Party of India (Marxist)
seepeesee, CPC, Communist Party of China

seeseeteevee, CCTV
seeveesee, CVC, Central Vigilance Committee (against corruption & abuse of power)

teedeepee, TDP, Telugu Desham Party (Andra Pradesh)
teeoaaee, TOI (Times of India)
teetee, TT, train ticket inspector
toojee, 2G, The ongoing 2G Spectrum scandal

vaaeetoojee, Y2G [or vaay-] A recent Communications scandal
veeaaeepee, VIP (or ‘weep’)
veep, (or weep), VIP
veesee, VC, Vice Chancellor

yoo es, U.S. (USA)
yoopee, UP (Uttar Pradesh)
yoopeee, UPA, United Progressive Alliance (The ruling coalition)
yoopeees, UPS, [?]
yoopeesee, UPC, [?]

*

Basic Hindi Vocabulary for Lucky English-speaking Learners

If you speak English and wish to speed up your acquisition of general Hindi vocabulary, consider the 400 words listed below in transliterated form as a beginner’s bonus. Most of the items, which are commonly used loanwords from English, will not help much with your travel or with conversations in the street but they are useful for beginning to understand bits and pieces of the spoken and written Hindi currently used by the media and in political life as well as by the Indian middle classes in their daily conversation. There are many more of these to be picked up as you listen to or read the media.

This windfall for English speakers is entirely due to the very special historical links between Hindi and English. In contemporary Hindi, English loan words and phrases (and the much more complex and fascinating phenomenon of “code-switching”), have become an essential part of contemporary Hindi. The total number and rate of borrowings far exceed the number of English words used in French, which so upset French purists. In India the thousands of loanwords are taken for granted, especially as part of globalisation.You will already have witnessed the usage in practically any Bollywood film you have seen. It is a linguistic wonder to behold, and it is not confined to scripted dialogue or commentaries. At the more basic word and phrase level, a striking advantage which facilitates these borrowings is the ability of Hindi to represent most English sounds fairly accurately (in a rough and ready way) within Hindi phonetics. This is simply not possible in languages like French, Spanish and many (most?) others.

To allow the English words to ‘emerge’ from the transliterations below, simply pronounce what you see. Some may amuse you: smile while you learn!

It is essential to know that Hindi ‘ee’ = ee in English but single ‘e’ rhymes with ‘rate’, or sometimes with ‘ten. So ‘peeem’ in Hindi is pronounced more or less as ‘pee aim’ = P.M. Similarly, ‘tren‘ = train, and ‘eme‘ is M.A. (‘aim-eh’). The double vowel ‘aa+ee’ rhymes with ‘my’ or ‘high’: hence Hindi ‘haaee kort‘ (High Court), or ‘aaeeeess‘ (IAS: I = aaee; A = e; S = ess, the Indian Civil Service).

Also the letter ‘v’ is often pronounced as a soft version of ‘w’ as in ‘vikeeleeks’. Do not be distracted by the lack of capital letters in the transliterations. That is the Devanagari alphabet in action. Also, for your and my convenience, I have not used Devanagari alphabetical order.

Although most of the items below are single lexical items, special notice should be given to those marked (E/H). These are hybrid English-Hindi phrases, which give a very fleeting glimpse of the sorts of complex and very dexterous code-switching that goes on all the time in contemporary sophisticated Hindi. If you wish to see an analysis of this real code-switching, I strongly recommend this academic paper by Dr Tomasz Borowiak on “Hindi Englishization”.

Basic Loanwords

aaeeaaeetee, IIT = Indian Inst of Technology
aaeeeess, IAS, India Administrative Service: (‘Bharateey prashaasnik sevaa’)
aaeeesaaee, ISI (Pakistani Military Intelligence)
aaeeseesee, ICC, International Cricket Council (‘antarrashtreeyaa krikat parishad’)
aiscrim, icecream,
aksijaan, oxygen,
aaut, Out! (cricket)
aaeeseeyoo, ICU (Intensive Care Unit)
aktoobar, October
alteemetam, ultimatum
apeel, appeal
aprail, April
athoritee
auph, of
baiNk, bank
baklash
beebeesee, BBC
beeesef, BSF, Border Security Force
beejepee, BJP
bil, bill & Bill (Political)
bildar
bildiNg
bituman
biznas
blad preshar, blood pressure
blaikmel, blackmail
blem gem, blame game
bloo laain, Blue Line (buses)
boiNg, Boeing
boks
boleevud, Bollywood
brek, break

The rest of this long list may be viewed here.