World of Words

वागर्थाविवसंपृक्तौ वागर्थप्रतिपत्तये|

जगत: पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ||

vaagarthaaviva samprktau vaagarthapratipattaye

jagatah.pitarau vande parvatiiparameshvarau

In the opening verse of his Raghuvamsha quoted above, the famous poet Kalidasa invokes the universal parents Goddess Parvathi and Lord Shiva whom he describes as being inseparable as a word and its meaning and asks them to bless him. He prays to them for clear understanding of words and their meanings. This verse is commonly recited by students of Sanskrit even today. A word and its meaning are indeed inseparable. When does a word come to be associated with its meaning? When was the first time someone used 'cow' to denote the animal we now know as cow? Did the word exist before that? Can a word exist without its associated meaning? Without meaning, it will not be a word but gibberish. If you think of any word, its associated meaning simultaneously flashes in your mind. 

I wonder what it is that made speech and language possible in humans. Other species communicate by sound too but none of them come anywhere near the complexity of human language. The evolution of language must have given a real impetus to the growth of civilization. It is hard even to think now without words. Our entire life is dominated by words. They are the primary means of communication and expression that we have. We have constitutions, laws, textbooks, etc. where interpreting the words is very important. This is not to ignore the vast world of literature and scriptures where there is more scope for subjective interpretation.  

Words serve to record current knowledge and pass it on. New research constantly draws upon previously established theories. All our learning is facilitated by words - spoken and written. Before printing made it possible for books to be widely available, knowledge had to be orally transmitted. In traditional schools in India, people had to first memorize a text before they were taught the meaning. In this manner, India managed to preserve the vast scriptures and other books and pass them on from generation to generation.  

Learning a language starts with gaining some basic vocabulary in that language. Although we were taught the alphabet first, at least in one's mother tongue, this starts only after we have already learned to speak it. I feel the way I was taught English stressed the written over the spoken. As a result I got to know the rules and grammar before I tried to speak English. I think starting with the spoken version would have been far more effective.

Although all books are made of words, I believe that the dictionary alone can be called a book of words. A dictionary is essential when studying a language. I remember using one to look up unfamiliar words when I was in school. We had English dictionaries at home - small and large. One of them was the extremely useful English-English-Tamil dictionary published by LIFCO. The curious thing is we only had dictionaries for English. I cannot recall ever referring to a Tamil dictionary. As we advanced in Tamil through high school, we somehow learned new words and their meanings without a dictionary. The texts would sometimes include a list of unfamiliar words with their meanings but usually the teacher explained them. It was the same when I later learned Sanskrit.

Speaking of dictionaries, I recently read the charming novel The Great Passage by Shion Miura. It is about the creation of a Japanese dictionary and follows the life of the people involved in this. Working on it changes them in many ways and in some cases provides them with insight into their own selves. But the dictionary actually does occupy a central place in the story. The whole process of making the dictionary takes fifteen years in this story. The level of details regarding the process of editing the dictionary is sure to appeal to your inner geek. 

Compiling a dictionary is a stupendous task. With the online dictionaries one cannot appreciate the scale of the thing at all. The  print version of the Oxford English Dictionary has twenty volumes and includes some 600,000 words according to its official website. Dictionaries pack a lot of information but the print must be legible and the paper must be thin to keep the volume from being too heavy and at the same time easy to turn without sticking or tearing easily. As the dictionary has a long shelf life, the paper must be durable. But all these details are secondary to the task of compiling the contents. How the editors must agonize over what to include and how to explain the meanings precisely are things we never think about. For example, if you look at the meaning of the word 'Right' (as in the direction) in the dictionary, you will see this:

"of, relating to, situated on, or being the side of the body which is away from the side on which the heart is mostly located" (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/right)

If a very commonplace word like 'right' has to be defined like this, you can appreciate how hard the editors have to think to come up with definitions. No wonder even Kalidasa prayed for the clear understanding of words and their meaning.

Languages grow with new words and word usage changes over time. A dictionary has to keep up with this. English has borrowed many words from other languages. For instance, the words cash, catamaran, coir and curry are all from Tamil to cite just a few examples (and just in the C's). The British spent about three centuries in India and they took many words back with them along with all the wealth. They left the English language as a legacy to Indians. And naturally, we have made it our own with unique twists and tweaks.

Indian English is actually recognized as a regional variant. I would argue that we have further variants within that! Some of the words Indians use may not pass muster grammatically ('updation' for example) but I think we have some good suggestions for inclusion as legitimate words, not just Indian English. A good example is 'prepone' as the opposite of  'postpone'. There is no equivalent in English. To say that the date has been advanced or brought forward is not only cumbersome but also not very clear. So 'prepone' fills a felt need. I was happy to see that it is on the watch list of Merriam-Webster (https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/prepone)  But why on the watch list? What are they waiting for? 

English can do with more such words in my opinion. I need hardly tell you that it is a confounding language. 'Fat chance' and 'slim chance' mean almost the same thing. Actually, 'slim chance' is a little better than 'fat chance', I think. While 'awful' and 'awesome' are totally different, 'flammable' and 'inflammable' mean the same thing. Our heads are often left spinning. If Merriam-Webster knows what's good for English, they would prepone the inclusion of 'prepone'.