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'''''Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, and of Kindred Terms, Etymological, Historical, Geographical and Discursive''''' is a historical dictionary of [[Anglo-Indian]] words and terms from [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] which came into use during the [[British rule in India]].

It was written by Sir [[Henry Yule]] and [[Arthur Coke Burnell]] and first published in 1886. Burnell died before the work was finished, and most of it was completed by Yule, who acknowledged Burnell's detailed contributions.<ref>Yule & Burnell, vii</ref> A subsequent edition was edited by [[William Crooke]] in 1903, with extra quotations and an index added.<ref>Yule & Burnell, xi</ref> The first and second editions are collector's items; the second edition is widely available in facsimile.

The dictionary holds over 2,000 entries,<ref>James Lambert ('''2018'''). Setting the record straight: An in-depth examination of Hobson-Jobson. ''International Journal of Lexicography'', 31(4): 485–506. DOI: 10.1093/ijl/ecy010</ref> generally with citations from literary sources, many of which date to the first European contact with the [[Indian subcontinent]],{{fact|date=March 2020}} frequently in other non-English European languages. Most entries also have [[etymological]] notes.

== Title ==
In Anglo-Indian English, the term ''Hobson-Jobson'' referred to any festival or entertainment, but especially ceremonies of the [[Mourning of Muharram]]. In origin the term is a corruption by British soldiers of "Yā [[Hasan ibn Ali|Ḥasan]]! Yā [[Husayn ibn Ali|Ḥosain]]!" which is repeatedly chanted by [[Shia|Shia Muslims]] as they mourn and beat their chests throughout the procession of the Muharram; this was then converted to Hosseen Gosseen, Hossy Gossy, Hossein Jossen and, ultimately, Hobson-Jobson.<ref>Yule & Burnell, 419</ref> Yule and Burnell were looking for a catchy title for their dictionary and decided upon this since they considered it a "typical and delightful example" of the type of highly domesticated words in the dictionary, and at the same time implied dual authorship.<ref>Yule & Burnell, ix</ref>

[[Rhyming reduplication]] (as in "Hobson-Jobson" or "puli kili") is highly productive in South Asian languages, where it is known popularly as an [[echo word]]. In English, however, rhyming reduplication is generally either juvenile (as in [[Humpty Dumpty]] or [[hokey-pokey]]) or [[pejorative]] (as in [[Namby Pamby|namby-pamby]] or [[Mumbo jumbo (phrase)|mumbo-jumbo]]); further, Hobson and Jobson were [[Stock character|stock characters]] in Victorian times, used to indicate a pair of yokels, clowns, or idiots (compare [[Thomson and Thompson]]).<ref>Traci Nagle (2010). 'There is much, very much, in the name of a book' or, the Famous Title of ''Hobson-Jobson'' and How it Got That Way, in Michael Adams, ed., [https://books.google.com/books/about/Cunning_passages_contrived_corridors_Une.html?id=cq5Gqe2Ur_8C ''′Cunning passages, contrived corridors′: Unexpected Essays in the History of Lexicography,''] pp. 111-127</ref><ref name="zimmer">See also [http://www.visualthesaurus.com/cm/wordroutes/1874/ The Story Behind "Hobson-Jobson"], in Word Routes: Exploring the Pathways of our Lexicon, by Ben Zimmer, June 4, 2009</ref> The title thus produced negative associations – being at best self-deprecatory on the part of the authors, suggesting themselves a pair of idiots – and reviewers reacted negatively to the title, generally praising the book but finding the title inappropriate.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} Indeed, anticipating this reaction, the title was kept secret – even from the publisher – until shortly before publication.<ref>Nagle 2010, 114</ref>

== Law of Hobson-Jobson ==
The term "law of Hobson-Jobson" is sometimes used in [[linguistics]] to refer to the process of [[phonological change]] by which [[loanword]]s are adapted to the [[phonology]] of the new language, as in the [[archetypal]] example of "Hobson-Jobson" itself.<ref>OED entry for "Hobson-Jobson"</ref> ''Webster's Third International Dictionary'' gives as examples of the law of Hobson-Jobson: Spanish {{lang|es|cucaracha}} becoming English "cockroach", and English "riding coat" becoming French {{lang|fr|redingote}}.<ref>"hobson-jobson" in ''Webster's Third International Dictionary'' (1961/1986), Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anglo-Indian cuisine]]
* [[Folk etymology]]
* ''[[Hanklyn-Janklin]]''
* [[List of English words of Hindi origin]]
* [[Phono-semantic matching]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{ cite book | last1=Yule | first1=Henry | last2=Burnell | first2=A.C. | author2-link=Arthur Coke Burnell |year= 1903 | title=Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive | publisher=J. Murray | place=London | others=William Crooke ed. | url=https://archive.org/details/hobsonjobsonglos00yulerich }} ([https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/hobsonjobson/ Searchable database])
*Traci Nagle (2010). "'There is much, very much, in the name of a book' or, the Famous Title of ''Hobson-Jobson'' and How it Got That Way", in Michael Adams, ed., [https://books.google.com/books/about/Cunning_passages_contrived_corridors_Une.html?id=cq5Gqe2Ur_8C ''{{'}}Cunning passages, contrived corridors': Unexpected Essays in the History of Lexicography,''] pp. 111–127.
*[[Salman Rushdie]], "Hobson-Jobson", in ''Imaginary Homelands: Essays & Criticisms, 1981–1991,'' also collected in ''Travelers' Tales India'' by James O'Reilly and Larry Habegger, [https://books.google.com/books?id=5fApCKZT91kC&pg=PA97 pp. 97–100]
* {{Cite journal | last = Purcell | first = Susan| doi = 10.1017/S0266078409000108 | title = The Law of Hobson-Jobson | journal = English Today | volume = 25 | issue = 1| pages = 60–64| year = 2009 | s2cid = 145468193| url = http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=4614548| access-date = 2011-05-12}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Hobson-Jobson}}
{{Wikisource|Hobson-Jobson}}
*Yule, Henry, Sir. [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/hobsonjobson "Hobson-Jobson: A glossary of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological, historical, geographical and discursive"]. New ed. edited by William Crooke, B.A. London: J. Murray, 1903. A part of the [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/dictionaries/ Digital Dictionaries of South Asia].
* [https://archive.org/stream/hobsonjobsonbein00yuleuoft#page/n7/mode/2up Internet Archive ]
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18796493 BBC article on Hobson-Jobson]

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[[Category:1886 books]]
[[Category:English dictionaries]]
[[Category:Indian English]]

Hobson-Jobson - Revision history

>Citation bot at 18:54, 9 May 2021