Negotiating Languages

Urdu, Hindi, and the Definition of Modern South Asia

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Linguistics, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book Negotiating Languages by Walter Hakala, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Walter Hakala ISBN: 9780231542128
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Walter Hakala
ISBN: 9780231542128
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: August 30, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

Prior to the nineteenth century, South Asian dictionaries, glossaries, and vocabularies reflected a hierarchical vision of nature and human society. By the turn of the twentieth century, the modern dictionary had democratized and politicized language. Compiled "scientifically" through "historical principles," the modern dictionary became a concrete symbol of a nation's arrival on the world stage.

Following this phenomenon from the late seventeenth century to the present, Negotiating Languages casts lexicographers as key figures in the political realignment of South Asia under British rule and in the years after independence. Their dictionaries document how a single, mutually intelligible language evolved into two competing registers—Urdu and Hindi—and became associated with contrasting religious and nationalist goals. Each chapter in this volume focuses on a key lexicographical work and its fateful political consequences. Recovering texts by overlooked and even denigrated authors, Negotiating Languages provides insight into the forces that turned intimate speech into a potent nationalist politics, intensifying the passions that partitioned the Indian subcontinent.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Prior to the nineteenth century, South Asian dictionaries, glossaries, and vocabularies reflected a hierarchical vision of nature and human society. By the turn of the twentieth century, the modern dictionary had democratized and politicized language. Compiled "scientifically" through "historical principles," the modern dictionary became a concrete symbol of a nation's arrival on the world stage.

Following this phenomenon from the late seventeenth century to the present, Negotiating Languages casts lexicographers as key figures in the political realignment of South Asia under British rule and in the years after independence. Their dictionaries document how a single, mutually intelligible language evolved into two competing registers—Urdu and Hindi—and became associated with contrasting religious and nationalist goals. Each chapter in this volume focuses on a key lexicographical work and its fateful political consequences. Recovering texts by overlooked and even denigrated authors, Negotiating Languages provides insight into the forces that turned intimate speech into a potent nationalist politics, intensifying the passions that partitioned the Indian subcontinent.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Eat This Book by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549) by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book A Book to Burn and a Book to Keep (Hidden) by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat! by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book The Sea Can Wash Away All Evils by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book On Civic Friendship by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Restating Orientalism by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book The Tibetan History Reader by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Baby Boomers of Color by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book The Engine of Complexity by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book The Long Arc of Justice by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Rewiring the Real by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Dogs by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book Poetics of Conduct by Walter Hakala
Cover of the book The Cinema of Aki Kaurismäki by Walter Hakala
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy