Bombay Hindi
Bombay Hindi (Hindi: बम्बैया हिंदी) or simply Bambaiyya is a Hindi pidgin[1] spoken in and around the city of Mumbai, India.[2] It incorporates words and pronunciations from Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani and English.[3] Linguistically, the predominant substratum influence on Mumbaiyya Hindi is Marathi, reflecting Mumbai's location in a wider Marathi-speaking area.[4]
Technically, Bambaiyya Hindi is not a dialect or language but a pidgin[citation needed], a mixture of Hindi, Marathi, English with a strong tendency to simplify the grammar of regular Hindi.
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[edit] General
While many such local dialects have evolved in cosmopolitan cities around the world, Bombay Hindi is widely known throughout India[citation needed] as a result of its frequent use in Bollywood movies. Initially, this dialect was used to represent crooks and uncouth characters as, to quote film critic Shoma A. Chatterji, "Indian films have the unique quality of different characters speaking different varieties of Hindi according to their social status, their caste, communal identity, education, profession, financial status, etc. [...] The villain's goons, speak in a special vulgarised, Bambaiya Hindi concocted specifically to typify such screen characters in Hindi cinema.".[5] Lately, however, Bambaiya Hindi has become popular and prominent, particular with the success of the Munnabhai movies, in which the lead characters - being members of the Mumbai criminal underworld - speak entirely in this dialect.[6]
Despite this increase in popularity, this dialect has its critics, and is sometimes seen as being disrespectful and vulgar.[7]
Among the more prominent neologisms which originated in Bambaiyya Hindi but have spread throughout India are the words bindaas (from Marathi (Bin + Dhast = Without Fear, meaning 'relaxed'; this word was incorporated into the Oxford English Dictionary in 2005[8]) and Gandhigiri (invented in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai, a portmanteau of Gandhi and -giri, which is similar to the English 'ism'(as in Gandhi-ism), though slightly more informal).
[edit] Words and expressions of Bombay Hindi
| Bambaiyya | English | Standard Hindi-Urdu | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apun (अपुन) | I (myself) | Mai | ||
| Apun ka naam (अपुन का नाम) | My name (literally name of I) | Mera naam | ||
| Yede | Idiot | Pagal | ||
| Idharich | Right Here | Idhar hi | ||
| Udharich | right there | Udhar hi | ||
| Kayko | Why | Kyun | ||
| Locha (लोचा)or Locha Labacha (लोचा लबाचा) | Problem | Mushkil, Museebat | ||
| Sallang or Jhakaas (झकास) | Excellent | Barhiya, Ala | ||
| Mandavli (मंदोवली) | Compromise | Setting, Samjhauta (समझौता) | Used primarily to agree on territory demarcation | |
| Topi (टोपी) | Fraud | Dhokha | Slang usage, Topi literally means cap | |
| Nalla (नल्ला) | Duplicate | Naqal | ||
| Shaana (शाणा) | Smart fellow | Hoshiyar, Sayana | ||
| Shaanapanti (शाणापन्ति), shaanpatti | Acting smart | Hoshiyari, Sayanapan | ||
| Kauwa (कौवा) | Mobile phone | Local slang, literally means crow | ||
| Ghoda (घोडा) | Gun | Bandooq | Local slang, literally means horse | |
| Satak le, kat le (सटक ले, कट ले) | Get out, beat it | Khisak le | ||
| Sultana (सुल्टाना) | To resolve an issue | Suljhana | ||
| Fattu (फट्टू) | Coward | Darpok, Buzdil | ||
| Mama (मामा)/ Pandu | Cop | Policewala | Local slang, literally means maternal uncle | |
| Lafda (लफड़ा) | Fight, Love-Affair | Larai, Prem-sambandh | ||
| Chhaavi (छावी) | Girlfriend | Saheli | ||
| Chikna (m.) (चिकना), Chikni (f.) (चिकनी) | Fair complexioned person, well dressed person | Gora (m.), Gori (f.) | Local slang, literally means smooth or slick/oily | |
| Thhaasna (ठासना) | Alcohol | Sharaab | ||
| Hadakna (हड़कना) | To eat | Khana | ||
| Bablya (बाबल्या) | Bus driver/conductor or ticket collector | Marathi for baby(kid) | ||
| Sutta (सुट्टा) | Cigarette | Cigrett | This slang term has achieved near-universal usage in India and Pakistan | |
| Waat lagna (वाट लगना) | To have a major problem | Museebat aana | ||
| Dabba (डब्बा) | Police vehicle | Police gaadi | Local slang, literally means box | |
| Samaan (सामान) | Weapon | Hathyar | Local slang, literally means luggage or the stuff | |
| Kaccha Limbu (कच्चा लिम्बू) | Rookie/ Noob | Local slang, usually used during gully cricket for a noob or to downright embarrass someone | ||
| Lafda nahin karne ka (लफड़ा नहीं करने का) | Do not fight | Larna nahin | Larna functions a verb, lafda as a noun | |
| Patli galli se satak le | Go away from here quietly | It is used when you want to warn a person by telling him to go away from the scene | ||
| Hawa aane de | Go away, let me breathe some air | It is used when you want to tell someone to go away | ||
| Mai meri kitaab layela hai (मै मेरी किताब लायेला है) | I have brought my book | Main apni kitaab laya hoon | Pidgin simplification: conjugation of 'hai' ('is') is dropped in Bambaiyya; Also, addition of the suffix -la adapted from Marathi for past perfect[9] | |
| Thakela (थकेला) | A weak person | A local slang used for a person who is not energetic or seems dull most of the time | ||
| Hari Patti (हरी पत्ती) | Money | Paisa | Hari Patti means green note, directly referring to the 500 rupee note, which is green in colour | |
| Churan (चूरन) | Lie | Jhoot | Churan is a slang used to describe a lie spoken by a person | |
| Taliya | Bald | Takla | Taliya is a slang used to describe a bald person especially at the crown part of the head, although can be used for any conspicuous bald person | |
| Peti (पेटी) | One Lakh Rupees | Ek Lākh Rupaye | One hundred thousand rupees | |
| Khoka (खोका) | One Crore Rupees | Ek Karoṛ Rupaye | Ten million rupees | |
| Bhidu (भिडु) | Friend | Dost, Yaar | ||
| Bakri | Smartphone (with a touchscreen) | Local slang, literally means goat/sheep | ||
| Bhains | Laptop computer | Local slang, literally means buffallo | ||
| Haati | Desktop computer | Local slang, literally means elephant |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Tope Omoniyi, Joshua A. Fishman. "Explorations in the sociology of language and religion: Volume 20 of Discourse approaches to politics, society, and culture". John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006. ISBN 9789027227102. http://books.google.com/books?id=JCeR7RplEy4C. "... In Mumbai, the pidgin Hindi (Bazar Hindi) is almost exclusively used as the 'market language', thereby claiming transparency to the function of a link language ..."
- ^ Dialects of Hindi
- ^ Novelist Salman Rushdie jokingly refers to this language as "HUG-ME" in his novel The Ground Beneath Her Feet, published in 2000.
- ^ University of Kerala. Dept. of Linguistics, International journal of Dravidian linguistics, Volume 3, Dept. of Linguistics, Univ. of Kerala., 1974, http://books.google.com/books?id=iE4HAQAAIAAJ, "... In the case of Bombay Hindi-Urdu, the predominant sub-stratum structure is that of Marathi, a language which is structurally quite close of Hindi ..."
- ^ See 'The Language Detail' in Shoma A. Chatterji's paper, The Culturespecific Use of Sound in India Cinema, presented in 1999.
- ^ The Hindu newspaper, May 11, 2007. Chronicles of the City. Read online.
- ^ DNA, Verbal assault of Bambaiya Hindi, December 12, 2006. Read online.
- ^ Indian Express, August 10, 2005, 'Bindaas' finds its way to the Oxford Dictionary. Read online.
- ^ Sarah Grey Thomason, Terrence Kaufman, Language contact, creolization, and genetic linguistics, University of California Press, 1991, ISBN 9780520078932, http://books.google.com/books?id=b_6OMfZ1QpUC, "... Bombay Hindi has also added an additional suffix, borrowed from Marathi ... compare ordinary Hindi 'piya tha' ... with Marathi 'pila hota' and Bombay Hindi 'piyela tha' ..."
[edit] External links
- Dialects of Hindi
- Metroblogging Mumbai Dictionary
- Exhaustive List of Bambaiyya Hindi Words
- List of Bambaiyya Idioms, Phrases and Expressions
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