Hyderabad: ‘Bathukamma’ and ‘Bonalu’, the major Telangana state festivals, are words that may be added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) after Ms Kalwakuntla Kavitha member of Parliament, appealed for their inclusion on behalf of the Telangana Jagruthi.
In a letter dated October 23, the Oxford University Press, which publishes the OED, acknowledged that they have received her request: “We wish to acknowledge with thanks, the suggestions of your president, Kalwakuntla Kavitha, in November 2017 for the inclusion of two words, Bathukamma (n) and Baonalu (n) in the OED.”
Before adding any word to the OED, the OUP will have to see evidence that it is widely used in print or online. The Oxford University Press in a written communication stated that “We were delighted to receive a great deal of evidence in support of the currency of these words in Indian English. As we are aiming at extending our coverage of World English in the OED, we are now considering these words for drafting.”
Expressing her happiness, Ms Kavita tweeted “So happy to receive this letter from the Oxford English Dictionary acknowledging our request to include the words ‘Bathukamma’ and ‘Bonalu’ in the English dictionary! Two new nouns in the English language from the Telangana culture! - sounds good.” (sic)
In the latest update in September 2018, the OED added more than 1,400 new words, senses, and phrases. There are usually four updates a year — in March, June, September and December.
Many Indian words have been incorporated into the venerable dictionary, such as anna, bandicoot, pitta, mahouti, ayyo, chi-chi, jugaad, gulab jamun, galli, chakka, bacha, namkeen, natak, sevak, and sevika.
D. Ravi, a PhD scholar from EFLU, who is doing research on the politeness levels of the Telugu language, is delighted with the thought that two Telugu festive words could be added to the Oxford English Dictionary as it is a privilege for any word to be included there signifying the wide reach of the word.He also added that with more of Indian words in English, Indians can “own up” the language more and foreigners would also start learning the pronunciation of words of Indian origin.
