Comment

I WAS fascinated by Chris Lloyd's reference to the origin of the word purdah in his column, "Drawing a veil over politics" (Echo, May 3).

As a schoolchild in preindependence India, I used to collect Urdu, Hindi and Sanskrit words incorporated into the English language. To my regret, I did not save the exercise books containing these gems.

Most languages assimilate foreign words imperceptibly and are enriched by this process.

Despite the long interval since I exercised my mind on this subject, I can still recall many "deliciously foreign-sounding" Indian words, as your columnist calls these.

For example, the following commonly used English words originate from one of the three main languages (Hindi, Sanskrit and Urdu) belonging to the Indian subcontinent: cot, cushy, guru, loot, sentry, thug, bazaar, caravan, chit, dungaree, khaki, pukka, sepoy, cheetah, kebab, etc.

Similarly, English has been incorporated into many other languages (mainly through its imperial connection) and I could cite many an Urdu and Hindi word which originated from the English, but perhaps I shouldn't allow myself to be carried away by a subject so close to my heart and memory bank.

Abdul Jaleel, Darlington

10:09am Thursday 8th May 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login