Those who use print dictionaries frequently, get so practised in the exercise that they can usually open it on the very page where the desired entry is listed. Others, who use print dictionaries less frequently, have to flip through a number of pages before they find the word they are looking for.

Not that the latter meandering path is without its own rewards: one comes upon all kinds of unknown words in the process of flipping through pages, and these mini-discoveries are often so interesting that one becomes lost in them, to the extent of forgetting the original search.

A good dictionary is something to treasure. In an earlier generation, people had their favourite dictionaries, which they trusted over others, very much like people used to have their favourite newspapers, which developed their outlook on society.

The Urdu language is particularly fortunate in that it has had many lexicographers — people who study words to make dictionaries. As someone who has a large collection of these dictionaries, I am often struck by the huge labour hundreds of authors undertook to produce these reference works, some in multiple volumes. For the generation working with word processors, spreadsheets and printers, the amount of labour that went into the creation of these works is inconceivable. And yet these works were not exhaustive.

Every lexicographer dreams of documenting the complete language. But because lexicographers are restricted by their purpose in making the dictionary, each one has a particular focus: some, like encyclopaedic dictionaries, can be used both by the general public and expert users; others, like learners’ and advanced learners’ dictionaries are written for non-native speakers of the language for different stages in their language-acquisition journey. There are dictionaries of synonyms and antonyms, and rhyming dictionaries. Then there are dictionaries for specialised fields such as medicine, economics, law etc.

But the idea of a complete dictionary has remained unfulfilled, not only because of the specialised focus of each dictionary, or because language is almost like a complex life-form which cannot be fully documented, but also because, until recently, dictionaries have been conceived with their material limitations in mind — that is to say, the format in which they will reach the user. And this format, for the longest time, has been a paper-print edition, regardless of the kind of dictionary.

But with digital media, dictionaries can have a much wider compass, and it is possible to build a structure that may approach the ideal of a “complete dictionary.”

Coming back to Urdu language dictionaries, the 22-volume Urdu Lughat, published from 1977 to 2010 by the Urdu Lughat Board, is a highly valuable lexicographical work of the Urdu language. Hundreds of Urdu scholars, writers and grammarians worked on the project for 33 years to produce it, and its breadth and scope should make every lover of the Urdu language proud.

Some years ago, the Urdu Lughat was converted into a digital format and can be accessed on its website (udb.gov.pk). It is a great convenience to have access to this online dictionary, and very helpful to have the sound files with the pronunciation, a feature that was introduced in the digital edition. But the digitisation work also left a lot to be desired, perhaps because, in its first iteration, which we currently see online, it is still very much a product built on the structure of the printed edition.

To look up an entry in its entirety, one has to click on several pages where the different categories of entries related to the word — etymology, pronunciation guide, part of speech, gender, meaning, usage, compounds, compound verbs, phrases, saying, idioms and proverbs — are listed.

So how does one present this wonderful work in a way that is reflective of the majesty of the Urdu language, and makes young and old learners experience the wonder of language and fall in love with it?

The suggestions offered here are a personal vision of an online dictionary, and disregard the alphabetical order of entries followed in printed dictionaries.

The work begins by bunching entries according to their categories — compounds, compound verbs, phrases, saying, idioms and proverbs — as separate sections under the main word (or headword, as it is called in lexicographic terms), and its different meanings, also known as sense-divisions. Alphabetical categorisation should then be introduced within each category: for example, all idioms should be alphabetically listed under the IDIOMS category, all proverbs alphabetically listed under the PROVERBS category, and so on.

Currently in the Urdu Lughat, idioms, proverbs, and sayings are all dispersed and mixed together in an alphabetical order copied from the print edition. These should be separated, and incorporated under the headword as a unified presentation. Synonyms and antonyms were not included in the print edition, but there is no reason they should be absent from the online dictionary.

And why do all this?

Imagine yourself as a child, looking for the meaning of a word, probably a difficult, intimidating word. You go to the Urdu Lughat and when you search for the word, it gives you all possible meanings of the word. And as you begin reading them, you find that each meaning has its own usage example, sometimes from the works of poets who have been dead for over 200 years.

By now you have understood the meaning of the word and it holds no terrors for you. As you become comfortable reading its different usages, you see that there is some engaging stuff further down.

These are idioms have been dead for so many years that you have never heard them. The idioms lead to funny sayings by long-dead people but, as you read them, their voices ring in your ears. You begin to see them and imagine situations which led to those sayings.

Why would you not read on, because the best treat lies buried under the idioms and sayings — proverbs, many of which have their own stories. And this I know from personal experience: a child who has read the story of a word, would never be in danger of forgetting it or its meaning.

The columnist is a novelist, author and translator.
He can be reached via his website: micromaf.com

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, December 1st, 2024