Most of us know that a lughat is an Urdu/Arabic/Persian equivalent of a dictionary, but many might not know what a qamus, surah or makhzan is, and/or the difference between a farhang and lughat.

The history of dictionaries is a fascinating study, more so for Urdu literati and speakers, since Urdu’s literary history itself is complexly wrought with controversial claims (naming is one) and is inextricably intertwined with its sister (regional) languages. Its vocabulary is enriched with borrowings from older languages such as Sanskrit, Arabic and Persian. Compiling a modern Urdu dictionary based on historical principles (tareekhi usool) or a tareekhi lughat is a mammoth task. Such a task was undertaken by the Urdu Lughat Board of Karachi in 1958 and concluded some 52 years later in 2010 with the publication of the final parts of an epic 22-volume dictionary.

The project of compiling a tareekhi lughat was modelled on the Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles. In 1879, the Philological Society of England and the Oxford University Press began work on a “new” English dictionary — a project estimated to finish in 10 years. Five years later, having got only as far as “ant”, the editors realised the schedule had to be revised.

A living language is constantly evolving; new words join an ever-growing vocabulary and new meanings of existing words become current. Eventually, after 40 years, the Philological Society published the 10-volume A New Dictionary on Historical Principles. Once again, it became clear that no dictionary is ever complete. Supplements to the 1928 edition were added in 1933 and it became known as the Oxford English Dictionary or OED. The OED continues to expand.

A critical examination of Urdu’s tareekhi lughat was undertaken by Bibi Ameena for her PhD dissertation ‘Urdu Lughat: Tahqeeqi Aur Tanqeedi Mutalia’ [Urdu Dictionary: A Research and Critical Review]. Completed in 2019 and published in April 2020 by the Anjuman Taraqqi-i-Urdu Pakistan, the dissertation was supervised by one of Urdu’s leading scholars, Professor Najiba Arif. Professor Arif inspired Ms Ameena to research this under-represented area of historical linguistics and lexicography.

Ms Ameena’s book is path-breaking in so many ways, not least being her tackling a subject that has been a male domain. In her work, she most notably provides a general history of dictionary-making, an overview of Urdu dictionaries, the history of the Urdu Lughat Board, a critical view and constructive analysis of the entries in the Urdu Lughat Tareekhi Usool Par and a summary of the critiques of the dictionary by leading lexicographers. One wishes she had widened her analysis to include socio-cultural factors in the development of vocabulary and how dictionaries reflect those changes. But she prefers the straight, albeit narrow, path and delivers a book filled with valuable information, painstakingly gathered.

I found Ms Ameena’s pithy notes on the progressive sequence of 19th century Urdu-to-English dictionaries, compiled by colonial scholars, particularly useful. Beginning with John Shakespeare, going on to Duncan Forbes, S.W. Fallon and finally John T. Platts, one quickly learns about the strengths and shortcomings of each of these dictionaries, along with their subsequent revised printings.

For example, Shakespeare’s dictionary (1818-30) is a valuable source of Dakani words, pronunciation and language history. Forbes (1848-66) tries to incorporate more Hindi and Sanskrit vocabulary. There is a fair selection of judicial and bureaucratic lexemes. The dictionary works both from Urdu-to-English and vice-versa. It incorporates Devanagari script as well.

Fallon’s A New Dictionary of Hindostanee (1879) is unique for including colloquial words and rekhti or zenani boli [feminine speech]. Platt’s A Dictionary of Urdu, Classical Hindi and English (1884) is the last, I would say the best, of the colonial cluster. It has held its solid reputation for over 130 years. Platts benefitted from the work of the earlier lexicographers, but brought a lot of his personal knowledge and expertise in Indian languages to bear on his work. Platts’s love for Indian languages was natal, not colonial: born in Kolkatta in 1830, he went to England after his father’s early death, but returned to India in the 1850s and served in important academic positions. He taught at Banaras University for many years. His last appointment was Professor of Persian at Oxford in 1890.

At the turn of the century, we have well-known dictionaries by native speakers of Urdu. The Farhang-i-Asafiya, Amirul Lughat and Noorul Lughat (1931-44) all deserve a place in every Urdu researcher’s library. But to return to the monumental 22-volume Urdu Lughat Tareekhi Usool Par — in the 52 years it took to complete this project, there were several luminary chief editors. The idea of a comprehensive dictionary was the brainchild of Maulvi Abdul Haq, famous for his pioneering work in lexicography, such as the Lughat-i-Kabir Urdu and English-Urdu Dictionary. Poet Josh Malihabadi and linguist Shanul Haq Haqqi were invited to join the project’s board of editors. Other prominent names associated with its editorship are Farman Fatehpuri, Rauf Parekh and Fahmida Riaz.

Haqqi’s 18 years on the Lughat’s editorial board were the longest and most productive. Haqqi Sahib was the force behind the journal Urdu Namah, published by the Board, which engaged with issues of lexicography and other language-related scholarship. Most exciting were the instalments of the Lughat printed in the journal. These instalments invited feedback and review. A critical discourse around Urdu’s linguistic history was launched through this journal’s 17-year history.

Ms Ameena combs through the 22 volumes and provides lots of interesting, critical observations. One valid critique is the repetitive nature of the entries that, she rightfully points out, add to the lughat’s volume. To give a random example, ‘haat’ and ‘haath’ are listed separately, but the glosses, or meanings, are the same. In entries of words from other languages, that are listed as current in Urdu, adequate proof is not provided. Her critique is constructive and beneficial for updates of this massive dictionary.

The Urdu Lughat is online as of 2018. It is an invaluable resource for scholars of Urdu across the globe. Everyone interested in the language history of the subcontinent will find the Lughat and Ms Ameena’s research a mine of information.

The columnist is associate professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Virginia

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, August 30th, 2020