Oxford to announce a Hindi word of the year for the first time ever, results in January 2018

NEW DELHI: Oxford Dictionaries will soon have a Hindi word of the year. The 'word of the year' will not necessarily be a word but a 'word or expression' which has attracted a great deal of interest in the year.

Oxford Dictionaries has called on Hindi speakers across the country to help choose the word. Submissions need to be made before November 29.

Following the public suggestions, the word will be chosen by the Hindi Dictionaries team at Oxford University Press (OUP) along with an advisory panel of language experts who each bring a unique perspective. The word of the year will be announced in January 2018.

It is expected that the chosen word reflects the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the year. 

The panel which will take the final call includes writer-publisher Namita Gokhle, Indian language expert Kritika Agrawal, journalist Saurabh Dwivedi, senior editorial manager at OUP India Malika Ghosh, and Ranchi University associate professor Poonam Nigam Sahay.

Kritika Agrawal, language champion for Oxford's Hindi Living Dictionary, says that the Hindi word of the year is a big leap forward for the Hindi language as it aims to highlight the social and cultural relevance of Hindi in the current context.

"It is the campaign's endeavour to alter perceptions about languages being a living intangible heritage and not merely a static tool of communication. I am delighted to be a part of, and to promote, a wonderful initiative as this," she says.

Oxford says it has been creating dictionaries for over 150 years and its dictionary editors in India and around the world have developed expertise in monitoring how language is used by real people.

"To further supplement our research we're both calling on Hindi speakers across India to send us their word of the year suggestions and consulting with a panel of experts from a range of backgrounds," it says. 

In the past, several Indian words have found a place in the dictionary. The recent ones to be added were sevak, surya namaskar and udyog. Names of several food items have been included, like bhindi, gosht, gulab jamun, keema, mirch, mirch masala, namkeen and vada.