INDIAN ENGLISH DICTIONARY IN OUP PARADIGM

Abstract

Throughout its history, Oxford University Press (OUP) has developed guidelines towards dictionary compilation on macro and microstructure; they were most accurately implemented in OED. With the genesis of multiple native and non-native varieties and a growing demand for the compilation and analysis of the dictionaries defining them, the guidelines got further development. They were fully implemented in the multifarious native varieties dictionaries while the majority of nonnative varieties can still boast only random publications on localisms. Within OUP policy on international lexicon documentation, Common Indian Words in English (CIWE) was one of the first dictionaries assigned to depict loan words from autochthonous languages. It was compiled by R. E. Hawkins and published in 1984. Originally, the dictionary was planned to be a Supplement to Little Oxford Dictionary. Nevertheless, development of Indian English, growing interest in India, in its history and culture and in lexical borrowings from local languages justified the compilation of a separate volume. This article is aimed at CIWE complex study based on critical scrutiny principles. The dictionary is viewed both as a historical phenomenon, and as a part of modern lexicography, primarily OUP tradition. The study shows that en bloc CIWE is in compliance with OUP regulations. At the same time, it becomes evident that for this trend of lexicography to develop to its full potential, the guidelines need to be adapted to the specificity of these varieties. The study also suggests that as an integral part of the World English paradigm CIWE may appeal to a comparative study with the dictionaries of Indian English as well as with the dictionaries of other non-native varieties English.