Tollywood makes it to Oxford dictionary

Hyderabad: Mana ‘Tollywood’ (film industry) has made it to the Oxford dictionary and Telugus have a reason to celebrate. The definitive record of English language has released it’s 2019 list of new words on October 11th .

The long list has a set of new words that will be appearing in OED for the first time and Tollywood is one. Besides this are many new sub-entries, new sense additions to unrevised entries and colloquial words. Tollywood can be found at the ‘fourth’ place from the bottom, in the list of new entries. The OED explained it as ‘Telugu -language film industry, based in Hyderabad – Telangana.

This is important and iconic for many reasons. Firstly, the addition of a film industry’s name means that the industry itself has become globally famous. This is evident in the fact that many Telugu films enjoy a grand success in the USA and other international markets. Second, the dictionary also recognises the newly formed state of Telangana, as it describes Tollywood as being based out of “Hyderabad, Telangana”.

The second fact is critical. While Colin’s English Dictionary — another important archivist — has included Tollywood some time ago, it talks about the industry being based in Andhra Pradesh. The Oxford definition addresses the formation of the new state of Telangana and the industry’s base in Hyderabad. Through the latest dictionary update, Tollywood has found a much-needed global recognition. Tollywood oxford dictionary entry points extensive use of the word.

The update also brings about an exciting piece of information. Did you know that there was another film industry called Tollywood in India? Oxford describes Tollywood as the Bengali film industry, which is based in Tollygunge in Kolkata as Noun1 and Tollywood Telugu film industry in Hyderabad as Noun2

The dictionary updates its pages every four months, and this time a few Indian words have found its way into it. They include , Ambari – A howdah ( a seat or throne on an elephant has been added. The age old Satta (illegal gambling ) and Angami (a member of Naga people inhabiting Nagaland), gets a global recognition too.

Famously used to identify a foreigner , the word Angrez makes it as well. Not to forget , Angrez a Hyderabadi Indian comedy movie turned out to be a superhit in 2005.

As a historical and descriptive dictionary, the Oxford dictionary also aims to track and record all adaptations of the English language, including a wide range of colloquial words. A few informal words that have stormed social media such as ‘Chillax’, ‘Whatevs’, and ‘Sumfin’ have also been recognised as legitimate words.

Apart from them, fake news gets a new sub-entry as well. The latest entry states that fake news is news that conveys or incorporates false, fabricated, or deliberately misleading information, or that is characterised as or accused of doing so.

Indian words that have made it to Oxford dictionary

• Ambari — A Canopied Howda*
• Angrez — An English (or British) perso*
• Satta — Gambling, betting; (now) esp. an illegal form of gambling in which bets are taken on the occurrence of numbers in a lottery*
• Angami — A member of Naga people inhabiting the state of Nagaland in north-eastern India

Colloquial words:*

• Whatevs, int. and pron.: Used (typically in response to a question or statement) to indicate that the speaker is disinclined to engage with, or is indifferent to, the matter
• Chillax, v.: intransitive. To calm down and relax; to take it easy, to chill. Often in imperative: ‘relax’, ‘calm down’.

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