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January 15, 2002
REVIEW: Pushto of yore
THE authenticity and reliability of a dictionary, thesaurus or encyclopaedia depends on the credentials of the publisher and the compiler. This holds true for the Pushto language as well.
After all, the development of a language is an ongoing process. Any language adds to its growth from its continuous experiences. For that to happen, it is necessary that literary efforts continue. In the seventeenth century, Pushto had shown considerable richness as it produced such eminent literary figures as Pir Rokhan, Khushal Khan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Hameed Monand, Ali Khan, Kangar Khattak and a number of other poets and writers.
However, the development of literature and poetry received a setback when political turmoil gripped Afghanistan. This setback did not mean that the language had stopped growing. This was apparent from the works of Nawab Mohabbat Khan Barhes (died 1808) who compiled a grammar and lexicon under the title Riazul Mohabbat. His younger brother Nawab Allah Yar Khan Barhes compiled the Ajayebul Lughat. Later Professor Bernharal, a German, compiled a Pushto-English dictionary.
In the case of Pushto, the two academies — Pushto Tolana in Kabul and Pushto Academy in the University of Peshawar — have so far failed to deliver the goods in this respect. Some members of Pushto Tolana were obsessed with the craze of “purification of the language”. They excluded the alphabets, which they thought were borrowed from Arabic i.e. Ain, Fe, Qaf etc. But it proceeded to name the two-volume Pushto-Persian dictionary Pukhto Qamoos (Qamoos being Arabic for dictionary). The result is that all those words starting with the excluded alphabets were discarded. In this age when the world has been shrinking to a global village, “purification” of a language proves fatal. Some foreign words add to the richness of a language.
The Pushto Academy of Peshawar lacked funds and staff as well as competent scholars to run the project and so failed to produce a good dictionary. The Government then set up a separate institution which in ten years prepared a huge dictionary called Daryab. But as the institute has disappeared, further development work on Daryab has also ceased.
Currently, the dictionaries compiled by two individuals are considered authentic and dependable. One is the full size Zafr-ul-Lughat compiled by Syed Bahadur Shah Zafar Kakakhel in 1959 (and 1980) with more than 1,400 pages and over 45,000 words and phrases with their meanings given in Pushto and Urdu.
The second dictionary is the one under review called A dictionary of the Pukhto, Pushto, or language of the Afghans by Captain Henry George Raverty (1825-1906) an English Orientalist who worked on the Pushto language. Promoted to the rank of Major in 1863, a year before his retirement, he was considered in England as the father of Pushto.
Raverty’s interest in the Pushto language was derived basically from his patriotic intentions, as he makes it clear in the preface of his dictionary. He felt it was necessary to acquire knowledge about the languages and character of the people the East India Company had subjugated in India, in order to frame viable and durable policies, in order to perpetuate the company’s stay in India. Aware of the Russian interest in Afghanistan, Raverty expressed his concern by noting that “The Russians have, for some time past, paid great attention to, and made great progress, in the study of the Afghan language.... and Pushto is now taught, as other oriental tongues, at St Petersburg, although the Russians do not hold an inch of land where it is spoken. . . . The British authorities in the Punjab, though ruling over a large portion of Afghanistan, containing two million people whose mother tongue is Pushto, have hitherto wholly neglected it.”
In the “Introductory Remarks” (dated July 16, 1860), Raverty has discussed the origin and dialectal structures of Pushto. He reveals that this work includes the result of his own researches for twelve years, together with the entire works that contain the very rare, though not extensive, lexicographical works existing on the Pushto language. On the last two pages, he has explained the structure and layout of the dictionary.
Raverty also acknowledges drawing from the existing work, specially that of Nawab Mohabbat Khan and Nawab Allah Yar Khan as references. Nevertheless, his weak grasp of the language is revealed, when for instance, he translates titles of the Ajayeb-e-Lughat as “Curiosities of language” instead of “Wonders of dictionary”. Similarly, Riazul Mohabbat has been rendered as “Gardens of friendship” when Mohabbat is the name of the compiler. These shortcomings notwithstanding, the meanings of words and phrases in the dictionary have been carefully selected.
There are two weaknesses in this dictionary. First, the page numbers have been given at the bottom and column numbers at the top, which can be confusing. Secondly, the alphabets or words at the top of the page normally denote the first and last words on the page. In this work, the words are placed in the text at odd places, making them difficult to locate.
The dictionary compiled in the mid-nineteenth century would naturally not cater to the needs of the present day language. Since then, Pushto language has also seen many ups and downs before regaining its glory as a modern language with its colour and charm. This dictionary compiled by Raverty still has its utility. It is a document that can help English Orientalists and Pushto scholars alike in their research work. The university libraries in Pakistan, particularly in the NWFP, and the colleges in the Frontier Province should acquire this publication.
A dictionary of the Pukhto, Pushto, or language of the Afghans
Compiled by Captain H.G.Raverty
Sang-e-Meel Publications, 20 Shahrah-i-Pakistan, Lahore. Tel: 042-7220100
Email: smp@sang-e-meel.com
ISBN 969-35-1277-4 1115pp. Rs750
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