Bambaiya Hindi
Encyclopedia
Mumbai Hindi or simply Mumbaiyya is a Hindi pidgin
spoken in and around the city of Mumbai
, India
. It incorporates words and pronunciations from Hindi
, Urdu
, Gujarati
, Marathi
, Konkani
and English
. Linguistically, the predominant substratum influence on Mumbaiyya Hindi is Marathi, reflecting Mumbai's location in a wider Marathi-speaking area.
Technically, Mumbaiyya Hindi is not a dialect or language but a pidgin
, a mixture of Hindi, Marathi, English with a strong tendency to simplify the grammar of regular Hindi.
movies. Initially, this dialect was used to represent crooks and uncouth characters as, to quote film critic Shoma A. Chatterji, "Indian films have the unique quality of different characters speaking different varieties of Hindi according to their social status, their caste, communal identity, education, profession, financial status, etc. [...] The villain's goons, speak in a special vulgarised, Mumbaiyya(from Mumbai) Hindi concocted specifically to typify such screen characters in Hindi cinema.". Lately, however, Mumbaiyya Hindi has become popular and prominent, particular with the success of the Munnabhai movies, in which the lead characters - being members of the Mumbai criminal underworld - speak entirely in this dialect.
Despite this increase in popularity, this dialect has its critics, and is sometimes seen as being disrespectful and vulgar.
Among the more prominent neologisms which originated in Mumbaiyya Hindi but have spread throughout India are the words bindaas (from Marathi (Bin + Dhast = Without Fear, meaning 'relaxed'; this word was incorporated into the Oxford English Dictionary
in 2005) and Gandhigiri
(invented in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai
, a portmanteau of Gandhi and -giri, which is similar to the English 'ism'(as in Gandhi-ism
), though slightly more informal).
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
spoken in and around the city of Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It incorporates words and pronunciations from Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Konkani
Konkani language
KonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Linguistically, the predominant substratum influence on Mumbaiyya Hindi is Marathi, reflecting Mumbai's location in a wider Marathi-speaking area.
Technically, Mumbaiyya Hindi is not a dialect or language but a pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
, a mixture of Hindi, Marathi, English with a strong tendency to simplify the grammar of regular Hindi.
General
While many such local dialects have evolved in cosmopolitan cities around the world, Bombay Hindi is widely known throughout India as a result of its frequent use in BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movies. Initially, this dialect was used to represent crooks and uncouth characters as, to quote film critic Shoma A. Chatterji, "Indian films have the unique quality of different characters speaking different varieties of Hindi according to their social status, their caste, communal identity, education, profession, financial status, etc. [...] The villain's goons, speak in a special vulgarised, Mumbaiyya(from Mumbai) Hindi concocted specifically to typify such screen characters in Hindi cinema.". Lately, however, Mumbaiyya Hindi has become popular and prominent, particular with the success of the Munnabhai movies, in which the lead characters - being members of the Mumbai criminal underworld - speak entirely in this dialect.
Despite this increase in popularity, this dialect has its critics, and is sometimes seen as being disrespectful and vulgar.
Among the more prominent neologisms which originated in Mumbaiyya Hindi but have spread throughout India are the words bindaas (from Marathi (Bin + Dhast = Without Fear, meaning 'relaxed'; this word was incorporated into the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
in 2005) and Gandhigiri
Gandhigiri
Gandhigiri is a relatively new term in India which is used to express the tenets of Gandhism in contemporary terms. The term became popular due to its usage in the 2006 Hindi film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai...
(invented in the movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai
Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a 2006 Indian musical comedy film directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It is the second film in the popular Munna Bhai series of Bollywood. Sanjay Dutt stars in this film as Munna Bhai, a Mumbai underworld don, who begins to see the spirit of...
, a portmanteau of Gandhi and -giri, which is similar to the English 'ism'(as in Gandhi-ism
Gandhism
Gandhism is the collection of inspirations, principles, beliefs and philosophy of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi , who was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian Independence Movement....
), though slightly more informal).
Words and expressions of Bombay Hindi
| Mumbaiyya | English | Standard Hindi-Urdu | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apun (अपुन) | I (myself) | Mai | ||
| Apun ka naam (अपुन का नाम) | My name (literally name of I) | Mera naam | ||
| Locha (लोचा)or Locha Labacha (लोचा लबाचा) | Problem | Mushkil, Museebat | ||
| Sallang or Jhakaas (झकास) | Excellent | Barhiya, Ala | ||
| Mandavli (मंदोवली) | Compromise | Setting, Samjhauta (समझौता) | Used primarily to agree on territory demarcation | |
| Topi (टोपी) | Fraud | Dhokha | Slang usage, Topi literally means cap | |
| Nalla (नल्ला) | Duplicate | Naqal | ||
| Shaana (शाणा) | Smart fellow | Hoshiyar, Sayana | ||
| Shaanapanti (शाणापन्ति) | Acting smart | Hoshiyari, Sayanapan | ||
| Kauwa (कौवा) | Mobile phone | Local slang, literally means crow | ||
| Ghoda (घोडा) | Gun | Bandooq | Local slang, literally means horse | |
| Satak le, kat le (सटक ले, कट ले) | Get out, beat it | Khisak le | ||
| Sultana (सुल्टाना) | To resolve an issue | Suljhana | ||
| Fattu (फट्टू) | Coward | Darpok, Buzdil | ||
| Mama (मामा)/ Pandu | Cop | Policewala | Local slang, literally means maternal uncle | |
| Lafda (लफड़ा) | Fight, Love-Affair | Larai, Prem-sambandh | ||
| Chhaavi (छावी) | Girlfriend | Saheli | ||
| Chikna (m.) (चिकना), Chikni (f.) (चिकनी) | Fair complexioned person, well dressed person | Gora (m.), Gori (f.) | Local slang, literally means smooth or slick/oily | |
| Thhaasna (ठासना) | Alcohol | Sharaab | ||
| Hadakna (हड़कना) | To eat | Khana | ||
| Bablya (बाबल्या) | Marathi for baby(kid) | |||
| Sutta (सुट्टा) | Cigarette | Cigrett | This slang term has achieved near-universal usage in India and Pakistan | |
| Waat lagna (वाट लगना) | To have a major problem | Museebat aana | ||
| Dabba (डब्बा) | Police vehicle | Police gaadi | Local slang, literally means box | |
| Samaan (सामान) | Weapon | Hathyar | Local slang, literally means luggage or the stuff | |
| Kaccha Limbu (कच्चा लिम्बू) | Rookie/ Noob | Local slang, usually used during gully cricket for a noob or to downright embarrass someone | ||
| Lafda nahin karne ka (लफड़ा नहीं करने का) | Do not fight | Larna nahin | Larna functions a verb, lafda as a noun | |
| Patli galli se satak le | Go away from here quietly | It is used when you want to warn a person by telling him to go away from the scene | ||
| Hawa aane de | Go away, let me breathe some air | It is used when you want to tell someone to go away | ||
| Mai meri kitaab layela hai (मै मेरी किताब लायेला है) | I have brought my book | Main apni kitaab laya hoon | Pidgin simplification: conjugation of 'hai' ('is') is dropped in Bambaiyya; Also, addition of the suffix -la adapted from Marathi Marathi language Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most... for past perfect |
|
| Thakela (थकेला) | A weak person | A local slang used for a person who is not energetic or seems dull most of the time | ||
| Hari Patti (हरी पत्ती) | Money | Paisa | Hari Patti means green note, directly referring to the 500 rupee note, which is green in colour | |
| Churan (चूरन) | Lie | Jhoot | Churan is a slang used to describe a lie spoken by a person | |
| Taliya | Bald | Takla | Taliya is a slang used to describe a bald person especially at the crown part of the head, although can be used for any conspicuous bald person |