tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post349108657158887636..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Language variations in Sea of PoppiesJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3617103951384041532023-08-22T14:20:55.808+05:302023-08-22T14:20:55.808+05:30Any lexicon of the ibis trilogy words?Any lexicon of the ibis trilogy words?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1066284939908578152021-01-02T13:53:39.575+05:302021-01-02T13:53:39.575+05:30Still waiting ;-) Still waiting ;-) Caenwyrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15151873519901545247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-70991332778642436132013-07-27T19:04:06.038+05:302013-07-27T19:04:06.038+05:30I'm reading this book, I'm surprised to se...I'm reading this book, I'm surprised to see that so many Indian words are the same as Persian with a slight difference of pronunciation e.g. harumzadeh, dafter,...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-23247119077627581702012-01-05T03:50:28.732+05:302012-01-05T03:50:28.732+05:30I read the Glass Palace when I was living in Mumba...I read the Glass Palace when I was living in Mumbai and was hooked. Found the Sea of Poppies in an Oxfam shop in Liverpool - a superb read. I believed I was there rooling about with the ship and getting sea sick. The language, if you took it slow, was very entertainingGeorge Smithnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-42116628358910680022011-12-12T17:16:29.794+05:302011-12-12T17:16:29.794+05:30Thanks for your comments. I am a teacher of Englis...Thanks for your comments. I am a teacher of English in Spain, currently reading Sea of Poppies.Find the language in the book beautiful but bewildering. Thanks for your insight and your blog, which I have just joinedMaría Zabala Peñahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08840269933251590502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-21261253044000861462011-11-29T03:02:36.046+05:302011-11-29T03:02:36.046+05:30Thanks for your help with some of the "weird ...Thanks for your help with some of the "weird words." I, for one, would have appreciated a glossary; but, then, if there had been one, I wouldn't have found your site!lucyskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00220079552067476079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-43923729346512671882011-08-26T11:01:56.460+05:302011-08-26T11:01:56.460+05:30Shashank: yes, River of Smoke has been out for sev...Shashank: yes, <i>River of Smoke</i> has been out for several weeks. But doubt I'll be able to read it anytime soon - too many reviewing commitments, and I won't be officially reviewing this one now, it's already too late...Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-54137564319305066602011-08-26T09:42:02.068+05:302011-08-26T09:42:02.068+05:30River of Smoke is out. Review anticipated with bat...River of Smoke is out. Review anticipated with bated breath :-)Shashank Krishnannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-70600745965480086802011-02-21T00:25:01.740+05:302011-02-21T00:25:01.740+05:30Thank you so much for this post!
I am reading Sea...Thank you so much for this post!<br /><br />I am reading Sea of Poppies right now and enjoying it a lot.<br /><br />But having no knowledge whatsoever of Hindi/Bengali/Urdu or any other language of the region and not even being native English-speaker (I am from Sweden) it is at times quite challenging. <br />Most of the time it is quite easy to understand what is meant, from the circumstance, but at times I really whish I understood more. This post however inspired me to continue reading and appreciate it further. I will also check the link mentioned above<br />Thank you!Goodrunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15839709843876542539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-29987279957286970952011-02-21T00:15:18.776+05:302011-02-21T00:15:18.776+05:30Thank you so much for this post!
I am reading Se...Thank you so much for this post! <br /><br />I am reading Sea of Poppies at the moment and I am enjoing it a lot. But having no knowledge what so ever of Hindi/Bengali/Urdu or any other language of the region, and not even being native English-speaker(I am from Sweden)it is at times quite challenging! Most of the time it is easy to guess from the circumstance what is meant, but sometimes I really whish I could understand more, this post however inspired me to continue reading and I will check the link above. <br />Thank you!Goodrunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15839709843876542539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-75853838014084917992010-11-16T10:24:25.461+05:302010-11-16T10:24:25.461+05:30Thanks Jai! I'd forgotten about this post. Thi...Thanks Jai! I'd forgotten about this post. This gives me all the info I need.<br /><br />P.S. I expected some kind of email notification if/when you replied and never checked back, until today that is. Duh! Silly me.Shashankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10388684627111620079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-30499078203998676492010-08-19T19:06:55.427+05:302010-08-19T19:06:55.427+05:30Shashank: I take it you read the long interview I ...Shashank: I take it you read the <a href="http://jaiarjun.blogspot.com/2008/06/opium-giant-whales-and-khidmatgar-s.html" rel="nofollow">long interview</a> I did with Amitav Ghosh about the book? I think I did a full-length review for some publication but didn't out it on the blog because I had covered most bases in these two posts.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-10547140604003094702010-08-19T19:01:34.862+05:302010-08-19T19:01:34.862+05:30Two years after the launch, I've finally manag...Two years after the launch, I've finally managed some time to read it... and I'm thoroughly fascinated by it. The last line of your blog post, "More on the book soon", hasn't been posted though. Please spare some time and fulfill your promise. :-)Shashank Krishnannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-55678073859496787882009-03-27T01:44:00.000+05:302009-03-27T01:44:00.000+05:30I'm glad you got into the language angle. I avoide...I'm glad you got into the language angle. I avoided talking about it in my review. Would you mind if I include a link to your review with my post?Terri B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/12215878121282668358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-16097228969175891382008-11-23T22:16:00.000+05:302008-11-23T22:16:00.000+05:30I've just started reading Amitav Ghosh's _Sea of P...I've just started reading Amitav Ghosh's _Sea of Poppies_ - I rarely read fiction, but I'm enjoying deciphering the lingo, which is sort of a bastard child of Gunga Din and A Clockwork Orange. <BR/><BR/>Ghosh introduces a very large foreign vocabulary, but he nearly always writes his sentences so that you can figure out what they mean even if you don't know what the individual foreign words mean. <BR/><BR/>More than one foreign language is in the mix. The Mediterranean sea-jargon called Sabir (or lingua franca) grades into a similar Indian Ocean sea jargon called Lascari - some of the characters speak one of these, some the other, and some speak a pidgin derived from both of them. Landlubbers speak Hindi/Urdu (usually referred to in the book as Hindusthani), Bengali, or a related local language, and assimilated Englishmen use numerous Hindi loan-words in their Anglo-Indian English.<BR/><BR/>I'm perfectly fascinated by the book, but I have a very large vocabulary of weird words. I can see where somebody who didn't would be put off.<BR/><BR/>Bob RichmondAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-38817475702116598722008-11-09T09:58:00.000+05:302008-11-09T09:58:00.000+05:30I was disappointed by the Sea of Poppies - despite...I was disappointed by the Sea of Poppies - despite its grand scope and scale. I think in trying to create the atmosphere - Ghosh got too caught up in archaic vocabulary and a surfeit of historical details - both products of his copious research with which he over-burdens his readers, who stumble at every step with unknown words that take away the flow of the narrative. I have found this to be the bane of most of his books - therefore, personally, I wasn’t surprised that the Booker has eluded him so far - despite his considerable literary accomplishments.<BR/><BR/>I find his language to be often uneven - rising at times like the waves of the ocean ( or the tide in the Sunderbans - as in his previous book) but often faling flat.<BR/><BR/>But, that’s just my view. i ahve written about this at some length in 2 of my recent blogs:<BR/><BR/>“In bed with Ghosh” @http://ghoses.blogspot.com/2008/09/in-bed-with-ghosh.html#links<BR/><BR/>“Saling with priyanka on the Ibis” @ http://ghoses.blogspot.com/2008/11/on-ibis-with-priyanka.html#links<BR/><BR/>Cheers,<BR/><BR/>SandipGhoseSpothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03694772085399940261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-8684450254046651632008-07-04T17:19:00.000+05:302008-07-04T17:19:00.000+05:30This book has been an eye-opener. I thought I live...This book has been an eye-opener. I thought I lived in a world that was as different from colonial times as chalk is from cheese. It's been a rude shock to discover things are not so different when it comes to how powerful nations sacrifice humanity at the altar of their business interests. And how they vilify nations that stand against them.<BR/><BR/>I'm shocked at the similarities between what the Brits did to India and China in the 19th century and what the Americans are doing in Iraq today - The East India Company got the British government to attack China to make money off opium; the Halliburtons, Bechtels and KBRs got Bush to destroy Iraq to satisfy their greed for oil. The Brits used "Free trade" and "bringing the lord to the heathens" arguments to fool the world and justify their acts of aggression; Bush used WMDs and "Saddam is a terrorist" argument to deceive the American public.neelusinghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10030337042419094346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-92148223251778106462008-07-04T16:24:00.000+05:302008-07-04T16:24:00.000+05:30Great review. Never liked Amitav Ghosh. But am enj...Great review. Never liked Amitav Ghosh. But am enjoying this one thoroughly. Maybe its time to revisit his other works.neelusinghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10030337042419094346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-65517184189124908802008-06-17T14:26:00.000+05:302008-06-17T14:26:00.000+05:30didnt circle of reason do this in miniature - peop...didnt circle of reason do this in miniature - people of different hues coming together and learning to co-exist and feed off each other?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-56268310398818629782008-06-15T21:08:00.000+05:302008-06-15T21:08:00.000+05:30'Sea of Poppies' wouldn't be quite the same withou...'Sea of Poppies' wouldn't be quite the same without the Hobson-Jobson language. And I am quite sure this is how the Englishmen in the novel (especially Mr Doughty) talked.<BR/><BR/>And on the Ibis, with a crew comprising lascars from all over Asia, a common medium of communication would have been a necessity.<BR/><BR/>Somehow I found 'Sea of Poppies' much more readable than 'The Hungry Tide'. The background on the opium trade gels well with the novel, never jarring (unlike the river dolphins).<BR/><BR/>I wish someone makes a movie on the 'Sea of Poppies'. Lots of action, drama, a sati scene, romance, anti-British sentiment, a Frenchwoman masquerading as a migrant -- will be tough but it's a potential Oscar winner if the filmmaker can get it right.<BR/><BR/>Desperately waiting for Part 2 of the trilogy but Ghosh says it might take some time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-30275229237084326132008-06-15T20:09:00.000+05:302008-06-15T20:09:00.000+05:30lovely post, jai. that cunning use of linguistic w...lovely post, jai. that cunning use of linguistic was a killer.Hill Goathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17602386756415628453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-56460269647426187092008-06-15T12:44:00.000+05:302008-06-15T12:44:00.000+05:30When is the online edition coming out???When is the online edition coming out???Sayanihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11054622810402889507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-39535473733268608652008-06-15T10:37:00.000+05:302008-06-15T10:37:00.000+05:30FYI I saw a flyer yesterday advertising a book tal...FYI I saw a flyer yesterday advertising a book talk on Sea of Poppies by Ghosh at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library on the afternoon of June 18 - didn't catch exact time, perhaps 5? - I won't be in town then but y'all might want to attend.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-18471310508880387982008-06-13T15:18:00.000+05:302008-06-13T15:18:00.000+05:30Saurabh: thanks for the link, will take a look at ...Saurabh: thanks for the link, will take a look at it. The glossary was probably done just for the website, though it may well be there in the international editions of the book.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-10849709337919447262008-06-13T15:14:00.000+05:302008-06-13T15:14:00.000+05:30Feanor: I have Jahajin somewhere in the Ever-Growi...Feanor: I have <I>Jahajin</I> somewhere in the Ever-Growing Pile but don't know if I'll be able to read it anytime soon.<BR/><BR/>I should clarify that most of the goras who speak Indianised English in the book are people who have to interact very closely and regularly with the natives, for professional reasons.<BR/><BR/><I>I liked Hungry Tide though it did seem at times to be drowned out by Ghosh's research notes</I><BR/><BR/>Shama: yes, that's true of many passages in Ghosh's fiction - one often senses the novelist struggling with the scholar - but I'm usually absorbed enough by the information and detail he provides to not think of it as a major flaw. Was reading <I>The Glass Palace</I> the other day, not one of his best-received books, but I enjoy the way he can take a sudden break from the fiction narrative to inform us, in encyclopaedic detail, about the symptoms and effects of elephant anthrax.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.com