A series by a New Delhi-based media collective traces how common words came into our vocabulary; from mango to aiyo and corona
The word 'mango' finds its roots in classical Malayalam
Did you know that the word 'assassin' has its origins in a gang of hashish smokers? Or that our favourite summer fruit drew its first name from an ancient Malayalam word? Or for that matter, that the common South Indian expression "aiyo" had made its way to the Oxford English Dictionary? As you may have guessed, it's an etymological show we are talking about, except, Linguistics is as rooted in present-day pop culture as it is in stories of word origins.
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An original series by New Delhi-based media collective Jamun, earlier known for work like its crime podcast Trial by Error, The Aarushi Files adapted from Avirook Sen's book Aarushi, Linguistics is a fun yet meaningful watch during the lockdown. We took to it with trepidation despite etymological interests owing to the preachy and sometimes dry tone that shows and podcasts of this nature come with. While often smattered with lesser-known trivia, their journeys simply end in arriving at the evolved word. We were pleasantly surprised. Despite short episodes ranging between two to five minutes, Linguistics is a pop-culture and art-filled delight.
Stills from the series Linguistics. Pics coutesy/Jamun Collective
It transports you from pre-colonial times when thugee was rampant to Snoop Dogg's re-appropriated Thug Life tattoo, touching upon literature, music, cinema and everything in between; in an episode that traces the origins and journey of the word 'thug'. Keeping it current and relevant, words like 'mango' and 'corona' also have episodes of their own; the latter diving in as far as memes like "Go Corona", and drawing references from cult classics like Andaz Apna Apna. It's what one can only call a whacky ride, don't tell us we didn't warn you!
Interestingly, the first episode is about the expression "aiyo", and among the most interesting ones in the six-part series. It speaks of the word originating from Yama, the God of death, its various uses over the years and its foray into the Oxford English Dictionary. In a brave new attempt, it also talks about its use as a trope for misrepresentation of the southern states of India in popular Hindi cinema. So, there's actor Mehmood using it liberally to remind us that his character is South Indian and Rani Mukerji punctuating a song that features a South Indian actor with it. It goes on to dispel myths about its utterance in certain contexts without ever losing the fun yet articulate tone.
The videos are made up of able illustrations, from adorned kings and notorious thugs to coronation garlands. The sharp editing lets it switch seamlessly between frames that have text, film stills and on occasion news footage. We also like that the narration is clear, not dramatic, but not without expression and wit. There is social commentary when the subject demands so, as in the case of the Haitian slavery origins of the word 'zombie' and humour otherwise.
The collective that began releasing these episodes right after the lockdown began, released its last one on May 6, promising to return with more words in the future. We can't wait to get our hands on upcoming ones and only hope the episodes are of longer duration.
You can learn where the word 'corona' originated
Log on to Jamun Collective on YouTube
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