On Tuesday, Oxford University Press named “Samvidhaan’‘ (Constitution) the Oxford Hindi Word of 2019.
Each year Oxford announces a word of the year, which is a word or expression shown through usage evidence to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have lasting potential as a term of cultural significance.
A Samvidhaan or constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principals or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a poilty, organisation or other type of entity, and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
According to Kritika Agarwal, Hindi Language Champion for Oxford Languages, “The Hindi Word of the Year for 2019 is a fitting choice reflecting the mood of the masses as also the focus of the decision makers… In 2019, the Constitution moved from being an academic concept to a movement in real time.” she said.
The Constitution of India is the longest written constitution of any country in the world, containing 444 articles in 22 parts, 12 schedules and 124 amedments, with 146,385 words in its English language version.[
Through its Facebook page, The Oxford dictionaries team invited entries for the Oxford Hindi Word of the Year, and received several hundred diverse and thoughtful entries. The Oxford Hindi Word of the Year was chosen by the Oxford Dictionaries team in India with the help of an advisory panel of language experts.
‘Aadhar’ was Oxford Dictionaries inaugural Hindi Word of the Year for 2017, followed by ‘Nari Shakti’, in 2018.
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