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Auction
Sept 22, 2017 11:30:08 GMT 5.5
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Post by Somak Meitei on Sept 22, 2017 11:30:08 GMT 5.5
What is the word in Manipuri for 'auction'?
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Auction
Sept 23, 2017 8:19:08 GMT 5.5
Post by Thoithoi O'Cottage on Sept 23, 2017 8:19:08 GMT 5.5
As far as I know, we don't have a word of our own simply because we did not have this practice until after either (i) the Bengali arrival in the first quarter of the 18th century which installed a few Bengali speakers beside the throne, who introduced a large number of Bengali and Sanskrit terms into Maipuri or (ii) the British conquer and the consequent British administrative establishment, which modernized and systematized the administration of Manipur that may have once in a while felt it necessary to "auction" something off as they usually did in England, and somebody in the office translated the practice into Bengali নিলাম, a new practice that gained popularity in its reduced form or (iii) the establishment in Imphal of a Chief Commssioner's deputy following Manipur's merger with India in 1949 and the subsequent administrative changes introducing majorly non-Manipuri speaking (= Hindi and Bengali, and very few Assamese, speaking) officials and bureaucrats in public offices, who introduced a huge number of Bengali, Hindi (नीलाम) and fewer Sanskrit words into Maipuri. I am more inclined to think (iii) is more plausible. That said, I have not yet read of anything being auctioned in Manipur's history. Still, there may have been something of an auction kind (if not exactly auction as we know it) that they officially did. It is appropriate therefore to add that the Bengali নিলাম, interestingly and importantly, has several senses that transcend the English "auction." These senses are related with বাজার, মার্কেট, দাম, হাট and চাহিদা. This points to how we in our childhood play used to say something like নিলাম লাউরিয়ে৷ কনা কনা পাম্বগে? expecting bidders, just for the fun in it.
Lexicographers, etymologists and sociolinguists cannot stop here, and we need to ransack our written literature and other records of all kinds to find the instance of at least the word's first recorded use.
For a few months now I have been thinking of doing something to gain access to the Archives of Manipur and the materials at Konung. The dictionary project demands a lot of people and I am not sure if all the Manipuris except me are dead. I have talked with a few friends for the project, and they turn out phoneys, hypocrites and pretenders. This is a matter of honesty, and I would appreciate their honesty if people say they love the language but cannot work for the project for whatever reason, stated or unstated. Now it is MY OWN WORK. Manipur is in a sorry state.
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