Wallah

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Wallah, or -wala or -vala (wali fem.), is a suffix used in a number of Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi/Urdu, Gujarati, Bengali or Marathi. It forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an agent noun from a verb.^[1] For example, it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from or what they wear (Topiwala),^[2]^[3] for instance:

Dabbawala, lunch box deliverer
Chaiwala, a boy or young man who serves tea
Rickshawala, a rickshaw driver
Punkawallah, the servant who keeps the punkah or fan going on hot nights
Lep wallah, a cotton carder

Wala or Vala was also used in Parsi and Dawodi Bohra surnames, suggesting the profession or a place-name. For example:

Amroliwala
Daruwalla, seller of daru or Persian for wine
Mithaiwala, sweetseller ^[4]

Wala is also used to indicate a specific object or thing among several.

chota wala, the small one
dusra wala, the second one
agla wala, the next one

In British military jargon of the first half of the 20th century, a "base wallah" is someone employed at a military base, or with a job far behind the front lines.^[5]

Ian McDonald has a short story "Sanjeev and Robotwallah" (2007) and there is a character "General Robotwallah" in the 2010 novel For the Win by Cory Doctorow.

References[edit]

↑ R. S. McGregor, ed. (1997). The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-19-864339-5.
↑ Clements, J. Clancy (1996). The Genesis of a Language: The formation and development of Korlai Portuguese. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 139–. ISBN 978-90-272-7618-6.
↑ Barz, Richard Keith; Siegel, Jeff (1988). Language Transplanted: The Development of Overseas Hindi. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-3-447-02872-1.
↑ Anand (February 5, 2006). "Reflections of a language-wala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2014-05-17.
↑ Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London, p.18.

[1] R. S. McGregor, ed. (1997). The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-19-864339-5.

[Clements1996-2] Clements, J. Clancy (1996). The Genesis of a Language: The formation and development of Korlai Portuguese. John Benjamins Publishing Company. pp. 139–. ISBN 978-90-272-7618-6.

[BarzSiegel1988-3] Barz, Richard Keith; Siegel, Jeff (1988). Language Transplanted: The Development of Overseas Hindi. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. pp. 165–. ISBN 978-3-447-02872-1.

[4] Anand (February 5, 2006). "Reflections of a language-wala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2014-05-17.

[5] Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London, p.18.

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