imported>Uanfala: simplify woolly language, add a more general definition, c/e

2021-08-12T10:38:49Z

simplify woolly language, add a more general definition, c/e

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{{short description|Indian surname or suffix}}
{{Other uses}}
'''Wallah''', or '''-wala''' or''' -vala '''(''wali'' fem.), is a [[suffix]] used in a number of [[Indo-Aryan languages]], like [[Hindustani language|Hindi/Urdu]], [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]], [[Bengali language|Bengali]] or [[Marathi language|Marathi]]. It forms an adjectival compound from a noun or an [[agent noun]] from a verb.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary |editor=R. S. McGregor |editor-link=R. S. McGregor |year=1997 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-864339-5 |page=915}}</ref> For example, it may indicate a person involved in some kind of activity, where they come from or what they wear (Topiwala),<ref name="Clements1996">{{cite book|last=Clements|first=J. Clancy|title=The Genesis of a Language: The formation and development of Korlai Portuguese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ScZBAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA139|year=1996|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|isbn=978-90-272-7618-6|pages=139–}}</ref><ref name="BarzSiegel1988">{{cite book|last1=Barz|first1=Richard Keith|last2=Siegel|first2=Jeff|title=Language Transplanted: The Development of Overseas Hindi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lMns1oU3n14C&pg=PA165|year=1988|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-02872-1|pages=165–}}</ref> 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 [[Carding|cotton carder]]

''Wala'' or ''Vala'' was also used in [[Parsi]] and [[Dawoodi Bohra|Dawodi Bohra]] surnames, suggesting the profession or a place-name. For example:
*[[Matthew Amroliwala|Amroliwala]]
*[[Keki N. Daruwalla|Daruwalla]], seller of ''daru'' or Persian for wine
*[[Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala|Mithaiwala]], sweetseller <ref>{{cite news |last=Anand |date=February 5, 2006 |title=Reflections of a language-''wala'' |url=http://www.hindu.com/lr/2006/02/05/stories/2006020500330600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070701212633/http://www.hindu.com:80/lr/2006/02/05/stories/2006020500330600.htm |archive-date=2007-07-01 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=2014-05-17}}</ref>

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.<ref>Edward Fraser and John Gibbons (1925). Soldier and Sailor Words and Phrases. Routledge, London, p.18.</ref>

{{anchor|robotwallah}}[[Ian McDonald (British author)|Ian McDonald]] [[Ian McDonald bibliography|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==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Suffixes]]
[[Category:Hindi words and phrases]]
[[Category:Hindustani language]]
[[Category:Bengali words and phrases]]

Wallah - Revision history

imported>Uanfala: simplify woolly language, add a more general definition, c/e