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
- ↑ 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.