The cover of the book by Pranavjyoti Deka

Guwahati, June 7: These are Assamese words that will not turn up in a Google search. Nor can they be found in any dictionary. So what do you do when you need one of these? More so, when most of these have gone out of circulation.

But there is hope. An Assamese wordsmith has come out with a book — the result of 23 long years of painstaking research — which lists all those rare words in the Assamese language. And his canvas spans all fields: from hunting and fishing, traditional dress and jewellery, to punishments in medieval Assam, ghosts and witches, et al.

To top it all, the researcher — Pranavjyoti Deka — has also given English synonyms and meanings for all these words.

“A Google search will throw up the meanings and explanations of most words in most languages of the world. But where do we look for the rarer Assamese words? That was the basis of my work,” said Deka. “We have also discovered words which are not even included in dictionaries.”

Deka’s Jyoti Bilingual Thesaurus — which he claims is the world’s first such effort — will hit the stands very soon. The book has been published by Kitab Bhaban Publications.

Deka explained that after the rapid urbanisation of Assamese society from the 1960s and gradual mechanisation of agriculture, weaving and the transport system, there have been radical changes in the lexicographic requirements of the Assamese language. This has been accelerated by the introduction of English-medium schools all across the state, even in rural areas. Many names of ornaments, clothes and traditions are on the brink of extinction.

Deka, a geologist and a retired professor of Gauhati University, pointed out that the existing Assamese dictionaries have failed to meet the lexicographic needs of the language.

According to Deka, there is a great need for a bilingual thesaurus. His book is a compilation of a massive number of Assamese words in use from between the middle of the 18th century till 1960. Thousands of words not found in standard Assamese dictionaries are included in this thesaurus.

To help readers understand the words better, drawings of some traditional Assamese dresses, arms and other materials have been placed next to several entries in the thesaurus.

The thesaurus is in two parts.

In the first part, each entry is in Assamese with its English equivalent. In the second part, the reader can not only find out the exact meaning of an Assamese word and its synonyms, he or she can gain an insight into the nuances of its use in the language.