MBBS, Engineering students mistaken for cattle thieves thrashed by villagers

New Delhi, Jan 25: The latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary features 26 new Indian English words, including Aadhaar, chawl, dabba, hartal and shaadi.

The 10th edition of the dictionary, which was launched on Friday, has 384 Indian English words and incorporates over 1,000 new words such as chatbot, fake news and microplastic.

The dictionary focuses on language change and its evolution through the years, and has ensured that the language and examples used in the new edition are relevant and up to date with the times, Oxford University Press (OUP) said.

The new edition comes with interactive online support through the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries website and an app. The website includes advanced features such as audio-video tutorials, video walkthroughs, self-study activities and enhanced iWriter and iSpeaker tools.

"This edition has 26 new Indian English words of which 22 figure in the printed dictionary. The other four are in the digital version," said Fathima Dada, Managing Director (Education Division) at OUP.

Some of other new Indian words in the dictionary are auntie (while aunty already figures in the English dictionary, auntie is an Indianism), bus stand, deemed university, FIR, non-veg, redressal, tempo, tube light, veg and videograph.

The four new Indian English words in the online version of the dictionary are current (for electricity), looter, looting and upazila (one of the areas that a district is divided into for administration purposes).

According to OUP, the new edition provides better, more accurate and understandable definitions with examples, usage notes and additional resources to help the learner use the right word in the right context.

"Prevalence and common usage are the main criteria for enlisting new words. We scan the globe for words which are often used by people while speaking English. Then these words go through a rigorous testing process," Dada said.

"As OUP is the custodian of English language globally, these words have to go through its processes," she told PTI.

The Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, she said, has been reinventing itself for nearly eight decades, anticipating the growing learning requirements of learners.

"The 10th edition also is equipped with a strong digital support system, including an app," she said.

It is equipped with several digital tools. With iSpeaker, learners can get help preparing for speaking exams and presentations. With iWriter, learners can plan, write and review their written work. Text Checker allows the teacher to check any text against the Oxford 3000, 5000, and OPAL (Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon) written word list.

Resources accessible through online premium access include lesson plans, worksheets, video walkthroughs, and classroom and self-study activities. With the OALD app one can find 86,000 words, 95,000 phrases, 112,000 meanings and 237,000 examples.

The dictionary, which spans 77 years, was originally published in Japan in 1942 and was first brought out by OUP in 1948. The learner's dictionary is based on the original values of its creator, Albert Sydney Hornby, whose aim was to help language learners worldwide understand the meaning of English words.

Bengaluru, May 18: Over two months after his appointment as the Karnataka Congress President, DK Shivakumar is likely to take-over the reigns of the party officially on May 31.

"There are two dates, May 31 and June 7. He is most likely to officially take over as KPCC President on the 31st," sources close to Mr Shivakumar told PTI.

After remaining in a virtual vacuum for nearly three months, the party high command on March 11 appointed Mr Shivakumar, known to be the Congress' chief troubleshooter in crisis situations, replacing Dinesh Gundu Rao as KPCC chief.

Mr Rao had quit the post in December 2019 after the party's dismal show in the bypolls when it won only two of the 15 seats and yielded 12.

Congress sources said once the appointment letter came from the high command, he has been KPCC president and officially taking charge was just a formality.

"He will be officially handed over the party insignias and responsibilities relating to bank accounts and cheques, among other things, that has been traditionally followed," they said, adding the official take over was delayed by the coronavirus.

After his appointment as KPCC president, Mr Shivakumar has been meeting a host of senior party leaders and leading the party in the fight against coronavirus.

These include setting up of Congress' COVID-19 task force, alerting the government in its management of the crisis, holding weekly video conferencing with leaders of party's local units to gather information, among other things.

Sources close to Mr Shivakumar said the official take over would be a simple event, looking at the current situation due to the pandemic.

"Very few select party leaders and office bearers, say about 50 odd people, are likely to be in attendance at the simple event at KPCC office," they said, adding that arrangements may be made to telecast the event live for the benefit for party workers and local leaders.

A six-time MLA, Mr Shivakumar had a long wait for his appointment to the coveted post, due to opposition within. There were reports that Congress Legislature Party leader Siddarmaiah had lobbied in favour of one of his confidants for the top job.

In a first, appointment of three KPCC Working Presidents- Satish Jharkiholi, Saleem Ahammed and Eashwar Khandre, was seen as an attempt by those apposing Mr Shivakumar, to weaken his hold on the party.

Mumbai, Jun 14: Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide on Sunday, leaving all his fans and the industry in shock. While the reason behind him taking up the extreme step is still not clear, a look into Sushant’s social media feed suggests that things were not well for him for quite some time.

Sushant had been inactive on Twitter since months. His last tweet was on December 27, 2019. Since then, he did not even reply to any one on Twitter. Same is the case with his Facebook account as the last post on his timeline was on the same date. Interestingly, Sushant's Twitter cover picture is the popular painting - 'Starry Night', by Van Gogh, who had also reportedly committed suicide in 1890.

On Instagram, the young actor had last posted on June 3. It was a collage picture of him and his mother along with a cryptic caption that read, “Blurred past evaporating from teardrops Unending dreams carving an arc of smile And a fleeting life, negotiating between the two...#माँ”.

Was Sushant’s inactivity on Twitter, Facebook and his last cryptic post on Instagram a signal that the actor was having a tough time? Well, may be it will remain a mystery forever.