BHUBANESWAR: Justifying the need to develop a dependable Oriya lexicon with all useful words and correct language, Development Commissioner Tarun Kanti Mishra today called for a `unified effort’ so that the current and future generations can take the language to new heights.
``Though there were great works and challenging efforts carried out earlier to bring out timeless publications, still we need a more user-friendly publication for all fields of life in the new lexicon,’’ he said adding we must be open to the idea of adding more words from other languages which are widely used now in Oriya literature today but are yet to make an entry in our lexicons.
``English has proved itself smart enough to include many words from Hindi, Urdu and many regions from India and Asia and it has helped it grow. Likewise, our new effort must carry out inclusion of common words from foreign languages so that the communication level could be easier than just going for Sanskrit variants which are never used by the common people,’’ the bureaucrat-turned writer pointed out.
Speaking at the release of `Odia Bhasa Sadhana’ (Oriya Language Resource) Volume III, a digital collection of Oriya dictionaries from 1811-1942 by Srujanika, Mishra said to popularise the use and love for the language, the State Government’s portal will soon include more from the great writers of the soil.
Promising all help from the State Government for organisations involved in digital conservation and popularisation of the priceless old publications, he said accessibility to the State Library, Museum and Archieves would be ensured in future for the noble cause.
``Not only an Oriya dictionary, for all kinds of writing and official and personal references, we should also have a quality thesaurus,’’ he added.
Terming the effort of `Srujanika’ as a perfect blend of IT and linguistics to save Oriya and propagate literature and literary traditions, Mishra urged organisations and people with personal collections of dictionaries, books and magazines to come forward for the digitisation process so that the whole world can be benefited from their `knowledge-bank’.
Nikhil Mohan Patnaik of `Srujanika’ narrated how the herculean task was completed with the help of British Library and several foreign universities and non-resident Oriyas. Noted linguist Prof. Debiprasanna Patnaik and Prof. Amulya Kumar Panda spoke.