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Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Commonly Mispronounced Words 14 - विकलांग

I was travelling by the Delhi Metro and was surprised they got it wrong. They normally get everything right!

The word is 'vikalaang'. The word means someone who is bereft of a limb, or crippled or maimed. This word is a mixture of two words - vikal (which means restless (when referring to the mind), and devoid of or imperfect (when referring to the body)) and ang (which means body). So when the two words join together the in-between vowel sound lengthens, and the word becomes 'vikalaang'. In Hindi this would read as विकलांग.

Now, why is this being featured on this blog then. Simply because, over the years this word has gotten corrupted into viklaang or विक्लांग (which is probably because of the Punjabi influence). But now I find a lot of non-Punjabis too, who think this is the pure form. So much so, that Delhi Metro, which gets everything right, also reserves two seats for the 'old and handicapped' (वृद्ध और विक्लांग). DTC on the contrary, gets it right. 

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