LONDON, November 6: If an Indian or a Pakistani were asked what single word they associated with 1947, chances are they would say ``independence'' or perhaps ``partition''. But lexicographers at Collins English Dictionaries say that the word that best describes 1947 is `flying saucer'.

In an age when lists appear to have become the short-hand to classifying things, people and ideas, British lexicographers are arguing over lists of words that define the 20th century. Collins dictionary has published a list of words that have become common currency in the last 100 odd years and according to its wordsmiths define the year in which they were coined. Apart from limiting the remit of human experience, Collins list-makers appear to have assumed that the English language itself is fairly limited.

Collins English Dictionaries publishing manager Diana Treffry, said, ``We tried to choose words that came into being in a particular year which suggested a view of that time and ultimately of the century itself.'' The list begins in 1896 with Radioactivity and ends with Blairite in 1997. Criticism of the list is that hardly any of the words were actually well known in the year they represent. And Oxford University Press lexicographers say that historians looking at the list would get a completely incorrect impression of what people were thinking of in a particular year.

At Longmans the view is that if there is a point to the list, its not very clear. The director of dictionaries says, ``The language is so large, it would have been more interesting to have taken the number of words from different areas...''

As with all lists, this one is more remarkable for its omissions and specificity to a particular country. The only historical events that are apparently verbally memorable are the world wars with Air Raid (1911) Tank (1915) Gestapo (1933) Jeep (1940), Radar (1941) and Dam Busters (1943). And although these two wars dominate, 1945 -- the year of Hiroshima -- is supposedly most easily recalled by Tupperware. Swathes of the world, from Asia through Africa to Latin America appear to have made no impact on the 20th century English language. ``Mexican Wave'' in 1986 is the only concession to a non-European or US culture. The large non-white English speaking world does not.

Aids (1983), Rock `n'roll (1953) and Big Brother (1949) are all there along with Mickey Mouse (1936) and Psychedelic (1957) Workaholic (1971) and Watergate (1972) but the list is remarkably ``British'': Labour Party (1900), Sinn Fein (1905), British summer Time (1925), Vat (1973). For the insular 90s: National Lottery (1994), Road Rage (1995), Alcopop (1996), and Blairite (1997). It excludes obvious things like Women's Lib. And although it has the very current ``Blairite'' it fails to include ``Thatcherism'', without which, it might be argued ``Blairite'' may never have existed.

Oxford University Press, which has no comprehensive list shows a similar slant. OUP created an alternative list for the last two decades for the Guardian newspaper; they had Perestroika (1986) to Collins Glasnost (1985) and Global Warming (1990) instead of Crop Circles (1990), but the preponderance of recent British concerns held the day: Lager Lout (1988), Poll Tax (1989), Citizens Charter (1991), Scratch Card (1996) and New Labour (1997).

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.