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Old 5th August 2013, 07:05 AM   #9
Jim McDougall
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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Actually what I said was that, as far as I have understood, the term used in many of the North Indian dialects to describe sword pictured (not otherwise described) is often 'tulwar'. Therefore what we think of as a shamshir, when in use in Indian context, may be called a tulwar by speakers of these dialects, while those speaking English may called it a saber.

Since I am not a linguist, nor authority on Indian arms such as tulwar, I suppose what the sword pictured would depend on who is describing it....but no matter what name it is called by, it is still a sword in function. So that is what I meant......not that it IS a tulwar, but that is what it might be called in Indian terms.

Just think of how many years of entertainment we have had with these classification terms, and the convoluted distortions that have risen from transliteration, semantics, misperceptions and outright errors (such as the jamadhar/katar mishap in Egerton). The 'collectors terms' in many other cases are an entirely other field day!
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