Oxford University Press to launch app-based English-Hindi dictionary

The new strategy comes against the background of falling sales of OUP's famous Oxford English-English dictionary in India

The Oxford University Press (OUP), as part of its plans to leverage the fast-growing consumer preference for mobile-based service offerings, is looking at introducing its popular dictionaries in India in the form of a mobile app.

To start with, by November this year, it plans to launch its mobile-based English-Hindi dictionary application. It is also exploring various options for expanding the bilingual dictionary offerings that are currently available in the country.

The new strategy comes against the background of falling sales of its famous Oxford English-English dictionary in India, which it said, could be "around 5% drop year-on-year".

"The app is being tested and by November, we will launch it. If you see, increasingly, in India, in spite of not-so great Internet connectivity, everyone has a mobile device. Through the mobile platform, we feel we can reach more people in the country," Ranjan Kaul, managing director of OUP said today. The publisher plans to engage with device manufacturers with global presence to improve its accessibility.

Kaul said the desire for learning English has been growing in India, with people increasingly preferring to learn the language through the bi-lingual format. With an annual sales of around 150,000 units for English-Hindi dictionaries in India, Kaul said the sale of the entire bi-lingual offerings put together would have dominated the English-only dictionary sales.

In the bilingual dictionary category, it is planning to launch its English-Urdu print edition by the end of this year, and is also working on bringing out the English-Tamil version and a mobile-based application for Atlas.

"We're making up for the falling English-English dictionary sales by expanding the bi-lingual dictionary segment, for which, the major driver is the learners from rural India. Due to internet connectivity issues, people from rural areas are looking to own the print version," he said.

On the other hand, it is betting big on adult English language training. It has plans to expand the category, which offers English grammar learning through bilingual format covering 12 local languages.

Kaul said they were planning to set up the first Oxford Teachers Academy in India in the current financial year. Teachers trained from the academy would receive English language certification from Oxford University.

Meanwhile, OUP has launched 'Oxford Achiever', a comprehensive web-based English language learning and assessment solution for primary and secondary school students in the country. It covers six core areas of English like listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar.