Words most commonly heard on the streets of Hong Kong and Singapore like “yum cha” and “wah” have entered the linguistic mainstream, with the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) including them in its latest update.
“Yum cha” (a Chinese meal eaten in the morning or early afternoon) and “wah” (an expression of delight) enter along with phrases like “dai pai dong,” “ang moh” and “chilli crab” (an open-air food stall, a light-skinned person and a regional delicacy respectively).
Other new entries are “compensated dating,” a Hong Kong phrase that refers to a relationship provided in return for cash or gifts, and “Chinese Helicopter,” a Singaporean who was educated in Mandarin and has little knowledge of English.
The March update to the OED, which styles itself as the definitive record of the English language, includes about 500 new words and phrases from around the world, such as “vlog,” “bro-hug” and “Dad’s Army.”
The update brought an “alphabet of newly added terms from World English to explore,” OED senior assistant editor Jonathan Dent said.
He cited “killer litter” — a Singaporean phenomenon of rubbish falling from a height — and “guanxi,” the Mandarin Chinese term for personal connections that help facilitate business dealings.
The dictionary records Southeast Asian influences on English stretching back to 1555.
Other words adopted from Hong Kong include: “char siu” (barbecued pork), “kaifong” (neighborhood association), “sandwich class” (squeezed middle class) and “shroff” (cashier).
Other Singaporean words that made it to the list include: “blur” (ignorant, confused), “HDB” (public housing estate), “lepak” (to loiter aimlessly), “shiok” (cool, great), “sabo” (to harm, make trouble) and “teh tarik (sweet tea with milk).
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