Aiyoh alert! Oxford English dictionary, the most widely referred-to book for English language nuances, has included ‘Aiyoh’ and ‘Aiyah’ in its latest addition in September, reports The Hindu.
The word, like many other English language words, can mean many things depending on context and tone – irritation, surprise, pain, disappointment, disgust, lament, where ‘aiyah’ and ‘aiyoh’ can be replaced with each other.
OED also informs that the word that is commonly brought into use in South India actually originates from China, as Aiyoh is Mandarin and Aiyah comes from Cantonese dialects of Chinese language.
The variants of the two words are also widely used in South East Asian countries including Singapore, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Shailaja Vishwanath, former English teacher and currently freelance writer-editor, told the newspaper that she is deeply offended by colloquial inclusions even though she never refrained from contextually using them in everyday life. She said inclusion, though an adaption of regional expressions, goes against the purity of language in all effect.
The dictionary has also included YOLO (You Only Live Once), Moobs (Man boobs) and gender-fluid among others, reports Deccan Chronicle.
(Feature image source: YouTube)