‘Aiyah,’ Aiyoh! is now in Oxford Dictionary list

Queen’s English? Not anymore. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED), once considered the ultimate guide to correct meanings and the right usage of the English language, has adopted a flexible approach with the inclusion of several new words from different languages, social media and pop culture. But the one that has (ironically) cheered up South Indians is ‘aiyoh’ – a new entry on their September list. 

This popular expression of concern has long been considered a slang mostly associated with Tamilians and its inclusion has been widely welcomed by Chennai youngsters. “When ‘oops’ is a word, why not aiyoh? I think it’s about time the world acknowledges ‘Indian English’,” says copy-writer Mithila Swamy. 

OED does four updates a year, and their September update is fairly colourful, with words like ‘aiyoh’, ‘aiyah’, ‘crap’, ‘uh-oh’, ‘YOLO’and even ‘filmi geet’! 

Prof Neil Mukherjee with Delhi University questions the future of the English language. “Many of these terms are not even English! I can understand that new words are being added, but what will be the difference between ‘good’ and colloquial English now? And how do we correct children when they start using Indian words while speaking?” he asks. However, his views are not echoed by scores of youngsters who have welcomed the new words with a YOLO (you only live once) attitude.