'Aiyoh' now in the Oxford English Dictionary

NEW DELHI: Aiyoh! What has the Oxford English Dictionary gone and done now? In its September list of new words, it included entries such as scrumdiddlyumptious (delicious) and yogasana (no explanation needed, one hopes), but also - well, 'aiyoh' and 'aiyah.'

Speakers of South Indian languages who have never uttered 'aiyoh' have probably had very uneventful lives. It's one of the most affectively versatile words in the Dravidian lexicon, capable of expressing - in Tamil alone - a suite of emotions including consternation ("Aiyoh! Why is he wearing that shirt again?"), shock ("Aiyoh! Are you sure he has passed away?") and - with a slight modification - apprehension ("Ai-yi-yoh..I'm sure my boss is going to fire me for this!").

"Aiyoh" is another such interjection used by speakers of South Indian languages. The expression differs phonetically from "Ayya," which is an honorific.

The Oxford English Dictionary, or the OED, is 150 years old, has up to 600,000 entries, and its publisher - the Oxford University Press - calls it the 'definitive record of the English language.' For purists who swear by it, if a word isn't in the dictionary, it isn't English. Well, bilingual English-lovers who are also well-versed in South Indian languages no longer have to wince when they hear someone inteject, "Aiyoh!" during an exhange in the Queen's English!