SINGAPORE: A number of on a regular basis expressions utilized in Singapore and Malaysia had been on Wednesday (Mar 26) added to the Oxford English Dictionary in its quarterly replace for March 2025.
Well-liked meals objects additionally featured closely within the replace, with plenty of dishes acquainted on either side of the Causeway – and in Indonesia – now outlined within the dictionary.
Commenting on the additions, Oxford mused over the worth of what it described as “untranslatable phrases” and the way they broaden the vocabularies of various types of English.
Among the many added phrases was “alamak”, which the dictionary outlined as an interjection expressing “shock, shock, dismay or outrage”.
“Kaya” acquired double the acknowledgement, coming into the Oxford pantheon in its personal proper – “a jam created from coconut milk, eggs and sugar, normally flavoured with pandan leaf” – and as a part of “kaya toast” – “a sandwich consisting of two slices of toasted bread unfold with butter and kaya”.
“Ketupat” – “a small rice cake boiled in a pouch of woven palm leaves” – additionally made the lower, together with “nasi lemak” – “a Malay dish of rice cooked in coconut milk and flavoured with pandan leaf, served with numerous garnishes (resembling cucumber slices, fried fish, roasted peanuts, cooked egg and sambal) and normally eaten for breakfast” – and “otak-otak” – “a Southeast Asian dish consisting of floor fish or different seafood combined with spices and coconut milk, wrapped in banana or palm leaves, and cooked by steaming or grilling over an open charcoal hearth, normally served as an accompaniment to nasi lemak”.
The considerably extra self-explanatory “fish head curry” – “a dish influenced by Chinese language and South Indian delicacies, consisting of a big fish head, normally of a sea bream or snapper, cooked in a tangy tamarind-based curry gravy with greens resembling aubergine and okra” – and “half-boiled egg” – “an egg which has been cooked briefly in freshly boiled water such that the yolk and the white stay runny, then cracked open and served in a bowl, seasoned with darkish soy sauce and white pepper” – had been additionally added.
With the variety of meals objects added, it was maybe inevitable that “tapau” – “to take (meals or drink) from a restaurant or store the place it has been ready, for consumption off the premises” – would even be included.
Additionally getting the nod was “mat rempit” – “a (usually younger) man who participates in unlawful motorbike road racing and infrequently performs harmful stunts”.
A number of phrases from different Southeast Asian international locations additionally made the listing, together with “cyclo”, “kababayan” and “lumpia”.
Phrases with Spanish roots featured extensively within the quarter’s additions, and plenty of entries mirrored developments in know-how and in style tradition, in addition to subjects which were within the information – suppose “Gen Alpha”, “massive language mannequin” and “vape”.
The total listing of phrases which were added to the dictionary this quarter is offered here.
