LONDON: *Badmash, changa, chuddie *and *desi *are the latest Indian-origin words to enter the English language, courtesy the Collins English Dictionary.
“This is the second wave of words from Indian languages to hit English,” said B K Mahal, the Britain-based Asian author and advisor to a Collins team documenting the new movement towards Hinglish - a linguistic fusion of Hindi and English.
“From the time when British and Indian cultures first collided in the 17th century, Indian languages have contributed to English vocabulary,” she said.
Many words of daily use in English are of Indian origin, including words like shampoo, bangle, bungalow, jungle, mantra, pundit and cot. They have figured in all major English-language dictionaries for many years.
However, the latest edition of Collins, to be published Thursday, goes a step further by officially acknowledging the role of *Hinglish *in the evolution of English.
The edition is full of unusual and unexpected Indian words - this time thanks to popular Asian culture rather than colonial collision. Many words have a distinct Punjabi flavour.
Hinglish words figuring in the dictionary this year include aunti- *ji *and uncle- *ji *, *freshie *(a new immigrant), *gora *(White), *kutta *(dog) and *kutti *(bitch), *haramzada *and *haramzadi *(described as *******s or obnoxious/despicable) and yaar (friend).
And quite appropriately, there’s machi chips - Hinglish for that quintessential English dish, fish n’ chips.
