KOLKATA: 'Arré yaar' is no longer just Indian. The two words that could denote anything from 'hey buddy' to 'you got to be kidding me' in desi street lingo are among the new Indian words accepted by the venerable Oxford English Dictionary — along with churidar, bhelpuri and dhaba.

What's really surprising is that these words are not all that rare in English. "Our large and wide-ranging language research programme has found sufficient evidence that these words are being used in English for a reasonable amount of time and with reasonable frequency, and are of specific cultural, historical or linguistic significance . Arré, for instance, has a quite a long history in English, with its first quotation dating back as far back as 1845," said Dr Danica Salazar, consultant editor, Oxford English Dictionary, OUP.

Churidar was first spotted in English usage as early as 1880. It took 135 years to officially make it to the English language. The Oxford dictionary defines churidar as 'tight trousers made with excess material at the bottom of the legs, which falls in folds around the ankles, traditionally worn by people from South Asia'.

Dhaba has been included as a noun and is explained as 'In India or in Indian contexts: a roadside food stall or restaurant'. Yaar has been defined as a noun to refer to a 'familiar form of address: friend, mate'. According to the research, yaar was first spotted in English usage in 1963. And bhelpuri's debut was in 1950. Sixty-five years later, the word is defined as a noun to refer to an 'Indian cookery: a dish or snack typically consisting of puffed rice, onions, potatoes, and spicy and sweet chutneys, sometimes served on a puri'. In the updated version of English, Arré, which is to be used as an interjection in English, will 'express a range of emotions and commands, especially annoyance, surprise, or interest, or to attract someone's attention'.

READ ALSO: 'Twerk' added to Oxford dictionary

Distinguished chair professor of Presidency University Swapan Kumar Chakravorty, "The inclusion of a word in a dictionary is dependent on its acceptance as a form of communication in English. If yaar is a word that has that kind of acceptance not just among those who speak in Hindustani but also those who speak and think in English, it should be included in the dictionary."

READ ALSO: Indian kitchen goes global, 'keema', 'papad' now English words

There are some other interesting additions, too. OED has now recognized e-cigarette (a cigarette-shaped device containing a nicotine-based liquid or other substance that is vaporized and inhaled), a year after 'vape' (inhale and exhale vapour produced by an electronic cigarette) made it to the dictionary. Other inclusions are 'lipstick' (in the world of darts, this is a slang for a treble twenty), FLOTUS (First Lady of the United States), webisode (a short video), voluntourism (tourism in which travellers spend time doing voluntary work on development projects, usually for a charity) and ecotown (a new town designed to have a minimal impact on the environment and to facilitate an environmentally responsible lifestyle for its residents).

READ ALSO: Oxford English Dictionary's 500 new words

Twitter-happy netizens will now be chirping about how 'twitterati' has made its debut as a noun in the dictionary. First spotted in 2006, the dictionary has listed it to refer to users of the social networking service Twitter.

But if such new words are used in answerscripts, how will they be evaluated? Chakravorty says, "English is a world language. Other dictionaries might not accept these new words included in the Oxford English Dictionary. I believe language is for use. I will definitely not deduct marks if I spot twitterati in an answerscript."

Read this story in Hindi: 'अरे यार', 'चूड़ीदार', 'भेलपुरी' और 'ढाबा' अब ऑक्सफर्ड डिक्शनरी में

