People are seen chilling out at a ‘mamak’ joint. The word ‘mamak’ has been included in the latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. ― File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 ― The latest edition of the Oxford English Dictionary has been given more punch with a whole load of lingo familiar to Malaysians and Singaporeans for decades.

In its September update, the global benchmark for English usage included mouthwatering words like “char koay teow”, “chicken rice” and “rendang” that are typical dishes you can get at a “kopitiam” or “mamak” joint.

It also included exclamations like “aiyah” and “aiyoh”, which would possibly express a Malaysian reaction if they saw Singapore daily Today claiming those words and others like “atas”, “bodoh” and “ang pow” as Singlish.

But we Malaysians would be quite happy to concede ownership of “hongbao” and “Ah Beng” describing “a young man of a type characterised by the wearing of fashionable or designer clothing and by behaviour considered brash and loutish” to the people on the other side of the Causeway.

Other past words of a common ancestry that have been included in the OED are: “wah”, “ang moh”, “shiok” and “lepak”.

The Oxford English Dictionary gets four updates a year: March, June, September, and December.