Aadhaar, hartal, chawl, shaadi included in Oxford dictionary

New Delhi: Aadhaar, hartal, chawl, dabba, hartal and shaadi are among the 26 new Indian-English words that have made it to the latest edition of the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary (OALD).

These new inclusions take the number of Indian-English words to 384 in the 10th edition of the dictionary which features a staggering 86,000 words, its publisher said on Friday.

The dictionary also contains 95,000 phrases, 112,000 meanings and 237,000 examples on the OALD10 e app – features such as NEW Word of the Day notification. There are also 1,000-plus new words such as chatbot, fake news, microplastic and woke.

“The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary has been reinventing itself for nearly eight decades, anticipating the growing learning requirements of learners. The 10th edition also is equipped with a strong digital support system, including the OALD10e app,” said Fathima Dada, Managing Director, Education at Oxford University Press.

“We are confident that 21st century learners will find the print and online versions useful to build upon their vocabulary and proficiency in the English language, and in their preparation for competitive examinations,” she added.

The 10th edition of OALD “comes with interactive online support through the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries website and the OALD10e app. The website includes advanced features such as audio/video tutorials, video walkthroughs, self-study activities and enhanced iWriter and iSpeaker tools – making the dictionary a must have for students, learners and educators”, an Oxford University Press (OUP) statement said.

Other features of the new dictionary include:

* Oxford Speaking Tutor and online iSpeaker with pronunciation videos to prepare students for speaking exams (Cambridge, IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL).

* Real voice audio for words and example sentences in both British and American English accents.

OALD10e also focuses on language change and its evolution through the years and ensures that the language and examples used in the new edition are relevant and up-to-date with the times.

For instance, in the 1990s, if the expression was “Press fast forward to advance the tape”, the 2020 version is “I pressed fast forward when the ads came on”.

Then, in the 1990s, if the expression was “We need to take a firm line on tobacco advertising”, the 2020 version is “We need to take a firm line on data privacy”.

Or, in the 1990s, if the expression was “He put some jazz on the stereo”, the 2020 version is “The DJ put on a techno dance number”.

IANS