Anna,' meaning elder brother in Tamil and Telugu, has finally found recognition in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). In all, 70 new Indian words from Telugu, Urdu, Tamil, Hindi and Gujarati have been added to the dictionary in the latest update that happened a month ago.

So far, Anna exists in the dictionary as a noun, which means a former monetary unit of India and Pakistan, equal to one sixteenth of a rupee. Now, anna2 (also annan), noun, has been added. 'Anna' in Telugu and Tamil means an elder brother, often used as a respectful title or form of address.

`Abba', Urdu word for father has also been added. Other words added in the latest edition of OED are Achcha, Bapu, Bada Din, Bachcha, Surya Namaskar (thanks to Yoga). Most of the Indian words added pertain to relationships, culture and food. In addition to Achha for okay that already exists, Achcha, an exclamation used to express an emotion of surprise, doubt and joy, is now in Oxford English Dictionary .

According to `Release notes: Indian English' written by Danica Salazar, OED World English Editor, "Seventy words originating from Indian English have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary in this latest update, alongside the 900 or so words already existing in the OED."Read more

Source web page: Times Of India