Órale, Boricua, Güey & More Spanish Words Added to the Oxford English Dictionary
Spanish words from Latin American communities in the United States are being recorded in new places. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) recently revealed 66 new US Hispanic English entries as part of their quarterly updates. New additions include Spanish words widely used by Chicanos, Boricuas, Cubanos, and beyond.
The OED traces the “influx” of Spanish-originated words in the American English back since the 19th century. They describe the two languages connected by “a long history of contact and mutual influence.” Previous additions to the dictionary include words like “enchilada,” “canyon,” and “piñata.” More words that were added early on include “marijuana,” and “coyote.”
Fast forward to now, there’s a plethora of new words that are becoming immortalized in the OED. These words include Chicano words such as food dishes and items like: “barbacoa,” “cotija,” “birria,” “friojles,” and “torta.” More words commonly used by Mexican-Americans that are being added to dictionary include slang words like “güey,” and “chilango.” Additional words include “charreada,” “charrería,” and “naco.”
As for Puerto Rican culture, new words include “Boricua,” “cuchifritos,” and “vejigante,” commemorating words from the second-largest Hispanic group in the U.S. Cuban words like “Cubano,” “frita,” and “timba,” are also being added to the OED, shouting out the third largest Hispanic community stateside.
And that’s not even half of the inclusion. There a variety of more words being added to the dictionary this quarter including “bizcochito,” “carniceria,” “comal,” “Dios mio,” and “gabacho,” which many of our Latine cultures frequent. More words include “pinche,” “orale,” and “papi.”
The OED is described as the “widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language” and an “unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and usage of 500,000 words and phrases past and present, from across the English-speaking world.”