The insult that formerly made westerners wince has been lent an air of respectability by being included in the 355,000 words and phrases of the new Oxford Dictionary of English (ODE). Despite what polite Hong Kong grandmothers may say, gweilo, defined as 'a foreigner, especially a westerner (Cantonese, literally 'ghost man')', is now harmless, reclaimed and made respectable by westerners in much the same vein as gay men reclaimed the insult, queer.
'We were not sure if it was derogatory but the word cropped up everywhere, and not only in a derogatory sense, so we included it,' says Catherine Soanes, ODE project manager. 'A lot of insults are reclaimed. Gringo comes to mind, as does gora, the Indian term for foreigner which we have also included.'
About 3,000 new words and phrases have been added to the ODE 2nd edition, its first update in five years. Many of the newcomers are of Asian origin. Chinese words include kiasu ('a grasping, selfish attitude, from the Chinese, 'scared to lose'') and rice bowl, meaning one's livelihood. From Malay-Chinese comes lepak, or 'loafing youths'.
The words are spotted by dictionary editors in newspapers, journals, films, novels and songs around the world and sent into a database to assess the frequency and spread of its use. 'English is a global language, driven by the internet and the Americanisation of culture,' says Soanes. 'But it is also a two-way process. The more people who speak English ultimately leads to more 'foreign' words being assimilated by English.'
Some, which had previously slipped through the system, such as Cantopop and sic bo, the dice game, have now been caught, although others have appeared quickly, such as Falun Gong and Sars, a word most would prefer to forget.
Many Japanese words, usually relating to cookery, also feature, largely due to the growing popularity of Japanese food. Robata, the charcoal grill, appears, as does almost every type of sushi. In much the same vein, so popular has traditional Chinese medicine become in the west that it has its own acronym, TCM. There is also cupping, the therapy in which heated glass cups are stuck to the skin.