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Language MattersHong Kong’s daan tat, Singapore’s ice kachang: Asian foods make their way into global English
The latest updates to the Oxford English Dictionary reflect the strong influence Asian cuisines have on the English language
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Yin yeung was the first drink a colleague recommended when I moved to Hong Kong two decades ago – that sweet milky mix of tea and coffee also called yuen yeung, offering the best of both worlds.
She also suggested I sample pineapple buns, though with the warning they were nothing like the pineapple tarts of my heritage, being devoid of pineapple!
Other delicacies of my Hong Kong years included daan tat from various bakeries – small open egg tarts of flaky or shortcrust pastry. I frequented bing sutt and dai pai dong (avoiding Singapore noodles – the name an invented connection by virtue of curry powder), and revelled in the ubiquitous Sunday yum cha (dim sum).
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And why should you, dear reader, care for these food notes? Because these words have seen sufficiently sustained and widespread usage in English that they are now included in the Oxford English Dictionary as part of the English language complex.
Food is after all not mere sustenance: it comprises a visceral expression of cultural identity, a key ingredient in familial and cross-cultural relationships, a fundamental means of transmission of heritage, history and values.
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