Editing Oi (interjection)

{{Short description|Interjection}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{wiktionary|oi}}

'''''Oi''''' {{IPAc-en|ɔɪ}} is an [[interjection]] used in various varieties of the [[English language]], particularly [[Australian English]], [[British English]], [[Indian English]], [[Irish English]], [[New Zealand English]], and [[South African English]], as well as non-English languages such as [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]], [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Hindi]]/[[Urdu]], [[Indonesian language | Indonesian]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Japanese language|Japanese]], and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] to get the attention of another person or to express surprise or disapproval.<ref name=long>[http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/oi "Oi"]. ''Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English''. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref><ref name=dic>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/oi "Oi"]. ''Dictionary.com''. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20131022165354/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/oi?q=oi "Oi"]. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref> It is sometimes used in [[Canadian English]] and very rarely in [[American English]]. The word is also common in the Indian subcontinent, where it has varied pronunciations of "O-ee" and "O-ye".

"Oi" has been particularly associated with [[working class]] and [[Cockney]] speech.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UPmf0Kr8tR0C&pg=PA36|title=Blur|last=Sutton|first=Terri|journal=Spin|date=January 1996|page=36|volume=11|issue=10}}</ref> It is effectively a local pronunciation of "[[Ahoy (greeting)|hoy]]"<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=oi "Oi"]. ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref> (see [[Phonological history of English fricatives and affricates#H-dropping|H-dropping]]), an older expression.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140227115153/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hoy?q=hoy "Hoy"]. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 28 June 2013.</ref> A study of the Cockney dialect in the 1950s found that whether it was being used to call attention or as a challenge depended on its tone and abruptness. The study's author noted that the expression is "jaunty and self-assertive" as well as "intensely cockney".<ref>{{cite book|last=Franklyn|first=Julian|title=The Cockney: A Survey of London Life and Language|year=1953|publisher=A. Deutsch|page=259}}</ref>

A poll of non-English speakers by the British Council in 2004 found that "oi" was considered the 61st most beautiful word in the English language. A spokesman commented that "Oi is not a word that I would've thought turned up in English manuals all that often."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4039185.stm|title=Mum's the word, says the world|date=27 November 2004|work=BBC News}}</ref> "Oi" was added to the list of acceptable words in US Scrabble in 2006.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06099/680097-51.stm|title=Scrabble players adjust as official dictionary adds 'za', 'qi' and 3,300 others|last=Linn|first=Virginia|date=9 April 2006|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}}</ref>

==In other languages==
According to [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], in Greek, {{lang|el-Latn|oi}} was an expression of pain, and someone who was in pain or miserable was said to be {{lang|el-Latn|oizuros}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Nietzsche |first=Friedrich Wilhelm|editor=Ansell-Pearson, Keith |editor2=Large, Duncan|title=The Nietzsche Reader|volume=10|year=2006|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|isbn=0-631-22654-0|page=400|chapter=Later writings (1886–7)}}</ref> In Latin, the similar {{lang|la|oiei}} was a cry of pain.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lindsay|first=W. M.|title=The Latin Language: An Historical Account of Latin Sounds, Stems, and Flexions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zEBHglB7zOIC&pg=PA39|year=2010|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-108-01240-9|page=39}}</ref>

Coincidentally, the term {{lang|ja-Latn|oi}} ({{lang|ja|[[wiktionary:おい|おい]]}}) in informal [[Japanese language|Japanese]] is used in the same way as British English, typically by older men to subordinates;<ref>{{cite book|last=Hinds|first=John|title=Japanese: Descriptive Grammar|year=1990|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-01033-0|page=207}}</ref> an elongated {{lang|ja-Latn|ōi}} is used when someone is at a distance.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lammers|first=Wayne P.|title=Japanese the Manga Way: An Illustrated Guide to Grammar & Structure|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xaXukH72bl4C&pg=PA249|year=2005|publisher=Stone Bridge Press, Inc.|isbn=1-880656-90-6|page=249}}</ref>

Also, in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], {{lang|pt|oi!}} {{IPA|pt|oj|}} means "hi" – mostly in Brazil, as people in Portugal use {{lang|pt|olá}} instead; still, under the exclusively Brazilian usage, the interrogative {{lang|pt|oi?}} can be used in the sense of "excuse me?" and "what did you say?", sometimes showing disapproval or disbelief of something said previously, or "yes?", generally when answering the telephone or intercom (Portuguese people usually say {{lang|pt|estou?}} or {{lang|pt|sim?}} on the phone).

In [[Catalan language|Catalan]], {{lang|ca|oi?}} is used at the end of a question, with a meaning similar to "isn't it?"

In dialects of rural central Iranian [[Persian language]] and [[Luri language]], {{lang|fa-Latn|oi}} ({{langx|fa|اوی}}) has the same usage as in English.

In the [[Indian subcontinent]], such as in [[India]] and [[Pakistan]], {{lang|hi|oi}}<!--guessing language meant is Hindi--> is also used as an exclamation in various contexts. For example, it can be used to call someone from a distance, as a way of showing aggression, or when someone is surprised. {{lang|ur-Latn|Oi}} or {{lang|ur-Latn|Oye}} is also used for calling someone in an informal or casual manner in [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Urdu]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], and most of the other Indian languages and Pakistani languages as well.{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In [[Bengali language| Bengali]], {{lang|bn|oi}} ({{IPA|bn|oj}}, written either ঐ or ওই ) means "that" (typically with something within sight). 

In [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], {{lang|ru-Latn|oy}} ({{lang|ru|ой}}) is often used as an expression of various degrees of surprise, like "Whoops" or "Oh".

In the [[Scandinavian languages]], {{lang|da|Oi!}}<!--arbitrarily chosen: Danish--> or the [[Swedish language|Swedish]] variant, {{lang|sv|Oj!}}, is commonly used as an exclamation of surprise, like "Oh" or "Whoops".

In [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]] {{lang|id|hoi}}, {{lang|id|oi}}, and {{lang|id|woi}} (from [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]] {{lang|yue|喂}} ({{lang|yue-Latn|wai<sup>2</sup>}}) and [[Hokkien language|Hokkien]] {{lang|nan|喂}} ({{lang|nan-Latn|oeh}})) are used to call someone.<ref>{{cite web|title=hoi |url=https://kbbi.web.id/hoi |website=Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia |access-date=30 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=oi |url=https://kbbi.web.id/oi |website=Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia |access-date=30 April 2022}}</ref>

In [[Philippine languages]] the equivalent is {{lang|tl|hoy}}<!--arbitrarily chosen: Tagalog--> or {{lang|tl|oy}}, sometimes pronounced {{lang|tl|uy}}. This is commonly used throughout the Philippines with friends and family as an attention-grabbing interjection, but is rarely used with strangers per [[culture of the Philippines|social customs]].

In [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]], oi, spelt in the [[Vietnamese alphabet]] as {{lang|vi|ơi}}, is regularly used to call attention to a person in a sentence. It is used in conjunction with a name or a pronoun. For example, {{lang|vi|ơi}} is used to get the attention of a waiter in a restaurant, or a teacher in a classroom. It is used in every social setting in Vietnam from family to business environments.

In [[Kazakh language]], өй [зi] is used to express surprise, or it can be used to call attention, often with dissatisfaction.

==In popular culture==
{{quote box|align=right|width=20%|quote=Any time you're Lambeth way,<br />Any evening, any day,<br />You'll find us all<br />Doin' the Lambeth Walk. Oi!|source=—The opening lyrics of ''[[The Lambeth Walk]]''}}

The 1937 musical song ''[[The Lambeth Walk]]'' from ''Me and My Girl'' ends with a cry of "Oi!", expressing defiance and transgression of the working-class characters;<ref>{{cite book|last1=Samuel|first1=Raphael|last2=Light|first2=Alison|year=1994|title=Theatres of Memory, Volume 1 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z0sofYGrK9YC&pg=PA394|page=394|chapter=Doing the Lambeth Walk |publisher=Verso |isbn=9780860912095}}</ref> it was newsworthy when [[George VI|King George VI of the United Kingdom]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]] were at one performance and "with the rest of the audience, cocked their thumbs and shouted Oi!"<ref>{{cite book |last=Guy |first=Stephens |editor-last=Richards|editor-first=Jeffrey|title=The Unknown 1930s: An Alternative History of the British Cinema 1929-39|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g1icpzTz6gcC&pg=PA112|year=2001|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=1-86064-628-X|page=112}}</ref>

The phrase gained a certain notoriety due to a British working-class [[punk rock]] subgenre being named [[Oi!]].<ref>Dalton, Stephen, "Revolution Rock", ''Vox'', June 1993</ref><ref name="Robb_history">[[John Robb (musician)|Robb, John]] (2006). ''Punk Rock: An Oral History'' (London: Elbury Press). {{ISBN|0-09-190511-7}}.</ref> Originating in the late 1970s, the genre and its associated [[subculture]] had the goal of bringing together [[punk subculture|punks]], [[skinhead]]s and other working-class youths.<ref>G. Bushell, 'Oi! – The Debate', Sounds, 24 January 1981, 30–1.</ref><ref>G. Bushell, Dance Craze (London, 1981).</ref> The term was later used in the [[Blur (band)|Blur]] song "[[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]", which exemplified its appeal to a new generation of [[mockney]]s. The term also evolved to be used in [[Multicultural London English]]; a 2002 UK Top 10 hit by the [[Grime (music)|grime music]] group [[More Fire Crew]] was titled "Oi!".

==See also==
*[[Oggy Oggy Oggy]]
**[[Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi]]
*[[Oy vey]], a similar-sounding Yiddish exclamation for dismay
* [[Yo (greeting)|Yo]]

==References==
{{wiktionary|Appendix:Official English Scrabble 2-letter words}}
{{wiktionary|Category:English interjections}}
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:British slang]]
[[Category:Irish slang]]
[[Category:Australian slang]]
[[Category:New Zealand slang]]
[[Category:Interjections]]
[[Category:English language in London]]
[[Category:English words]]