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Great article. Dunno if I'd call myself an Anglophile but I do get a kick out of uniquely British expressions like these. The interwebs have taught me that Oi

Great article. Dunno if I'd call myself an Anglophile but I do get a kick out of uniquely British expressions like these. The interwebs have taught me that Oi can often be followed with "you what, mate?!* Also interesting and not mentioned among the other languages/"see also" sections - "Oyez!" and "¡Oye!"

userbinator 3y ago
I also thought it was just British at first, but apparently the same sound is used in other languages for a similar purpose.
awelxtr 3y ago
The spanish form might be close phonetically but it's not remotely related Oir it's a verb on and by itself and comes from latin audīre and the "¡Oye!" Expression is usually used as a retort, not as an initiator. In cooking settings "¡Oido!" Is used both as a call for attention as an answer.
- quechimba 3y ago
  I've heard "oe" being used to call for someones attention or like a greeting.
  - awelxtr 3y ago
    I'm more used to say "¡Eo!” but then again Spanish is spoken everywhere so variations surely exist
averageRoyalty 3y ago
> The interwebs have taught me that Oi can often be followed with "you what, mate?!* Only in Britan. In Australia it's usually "oi, dickhead" or - in a call and response format "oi", "what, dickhead?".
- wrboyce 3y ago
  “You what, mate?” is fairly aggressive, it immediately makes me think of some dickhead in a pub taking offence to someone and looking to escalate to a physical confrontation (I’m British). Unrelated but “oi, dickhead” is what I shout at my cat when he tries to climb the Christmas tree for the nth time that day.