Anak Damit Awda

In my previous blog, I discussed the Malay warning on a packet of cigarettes in Brunei. In fact, there is more that can be considered about the language in this warning, in addition to the use of membahayakan.

First, the equivalent for 'baby' in this warning is anak damit (literally: 'small child'; damit is the Brunei Malay word for 'small'). The Standard Malay word for 'baby' is bayi, but this cannot be used here as it means 'pig' in Brunei Malay. And that is why anak damit is used instead.

Second, the second person pronoun is awda. The Standard Malay second person pronoun is anda, but that sounds quite formal and alien in Brunei. Instead, the pronoun awda has been created as a combination of awang ('Mr') and dayang ('Miss'). This new pronoun is used in all official language, though I'm not sure how widely it occurs among the general public.