Language in Brunei

I have been doing some work on the pronunciation of Kedayan. ( See here for more details.) One of the most salient features of Kedayan is ...

My year-one UBD exam had the following question: A digraph is two letters in the spelling that are used to represent a single sound. What i...

Yesterday, I went on a Brunei Nature Society outing, to visit the sago factory in Tutong District. One of the highlights was the chance to t...

This morning, I was listening to presentations from three of my students who have been on attachment with Royal Brunei, and the following se...

At a talk given by Dr Victor King to the Brunei Nature Society on Monday 21 October, he suggested that the word orangutan was actually inve...

I was just reading an article in The Guardian about spurious concerns over the decline in the English language. It quotes the British broad...

I just read a UK news report in The Guardian in which there was a quote from Jo Swinson, the leader of the Liberal Democrats: Boris Johnson...

Research continues at UBD on the pronunciation of Dusun. The following website highlights recent efforts: http://fass.ubd.edu.bn/research/d...

How should I pronounce 'Sultan'? Should it be [sʊltən] (the first syllable rhyming with 'full')? Or should it be [sʌltən] (t...

I am currently in Singapore, and it is fascinating to listen to the announcements on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport, the underground train sy...

In enabling learners of English to become proficient communicators in international settings, making themselves understood is the key goal, ...

In the modern world, we emphasise that there are many ways of speaking English, and insisting on one external model such as British or Ameri...

One of my colleagues told me today that, when you make an appointment in Brunei say for 10 am the next day, people might ask Janji melayu at...

Traditionally, words ending in -o tended to refer to people and generally had a negative connotation: wino, psycho, wacko, etc. However, in...

The other day, my wife went into a restaurant and ordered a cup of doujiang ('beancurd juice') to take away. When the lady handed i...

I wrote the Wikipedia page on Brunei English . But subsequently, anyone anywhere can edit the material. And sometimes complete rubbish gets ...

A friend was arranging to meet with me in Bukit Beruang, near Tutong. But the message actually stated Bukit Versing rather than Bukit Beruan...

How do you pronounce 'mischievous'? According to Wells (2008, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary , 3rd Edition), the standard pronunc...

We often make allusions to things and events in the world about us, and sometimes we make allusions to books and films. Yesterday, my daught...

I was recently told that young people in Brunei write messages like this when texting: im finna go to store The more formal version of thi...