You Don't Have To Call Me Darlin'

In Cambodia, people don't usually address you by your first name: they use family or status terms. Older siblings are called Bong, but so are people of the same general age group as you are. Ohn seems to be used for younger people in general. Ming, Bhoo, and Om are titles used for aunts and uncles as well as people of your parents' general age group. Yeay and Ta are titles for grandparents and the greatly aged. Monks are called either Loak Ta, Loak Bong, or Loak Pa-ohn, depending on their age in relation to yours. Teachers are called Neak Kru (women) or Loak Kru (men). And important people like your boss, the village chief, the commune chief, other political personages, and the school director are usually called by their titles.

At home, I'm Bong Maly to all my younger siblings and Maly Ain (my Maly) to my mother. If I'm far away and someone is shouting, they call me Maly Uy (dear Maly). At school, I'm Teacher (not Neak Kru, strangely).

So with all this status-conscious naming, what do sweethearts call each other? Boys are called Bong and girls are called Ohn. Is this what husbands and wives call each other, I asked my family. Oh, no. Married couples have a special form of address. If their child is named Vanny, one calls out Ma Vanny (mother of Vanny) or Pa Vanny (father of Vanny) to locate the other. I asked my mother if couples use each other's first names: she said no.