SITTING PRETTY

Here I am, at 1:22 AM, sitting in front of the pc pondering on what to write. A few cigarettes have been snuffed and I still sit.

I have not written on Trengganuspeak for a while now, so maybe I should now before this blog lost its identity (and more readers).

"Sit" is dudok in Terengganuspeak. Same meaning as in Bahasa Malaysia (Standard) only in Terengganu it has an extra meaning. Dudok also means "living in" or "staying at" as in
Mung dudok duane? (Where do you live?)
Ambe dudok Mannir (I live in Manir)
Do not ask the guy "Lama dah tinggal Mannir?" (Have you lived long in Manir?)
because the answer might be
Dok rajin tinggal Mannir pun. Dudok sining sokmo. (never left Manir, been here always).

The English has only one meaning of "sit" that I can remember this early in the morning. It means planting your posterior on the chair, on the cushion, on the grass, wherever. Terengganuspeak, on the other hand (or posterior if you like) has various modes of sitting. There is
dudok cokkoh, dudok cattok, dudok jerenggeng, duduk senggeng,duduk belunjur and probably some other duduk too. Derumo will of course describe the subtle differences in English in due course.
Mok Nan Selamoh, the Terengganu equivalent of the Western Emily Post, the authority on etiquette, will tell you that the polite way to sit is
dudok silla for gentlemen and
dudok sippoh (tippoh?) for ladies of any age.
Please do not confuse this because ladies do not bersila and gentlemen do not sippoh unless they have undergone surgery and done the necessary modification at the Jabatan Pendfatran Negara. It is considered rude to
duduk cakkong when you have company. Duduk cakkong is reserved for the toilet, even done by some on sitting commodes.

Mothers would remind their kids to
dudok diang (sit still) or sometimes dudok mollek (sit properly). Dudok mollek is especially important for girls who tend to sit in such a way that they are said to dudok nanggok. It is excusable for very young girls. For mature ladies, it is a no no. Somebody might see you and ask
"How are you fixed for blades?"