Alias and Aka

 

 

 

 

DOCUMENTATION CENTER OF CAMBODIA

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

 

‘alias and aka’

 

Raymund Johansen:

 

Alias is just an assumed name, but it tends to indicate that the person is trying to hide their identity. AKA, or "also known as", indicates that a person is known by this other name, and does not necessarily indicate that he or she chose it to hide their identity. In practice, the two terms are used interchangeably, but I believe that "alias" tends to show an attempt to hide identity, while aka is less indicative of evil intent. "89" was Son Sen's "alias". Ray


John Ciorciari:

 

There isn't very much difference. An alias is a fake name that someone uses, often to conceal their identity. "A.K.A." stands for "also known as." It is a relatively informal expression. We often use it to introduce a person's popular nickname, but it can also be used to note a person's alias. Here are some examples to make it clearer:


 -       The alias of Mok was Chhit Choeuan.

 -         Mok, alias Chhit Choeuan, was a former KR leader.

 -         Mok went by the alias of Chhit Choeuan.

 -         Mok, aka "The Butcher," was a former KR leader.

 -         Mok, aka "Chhit Choeuan," was a former KR leader.

 

In formal academic writing, we would almost always use the word "alias." "AKA" is more common in newspapers and informal writing.