Comprehension and Repetition

Unit 2 builds on the classroom setting from Unit 1, focusing on comprehension and repetition at varying speeds and volumes. Students learn to respond to instructions about speaking louder, softer, faster, and slower, along with vocabulary for speed and volume.

Basic Dialogue

#	Cambodian	English	Context
1	soum thaa mədooŋ tiet: ‘khmaε sruol rien.‘	Please say it again: ‘Khmer is easy to learn.‘	Teacher to First Student
2	…khmaε sruol rien… [tec-tec]	…Khmer is easy to learn… [softly]	First Student
3	thaa aoy khlaŋ ntec. tec nah, khñom sdap min lii tee.	Say it a little louder. It’s too soft; I can’t hear it.	Teacher to First Student
4	khmaε sruol rien‼ [thaa khlaŋ] look lii tee?	Khmer is easy to learn‼ [louder] Can you hear it?	First Student
5	baat (cah). neɁ bontóp: ‘khmaε sruol rien.‘	Yes. Next person: ‘Khmer is easy to learn.‘	Teacher
6	khmaε…sruol…rien. [yiit-yiit]	Khmer…is easy…to learn. [slowly]	Second Student
7	kom thaa yiit peek. khom thaa aoy ñóp ntec.	Don’t say it so slowly. Try saying it a little faster.	Teacher to Second Student
8	khmaε sruol rien. [thaa ñóp]	Khmer is easy to learn. [faster]	Second Student
9	baan lʔoo. neɁ bontóp: ‘khmaε sruol rien.‘	Good. Next person: ‘Khmer is easy to learn.‘	Teacher
10	khmaεsruolrien. [ñóp nah]	Khmeriseasytоlearn. [very fast]	Third Student
11	ñóp peek. khñom sdap min baan tee.	That’s too fast. I can’t understand it.	Teacher to Third Student
12	khmaε sruol rien. [thaa ñóp ləmóom] yiit ləmóom tee?	Khmer is easy to learn. [at the right speed] Is that slow enough?	Third Student
13	baat, baan. ʔəyləw khñom sdap baan haey.	Yes, that’s all right. Now I can understand you.	Teacher to Third Student

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English	Notes
sdap	to listen, to hear
lii	to hear, to be audible
baan	to be able to, to get	also ‘all right’
tiet	again, more, another
mədooŋ tiet	once more, again
aoy	to give; so that	causative marker
khlaŋ	loud, strong
ntec	a little
tec	soft, small, few
tec nah	too soft, very soft
yiit	slow
yiit peek	too slow
ñóp	fast
ñóp peek	too fast
ñóp ntec	a little faster
ñóp ləmóom	fast enough
ləmóom	enough, sufficiently
peek	too, excessively
nah	very
kom	don’t	negative imperative
khom	to try
cam	to wait
bontóp	next (person)
neɁ bontóp	next person
lʔoo	good
baan lʔoo	good (approval)
haey	already, and then
min	not	negation in statements

Grammar Notes

Word Order: Commands and Statements

Cambodian word order is deceptively similar to English word order but will cause difficulty wherever you expect it to be exactly the same.

In Commands (Auxiliary-Verb-Predicate):

Cambodian	English
soum bet sɨew-phɨw.	Please close the books.
cam thaa taam khñom.	Wait and repeat after me.
kom thaa yiit peek.	Don’t say it so slowly.
khom thaa aoy ñóp ntec.	Try saying it a little faster.

When a positive command contains an adjective in its predicate, Cambodian usually has the item /aoy/ just before the adjective. /aoy/ means something like ‘so that’ but has no real English equivalent in this type of construction.

In Statements (Subject-Verb-Predicate):

Cambodian	English
khmaε sruol rien.	Khmer is easy to learn.
khñom sdap min lii tee.	I cannot hear.
ʔəyləw khñom sdap baan haey.	Now I can understand.

Practice Drills

Substitution Drill A

Cambodian	English
soum thaa taam khñom.	Please say it after me.
cam thaa taam khñom.	Wait and say it after me.
kom thaa taam khñom.	Don’t say it after me.
khom thaa taam khñom.	Try saying it after me.
soum thaa taam khñom.	Please say it after me.

Substitution Drill C

Cambodian	English
kom thaa yiit peek.	Don’t say it so slowly.
kom thaa ñóp peek.	Don’t say it so fast.
kom thaa khlaŋ peek.	Don’t say it so loud.
kom thaa tec peek.	Don’t say it so softly.
kom thaa yiit peek.	Don’t say it so slowly.

Substitution Drill D

Cambodian	English
khom thaa aoy ñóp ntec.	Try saying it a little faster.
khom thaa aoy khlaŋ ntec.	Try saying it a little louder.
khom thaa aoy yiit ntec.	Try saying it a little slower.
khom thaa aoy tec ntec.	Try saying it a little softer.
khom thaa aoy ñóp ntec.	Try saying it a little faster.