Narration: People and Places Review

This unit covers discussing where and how you studied a foreign language. You will learn vocabulary for schools, universities, and place names, and practice describing the structure of educational institutions. The dialogue takes place between a Cambodian and an American discussing studying Khmer at FSI.

Basic Dialogue

Cambodian (romanized)	English
look hien khmaɛ niw-inaa?	Where did you study Cambodian?
baat, khñom hien khmaɛ niw srok ameriʔŋ..niw F.S.I.	I studied Cambodian in America at F.S.I.
F.S.I. cia salaa aɛkecún, rii cia salaa saathiarɔnaʔ?	Is F.S.I. a private school or a public school?
baat, F.S.I. cia salaa leboh riecchkaa, koo pontaɛ m-mɛɛn cia salaa saathiarɔnaʔ’ tehJ	Well, F.S.I. is a government school, but it’s not exactly a public school.
cia salaa leboh kesuoŋ kaa-booreteh, mɛɛn’ eh?	It’s a school belonging to the State Department, isn’t it?
baat, pɔkot’ ɔh.	Yes, that’s right.
nɔnaaʔ bŋien khmaɛ niw kelaɛŋ nuh?	Who teaches Cambodian there?
baat, look sok niŋ look saw’ cia kùu bŋien niw kelaɛŋ nuh.	Mr. Sok and Mr. Sau are the teachers there.
kót khmaɛ, mɛɛn’ eh?	They are Cambodians, aren’t they?
baat, kót khmaɛ.	Yes, they’re Cambodians.
niw F.S.I., kee bŋien ɛy-khlah?	What all do they teach at F.S.I.?
baat, F.S.I. kee caɛk cia pii phnaɛk..mɔkhaaŋ, khaaŋ nɛyoobaay,, mɔkhaaŋ, khaaŋ phiasaa.	F.S.I. is divided into two sections: On the one hand, foreign affairs; on the other hand, languages.
kee bŋien phiasaa ɛy-khlah’ niw kelaɛŋ nuh?	What languages do they teach there?
baat, kee bŋien phiasaa cɔ̀en’ ah.. douccia pɛ̀aŋ, español, cɔn, yuon, siem, cia daɛm.	Oh, they teach a lot of languages, such as French, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, for example.
salaa niŋ’ niw tòŋ-naa?	Where is the school located?
baat, niw khnoŋ tii-kroŋ aaliŋton.	It’s in the town of Arlington.
khñom smaan tɔ niw khnoŋ kroŋ vaasentaonJJ	Oh, I thought it was in Washington!
tee, m mɛɛn’ tehJ	No, that’s not right.
look niʔyiey khmaɛ lʔoo’ ah.	You speak Cambodian very well.
baat, oo kunJ	Thank you!

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
hien (rien)	to study
salaa rien	school
aɛkecún	private
saathiarɔnaʔ	public
lisee	lycée (French secondary school)
siisovat	Sisowath (name of a lycée)
vitthyialay	other secondary school
mohaa-vitthyialay	university
phnaɛk	section, department
puoʔ	group
phiasaa	language
nɛyoobaay	foreign affairs, policy
bŋien (boŋrien)	to teach
caɛk	to divide
douccia	such as
cia daɛm	for example
péy-ŋkóo (prey-nokóo)	Saigon
baŋkooʔ	Bangkok
parii	Paris
loŋ (londre)	London
niw yóok	New York
šikagou	Chicago
los-oñyeles	Los Angeles
soŋ-froŋsiskoo	San Francisco
vaasentaon (-ton)	Washington
aaliŋton (-taon)	Arlington

Grammar Notes

School Terms and Place Names

Cambodian distinguishes between types of schools: salaa aɛkecún (private school), salaa saathiarɔnaʔ (public school), salaa reboh riecchkaa (government school), lisee (lycée), mohaa-vitthyialay (university). Place names are often adapted from their original language: parii (Paris), loŋ (London), baŋkooʔ (Bangkok).

Series Intonation

Series intonation is marked by double commas (,,) and sets off two parallel constituents: mɔkhaaŋ, khaaŋ nɛyoobaay,, mɔkhaaŋ, khaaŋ phiasaa. (‘On the one hand, foreign affairs; on the other hand, languages.’) The first constituent has a higher relative pitch than the second.

Emphatic Exclamation

The double exclamation mark (JJ) represents a sustained high-pitch ending expressing surprise: khñom smaan tɔ niw khnoŋ kroŋ vaasentaonJJ (‘I thought it was in Washington!’)

Practice Drills

Drill A. Substitution

Cambodian	English
look hien khmaɛ niw-inaa?	Where did you study Cambodian?
look hien yuon niw-inaa?	Where did you study Vietnamese?
look hien siem niw-inaa?	Where did you study Thai?
look hien liaw niw-inaa?	Where did you study Lao?
look hien cɔn niw-inaa?	Where did you study Chinese?
look hien pɛ̀aŋ niw-inaa?	Where did you study French?
look hien español niw-inaa?	Where did you study Spanish?
look hien cipun niw-inaa?	Where did you study Japanese?
look hien rusii niw-inaa?	Where did you study Russian?
look hien onglee niw-inaa?	Where did you study English?

Drill B. Multiple Substitution

Cambodian	English
F.S.I. cia salaa aɛkecún’ ih?	Is F.S.I. a private school?
F.S.I. cia salaa leboh riecchkaa’ ih?	Is F.S.I. a government school?
lisee siisovat cia salaa leboh riecchkaa’ ih?	Is Lycée Sisowath a government school?
salaa tŋ-oh niw sòk amerik cia salaa leboh riecchkaa’ ih?	Are all the schools in America government schools?
salaa tŋ-oh niw sòk amerik cia salaa aɛkecún’ ih?	Are all the schools in America private schools?
F.S.I. cia salaa aɛkecún’ ih?	Is F.S.I. a private school?