Cambodian Holidays and Festivals

In this unit, a stranger asks a Phnom Penh resident for directions to various places around town, including restaurants, banks, and hotels. The dialogue practices asking for and giving directions, discussing distances, and navigating city streets.

Basic Dialogue

Between a Stranger and a Phnompenhois (Phnom Penh resident):

#	Cambodian	English
1	som tooh, mian restoroŋ nɨw cɨt nɨh, teh?	Excuse me, is there a restaurant near here?
2	baat mian, taɛ mɨn-cə cɨt pəmaan’ neh,	Yes there is, but it’s not so very near.
3	restoroŋ nuh nɨw tòŋ-naa?	Where is the restaurant?
4	baat, som look ncəən tɨw tòŋ.. dol phleeŋ kəhoom bot sdam, tɨw taam phlew monivúŋ,	Well, you go straight ahead, and when you get to the red light turn right and go along Monivong Street.
5	coŋaay pəhael pəmaan pɨɨ phlew bot?	About how far is it from the turn?
6	ou, pəhael pɨɨ hòoy mɛt’n.	Oh, it’s about two hundred meters.
7	nɨw cɨt restoroŋ, mian otael’ leh?	Is there a hotel near the restaurant?
8	baat, mian otael muoy lʔoo’ ah.	Yes, there’s a very good hotel.
9	bae look coŋ ñceeñ tɨw pəsaa baay nɨw kəlaeŋ nuh, koo baan’ dɛh.	If you want to go eat there, you can.
10	yɨɨ, khñom khmian luy soh,	Say, I don’t have any money!
11	nɨw cɨt nuh, mian boŋ’ teh? khñom coŋ təbaek luy khlah yóo-məcaay,,	Is there a bank near there? I want to go draw out some money to use.
12	baat, nɨw tòŋ nɨŋ, mian boŋ cəən’ ah.	Yes, there are lots of banks there.
13	boŋ naa-muoy nɨw cɨt ciaŋ kee?	Which bank is the closest?
14	baat, taam khñom smaan, boŋ khmaɛ nɨw cɨt ciaŋ kee,	Well, I think that the Khmer Bank is the closest.
15	coh bə khñom coŋ tɨw boŋ khmaɛ pɨɨ otael, khñom tɛ̀w tɨw taam naa?	And if I want to go to the Khmer Bank from the hotel which way do I go?
16	baat, look tɨw tòŋ taam phlew monivúŋ pɨɨ phlew, haəy bot chveeŋ bəy phlew,	Well, you go straight along Monivong Street for two blocks, and then turn left for three blocks.
17	yɨɨ, douc-cia chŋaay’ ah.	My goodness, that seems like a long way.
18	baat, mɨn-cə chŋaay pəmaan’ neh, dae te dop menut, dol’ əh.	No, it’s not so very far. You can walk there in ten minutes.
19	ou, ñceŋ m chŋaay’ teh,	Oh, in that case it’s not so far.
20	khñom som oo kun cəən’ ah.	Thank you very much.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
restoroŋ	restaurant
otael	hotel
boŋ	bank
phlew	street, road
bot	turn
sdam	right
chveeŋ	left
tòŋ	straight
cɨt	near
chŋaay	far
pəhael	about, approximately
mɛt	meter
phlew monivúŋ	Monivong Street
boŋ khmaɛ	Khmer Bank
phleeŋ kəhoom	red light
coŋaay	distance
menut	minute
luy	money
təbaek	draw out, withdraw
yóo-məcaay	to use, to spend

Grammar Notes

1. Contractions in Colloquial Speech: This unit continues the Phnom Penh colloquial style introduced in Unit 21. The contractions /chŋaay/ ‘far’ contrasts grammatically with /coŋaay/ ‘distance’ (standard /comŋaay/). The first is an adjective and the second a noun; the two forms never occur in exactly the same syntactic frame.

2. Reduced forms of /tɨw/ and /taɛ/: Both standard /tɨw/ ‘go’ and /taɛ/ have a reduced form /tə/ in colloquial style. Context determines which is meant.

3. Reduced forms of /móoʔ/ and /mɨn/: The forms /me/ ‘come’ and /m/ ‘not’ sound similar in rapid speech but can be distinguished by listening for clues elsewhere in the sentence.

Practice Drills

Drill A: Multiple Substitution — Distance

Cambodian	English
coŋaay pəhael pəmaan pɨɨ phlew bot?	About how far is it from the place you turn?
coŋaay pəhael pəmaan pɨɨ phlew yuʔkanthóoʔ.	About how far is it from Yukanthor Street?
coŋaay pəhael mərɔ́oy maɛt pɨɨ phlew yuʔkanthóo.	It’s about 100 meters from Yukanthor Street.
coŋaay pəhael mərɔ́oy maɛt pɨɨ phlew monivúŋ.	It’s about 100 meters from Monivong Street.
coŋaay pəhael pɨɨ rɔ́oy maɛt pɨɨ phlew monivúŋ.	It’s about 200 meters from Monivong Street.

Drill B: Response — Nearby Places

Cambodian	English
nɨw cɨt restoroŋ mian otael’ teh? (pəsaa baay)	Is there a hotel near the restaurant? (eat meals)
baat, mian, bae look coŋ ñceeñ tɨw pəsaa baay nɨw kəlaeŋ nuh, ko baan’ dɛh.	Yes, there is. If you want to go there to eat meals, you can.
nɨw cɨt otael mian poh’ teh? (phñae səbot)	Is there a post office near the hotel? (mail a letter)
baat, mian, bae look coŋ ñceeñ tɨw phñae səbot nɨw kəlaeŋ nuh, ko baan’ dɛh.	Yes, there is. If you want to go there to mail a letter, you can.
nɨw cɨt otael mian faamasii’ teh? (tɨñ thnam)	Is there a drug store near the hotel? (buy medicine)
baat, mian, bae look coŋ ñceeñ tɨw tɨñ thnam nɨw kəlaeŋ nuh, ko baan’ dɛh.	Yes, there is. If you want to go there to buy medicine, you can.