Celebrations and Customs

In this unit, Sarin and Paul discuss going on an outing to Wat Phnom, a famous landmark in Phnom Penh. They talk about what there is to see, including a stupa and temple, a flower garden, and music performances on Saturdays. The dialogue practices making plans, discussing sightseeing, and expressing preferences about activities.

Basic Dialogue

Between Sarin and Paul:

#	Cambodian	English
1	mɛc, look pool, kɨt tɨw naa ntɛc’ ɨh?	Well, Paul! Do you feel like going anywhere?
2	mian ɛyʔ coŋ tɨw naa, sèac-tə lee look’ əh,	Sure! Wherever you want to go, it’s up to you.
3	yɨɨ, thŋay nɨh khñom douc coŋ tɨw vɔ́t phnum medooŋ,	Gee, today I guess I’d like to go to Wat Phnom.
4	tɨw vɔ́t phnum’ ko tɨw.	Well, let’s go to Wat Phnom then.
5	nɨw vɔ́t phnum, mian ɛy-khlah? khñom m-dael tɨw soh,	What do they have at Wat Phnom? I’ve never been there.
6	ou, look m dəŋ’ tee.. vɔ́t phnum cia daem kəmnaet phnum pɨñ.	Oh, you don’t know. Wat Phnom is the birthplace of Phnom Penh.
7	ou, ñceŋ, khñom coŋ tɨw meel’ ah.	Oh, is that so! I’d like to go see it.
8	som look nɨyiey pèap khñom pɨɨ vɔ́t phnum ntɛc tiet’ meeh.	Could you please tell me something more about Wat Phnom.
9	baat, nɨw nuh, mian phnum touc muoy. haəy nɨw lee kəmpuul phnum nuh mian cay-dɛy muoy, haəy-nɨŋ pehia muoy,	Well, there is a little hill there, and on the top of the hill there is a stupa and a temple.
10	mian look soŋ’ teh, nɨw-inɨŋ?	Are there any priests there?
11	ou, mian look soŋ meʔoŋ-pɨɨ dae.	Oh, there are one or two priests.
12	mɛc, kɨt tɨw alew’ ɨh?	Well, shall we go now?
13	taam khñom, khñom thaa cam maoŋ prmmuoy, sem tɨw,	As far as I’m concerned, I say let’s wait until six o’clock to go.
14	púh nɨw maoŋ prmmuoy, mian kee leeŋ phleeŋ phooŋ, nɨw kəlaeŋ nuh.	Because at six o’clock, they play music there, too.
15	mian ɛy’ ñceŋ.. sèac-tə lee look’ coh.	All right, then. It’s up to you.
16	nɨw nuh mian ɛy kòan-n meel tiet’ eh?	Is there anything else there that we should see?
17	baat, they m mian? mian suon chbaa lʔoo’ nah, nɨw cumviñ vɔ́t phnum.	Sure, there is. There is a nice flower garden, around Wat Phnom.
18	mian menuh tɨw leeŋ cəən’ teh?	Do lots of people go there?
19	oo, thŋay nɨh, thŋay saw phooŋ.. pəhael menuh cəən’ ah.	Oh, today is Saturday. There will probably be a lot of people there.
20	ñceŋ pəhael səbaay’ ah, meel tɨw. kee tɨw thee ɛy’ nɨŋ?	It must be very nice there, then. What do they do?
21	oo, kee tɨw sdap phleeŋ phooŋ,, nóm koun-caw kee tɨw leeŋ phooŋ,	Oh, they either go listen to the music, or they take their children there to play.
22	púh nɨw kulaeŋ nuh, mian kəlaeŋ smeəp khmeəŋ leeŋ muoy lʔoo’ ah.	Because there is a very nice place for children to play there.
23	khñom kɨt coŋ tɨw pɨɨ-thŋay’ ntɛc.	I think I’d like to go while it’s still daylight.
24	púh khñom coŋ dae meel kee aeŋ’ ntɛc.	Because I’d like to walk around and see them for myself.
25	mian ɛy’ ñceŋ.. riap-com khluon oy haəy’ tɨh. maoŋ pèam kelah, yeeŋ tɨw.	Sure, why not. Let’s get ourselves ready. At five-thirty, we’ll go.
26	khñom haəy alew’ əh. cam məphlɛɛt’ neh.	I’m just about ready. Wait a minute.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
vɔ́t phnum	Wat Phnom
phnum pɨñ	Phnom Penh
kəmnaet	birthplace
phnum	hill, mountain
kəmpuul	top, peak
cay-dɛy	stupa
pehia	temple
look soŋ	priest, monk
suon chbaa	flower garden
phleeŋ	music
koun-caw	children
smeəp	place (for)
riap-com	to prepare, get ready
khluon	oneself
thŋay saw	Saturday
cumviñ	around
sdap	to listen
leeŋ	to play, to stroll

Grammar Notes

1. Sentence-final particles: The particle /phooŋ/ ‘also, too’ is used frequently in this unit. Note its position at the end of the clause.

2. Sequential actions with /ruoc/: Two activities done in sequence use /kee tɨw dae leeŋ, ruoc tɨw sdap phleeŋ/ ‘They go there to stroll around, then they go to listen to music.’

3. Expressing time with /maoŋ/: Clock time is expressed as /maoŋ/ + number, e.g. /maoŋ prmmuoy/ ‘six o’clock’.

Practice Drills

Drill A: Transformation — Sequential Actions

Cambodian	English
kee tɨw rien phooŋ,, tɨw meel kon phooŋ,	They go to study, and also to watch movies.
kee tɨw rien, ruoc tɨw meel kon.	They go to study and then they go to watch movies.
kee tɨw baek luy phooŋ,, tɨw tɨñ əyvan phooŋ,	They go to draw out money, and also to buy things.
kee tɨw baek luy, ruoc tɨw tɨñ əyvan,	They go to draw out money and then they go to buy things.
kee tɨw rien phooŋ,, tɨw thee kaa phooŋ,	They go to study, and also to work.
kee tɨw rien, ruoc tɨw thee kaa,	They go to study and then they go to work.
kee tɨw bɔrien phooŋ,, tɨw rien phooŋ,	They go to teach, and also to study.
kee tɨw bɔrien, ruoc tɨw rien,	They go to teach and then they go to study.