Sightseeing and Tourism

In this unit, a Cambodian invites an American friend to visit Angkor Wat. They discuss travel plans, the journey from Phnom Penh, stopping at Kompong Thom along the way, and making arrangements to leave on Friday evening by car. The dialogue practices making travel plans, discussing transportation, and expressing interest in sightseeing.

Basic Dialogue

Between a Cambodian and an American:

#	Cambodian	English
1	look dael tɨw ŋkóo vɔ́t’ eh?	Have you ever been to Angkor Wat?
2	baat, m dael soh,	No, I never have.
3	mɛc, coŋ atɨt nɨŋ, bae khmian kaa ɛy’ teh, tɨw leeŋ cia-muoy khñom’ ɨh?	Well, this weekend, if you’re not busy, will you go there with me?
4	baat, khñom khmian ləvúl thee ɛy’ teh,	Sure, I don’t have anything to do.
5	ñceŋ, tɨw cia-muoy khñom tɨw’ ɨh?	In that case, you’ll go with me?
6	look kɨt ñceeñ tɨw ŋkaal?	When were you thinking of going?
7	khñom coŋ ceñ tɨw ləŋiec thŋay sok,	I would like to leave Friday evening.
8	look kɨt ñceeñ tɨw taam ɛy?	How do you plan to go?
9	khñom meel tɨw, pəhael baek laan khñom tɨw’ əh,	I guess I will drive my car there.
10	mian nənaa tɨw cemuoy look’ eh?	Is anyone going with you?
11	baat, mian puoʔ-maaʔ khñom menéʔ kee coŋ tɨw cemuoy khñom’ dɛh.	Yes, one of my friends wants to go with me too.
12	be look aoy khñom tɨw cemuoy phooŋ, khñom oo kun cəən’ ah.	If you let me go along, I’d be very grateful to you.
13	som tooh, tɨw pəmaan maoŋ baan dol?	Excuse me, how many hours does it take to get there?
14	ou, pəhael pèam-prmmuoy maoŋ dol’ əh.	Oh, it takes perhaps five or six hours.
15	ñceŋ, chŋaay kuosom daɛ’ neh.	In that case, it’s quite far, isn’t it?
16	taam khñom smaan, look coŋ chup kedaal phlew meel kəlaeŋ psɛŋ-psɛŋ’ əh, meel tɨw.	I should imagine that you would want to stop along the way to see different places, wouldn’t you?
17	baat, nɨw kedaal phlew, mian kəlaeŋ naa kuo coul meel’ teh?	Yes. Are there any places along the way that would be interesting to stop and see?
18	baat, khñom coŋ chup nɨw kəpuŋ thom məphlɛɛt, púh nɨw com phlew tɨw siem riap dae.	Yes. I would like to stop at Kompong Thom, because it’s right on the way to Siem Reap.
19	ñceŋ suol’ əh.	That would be nice.
20	ñceŋ thŋay sok, ceñ pɨɨ thee kaa yeeŋ tɨw pdaoy’ neh.	So on Friday, we’ll go straight from work, all right?
21	baat,	Yes.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
ŋkóo vɔ́t (aŋkɔɔ vɔ́t)	Angkor Wat
siem riap	Siem Reap
kəpuŋ thom	Kompong Thom
atɨt	weekend, week
ləŋiec	evening
thŋay sok	Friday
laan	car
baek laan	to drive a car
chup	to stop
kedaal	along the way
pèam-prmmuoy	five or six
puoʔ-maaʔ	friend
menéʔ	one (person)
cemuoy	with, together
pdaoy	right away, directly
kuo coul meel	interesting to see
ləvúl	free time, leisure
psɛŋ-psɛŋ	different, various

Grammar Notes

1. Experiential /dael/: The word /dael/ is used to ask about past experience, as in /look dael tɨw…teh?/ ‘Have you ever been to…?’ The negative response is /m dael soh/ ‘Never have.’

2. Conditional /bae/: The word /bae/ ‘if’ introduces conditional clauses, as in /bae khmian kaa ɛy teh/ ‘if you’re not busy.’

3. Future plans with /kɨt/: The verb /kɨt/ ‘to think’ is used to express plans or intentions, as in /look kɨt ñceeñ tɨw ŋkaal?/ ‘When do you plan to go?‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Travel Planning

Cambodian	English
look kɨt ñceeñ tɨw taam ɛy? (atiah-phleeŋ)	How do you plan to go? (train)
khñom cɨh atiah-phleeŋ pɨɨ vaasentaon tɨw ñɨw yóok,	I took the train from Washington to New York.
look tɨw ñɨw yóok taam phlew naa? (leek saesəp)	What route did you take to New York? (number 40)
khñom tɨw ñɨw yóok taam phlew leek saesəp,	I took Route 40 to New York.
look baek laan oh peel pəmaan? (buon maoŋ)	How many hours did you drive? (four hours)
khñom baek laan oh buon maoŋ,	I drove for four hours.

Drill B: Substitution — Vehicles

Cambodian	English
kpal-hoh dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ, thom’ nah.	The plane that I took to London was a very big one.
kpal-hoh dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ, lien’ nah.	The plane that I took to London was a very fast one.
laan dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ, lien’ nah.	The car that I took to London was a very fast one.
laan dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ, touc’ nah.	The car that I took to London was a very small one.
atiah-phleeŋ dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ, lʔoo’ nah.	The train that I took to London was a very good one.