Narration: Holidays Review

In this unit, an American and a Cambodian visit Angkor Wat and discuss the ancient temple complex near Siem Reap. They talk about the distance, size of Angkor Wat, its history as the royal capital, visiting various temples, taking photographs, and the condition of the roads. This dialogue reviews travel and sightseeing vocabulary from earlier units.

Basic Dialogue

Between an American and a Cambodian:

#	Cambodian	English
1	som tooh, ŋkóo vɔ́t coŋaay pəmaan pɨɨ siem riap?	Excuse me, how far is Angkor Wat from Siem Reap?
2	ou, mɨn-cə chŋaay pəmaan’ teh, taam khñom smaan, pəhael dop kəlou.	Oh, it’s not very far at all. I think it must be about 10 kilometers.
3	nɨw cɨt ŋkóo vɔ́t, mian restoroŋ, mian otael’ ɛy teh?	Are there restaurants and hotels near Angkor Wat?
4	baat, mian dae, taɛ yeeŋ tɨw nɨw siem riap’ teh,	Yes, there are, but we’re going to stay in Siem Reap.
5	ŋkóo vɔ́t thom’ eh? meŋay dae meel kòan’ eh?	Is Angkor Wat a big place? Can you walk around and see it all in one day?
6	yɨɨ, oŋkóo vɔ́t thom’ nah.. dae meel meʔatɨt m sopʔ phooŋ.	Gee, Angkor Wat is huge. You can’t see it all even in a week.
7	mian kəlaeŋ cəən’ nehʔ.. baan-te meel meʔatɨt m sopʔm.	There must be a lot of (different) locations, then, if you can’t see it all in a week.
8	baat, cəən’ ah,	Yes, there are a lot.
9	kaal-pidaem ŋkóo vɔ́t cia riɛc-thianɨɨ sòk khmaɛ.	In ancient times Angkor Wat was the royal capital of Cambodia.
10	yeeŋ kɨt təmeel sʔ ɛy-khlah?	What things should we plan to see?
11	khñom coŋ nóm look tɨw meel pəsaat ŋkóo vɔ́t haəy-nɨŋ ŋkóo thom,	I want to take you to see the temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.
12	kəlaeŋ tŋ-oh nɨŋ nɨw cɨt-cɨt khnia,ʔ?	Are all the locations close together?
13	baat, mɨn-ce cɨt khnia pəmaan’ teh,	No, they’re not very close together.
14	phlew baek laan tɨw, suol’ eh?	Are the roads (for cars) good?
15	baat, mian ɛy?	Sure, they are.
16	tɨw kəlaeŋ nuh, kee yóo luy’ teh?	Do they charge you for going to those places?
17	ou, kee yóo ntɛc-ntuocʔñ.	Oh, they charge a little bit.
18	kee aoy thoot ruupʔ teh?	Do they let you take pictures?
19	they m aoy?	Sure, they do.
20	ñceŋ khñom kɨt yóo fɨl aoy cəən’ tɨw.	In that case, I’ll plan to take a lot of film along.
21	khñom coŋ baan ruup thoot khlah, phñae tɨw opuk-mədaay khñom.	I want to get some pictures to send to my parents.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
ŋkóo vɔ́t	Angkor Wat
ŋkóo thom	Angkor Thom
siem riap	Siem Reap
kəlou	kilometer
riɛc-thianɨɨ	royal capital
kaal-pidaem	ancient times
pəsaat	temple
thoot ruup	to take pictures
ruup thoot	photographs
fɨl	film
opuk-mədaay	parents
phñae	to send
meʔatɨt	week
sopʔ	to finish, complete
kòan	to be able to
cəən	many, a lot
khnia	each other, together
suol	easy, good (of roads)

Grammar Notes

1. Expressing ability with /kòan/: The verb /kòan/ means ‘to be able to’ and is used in questions about feasibility, as in /meŋay dae meel kòan eh?/ ‘Can you see it all in one day?’

2. Negative with /m…sopʔ/: The negative pattern /m sopʔ/ means ‘cannot finish, cannot complete,’ used to express that something is too large or too much.

3. Purpose clauses with /tɨw/: The pattern /V + tɨw/ expresses purpose, as in /thoot ruup khlah phñae tɨw opuk-mədaay/ ‘take some pictures to send to parents.‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Distances

Cambodian	English
soum tooh, oŋkóo vɔ́t comŋaay ponmaan pɨɨ siem riap?	Excuse me, how far is Angkor Wat from Siem Reap?
ou, mɨn-cia chŋay ponmaan tee. taam khñom smaan, prohael dop kilou.	Oh, it’s not very far at all. I think it must be about 10 kilometers.

Drill B: Response — Simultaneous Actions

Cambodian	English
kee thee ɛy nɨw peel kpal-hoh kəpúŋ hoh? (pecaŋ kon)	What do they do while the plane is in flight? (show movies)
kee pecaŋ kon nɨw peel kpal-hoh kəpúŋ hoh,	They show movies while the plane is in flight.
khñom thee ɛy nɨw peel kpal-hoh kəpúŋ hoh? (keeŋ)	What do I do while the plane is in flight? (sleep)
khñom keeŋ nɨw peel kpal-hoh kəpúŋ hoh,	I sleep while the plane is in flight.