Getting Around Town

In this unit, Sareth and Sarin discuss renting a boat to visit Rabbit Island (koh tùnsaay). They talk about arrangements for the trip, costs, travel time, food availability, and scheduling their return. The dialogue practices making plans for recreational travel, discussing costs, and negotiating trip logistics.

Basic Dialogue

Between Sareth and Sarin:

#	Cambodian	English
1	mɛc, yeeŋ kɨt cuol tuuk muoy tələeŋ koh nsaay’ ɨh?	Well, should we plan to rent a boat to go to Rabbit Island?
2	mian ɛyʔ taɛ təcuol inaa?	All right – but where do we go to rent it?
3	ou, khñom m deŋ dae.. cam khñom təsuo kee’ meeh.	Oh, I don’t know. Wait for me while I go to ask them.
4	tɨw tŋ-pɨɨ néʔ’ ɨh?	Should both of us go?
5	m ɛy’ teh, khluon nɨw inɨŋ, khñom tɨw tə-menéʔ aeŋ baan’ əh.	It doesn’t matter. You stay here. I can go alone.
6	ñceŋ tɨw coh, khñom nɨw cam,	In that case, go on. I’ll stay and wait.
7	khñom cuol baan’ əh.	I was able to rent one.
8	thlay pəmaan?	How much does it cost?
9	m thlay’ teh, pèam hòoy meŋay.	Not expensive, five hundred (riels) a day.
10	coh mian suo kee’ teh?.. tɨw pəmaan maoŋ baan dol?	And did you ask them how long it will take to get there?
11	m tieŋ’ teh, kee thaa pəhael bey maoŋ, bae mian khyol lʔoo.	It depends. They said about three hours if there’s a good wind.
12	nɨw nuh mian kee lúʔ məhoup eh?	Do they sell food there?
13	kom puoy ɛy soh,.. yóo m oh’ teh,	Don’t worry about anything at all. They’ve got plenty of it!
14	maoŋ pəmaan, yeeŋ ceñ tɨw?	What time will we leave?
15	tɨw alew’ əh.	We’ll go right now.
16	maoŋ pəmaan, yeeŋ móo viñ?	What time will we come back?
17	kom kɨt kuu ɛy… tɨw ŋuut tɨk me-sətuh, ñam baay, smeaʔ məphlɛɛt, sem móo viñ,	Don’t worry, we’ll go swim a little while, eat, rest a while, then we’ll come back.
18	kom nɨw yuu peek’ neh,	Don’t stay too long.
19	púh khñom tɛ̀w tɨw cuop kee ae phnum pɨñ phooŋ,	Because I have to go to meet someone in Phnom Penh.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
tuuk	boat
cuol	to rent
koh nsaay (koh tùnsaay)	Rabbit Island
khyol	wind
məhoup	food
thlay	expensive, to cost
hòoy	hundred
meŋay	day
ŋuut tɨk	to swim
smeaʔ	to rest
riels	riels (currency)
pèam	five
bey	three
tə-menéʔ	alone, by oneself
cuop	to meet
viñ	back, again
tələeŋ	to go to
tieŋ	certain, definite
peek	too (much)

Grammar Notes

1. Imperative with /kom/: The negative imperative ‘don’t’ is expressed with /kom/, as in /kom puoy ɛy soh/ ‘Don’t worry about anything.’

2. Sequential actions with /sem/: The word /sem/ indicates ‘then’ in a sequence of planned actions, as in /smeaʔ məphlɛɛt, sem móo viñ/ ‘rest a while, then come back.’

3. Conditional with /bae/: Used in /bae mian khyol lʔoo/ ‘if there’s a good wind’ to express a condition.

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Sequential Plans

Cambodian	English
tɨw alew’ ɨh?	Shall we go now?
tee, ñam baay haəy, sem yeeŋ tɨw,	We’ll eat, then we’ll go.
rien alew’ ɨh?	Shall we study now?
tee, ñam baay haəy, sem yeeŋ rien,	We’ll eat, then we’ll study.
ŋuut tɨk alew’ ɨh?	Shall we swim now?
tee, ñam baay haəy, sem yeeŋ ŋuut tɨk,	We’ll eat, then we’ll swim.
cuol tuuk alew’ ɨh?	Shall we rent the boat now?
tee, ñam baay haəy, sem yeeŋ cuol tuuk,	We’ll eat, then we’ll rent the boat.
tɨw meel kon alew’ ɨh?	Shall we go to the movies now?
tee, ñam baay haəy, sem yeeŋ tɨw meel kon,	We’ll eat, then we’ll go to the movies.