Documents and Identification

In this unit, Sareth and Sarin are on a plane about to arrive in Phnom Penh. They discuss the airport, the city, customs and immigration procedures, and arrangements for being picked up. The dialogue practices talking about travel documents, airport procedures, and city descriptions.

Basic Dialogue

Between Sareth and Sarin:

#	Cambodian	English
1	yeeŋ cɨt dol m-pɨñ’ haəy ɨh?	Are we about to arrive in Phnom Penh?
2	baat, nɨw-tə kelah maoŋ tiet’ eh, kpal-hoh coh’ haəy.	Yes, (there is) only half an hour left, the plane is descending already.
3	look thlɔ́p móo m-pɨñ’ eh?	Have you ever come to Phnom Penh (before)?
4	ou, khñom móo m-pɨñ pɨɨ-bey dooŋ’ eh.	Oh, I’ve come to Phnom Penh two or three times.
5	m-pɨñ səbaay’ teh?	Is Phnom Penh nice?
6	baat, mian ɛyʔ m-pɨñ touc’ teh, taɛ sʔaat’ nah.	Sure, it is! Phnom Penh is small, but it’s very nice.
7	vial kpal-hoh chŋaay pɨɨ m-pɨñ’ eh?	Is the airport far from Phnom Penh?
8	baat, mɨn-cə chŋaay pəmaan’ eh.. taam khñom smaan, pəhael dop kəlou.	No, it’s not very far – I think it’s about ten kilometers.
9	coh kee chaek ɛy-khlah’ tɨwʔ.. nɨw vial kpal-hoh’ŋ.	And what do they check, at the airport?
10	oo, mun dəbouŋ, look tɛ̀w bəŋhaaŋ sbot peet tɨw kee, ruoc paspóo, ruoc haəy look tɨw khaaŋ kóoy,	Oh, first you have to show your health card to them, then the passport, and then you go to customs.
11	oh peel pəhael pəmaan’ nɨh?	How much time does that take?
12	ou, pəhael-cia meamaoŋ.	Oh, about an hour.
13	look mian kee móo tetuol’ eh?	Do you have someone coming to pick you up?
14	baat, khmian’ eh,	No one.
15	ñceŋ look tɨw cemuoy khñom tɨw,	In that case, you go with me.
16	mian kee yóo laan móo tetuol khñom dol-te pɨɨ-bey.	There are people bringing cars to meet me, as many as two or three.
17	ñceŋ suol’ eh.. khñom som oo kun cəən’ ah.	It’s fine that way. Thank you, very much.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
m-pɨñ (phnum pɨñ)	Phnom Penh
kpal-hoh	airplane
vial kpal-hoh	airport
paspóo	passport
sbot peet	health card
kóoy (khaaŋ kóoy)	customs
tetuol	to meet, pick up
coh	to descend, land
thlɔ́p	ever (before)
mun dəbouŋ	first
bəŋhaaŋ	to show
kəlou	kilometer
meamaoŋ	hour
laan	car
dooŋ	time(s), occasion
kelah	half
chaek	to check

Grammar Notes

1. Experiential /thlɔ́p/: Similar to /dael/, the word /thlɔ́p/ is used to ask about past experience, as in /look thlɔ́p móo m-pɨñ eh?/ ‘Have you ever come to Phnom Penh?’

2. Sequential procedures with /ruoc/: The conjunction /ruoc/ ‘and then’ is used to describe steps in a process: /bəŋhaaŋ sbot peet…ruoc paspóo…ruoc haəy look tɨw khaaŋ kóoy/ ‘show health card…then passport…then go to customs.’

3. Quantity with /dol-te/: The expression /dol-te pɨɨ-bey/ means ‘as many as two or three.‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Airport Procedures

Cambodian	English
yeeŋ cɨt dol phnum pɨñ haəy rɨh?	Are we about to arrive in Phnom Penh?
baat, nɨw-taɛ konlah maoŋ tiet tee, kpal-hoh coh haəy.	Yes, there’s only half an hour left, the plane is descending already.
look thlɔ́p móoʔ phum pɨñ tee?	Have you ever come to Phnom Penh?
ou, khñom móoʔ phnum pɨñ pɨɨ-bey dooŋ haəy.	Oh, I’ve come to Phnom Penh two or three times.
phnum pɨñ səbaay tee?	Is Phnom Penh nice?
baat, mian ɛyʔ phnum pɨñ touc teh, taɛ sʔaat nah.	Sure, it is! Phnom Penh is small, but it’s very nice.
vial kpal-hoh chŋaay pɨɨ phnum pɨñ tee?	Is the airport far from Phnom Penh?
baat, mɨn-cia chŋaay ponmaan tee. taam khñom smaan, prohael dop kilou.	No, it’s not very far – I think it’s about ten kilometers.