Classroom Commands and Books

Unit 4 focuses on reading comprehension and word analysis. Students learn to discuss the content of written text, identify individual words in a sentence, and answer questions about word order and meaning. This unit also introduces the three types of Cambodian questions.

Basic Dialogue

#	Cambodian	English	Context
1	bontót niŋ mael thaa mec?	How does that line read?	Teacher
2	mael thaa: khmaε sruol rien.	It reads: ‘Khmer is easy to learn.‘	First Student
3	piaɁ ɛy kraoy kee boŋ-oh, khnoŋ bontót niŋ?	What word is last of all in the line?	Teacher
4	piaɁ kraoy kee boŋ-oh kii ‘rien’.	The word ‘learn’ is last of all.	Second Student
5	haey piaɁ mun piaɁ niŋ?	And the word before that?	Teacher
6	piaɁ mun niŋ kii ‘sruol’.	The word before that is ‘easy’.	Third Student
7	trəw haey. haey piaɁ ɛy mun kee boŋ-oh?	That’s correct. And what’s the very first word?	Teacher
8	piaɁ mun kee boŋ-oh kii ‘khmaε’.	The very first word is ‘Khmer’.	Fourth Student
9	khlia niŋ, look téŋ-oh khnia yúl tee?	Do you all understand this sentence?	Teacher
10	baat, yúl haey.	Yes, we understand it.	Students
11	khlia nih ŋiey yúl nah.	This sentence is very easy to understand.	First Student
12	min pibaaɁ tee.	It’s not difficult.	Teacher

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English	Notes
mael	to look at, to read
mec	how	interrogative
piaɁ	word
ɛy	what	interrogative
kraoy	after, behind
kraoy kee boŋ-oh	last of all
khnoŋ	in, inside
kii	is, namely	equative particle
mun	before, first
mun kee boŋ-oh	first of all
trəw	correct, right
trəw haey	that’s correct
yúl	to understand
ŋiey	easy
pibaaɁ	difficult
min… tee	not… (negative frame)
naa	which	interrogative
neɁnaa	who	interrogative
tii-pəmaan	which (ordinal)	interrogative
suo	to ask

Grammar Notes

Three Types of Cambodian Questions

1. Confirmation Questions

If a question simply requires confirmation of an assumption and contains no verb predicate, the question is usually made with intonation alone (represented by /?/). A ‘yes’ answer repeats the original phrase with statement intonation; a ‘no’ answer supplies the correct information.

Question	’Yes’ Answer	’No’ Answer
khlia dodael?	baat, khlia dodael.	tee, khlia mun.
(The same sentence?)	(Yes, the same sentence.)	(No, the sentence before.)
bontót tii-pii?	baat, bontót tii-pii.	tee, bontót tii-bey.
(Line two?)	(Yes, line two.)	(No, line three.)
khñom mun?	baat, look mun.	tee, khñom mun.
(Me first?)	(Yes, you first.)	(No, me first.)

2. Yes-No Questions

If the question contains a positive verb predicate, add an unstressed tee at the end. Positive responses contain part of the original predicate, optionally followed by haey (‘already’). Negative responses place min before the verb and tee at the end.

Question	’Yes’ Answer	’No’ Answer
look lii tee?	baat, lii.	tee, min lii tee.
(Do you hear?)	(Yes, I hear.)	(No, I don’t hear.)
look yúl tee?	baat, yúl haey.	tee, min yúl tee.
(Do you understand?)	(Yes, I understand.)	(No, I don’t understand.)
look khəəñ khlia tii-pii tee?	baat, khəəñ haey.	tee, min khəəñ tee.
(Do you see sentence two?)	(Yes, I see it.)	(No, I don’t see it.)

3. Information Questions

Information questions use an interrogative word placed where the answer would occur in the response. Five interrogative words encountered so far:

Cambodian	English
naa	which
ɛy	what
neɁnaa	who
tii-pəmaan	which (in a definite series)
mec	how

Practice Drills

Response Drill A

Teacher	Student	English
khlia dodael? (baat)	baat, khlia dodael.	The same sentence? — Yes, the same sentence.
(tee, mun niŋ)	tee, khlia mun niŋ.	(no, before that) — No, the sentence before that.
sɨew-phɨw lieŋ? (baat)	baat, sɨew-phɨw lieŋ.	The yellow book? — Yes, the yellow book.
(tee, nih)	tee, sɨew-phɨw nih.	(no, this one) — No, this book.

Response Drill B

Teacher	Student	English
look lii tee? (lii)	baat, khñom lii.	Do you hear? — Yes, I hear.
(min lii tee)	tee, khñom min lii tee.	(not hear) — No, I don’t hear.
look yúl tee? (yúl haey)	baat, khñom yúl haey.	Do you understand? — Yes, I understand.
(min yúl tee)	tee, khñom min yúl tee.	(not understand) — No, I don’t understand.
look sdap lii tee? (sdap lii)	baat, khñom sdap lii.	Can you hear? — Yes, I can hear.
(sdap min lii tee)	tee, khñom sdap min lii tee.	(listen not hear) — No, I can’t hear.
look sdap baan tee? (sdap baan)	baat, khñom sdap baan haey.	Can you understand? — Yes, I can understand.
(sdap min baan tee)	tee, khñom sdap min baan tee.	(listen not get) — No, I can’t understand.
look khəəñ tee? (khəəñ haey)	baat, khñom khəəñ haey.	Do you see? — Yes, I see.
(min khəəñ tee)	tee, khñom min khəəñ tee.	(not see) — No, I don’t see.