Narration: Transportation Review

Unit 40 is a narration unit presented in literary style, reviewing transportation vocabulary and grammar from Units 36-39. The narration describes a trip around the world, beginning in Washington and traveling through New York, London, Paris, Athens, Karachi, and finally arriving in Phnom Penh. This unit provides reading practice with connected prose rather than dialogue.

Basic Dialogue

This unit is a narration rather than a dialogue. Below is the narration text with English translation:

#	Cambodian	English
1	chnam tɨw, khñom baan thvee domnaɛ cumviñ piiphup look.	Last year, I made a trip around the world.
2	khñom ceñ pɨɨ vaasentaon thŋay tɨɨ-muoy, khae viccekaa.	I left Washington on the first of November.
3	pɨɨ vasəntaon tɨw ñɨw yóok, khñom cɨh rotiah-phleeŋ.	From Washington to New York, I rode the train.
4	khñom chup nɨw ñɨw yóok methŋay.	I stopped over in New York for a day.
5	thŋay bontɔ́p, khñom koo laeŋ kpal-hoh chpúh tɨw tɨɨ-kroŋ loŋ.	The next day, I got on the plane for London.
6	kpal-hoh dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ thom nah.	The plane that I rode to London was a very big one.
7	kee mian boñcaŋ kon aoy meel phooŋ, nɨw peel kpal-hoh kompúŋ hoh.	They showed movies for us to see, too, while the plane was in flight.
8	tɨw dol loŋ, khñom koo pdou tɨw kpal-hoh muoy tiet rəboh krom-hun ea froŋ.	On arriving in London, I transferred to another plane belonging to the Air France (Company).
9	domnaɛ pɨɨ loŋ tɨw parɨɨ chap nah. oh peel taɛ məmaoŋ tee.	The trip from London to Paris was very quick. It took only an hour.
10	bey thŋay kraoy móoʔ, khñom trew thvee domnaɛ veeŋ nah, kɨɨ pɨɨ parɨɨ tɨw phnum pɨñ.	Three days later, I had to make a very long journey— from Paris to Phnom Penh.
11	kpal hoh dael khñom cɨh tɨw phnum pɨñ chup taɛ pɨɨ domnaʔ tee, kɨɨ ataen ha haəy-nɨŋ kaarachii.	The plane that I rode to Phnom Penh only made two stops— at Athens and Karachi.
12	khñom ot mian dou kpal-hoh tee.	I had never flown before.
13	luh khñom tɨw dol poocentoŋ, khñom khmian kheeñ néʔ-naa móoʔ tetuol khñom tee.	When I arrived at Pochentong, nobody I knew came to meet me.
14	doucchneh haəy, khñom trew cɨh laan chnuol tɨw phnum pɨñ.	So I had to take the bus into Phnom Penh.
15	luh tɨw dol phnum pɨñ, khñom koo cɨh sikhlou tɨw phtéh khñom.	When I got to Phnom Penh, I took a cyclo home.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
domnaɛ	trip, journey
cumviñ piiphup look	around the world
vaasentaon	Washington
ñɨw yóok	New York
loŋ	London
parɨɨ	Paris
ataen	Athens
kaarachii	Karachi
poocentoŋ	Pochentong (airport)
rotiah-phleeŋ	train
kpal-hoh	airplane
laan chnuol	bus
sikhlou	cyclo
pdou	to change, transfer
krom-hun	company
boñcaŋ	to show (a movie)
chpúh	to fly (toward)
veeŋ	long
chap	quick, fast
dou	to ride (in a vehicle)

Grammar Notes

1. Literary vs. Colloquial style: This narration is written in literary style, which uses fuller, more standard forms than the colloquial Phnom Penh speech of previous dialogues.

2. Relative clause with /dael/: The pattern /kpal-hoh dael khñom cɨh tɨw loŋ/ means ‘the plane that I took to London,’ using /dael/ as a relative pronoun.

3. Resultative /doucchneh haəy/: The expression /doucchneh haəy/ means ‘so, therefore’ and introduces a consequence clause, as in /doucchneh haəy, khñom trew cɨh laan chnuol/ ‘so I had to take the bus.‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Travel Methods

Cambodian	English
look cɨh ɛy pɨɨ vaasentaon tɨw ñɨw yóok? (atiah-phleeŋ)	What did you take (ride) from Washington to New York? (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: Transformation — Cause and Effect

Cambodian	English
khmian nenaa kee móo tetuol khñom, (cɨh laan chnuol tɨw phnum pɨñ)	Nobody came to meet me. (take the bus into Phnom Penh)
khmian nenaa kee móo tetuol khñom, doucchneh haəy, khñom trew cɨh laan chnuol tɨw phnum pɨñ,	Nobody came to meet me, so I had to take the bus into Phnom Penh.
laan khñom khouc kedaal phlew, (cɨh taʔsii tɨw thee kaa)	My car broke down along the way. (take a taxi to work)
laan khñom khouc kedaal phlew, doucchneh haəy, khñom trew cɨh taʔsii tɨw thee kaa,	My car broke down along the way, so I had to take a taxi to work.