Describing Your Home

In this unit, Sareth and Sarin discuss fortune tellers (soothsayers) and the Cambodian zodiac. They talk about a local fortune teller, the twelve-year animal cycle, predicting the future based on birth dates, and what fortune tellers can divine about a person’s life. The dialogue practices describing people’s occupations, discussing cultural beliefs, and listing items.

Basic Dialogue

Between Sareth and Sarin:

#	Cambodian	English
1	look mian skɔ́l kùu tiey’ teh?	Do you know any soothsayers?
2	baat, khñom skɔ́l menéʔ’ deh, nɨw cɨt phtéh khñom.	Yes, I know one, right near my house.
3	kɔ́t dae tiey’ teh, rɨɨ tɔ́l-tə yeeŋ tɨw phtéh kɔ́t?	Does he go around telling fortunes, or is the only way to go to his house?
4	ou, kɔ́t metiey oy khñom te-ñɨk’ŋ te-ñɨk’ŋ.	Oh, he comes to tell my fortune quite often.
5	suol’ ah.. deŋ te chnam thŋay kaet baan’ əh.	It’s easy, all he needs to know is your birth date.
6	douc-cia khñom, khñom kaet nɨw chnam mepón pmbuon hòoy saam-sep prmmuoy, thŋay atit,	Like me, I was born in 1936, on a Sunday.
7	be khñom mɨn celom’ tee, chnam mepón pmbuon hòoy saam-sep prmmuoy cia chnam cuut, chnam kedao,	If I’m not wrong, 1936 was the Year of the Rat, or mouse. [two names given]
8	coh mian chnam ɛy-khlah tiet?	And what are the other Years?
9	chnam khlaa, chnam púh, chnam chkaɛ, chnam cruuk.. chnam nɨh cia chnam púh,	The Year of the Tiger, the Snake, the Dog, the Pig. This year is the Year of the Snake.
10	coh kɔ́t tiey ɛy-khlah’ tɨw?	And what else does he predict about?
11	ou, kɔ́t deŋ thaa, tae look mian rɨɨ kroo, look chɨɨ cəən rɨɨ m-dael chɨɨ’ tee.	Oh, he knows whether you are rich or poor, whether you’ve had a lot of sickness or have never been sick.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
kruu tiey	soothsayer, fortune teller
tiey	to predict, tell fortunes
chnam	year
thŋay kaet	birthday, birth date
chnam cuut / chnam kedao	Year of the Rat/Mouse
chnam khlaa	Year of the Tiger
chnam púh	Year of the Snake
chnam chkaɛ	Year of the Dog
chnam cruuk	Year of the Pig
mepón	thousand
hòoy	hundred
saam-sep	thirty
thŋay atit	Sunday
skɔ́l	to know (a person)
metiey	to come and tell fortunes
celom	wrong, mistaken
kroo	poor
mian	rich, to have
chɨɨ	sick

Grammar Notes

1. Cambodian zodiac: Cambodia uses a twelve-year animal cycle similar to the Chinese zodiac. Each year is named after an animal: /cuut/ (Rat), /chluu/ (Ox), /khal/ (Tiger), /thoh/ (Rabbit), /roŋ/ (Dragon), /masañ/ (Snake), etc.

2. Occupational vocabulary with /cia/: The pattern /khñom cia + occupation/ means ‘I am a…’, as in /khñom cia kruu bɔrien/ ‘I am a teacher.’

3. Indirect questions with /thaa/: The conjunction /thaa/ introduces indirect quotations, as in /kɔ́t deŋ thaa look mian rɨɨ kroo/ ‘he knows whether you are rich or poor.‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Occupations

Cambodian	English
look cia kruu tiey’ ɨh? (kruu bɔrien)	You’re a soothsayer? (teacher)
tee, m mɛɛn’ teh, khñom cia kruu bɔrien,	No, I’m not, I’m a teacher.
look cia kruu bɔrien’ ɨh? (peet sat)	You’re a teacher? (veterinarian)
tee, m mɛɛn’ teh, khñom cia peet sat,	No, I’m not, I’m a veterinarian.
look cia peet sat’ ɨh? (néʔ rieccekaa)	You’re a veterinarian? (civil servant)
tee, m mɛɛn’ teh, khñom cia néʔ rieccekaa,	No, I’m not, I’m a civil servant.
look cia néʔ rieccekaa’ ɨh? (tehian)	You’re a civil servant? (military man)
tee, m mɛɛn’ teh, khñom cia tehian.	No, I’m not, I’m a military man.

Drill B: Transformation — Shared Abilities

Cambodian	English
khñom nɨŋ look ceh nɨyiey pèaŋ tŋ-oh khnia,	You and I both know how to speak French.
khñom ceh nɨyiey pèaŋ,, look ko ceh nɨyiey pèaŋ.. yeeŋ ceh nɨyiey pèaŋ tŋ-oh khnia,	I know how to speak French and so do you. We both know how to speak French.
khñom nɨŋ look ceh hael tɨk tŋ-oh khnia,	You and I both know how to swim.
khñom ceh hael tɨk,, look ko ceh hael tɨk.. yeeŋ ceh hael tɨk tŋ-oh khnia,	I know how to swim and so do you. We both know how to swim.
khñom nɨŋ look ceh dam baay tŋ-oh khnia,	You and I both know how to cook.
khñom ceh dam baay,, look ko ceh dam baay… yeeŋ ceh dam baay tŋ-oh khnia,	I know how to cook and so do you. We both know how to cook.