Family and Daily Life

In this unit, a civilian meets a soldier and they discuss military life. They talk about the soldier’s background, where he was born, his posting, rank, experiences, and feelings about military service. The dialogue practices asking about someone’s life, describing personal history, expressing opinions, and discussing daily life and career matters.

Basic Dialogue

Between a Civilian and a Soldier:

#	Cambodian	English
1	ot tooh, look cia tehian’ ɨh?	Pardon me, are you a soldier?
2	baat,	Yes.
3	look móoʔ pɨɨ-naa?	Where do you come from?
4	baat, khñom kaet nɨw kəpuŋ spɨɨ.	I was born in Kompong Speu.
5	petaɛ kraoy khñom coul thee tehian, kee pecuun khñom tɨw svaay rieŋ,	But after I became a soldier, they sent me to Svai Rieng.
6	look péʔ saʔ pəmaan?	What rank are you?
7	baat, khñom péʔ saʔ muoy,	I’m a second lieutenant.
8	look coul-cet’ teh, thee tehian?	Do you like being a soldier?
9	khñom pəbaaʔ thaa..	That’s hard to say.
10	look dael tɨw chbaŋ’ teh?	Have you ever gone to fight?
11	chbaŋ inaa? khñom teep-m ceñ pɨɨ salaa chnam tɨw.	What do you mean fight? I just got out of school last year.
12	mɛc baan-te look mothee tehian?	How did you come to be a soldier?
13	khñom m deŋ dae, petaɛ khñom coul-cet tehian taŋ-pɨɨ touc’ mɨh.	I don’t know, but I liked soldiering since I was small.
14	pəbaaʔ’ teh, thee tehian?	Is it hard to be a soldier?
15	pəbaaʔ ntɛc dae, mian chbap-tələ́p cəən’ ah.	It’s a little hard, there are a lot of regulations.
16	look mroŋ thee tehian ləhout’ ɨh?	Do you intend to be a soldier from now on (as a career)?
17	meel tɨw ləhout’ əh, púh ceñ tɨw, m deŋ thee ɛy’ teh,	I guess for a career (from now on), because if I got out, I wouldn’t know what to do.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
tehian	soldier, military
péʔ saʔ	rank
péʔ saʔ muoy	second lieutenant
kəpuŋ spɨɨ	Kompong Speu
svaay rieŋ	Svai Rieng
pecuun	to send (someone)
chbaŋ	to fight
salaa	school
chbap	law, regulation
chbap-tələ́p	regulations
coul-cet	to like
ləhout	from now on, career
mroŋ	to intend
kaet	to be born
coul	to enter, join
touc	small, young
mothee	to become
deŋ	to know
pəbaaʔ	hard, difficult
teep-m	just recently
taŋ-pɨɨ	since

Grammar Notes

1. Expressions of Quoting with /thaa/: The conjunction /thaa/ is used after verbs of knowing, thinking, believing, etc. to introduce quotations of words which may never have been spoken by anybody. E.g., /kee pèap khñom thaa kɔ́t cia kruu peet/ ‘They told me that he’s a doctor.’

2. Time expressions with /taŋ-pɨɨ/: The conjunction /taŋ-pɨɨ/ means ‘since’ and introduces a time reference, as in /taŋ-pɨɨ touc mɨh/ ‘since I was small.’

3. Recent past with /teep-m/: The pre-verbal modifier /teep-m/ (or /teep-nɨŋ/) means ‘just now, recently,’ as in /khñom teep-m ceñ pɨɨ salaa/ ‘I just got out of school.‘

Practice Drills

Drill A: Response — Personal Background

Cambodian	English
ot tooh, look cia tehian rɨh?	Pardon me, are you a soldier?
baat.	Yes.
look móoʔ pɨɨ-naa?	Where do you come from?
baat, khñom kaet nɨw kəpuŋ spɨɨ.	I was born in Kompong Speu.
petaɛ kraoy khñom coul thvee tehian, kee pecuun khñom tɨw svaay rieŋ,	But after I became a soldier, they sent me to Svai Rieng.

Drill B: Transformation — Question from Statement

Cambodian	English
khñom cia kruu peet,	I’m a doctor.
look cia kruu peet, mɛɛn’ teh?	You’re a doctor, aren’t you?
khñom cia tehian,	I’m a military man.
look cia tehian, mɛɛn’ teh?	You’re a military man, aren’t you?
khñom cia koun seh,	I’m a student.
look cia koun seh, mɛɛn’ teh?	You’re a student, aren’t you?
khñom cia diiphloumaat,	I’m a diplomat.
look cia diiphloumaat, mɛɛn’ teh?	You’re a diplomat, aren’t you?
khñom cia rɔ́ttemuntrey,	I’m a cabinet minister.
look cia rɔ́ttemuntrey, mɛɛn’ teh?	You’re a cabinet minister, aren’t you?