Narration: Course Review

Unit 45 is a narration unit that serves as a course review. It describes a day out with a friend — a soldier who enjoys walking around town. The narrator recounts shopping for cloth, getting haircuts, eating at a restaurant, and visiting a fortune teller. This unit reviews vocabulary and structures from Units 41-44 in connected prose.

Basic Dialogue

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

#	Cambodian	English
1	look deŋ’ teh? khñom mian puoʔ-maaʔ menéʔ nɨw cemuoy khñom.	Did you know? I have a friend staying with me.
2	kɔ́t thee tehian.	He’s in the service.
3	kɔ́t peʔ saʔ pɨɨ.	He’s a first lieutenant.
4	kɔ́t coul-cet dae leeŋ’ nah.	He really likes to walk around town.
5	coŋ atɨt mun nɨh, khñom dae leeŋ cemuoy kɔ́t oh peel methŋay.	Last weekend I spend a whole day walking around with him.
6	mun dəmbouŋ, yeeŋ tɨw psaa thmey. ruoc haəy yeeŋ tɨw róo tɨñ kenat.	First of all, we went to the New Market. Then we went shopping for cloth.
7	yeeŋ coul haaŋ lúʔ kenat pɨɨ-bey.	We went into two or three cloth stores.
8	kraoy tɨñ kenat ruoc haəy, yeeŋ ko tɨw phtéh dee khao-aaw.	After we had bought the cloth, we then went to a tailor shop.
9	maoŋ cɨt dop-pɨɨ haəy, yeeŋ ko coul ñam baay nɨw restoroŋ muoy, nɨw kraom otael delaa poost.	Near twelve o’clock, we went in to eat at a restaurant, behind the Hotel de la Poste.
10	luh ñam baay ruoc, yeeŋ ko nóm khnia tɨw kat soʔ.	When we finished eating, we went together to get our hair cut.
11	daoy kɔ́t cia tehian, puoʔ-maaʔ khñom kɔ́t cuol-cet kat soʔ khley.	Being in the service, my friend likes his hair cut short.
12	khñom, khñom coul-cet tuk soʔ vɛɛŋ.	Me, I like to leave my hair long.
13	kraoy yeeŋ kat soʔ ruoc haəy, khñom coŋ tɨw phtéh.	After we finished getting haircuts, I wanted to go home.
14	pontaɛ puoʔ-maaʔ khñom kɔ́t coŋ dae leeŋ ntɛc tiet.	But my friend wanted to keep on walking around a while longer.
15	kɔ́t suo khñom thaa: look dael aoy kee tiey aoy’ teh?	He asked me, ‘Have you ever had your fortune told?‘
16	khñom ko chlaey thaa: khñom m-dael aoy nenaa tiey aoy khñom soh,	I answered, ‘I’ve never had my fortune told by anyone at all.‘
17	doucchneh haəy, kɔ́t koo nóm khñom tɨw phtéh kruu tiey menéʔ.	That being the case, he took me to the house of a fortune teller.
18	yeeŋ nɨyiey leeŋ cemuoy kruu tiey oh peel pəhael memaoŋ.	We stayed there talking with the fortune teller for maybe an hour.
19	too pɨɨ nuh yeeŋ ko telop tɨw phtéh.	From there we went on home.
20	daoy oh komlaŋ peek, yeeŋ ko coul keeŋ.	Since we were so tired, we went to bed.

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
tehian	soldier, military
peʔ saʔ pɨɨ	first lieutenant
psaa thmey	New Market
kenat	cloth
haaŋ	store, shop
phtéh dee khao-aaw	tailor shop
kat soʔ	to cut hair
kruu tiey	fortune teller
otael delaa poost	Hotel de la Poste
puoʔ-maaʔ	friend
mun dəmbouŋ	first of all
ruoc haəy	and then, after that
kraoy	after
pontaɛ	but
doucchneh	therefore, so
daoy	since, because
nóm	to take, lead
khnia	each other
telop	to return
oh komlaŋ	tired
coul keeŋ	to go to bed

Grammar Notes

1. Expressions of Accompaniment with /daoy/: The word /daoy/ functions as both a preposition (‘with, by’) and a conjunction. As a conjunction, when the /daoy/-clause precedes the main clause, it often expresses cause-and-effect: /daoy oh komlaŋ peek, yeeŋ ko coul keeŋ/ ‘Since we were so tired, we went to bed.’

2. Sequential narration with /ruoc haəy/: The phrase /ruoc haəy/ ‘and then, after that’ is used to connect sequential events in narration.

3. Reported speech with /thaa/: Direct quotation is introduced by /thaa/ after verbs of saying, as in /kɔ́t suo khñom thaa: look dael aoy kee tiey…/ ‘He asked me: Have you ever had your fortune told…’

4. Causative /aoy/: The verb /aoy/ ‘to give, to let’ is used in causative constructions, as in /aoy kee tiey/ ‘to have someone tell fortunes (for you).’

Practice Drills

Drill A: Transformation — Sequential Events

Cambodian	English
sʔaek khñom cuun pʔoun khñom tɨw psaa, via nɨŋ kat soʔ,	Tomorrow I’m taking my younger brother to the market. He’s going to get a haircut.
sʔaek khñom cuun pʔoun khñom tɨw psaa kat soʔ,	Tomorrow I’m taking my younger brother to the market to get a haircut.
sʔaek khñom cuun pepún khñom tɨw lee-žaat, kɔ́t nɨŋ thoot ruup,	Tomorrow I’m taking my wife to Le Jade. She’s going to get her picture taken.
sʔaek khñom cuun pepún khñom tɨw lee-žaat thoot ruup,	Tomorrow I’m taking my wife to Le Jade to get her picture taken.
thŋay saw khñom nɨŋ nóm koun khñom tɨw psaa, kee nɨŋ tɨñ kenat,	On Saturday I’m taking my son to the market. He’s going to buy cloth.
thŋay saw khñom nɨŋ nóm koun khñom tɨw psaa tɨñ kenat,	On Saturday I’m taking my son to the market to buy cloth.

Drill B: Response — Cause and Effect

Cambodian	English
mɛc baan-te look tɨw nɨw otael? (khñom róoʔ phtéh puoʔ-maaʔ khñom m kheeñ)	How come you went to stay in a hotel? (I couldn’t find my friends’ house)
khñom tɨw nɨw otael, prúh khñom róoʔ phtéh puoʔ-maaʔ khñom m kheeñ,	I went to stay in a hotel, because I couldn’t find my friends’ house.
mɛc baan-te look nɨw phtéh? (khmian nenaa nɨw phtéh)	How come you stayed home? (nobody at home)
khñom nɨw phtéh, prúh khmian nenaa nɨw phtéh,	I stayed home because there was nobody at home.