Reading and Writing

This unit introduces reading and writing vocabulary. The teacher demonstrates writing and asks students to identify the action. Students learn the word /sose/ (to write) and practice substituting different adjectives and nouns into the frame sentence ‘Khmer is [easy/hard] to [read/write/learn].’ The unit also introduces the noun /khmaw-day/ (pencil) and practices combining it with descriptive adjective sentences.

Basic Dialogue

Cambodian (romanized)	English
thvəə douchnɛh hau thaa mɛc? [kruu thvəə boŋhaañ]	What do you call this action? [He illustrates a writing motion]
kee hau thaa ‘sose.‘	That’s called ‘writing.‘
thaa taam khñom téŋ-oh khnia: khmae pibaa? sose.	Everyone repeat after me, all together: Khmer is difficult to write.
khmae pibaa? sose.	Khmer is difficult to write.
əyləw da? pia? ‘sruol’ khnoŋ khlia nih: khmae pibaa? sose.	Now put the word ‘easy’ in this sentence: Khmer is difficult to write.
khmae sruol sose.	Khmer is easy to write.
l?oo. nέ? bontóp, thaa khlia dodael.	Good. Next person, say the same sentence.
khmae sruol sose.	Khmer is easy to write.
əyləw da? pia? ‘khmaw-day nih.‘	Now put in the words ‘this pencil.‘
khmaw-day nih sruol sose.	This pencil is easy to write with.
nέ? bontóp, da? pia? ‘pibaa?.‘	Next person, put in the word ‘difficult.‘
khmaw-day nih pibaa? sose.	This pencil is difficult to write with.
da? pia? ‘khmae.‘	Put in the word ‘Khmer.‘
khmae pibaa? sose.	Khmer is difficult to write.
da? pia? ‘rien.‘	Put in the word ‘learn.‘
khmae pibaa? rien.	Khmer is difficult to learn.
rien khmae min pibaa? tee, mɛɛn tee?	Studying Khmer is not hard, is it?

Key Vocabulary

Cambodian	English
thvəə	do, make
douchnɛh	like this, thus
hau	call, name
sose	write
boŋhaañ	show, demonstrate
taam	after, according to
khnia	together, each other
da?	put, place
khnoŋ	in, inside
khmaw-day	pencil
nih	this
mɛɛn	true, right
mɛɛn tee?	isn’t it? (tag question)
meel	read

Grammar Notes

Substitution in Sentence Frames

The teacher directs students to substitute words within a given sentence frame. The pattern da? pia? ‘X’ (put in the word ‘X’) instructs students to replace one element while keeping the rest:

• khmae pibaa? sose. → (da? pia? ‘sruol’) → khmae sruol sose.
• khmae sruol sose. → (da? pia? ‘khmaw-day nih’) → khmaw-day nih sruol sose.

Verb Complements: sose, rien, meel

Cambodian verbs like /sruol/ and /pibaa?/ can take verb complements that specify the type of activity:

• sruol sose — easy to write
• sruol rien — easy to learn
• sruol meel — easy to read
• pibaa? sose — hard to write
• pibaa? rien — hard to learn

Tag Questions with /mɛɛn tee?/

The tag mɛɛn tee? (‘right?’ or ‘isn’t it?’) confirms a statement: rien khmae min pibaa? tee, mɛɛn tee? (Studying Khmer is not hard, is it?)

Practice Drills

Drill 1: Substitution Drill

Starting sentence: khmae pibaa? sose. (Khmer is hard to write.)

Instruction	Result
da? pia? ‘sruol’	khmae sruol sose.
da? pia? ‘khmaw-day nih’	khmaw-day nih sruol sose.
da? pia? ‘pibaa?‘	khmaw-day nih pibaa? sose.
da? pia? ‘khmae’	khmae pibaa? sose.
da? pia? ‘rien’	khmae pibaa? rien.

Drill 2: Activity Complements

Cambodian	English
khmae sruol sose.	Khmer is easy to write.
khmae pibaa? sose.	Khmer is hard to write.
khmae sruol meel.	Khmer is easy to read.
khmae pibaa? meel.	Khmer is hard to read.
khmae sruol rien.	Khmer is easy to learn.
khmae pibaa? rien.	Khmer is hard to learn.