I have Khmer lessons twice a week and during the past two weeks when I have a lesson I've been speaking about 90% of the time in Khmer (dramatic increase in the amount of Khmer spoken!).
Tonight my "loke crew" (teacher) and I were talking about our day at work and he relayed a story that I was very proud of myself for understanding completely in Khmer (which was demonstrated when I laughed at the appropriate moment) and I think you'll enjoy this story as well.
No, I can't write a single Khmer symbol so my retelling will be done in English :-)
Today during an English lesson the teacher was using a children's book about manatees. The book was being read entirely in English. The students, a group ranging in age from five to twelve, were really enjoying the book. They liked the pictures and were learning lots of new English vocabulary.
One page told about the fact that a manatee is also sometimes called a "sea cow" (I did not know that until today, did you??). A five year old boy burst into hysterical laughter as this page was read.
Here's the thing, in Khmer when you speak the words "sea" and "cow" they have very different meanings than in English.
If you say the word "sea", in English phonetics just as it is written, you are saying "eat" in reference to an animal. Example, "the dog eats bones" would be "the dog sea bones" (well, okay, "the", "dog" and "bones" are not pronounced the same in Khmer...don't misunderstand and think Khmer is simple).
And, the word "cow", pronounced just as it is written, means.....pants.
Ahem....so...."the manatee is also called a sea cow".....and cue adorable five year old laughter as he pictures a manatee eating pants :-)
Tonight my "loke crew" (teacher) and I were talking about our day at work and he relayed a story that I was very proud of myself for understanding completely in Khmer (which was demonstrated when I laughed at the appropriate moment) and I think you'll enjoy this story as well.
No, I can't write a single Khmer symbol so my retelling will be done in English :-)
Today during an English lesson the teacher was using a children's book about manatees. The book was being read entirely in English. The students, a group ranging in age from five to twelve, were really enjoying the book. They liked the pictures and were learning lots of new English vocabulary.
One page told about the fact that a manatee is also sometimes called a "sea cow" (I did not know that until today, did you??). A five year old boy burst into hysterical laughter as this page was read.
Here's the thing, in Khmer when you speak the words "sea" and "cow" they have very different meanings than in English.
If you say the word "sea", in English phonetics just as it is written, you are saying "eat" in reference to an animal. Example, "the dog eats bones" would be "the dog sea bones" (well, okay, "the", "dog" and "bones" are not pronounced the same in Khmer...don't misunderstand and think Khmer is simple).
And, the word "cow", pronounced just as it is written, means.....pants.
Ahem....so...."the manatee is also called a sea cow".....and cue adorable five year old laughter as he pictures a manatee eating pants :-)
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