Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Jacobincambodia · Post by **Jacobincambodia** » Thu May 29, 2014 8:40 pm

I'm obsessed with Khmer language books. I think to myself that it will help me learn the language faster. Ha!

I'm curious as to what books are still out there that I'm not aware of.

Here's what I have so far and what I want to get my hands on.

1. IFL Books 1 & 2 for reading/writing
2. The reading book done by CAPSEA. It has two students in front of a school. (highly recommended if you are learning how to read and write) Can be purchased at IBC
3. "Cambodian For Beginners" by Richard Gilbert (good book!) Can be purchased at Monument Books
4. "Colloquial Cambodian" by David Smyth (it has some interesting stuff)
5. Official school books distributed in schools. Also great stuff for drills and practice. I have books 1,2,3. Can be purchased at IBC
6. "Khmer Language for Foreigners" by Royal University of Phnom Penh

I also have assorted Sipar books which are actually for kids but are super great for learning basic words. Some have English words as well.

How are you learning Khmer?

Post by **Username Taken** » Thu May 29, 2014 9:55 pm

I can't profess to being an avid or ardent student, but I have accumulated a lot of books, audios, and online study stuff. Now, if I could just learn some self-discipline and make a concerted effort, I could be a lot better than I am.

Jacobincambodia wrote: 5. Official school books distributed in schools.

After learning the basics, i.e touristy/getting around khmer, then my thinking is that I should know what kids are learning in school.
School books are great. If kids studying book 1 know what this and that is, then I should know that too.
And so on, books 2, 3, 4, etc.
By the time you've done book 4 or 6 or whatever, then you're ready for Khmer comic books. After that comes magazines. And the grande finale is reading the newspaper.

Apart from that, I believe Listening and Speaking comes before Reading and Writing (in any language).
If you want to improve your Speaking, then practice your Listening skills.
If you want to improve your Writing, then practice you Reading skills.

just my 2 cents.

Standby incoming StroppySlops.

3 . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . 4 .........................................................

siliconlife · Post by **siliconlife** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:13 pm

Judging by your ironic "Ha!" I presume you already know the illegitimacy of these books...

But,still, keep in mind the way that they can confuse the intricacies of the language because they do not have a standardised transliteration. That, in addition to the fact that most of them are very cheap publications (thus including poor proofreading and editing). I used the transliteration I was initially familiar with - the Smyth/Kien Practical dictionary (also riddled with errors) - and adjusted it to my own understanding as I went. As you learn more of the script, this will phase out and you'll start thinking only in terms of the Cambodian language.

I think this is the best and most accurate way to learn this language.

Matt

Post by **Username Taken** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:23 pm

siliconlife wrote:they do not have a standardised transliteration

Why make it more difficult than it already is? You don't need transliteration!

It's very simple (whatever the language), a character simply represents a sound. Regardless of whether that character is Chinese, Arabic, Thai, or whatever. Learn to identify the character and the sound that it represents.

It ain't that difficult.

StroppyChops · Post by **StroppyChops** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:31 pm

Username Taken wrote:Standby incoming StroppySlops.

3 . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . 4 .........................................................

Practical Cambodian Dictionary (Tuttle)
Colloquial Cambodian, A Complete Language Course (Smyth)
Practical Dictionary, English-Khmer, For Foreigners Who Wish To Learn Khmer (Long Hair)
These:

StroppyChops · Post by **StroppyChops** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:33 pm

We've also just discovered that the grid paper is much better for learning than the normal western paper we're used to.

Jacobincambodia · Post by **Jacobincambodia** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:38 pm

Username Taken wrote:
siliconlife wrote:they do not have a standardised transliteration
Why make it more difficult than it already is? You don't need transliteration!

It's very simple (whatever the language), a character simply represents a sound. Regardless of whether that character is Chinese, Arabic, Thai, or whatever. Learn to identify the character and the sound that it represents.

It ain't that difficult.

Agreed. I started with transliteration and moved on to learning how to read and write. I only use the script now.

Jacobincambodia · Post by **Jacobincambodia** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:41 pm

Username Taken wrote:I can't profess to being an avid or ardent student, but I have accumulated a lot of books, audios, and online study stuff. Now, if I could just learn some self-discipline and make a concerted effort, I could be a lot better than I am.
Jacobincambodia wrote: 5. Official school books distributed in schools.
After learning the basics, i.e touristy/getting around khmer, then my thinking is that I should know what kids are learning in school.
School books are great. If kids studying book 1 know what this and that is, then I should know that too.
And so on, books 2, 3, 4, etc.
By the time you've done book 4 or 6 or whatever, then you're ready for Khmer comic books. After that comes magazines. And the grande finale is reading the newspaper.

Apart from that, I believe Listening and Speaking comes before Reading and Writing (in any language).
If you want to improve your Speaking, then practice your Listening skills.
If you want to improve your Writing, then practice you Reading skills.

just my 2 cents.

Standby incoming StroppySlops.

3 . . . . . 2 . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . .5 . . . . . . 4 .........................................................

Listening is so important. I didn't learn that soon enough. I was so concerned I wasn't going to be able to respond but now I focus on what they are saying and make my best effort to respond. I watch as many YouTube videos, radio and tv as I can take.

siliconlife · Post by **siliconlife** » Fri May 30, 2014 8:21 am

Username Taken wrote:Why make it more difficult than it already is? You don't need transliteration!

It's very simple (whatever the language), a character simply represents a sound. Regardless of whether that character is Chinese, Arabic, Thai, or whatever. Learn to identify the character and the sound that it represents.

It ain't that difficult.

I strongly disagree. For one thing, each vowel in the Cambodian alphabet represents 2 sounds - one for each type of consonant. Some of them can have anomalous third sounds. You also have a selection special punctuation marks such as the "rat's teeth" which further change these sounds. Then there are further anomalies, for example if 'srah um' (áž¢áž¶áŸ†) is followed by 'ngo'(áž„) the '-m' sound on the end of the vowel is dropped, or the silent 'ro' (ážš) sounds at the end of many words used to reflect their Pali origins.

Everybody says that Asian languages are so simple because each character represents a sound, but I think if you want to learn the language properly, that's rubbish. Transliterations are extremely useful in early-learning stages in order to remember things like this and also learning to pronounce the language correctly in a way that you understand. Maybe some people work better in the 'immersion' setting, but for me, this is how you do it.

Jacobincambodia · Post by **Jacobincambodia** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 6:37 pm

siliconlife wrote:
Username Taken wrote:Why make it more difficult than it already is? You don't need transliteration!

It's very simple (whatever the language), a character simply represents a sound. Regardless of whether that character is Chinese, Arabic, Thai, or whatever. Learn to identify the character and the sound that it represents.

It ain't that difficult.

I strongly disagree. For one thing, each vowel in the Cambodian alphabet represents 2 sounds - one for each type of consonant. Some of them can have anomalous third sounds. You also have a selection special punctuation marks such as the "rat's teeth" which further change these sounds. Then there are further anomalies, for example if 'srah um' (áž¢áž¶áŸ†) is followed by 'ngo'(áž„) the '-m' sound on the end of the vowel is dropped, or the silent 'ro' (ážš) sounds at the end of many words used to reflect their Pali origins.

Everybody says that Asian languages are so simple because each character represents a sound, but I think if you want to learn the language properly, that's rubbish. Transliterations are extremely useful in early-learning stages in order to remember things like this and also learning to pronounce the language correctly in a way that you understand. Maybe some people work better in the 'immersion' setting, but for me, this is how you do it.

IF you have the time to commit to learning the language, learn the alphabet and learn how to read/write. Your pronunciation will be so much better vs. using transliteration IMHO. Plus you can start to figure things out on your own! I can't believe I waited this long to learn the alphabet and how it works. It takes some time, but once you have the basics, it's fairly easy to recall. There are endless benefits to learning how to read and write, including beginning to learn on your own since you can sound words out, then look them up in the dictionary. Yes, there are words that will be questionable or that word that uses a special rule that you forgot, but generally, it's incredibly beneficial. I highly recommend taking the time to learn.

Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

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Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

Re: Khmer Curriculum - what's in your bag?

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