Okay cool, let's all go back to being civil.

StroppyChops wrote:

prahkeitouj wrote:

Samouth wrote:Are you teacher of Khmer? Your explanation is always great.

I'm not. and thanks Samouth and I also hope taabarang and SM give more comment.

I'd say you're a good teacher of Khmer, you're just not getting paid for it. Thanks for your input.

I'm please if I can share what I know. Thanks.

taabarang wrote:Yeah, but . . . taabarang is confusing one word with another, and is not in any way prepared to back down from his high and mighty stance that he knows 'spoken rural cambodian' better than anyone posting on a forum, be they Khmer or foreign.
taabarang is wrong in his perceived translation of what is/are a commonly spoken word(s) around rural and city folk. He is wrong. Incorrect. Mistaken. Call it what you want.

First, my post is a report substantiated by villagers and other disinterested native speakers. So, it is just not a matter of my being wrong, but a whole village. Now I am not confusing one word with another, in fact, since I am reporting on SPOKEN Cambodian, I don't really know if "neung" is this word or that word nor do I care. What I do care about is that 100% of the villagers(and others) agree that it is a kind of padding word to make the sentence more polite and that I am pronouncing it correctly. As for taa naa it sounds exactly like "which grandfather." I never claimed that no one uses "nav", in fact I have only heard taa in this expression. So,please I am not telling anyone to speak this way, only that others do. So,
in this village they say tematers and you say tomahtoes, who really cares. There is simply not just one way of speaking. Thank God I didn't use expression "moo naa, taa naa" or I would have been crucified for "forgetting" the final "k"consonant which they frequently do.

Now as for me being on a high horse, there are at least two other posters here who strike me as being taller in the saddle than I, both imagining themselves dressed in heroic white. There are a lot of regionalisms in Cambodia, more than even Phnom Penh can hold. I remember once I was in Siam Reap at a hang chap houii and the owner knowing I speak Cambodian wanted to talk about this and that
(nihye empii kompek kompok) and said to me to make me welcome, "Som dak khut enkuy." Something that I would never have said to a stranger in our village. I later found out that although informal that it is it is highly acceptable in that region. If you find my posts wrong, I don't really care; I have reported faithfully how the villagers here do speak, not how you would like them to speak.[/quote]
You are great ! I think your speaking is excellent. What you share is not only in rural area but also in general in our speaking. Just few words that are used only in your area such as " som dak khut enkuy".

Hey, little salary, read my post again esp." Something that I would never have said to a stranger in our village..) it was in Siam Reap and I suspect the speaker came from a rural district of that province, probably one where the Cambodian has a strong Thai influence.

taabarang wrote:Hey, little salary, read my post again esp." Something that I would never have said to a stranger in our village..) it was in Siam Reap and I suspect the speaker came from a rural district of that province, probably one where the Cambodian has a strong Thai influence.

That's interesting that you call her "little salary" as that is what I thought it was too, but she introduced herself as "little moon" - I would have written "little moon" as "preah-chan-tuoch" and "little salary" as "prak-khae-tuoch." I tend to follow the Long Hair romanization though, as that's the book I've studied with the most and since I don't understand the writing, it helps to be consistent.

But even so, I would think "prahkeitouj" would be pronounced the same as "prak-kae-tuoch" not "preah-chan-tuoch" - are there other ways to say "little moon" that sound similar?

Sorry Mekong Mouse, I thought it was small(little)salary too. This problem results from not knowing Cambodian script-a problem I share with you. However, I am sure she will respond and if not, I will ask the villagers. One good spin off of this thread has been active participation by native speakers. Enough so that I am already working on my next thread.

Sorry Mekong Mouse, I thought it was small(little)salary too. This problem results from not knowing Cambodian script-a problem I share with you. However, I am sure she will respond and if not, I will ask the villagers. One good spin off of this thread has been active participation by native speakers. Enough so that I am already working on my next thread A second spin off has been the reaction of the villagers to these questions, most of whom had no idea of the utility of a computer and who are proud that their language has generated so much interest among foreigners. It really helps close the culture gap in their minds and makes them feel less threatened about losing their culture to a "foreign invasion."

taabarang wrote:Hey, little salary, read my post again esp." Something that I would never have said to a stranger in our village..) it was in Siam Reap and I suspect the speaker came from a rural district of that province, probably one where the Cambodian has a strong Thai influence.

Her nickname is not little salary, but little moon. I don't think they have strong Thai influence. They just speak khmer dialect. They sound really beautiful, but sometime i find it hard to understand. I need to pay more attention otherwise i will not be able to understand them. I remembered one time i talked to them and they said i didn't speak her properly and clearly which made me laugh so hard.

MekongMouse wrote:

taabarang wrote:Hey, little salary, read my post again esp." Something that I would never have said to a stranger in our village..) it was in Siam Reap and I suspect the speaker came from a rural district of that province, probably one where the Cambodian has a strong Thai influence.

That's interesting that you call her "little salary" as that is what I thought it was too, but she introduced herself as "little moon" - I would have written "little moon" as "preah-chan-tuoch" and "little salary" as "prak-khae-tuoch." I tend to follow the Long Hair romanization though, as that's the book I've studied with the most and since I don't understand the writing, it helps to be consistent.

But even so, I would think "prahkeitouj" would be pronounced the same as "prak-kae-tuoch" not "preah-chan-tuoch" - are there other ways to say "little moon" that sound similar?

I think the problem is how she wrote that word. I couldn't pronounce her nickname either until she introduced herself. Lolzz

Hey! Samouth, MekongMouse and taabarang! You make me laugh till my stomatch hurt ))))
I just realized that the way I write is influent your thought. Of cousre I made mistake with my writing because I didn't care how it is, I just tried to regester in this forum :p
@ MekongMouse: your really great! The way you interpret is interesting. Yes, " preah kae touj = preah jan touj" .
Kae means month or moon.
Jan= prah jan/ preah jan= preah kae/kae. So little moon is Preah kae touj but not Prak kae touj lolzzz...
Hehehe... I learn many things from this thread and people's idea is great, interesting and funny too :-):-):-)