Learning Khmer

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Ronny
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Learning Khmer

Post by Ronny »

Hi again and hope everybody's ok. I have a question: Are there any good books out there that teach you the fundamentals of the Khmer language? And by "out there" I mean any books sold in Cambodia. I'm thinking that when I get to Cambodia in the next few months I will want to learn how to read and write and speak Khmer and I want the best book(s) that I can get. There's no way I'm gonna waste my time hiring someone to teach me when all I have to do is learn the fundamentals by myself first and then expand my knowledge for free from there simply by living with the locals. That's how I learned Thai and it does work. Any suggestions?
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Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

Ronny wrote: Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:49 pm Hi again and hope everybody's ok. I have a question: Are there any good books out there that teach you the fundamentals of the Khmer language? And by "out there" I mean any books sold in Cambodia. I'm thinking that when I get to Cambodia in the next few months I will want to learn how to read and write and speak Khmer and I want the best book(s) that I can get. There's no way I'm gonna waste my time hiring someone to teach me when all I have to do is learn the fundamentals by myself first and then expand my knowledge for free from there simply by living with the locals. That's how I learned Thai and it does work. Any suggestions?
tbh it depends on if you want to learn more than the basics, if you want to learn more than the basics,
you are most likely going to need a tutor, i went to school here for 4 months, previously i had spent about 2 years self studying,
the tutoring was definitely needed, and definitely was not a waste of time,
if youre fluent in Thai then you would have a head start though,
but whilst the language and the words are similar, the pronunciation is different
:tophat: Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks :x
Ronny
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Ronny »

So are you close to fluency now? As for me, I just want to reach the point where I can converse comfortably about almost any subject and also be able to read at a respectable level. For writing, If I could reach maybe an 8th grade level that would be great, I guess.
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Ronny »

The Khmers seem to speak a lot quicker than the Thais. Do you agree with this?
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Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

Ronny wrote: Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:50 pm So are you close to fluency now? As for me, I just want to reach the point where I can converse comfortably about almost any subject and also be able to read at a respectable level. For writing, If I could reach maybe an 8th grade level that would be great, I guess.
just a case of keep extending my vocabulary,
but yeah i get by fine everywhere i go, and yeah can read and write with ease etc. but being completely fluent in Khmer is a hard task haha im not yet
having a private tutor isnt expensive here,
i went to Don Bosco School in Sihanoukville,
was paying $70 per month for private Tuition with one of the top teachers in the school,
i was getting 3x 1-1.5 hour lessons a week, which works out around $5 per lesson,
my lessons mainly focused on grammar, pronunciation and learning words for the first 3 months
then in the last month we focused on the alphabet and reading,
(doing it this way was my choice at first as i wasnt fussed about reading to start with,
then after a while realised how important it actually is, due to there being no Romanization of Khmer and as you advance it becomes increasingly difficult)

since then i can self study with ease,
theres not a lot of reliable material out there tbh,
if you find a decent tutor like i did its deffo worth doing rather than struggling by yourself,
even if like me, you just use it as a boost to push you in the right direction
:tophat: Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks :x
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MikeMike58
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by MikeMike58 »

Hi Ronny,
I'm using Cambodian for Beginners Book by Richard K. Gilbert & Sovandy Hang, 2nd edition. I bought mine directly from the publisher, Paiboon Publishing, and it was only $35.00 USD. That includes 3 CD's.
Link to the website for all the details. They have a list of locations all over Thailand where you can buy it. They also sell directly from their USA location. http://www.paiboonpublishing.com/

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Jamie_Lambo
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Jamie_Lambo »

MikeMike58 wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:26 am Hi Ronny,
I'm using Cambodian for Beginners Book by Richard K. Gilbert & Sovandy Hang, 2nd edition. I bought mine directly from the publisher, Paiboon Publishing, and it was only $35.00 USD. That includes 3 CD's.
Link to the website for all the details. They have a list of locations all over Thailand where you can buy it. They also sell directly from their USA location. http://www.paiboonpublishing.com/


yeah we used this at school, they gave me it for free :thumb:
:tophat: Mean Dtuk Mean Trei, Mean Loy Mean Srey
Punchy McShortstacks School of Hard Knocks :x
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by Brewer »

Jamie_Lambo wrote: Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:08 pm then in the last month we focused on the alphabet and reading,
(doing it this way was my choice at first as i wasnt fussed about reading to start with,
then after a while realised how important it actually is, due to there being no Romanization of Khmer and as you advance it becomes increasingly difficult)
That's a bummer. I don't know when I'll get back to the KOW but I intended to become as fluent as possible if and when I did. I was rather hoping the written language would be an optional thing I could opt out of because the script looks hellishly difficult to learn. :(
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MikeMike58
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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by MikeMike58 »

yeah we used this at school, they gave me it for free :thumb:
I understand. I often gave away books to my less fortunate or "special" students. :roll:

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Re: Learning Khmer

Post by willyhilly »

I had Cambodian for Beginners, it is a good start. I could never tackle the reading but I think if you have a good ear it is possible to get pronunciation right. The sounds are quite difficult, more difficult that Thai in my opinion. I have the Practical Dictionary by Long Hair which is pretty good.
There is no substitute for a tutor at first but after that if you carry a pen and paper you can ask Khmers for the meanings of various words.
Like any language there is a need for a huge vocabulary.
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