Speaking Khmer

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Barang chgout
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by Barang chgout »

taabarang wrote:"I would encourage newcomers to learn Khmer."

Who are you to give advice, YOU are a newcomer.
But he speaks Khmer apparently, which is another good reason for him to write a book on Cambodia. He knows A LOT!
He could call it "Explorer's guide to all things Khmer", or " The Cambodia you never knew you never knew!".

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taabarang
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by taabarang »

Barang chgout wrote: Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:55 pm
taabarang wrote:"I would encourage newcomers to learn Khmer."

Who are you to give advice, YOU are a newcomer.
But he speaks Khmer apparently, which is another good reason for him to write a book on Cambodia. He knows A LOT!
He could call it "Explorer's guide to all things Khmer", or " The Cambodia you never knew you never knew!".

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk
So he speaks Khmer, does he? Then I hope his book includes his following and scintillating treatise on place names.

"It may help people learning the Cambodian language if they know the meaning of place names.

Phnom Penh - Pnom Pen(y). Pnom means mountain or hill. Pen(y) means full. So Pnom Pen(y) means full hill or full mountain. I dont know where this originated, but: Wat Pnom is very close to the center of ancient PP. Land in some parts of all of the cities along the rivers has been filled. Before filling some of it was flood plains. Maybe, a long before they built the temple, a lot of people built houses on Wat Pnom to be above the flood level. This would make it a full hill.

Kandal - Gondaal means center or middle. For people living in PP, Kandal seems to be the center of Cambodia.

Ta Khmau - Ta Kmou. Ta means grandfather, kmou means black, so Ta Kmou means black grandfather. If you go there you will see him in the middle of the roundabout.

Kampong Cham - Gompoong Jaam. Jaam means wait, and gompoong means ing, so Gompoong Jaam means waiting. In ancient times, there was trade along the rivers by boat. People used to wait for the boats in Gompoong Jaam.

Kratie - Kro Je. Kro means poor, and je means to know how to, so Kro Je means the poor know how to. It has been said that there used to be a lot of poor people in Kro Je, but they were smart. One of the first things people may ask you is - Je Kmae - Do you know how to speak Khmer?

Prey Veng - Prai Veng. Prai means forrest, veng means long, so Prai Veng means long forrest.

Kep - Kaep, means seat (of a bicycle). In the Cambodian language, north is kaang jerng, or leg side, which is always down. Which leads to the conclusion they used to draw the map upside down, with Kep at the top. With the map upside down, Kep is like a seat (of a bicycle).

If anyone has any different explanations, please share.

If anyone wants to share the meaning of of other place names, please do.

No question about it; he has demonstrated a real linguistic prowess. Yep, he's the man.
As my old Cajun bait seller used to say, "I opes you luck.
Barang chgout
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by Barang chgout »

taabarang wrote:
Barang chgout wrote: Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:55 pm
taabarang wrote:"I would encourage newcomers to learn Khmer."

Who are you to give advice, YOU are a newcomer.
But he speaks Khmer apparently, which is another good reason for him to write a book on Cambodia. He knows A LOT!
He could call it "Explorer's guide to all things Khmer", or " The Cambodia you never knew you never knew!".

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk
So he speaks Khmer, does he? Then I hope his book includes his following and scintillating treatise on place names.

"It may help people learning the Cambodian language if they know the meaning of place names.

Phnom Penh - Pnom Pen(y). Pnom means mountain or hill. Pen(y) means full. So Pnom Pen(y) means full hill or full mountain. I dont know where this originated, but: Wat Pnom is very close to the center of ancient PP. Land in some parts of all of the cities along the rivers has been filled. Before filling some of it was flood plains. Maybe, a long before they built the temple, a lot of people built houses on Wat Pnom to be above the flood level. This would make it a full hill.

Kandal - Gondaal means center or middle. For people living in PP, Kandal seems to be the center of Cambodia.

Ta Khmau - Ta Kmou. Ta means grandfather, kmou means black, so Ta Kmou means black grandfather. If you go there you will see him in the middle of the roundabout.

Kampong Cham - Gompoong Jaam. Jaam means wait, and gompoong means ing, so Gompoong Jaam means waiting. In ancient times, there was trade along the rivers by boat. People used to wait for the boats in Gompoong Jaam.

Kratie - Kro Je. Kro means poor, and je means to know how to, so Kro Je means the poor know how to. It has been said that there used to be a lot of poor people in Kro Je, but they were smart. One of the first things people may ask you is - Je Kmae - Do you know how to speak Khmer?

Prey Veng - Prai Veng. Prai means forrest, veng means long, so Prai Veng means long forrest.

Kep - Kaep, means seat (of a bicycle). In the Cambodian language, north is kaang jerng, or leg side, which is always down. Which leads to the conclusion they used to draw the map upside down, with Kep at the top. With the map upside down, Kep is like a seat (of a bicycle).

If anyone has any different explanations, please share.

If anyone wants to share the meaning of of other place names, please do.

No question about it; he has demonstrated a real linguistic prowess. Yep, he's the man.
Yeah, but Taa, you're not listening to him.Image

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

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prahocalypse now
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by prahocalypse now »

Duncan wrote: Tue Dec 25, 2018 2:38 pm


Image
What's the answer to question number 2?
taabarang
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by taabarang »

"Yeah, but Taa, you're not listening to him."

Nor would I want to. He is spreading misinformation.
And that's if I could understand him.
As my old Cajun bait seller used to say, "I opes you luck.
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Kammekor
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by Kammekor »

Well, at maybe Ratanakiri is the opposite of Kra-tie (being able to be poor) then?

Rattanak means rich / wealthy
Kiri is a word (used in poetry and songs) for mountain

So wealthy mountains it is.

Of course someone less proficient could make the following mistaken translation:

Rattanak is a name for boys/men
Kiri means mountain

So Rattanakiri is the province with the mountains for the tough guys!
explorer
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by explorer »

Kep - Kaep, means seat of a bicycle.
Kep - Kaep also means saddle of a horse. When you think about how long ago it was probably named, it most likely came from the saddle of a horse.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
Barang chgout
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Re: Speaking Khmer

Post by Barang chgout »

explorer wrote:
Kep - Kaep, means seat of a bicycle.
Kep - Kaep also means saddle of a horse. When you think about how long ago it was probably named, it most likely came from the saddle of a horse.
When's the book due?

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