How much should I pay for a language tutor?

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explorer
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by explorer »

kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 12:31 pm I think the vowels are most difficult. It is difficult not to have a phonetic system. Making your own from what you hear is difficult, I believe.
Most consonants are the same as English. Some differences are:

there is c and g and a sound between c and g

there is t and d and a sound between t and d

វ may be pronounced either v or w

there are single letters for ch, ng and ny.

there is no th or sh in Khmer

there is no q, x or z in Khmer.

Otherwise, the consonants are equivalent to English (I may have forgotten something).

Like you say, many vowels are different to English vowels.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
kps
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by kps »

explorer wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:07 pm
kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 12:31 pm Pronounciation is hard. This morning I tried "tiang-ni ort traukaa somaat boendopp" on room cleaning which did not work until after a lot of confusion. Reception said I said it OK. Same with "sa-ropp (t'lai bonman)" in the market. But sometimes I get through. (I was probably too close to sa-rapp which made it incomprehensible, even in context.)
Try: tngai ni ot tdrow gaa somaat bontoob

The td in tdrow is a sound between the t and d in English.

I would say: gom somaat bontoob tngai ni

gom means dont.

Try: tlai ponmaan.

I cant think what you might be saying with sa-ropp. Can you share what it means in English, or write it with Khmer writing. I will probably figure it out after I submit this post.

I always tell staff to never clean my room when I am not there. In some places they steal. They can do it when I am in the room.
Thanks I appreciate.
សរុប tlai ponmaan - for the total of the things I want to buy
But that the night man in hotel taught me. It will work for him. But with my limitations in pronounciation I must find words that are common and easily pronounced. Next time I will try:
doeng-aa t'lai ponmaan
The day staff in hotel seem to give words that work better for me.

I carry money and passport. Hotel is reliable style, I have stayed here many times. Chinese style with staff on a leash.
It is not party-one-week-Riverside-style hotel. But you are right. One should always be careful.
Last edited by kps on Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
kps
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by kps »

BTW
How do you say "Is it OK to ..."
I wanted to ask a cleaning staff that was working if I could use the room/toilet.
"Is it ok to enter?"
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by explorer »

kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:40 pm I carry money and passport. Hotel is reliable style, I have stayed here many times. Chinese style with staff on a leash.
It is not party-one-week-Riverside-style hotel. But you are right. One should always be careful.
I leave my passport in my room, and only carry enough money for a short time. Some people get robbed.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
explorer
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by explorer »

kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:45 pm BTW
How do you say "Is it OK to ..."
I wanted to ask a cleaning staff that was working if I could use the room/toilet.
"Is it ok to enter?"
I would say: Som joel bontoob tduk.

Which means: Please enter room water (bathroom).
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
explorer
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by explorer »

kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:40 pm សរុប tlai ponmaan - for the total of the things I want to buy
But that the night man in hotel taught me. It will work for him. But with my limitations in pronounciation I must find words that are common and easily pronounced. Next time I will try:
doeng-aa t'lai ponmaan
I would say: teung o tlai ponmaan

teung o means all
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
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Kammekor
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by Kammekor »

explorer wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:53 pm
kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:45 pm BTW
How do you say "Is it OK to ..."
I wanted to ask a cleaning staff that was working if I could use the room/toilet.
"Is it ok to enter?"
I would say: Som joel bontoob tduk.

Which means: Please enter room water (bathroom).
The official way to ask permission is to make a statement and end it with baan tei ?
If you want to make it even more formal you have to start the question with the announcement 'taa' to indicate you start a question, but it's hardly used in daily conversation.

Can I use the bathroom baan tei?

or, even more formal:

Taa Can I use the bathroom baan tei?
I don't recommend the most formal version though.

I would say:

Knyom som chole bontoob tuk baan tei?

The version offered by Explorer is shorter but less polite / formal and will not work in all cases where you are asking for permission. For instance, if I wanted to use his bike I definitely should have to use the [statement] + [baan tei] construction or I would be rude and say something like 'give me your bike for use' instead of 'could I please ....'.
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by explorer »

Kammekor wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:59 pm
explorer wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:53 pm
kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:45 pm BTW
How do you say "Is it OK to ..."
I wanted to ask a cleaning staff that was working if I could use the room/toilet.
"Is it ok to enter?"
I would say: Som joel bontoob tduk.

Which means: Please enter room water (bathroom).
The official way to ask permission is to make a statement and end it with baan tei ?
If you want to make it even more formal you have to start the question with the announcement 'taa' to indicate you start a question, but it's hardly used in daily conversation.

Can I use the bathroom baan tei?

or, even more formal:

Taa Can I use the bathroom baan tei?
I don't recommend the most formal version though.

I would say:

Knyom som chole bontoob tuk baan tei?

The version offered by Explorer is shorter but less polite.
It is what many people would say in a casual conversation, and easier to learn.
## I thought I knew all the answers, but they changed all the questions. ##
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Kammekor
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by Kammekor »

explorer wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:07 pm
Kammekor wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:59 pm
explorer wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:53 pm
kps wrote: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:45 pm BTW
How do you say "Is it OK to ..."
I wanted to ask a cleaning staff that was working if I could use the room/toilet.
"Is it ok to enter?"
I would say: Som joel bontoob tduk.

Which means: Please enter room water (bathroom).
The official way to ask permission is to make a statement and end it with baan tei ?
If you want to make it even more formal you have to start the question with the announcement 'taa' to indicate you start a question, but it's hardly used in daily conversation.

Can I use the bathroom baan tei?

or, even more formal:

Taa Can I use the bathroom baan tei?
I don't recommend the most formal version though.

I would say:

Knyom som chole bontoob tuk baan tei?

The version offered by Explorer is shorter but less polite.
It is what many people would say in a casual conversation, and easier to learn.
It's not what I would say, it's not what my wife would say and it's not what I would teach my student. I can think of many situations where your construction will be considered rude.

In Khmer there are several structures to create a question, and even though some Khmer are lazy and they might just say a statement followed by a question mark that's not the way it ought to be done, and it certainly can not be done in all cases. Since a beginner is unable to judge whether it's appropriate or not in this case I believe it's better to learn the official way first, and then you can bring it back to the shortened version if you please later on.

It's just like teaching 'how much for all of it together?'

Most people will shorten it to the max: "o 'maan".

But that's not what I would teach anybody to say, even though I will say it sometimes as well (usually will bring the price down because if you can talk 'slang' it shows you've been around a bit). Better to follow the rules when you start learning a language and find your own way later on. My 2 cents.
Last edited by Kammekor on Sun Mar 03, 2019 4:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How much should I pay for a language tutor?

Post by kps »

Thanks a lot.
Knyom som chole bontoob tuk baan tei?
Can I enter the room?

Is "easy" since It is close to
Koat chole bontoob baan tei?
Does he enter the room or not?

But the tuk I do not understand. What does it mean?

Thanks a lot. I appreciate. Shopping now. I reply more later.
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